The Salad Bar Hack To Save Money On Pizza Toppings

Making pizza at home doesn't have to be complicated or costly, especially if you're preparing a pie for only one or two people. Besides pizza sauce — not to be mixed up with marinara sauce — and premade dough (unless you're boldly making both from scratch), you'll need to gather an assortment of toppings. Sure, there's nothing wrong with plain cheese pizza, but why not spice it up a bit? You can't go wrong customizing a homemade pie with your favorite flavors. Before you head to the store and fill a cart with a bunch of cans and jars brimming with ingredients that you only need a little of, swing by the salad bar.

Salad bars offer much more than just lettuce, from colorful peppers to leafy greens like spinach and arugula. While you might not be able to find one at every grocery store, many supermarkets still lay out an assortment of freshly chopped veggies, meats, and sometimes even fruits for you to box up and take home. Yes, that means even the pineapple-goes-on-pizza people may be able to find their favorite fixing. Packing a container full of pizza toppings at the salad bar allows you to grab the exact amount of everything you need for your pie, saving you precious prep time and money. Here's what you need to know to get the most out of this hack.

Depending on the size and scope of the salad bar you're working with, you may be pleasantly surprised by what you find. Most salad bars have a range of staple ingredients that are popularly piled on pizzas, so it probably won't be difficult to fill a box. This includes spinach, mushrooms, olives, peppers, artichoke hearts, cherry tomatoes, broccoli, red onions, and sweet corn. For meat lovers, you may be able to find bacon, ham, and chicken. Grab some feta crumbles or shredded parmesan if they're available for an extra cheesy pizza. Certain salad bars may even have basil and arugula for that perfect finishing touch to your homemade pie. 

When putting your pizza together, there are endless possibilities for combining the toppings you take home. If you already have barbecue sauce and you score some chicken, prepare a BBQ chicken pizza that could rival any pizza chain's version, with sliced pepperoncini peppers and red onions. Make a classic supreme pizza by adding bacon, green and red bell peppers, onions, and olives. For a veggie-packed pie, opt for spinach, peppers, mushrooms, artichoke hearts, and broccoli, which roast nicely for a great crunch. For fans of Hawaiian pizza, pair ham with diced pineapple. While it's unnatural to some pizza lovers, pineapple on pizza dates back to the Roman Empire, so don't knock it 'til you try it. No matter which toppings you grab from the salad bar, don't be afraid to get creative.

If you're no stranger to the supermarket salad bar, you know that the standard price-per-pound model can be quite expensive. For instance, as of 2023, the Whole Foods salad bar was charging  $11.99 per pound, which adds up fast if you're stuffing a container full of dense, ordinarily cheap ingredients. While the salad bar is a great deal for buying pricy nuts in bulk, buying a jar of olives and a bag of spinach costs less than purchasing the same amount of these veggies by weight. So, if you're planning a pizza-making party with friends that requires a ton of toppings, you may want to stick to pre-packaged ingredients. 

Ultimately, getting pizza toppings at the salad bar is only a money-saving hack if you only need a small amount of ingredients. For instance, there's no point in buying a whole container of mushrooms if you add just a few to a small homemade pizza or don't plan to eventually eat the rest. After all, any leftovers will end up tossed out once they go bad, so you won't get your money's worth if a pound of spinach goes to waste. For anyone planning to make a personal pie, snagging your pizza toppings at the salad bar will get you the best bang for your buck. For some, the convenience could be worth it regardless.