12 Healthy Topping Ideas for Your Nutrisystem Pizza

Pizza is one of America’s most popular foods for good reason. It’s warm, gooey, delicious and fun to eat. It lights up our taste buds with tangy tomato sauce, melty cheese and zesty spices.

The Nutrisystem menu offers you lots of options to satisfy your craving for pizza while you stay on track to your weight loss goal. You can choose from classics, such as Thick Crust Pizza and Italian Sausage and Turkey Pepperoni Pizza, and uncommonly good variations like Chicken Bianca Pizza and Caramelized Onion, Mushroom And Turkey Sausage Pizza.

Pizza-lovers also will enjoy flatbreads, such as the Mediterranean Flatbread, which have crisp and chewy crusts piled up with tasty toppings.

One of the best things about pizza and flatbreads is they are so easy to customize to your tastes with extra toppings. Here are 12 healthy pizza topping ideas for you to try.

1. Pepperoni

Category: PowerFuel

Serving size: 2 ounces

Pepperoni is the number one pizza topping because it gives each slice a meaty flavor, a hint of spice and an extra bump of protein. Look for turkey pepperoni, which is often lower in calories and saturated fats than the standard variety. Low-sodium varieties are best.

2. Sweet or Hot Sausage

Category: PowerFuel

Serving size: 2 ounces

Pizza tastes extra savory when you add sweet or spicy Italian sausage. Like with pepperoni, go with turkey-based versions for less calories and fat. While you can simply lay slices of sausage on the pizza, spreading out crumbled sausage distributes the flavor more evenly. Either way, cook the sausage before putting it on the pizza, then heat up the pie.

3. Red Pepper Flakes

Category: Free Food

Serving size: Unlimited

The quick way to bump up the flavor of any pizza is to sprinkle on spicy red pepper flakes. They spice up every bite without adding calories. If you don’t regularly eat hot pepper flakes, start with just a dash or two until you see how spicy they are. Then add as much as your taste buds desire. Other tasty herbs and spices that you can add to pizza include oregano, Italian seasoning, dried minced onion, garlic powder, onion powder, smoked paprika and many more.

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4. Tomatoes

Category: Vegetables

Serving size: Unlimited

Smooth tomato sauce is a key ingredient of classic-style pizzas. If you love the acidic tang of tomato flavor, you can get even more by topping your pizza with a few thin slices of fresh tomatoes. We love cherry tomatoes. You can also use plum tomatoes, which are meatier and not as juicy salad-type tomatoes, so your pizza doesn’t get too soggy.

5. Sweet or Hot Peppers

Category: Free Food/Vegetables

Serving size: Unlimited

Green or red, sweet or spicy, peppers add both flavor and crunch to your pizza. Sliced jalapenos from the jar are a Free Food packed with zesty flavor. You can also place fresh pepper slices on your pizza when you heat it. If you briefly sauté the peppers first, they become even more tender and flavorful.

6. Onions

Category: Vegetables

Serving size: Unlimited

If you like your pizza with a little zing, thinly slice onions and scatter them on top before you heat up the pie. Yellow onions tend to taste a bit sweet, especially after heating, while white or purple onions have a sharper flavor.

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7. Mushrooms

Category: Vegetables

Serving size: Unlimited

The naturally earthy flavor of mushrooms provides a flavor contrast to a pizza’s tomato sauce and melted cheese. You can just place raw mushroom slices on the pizza before or after heating it, but cooking the mushrooms first tenderizes them and makes the flavor milder. Bonus: Mushrooms are high in fiber, so you’ll feel even more satisfied after eating.

8. Olives

Category: PowerFuels or Extras (depending on serving size)

Serving size:

• Olives, small, approx. 16-20 olives = 1 PowerFuel
• Olives, large, approx. 8-10 olives = 1 PowerFuel
• Olives, black or green, 1 Tbsp. or 6-7 small olives = 1 Extra

You can give your pizza a little extra salty kick with olives. Black olives tend to be milder in flavor than green ones, so you can choose how strong you want the flavor to be. Drain the olives well before placing them on the pizza so their abundant juice doesn’t soak the pie.

9. Basil

Category: Free Food

Serving size: Unlimited

This leafy green herb has a sweet flavor with just a hint of spice that brings out the best in tomato sauce. Basil withers in the heat, so snip a few sprigs and place them on top of the pizza after it comes out of the oven.

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10. Arugula

Category: Vegetables

Serving size: Unlimited

The peppery taste of this green brings another layer of flavor to any type of pizza. Like basil, arugula doesn’t do well when heated, so sprinkle the leaves on the pie after it’s cooked. Arugula not only enhances the flavor of pizza, but it’s also packed with nutrition and fiber.

11. Artichoke Hearts

Category: Vegetables

Serving size: Unlimited

If you’d like to give your pizza a more sophisticated taste, add a few artichoke hearts. They have mildly nutty flavor and a light crunch. Whether you buy artichoke hearts canned or jarred, be sure to look for low-sodium varieties.

12. Pineapple

Category: SmartCarb

Serving size: 1 cup

An unconventional pizza topping, pineapple has become increasingly popular because its sweet taste complements the more savory flavors of the other ingredients. Many lovers of pineapple on pizza pair it with ham (a PowerFuel) because the meat has a lightly salty flavor.