The first two restaurants in this series, McDonald’s and Arby’s, have been major letdowns as far as finding decent dye-free food when you’re in a hurry. For the third installment I wanted to review a restaurant with lots of safe choices that you can find in almost every state: Papa Murphy’s Take ‘N’ Bake Pizza.
Unfortunately, Papa Murphy’s isn’t the place to go if you’re looking for something you can eat in the car. But it’s a great option when you need a last minute meal or if you need to feed a large group….or when you just don’t feel like cooking. 🙂
I’m going to set this review up a little differently. Since it’s a pizza place where you can potentially build your own pizza, I’m going to list all the different dye-free ingredients you can mix ‘n’ match. Then I’ll list Papa Murphy’s dye-free signature pizzas, as well as all the extra menu items like salads and desserts. You can also look up the Papa Murphy’s official ingredient list for yourself for more details.
As with all my lists, anything with a *asterisk* contains bad preservatives: TBHQ, BHT, or BHA. For more information on why these preservatives should be avoided, please scroll to the bottom of my McDonald’s review.
Dye-Free Choices at Papa Murphy’s
Crusts
Original
Pan*
Thin
Stuffed
Sauces
Basil Pesto
Buffalo Sauce
Creamy Garlic*
Herb Tomato
Marinara
Olive Oil & Garlic
Original Pizza Sauce (“Red Sauce”)
Salsa
Sweet Chili Sauce
Cheeses
Feta
Mozzarella
Parmesan
Ricotta
(I’d like to make a special note that what Papa Murphy’s calls their “Topping Cheese” contains annatto, an artificial color. However, they will gladly use mozzarella instead upon your request. I’ve never encountered any problems asking for this simple switch.)
Toppings
Anchovies
Artichoke Hearts
Banana Peppers
Black Olives
Canadian Bacon
Chicken
Chili Pepper Flakes
Country Style Sausage
Crispy Bacon
Garlic
Green Chile
Green Olives
Green Onions
Green Peppers
Herb & Cheese Blend
Herb Chicken
Italian Sausage
Jalapeños
Mushrooms
Pomace Olive Oil
Onions
Pepperoni*
Pineapple
Salami*
Spinach
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Tomatoes
Zesty Herbs
Zucchini
Salads & Dressings (note: croutons are safe to eat)
Caesar
Chicken Caesar
Mediterranean
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Bleu Cheese Dressing
Country Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
1000 Island Dressing
Italian Dressing
Extras
Cookie Dough
Signature Pizzas (FOr all of these, remember to ask for Mozzarella instead of “Topping Cheese” to make it dye-free.)
Big Murphy’s Stuffed*
Chicken Bacon Artichoke deLITE*
Chicken Bacon Ranch*
Chicken Bacon Stuffed*
Cowboy*
Gourmet Chicken Garlic*
Gourmet Chicken Garlic deLITE*
Gourmet Classic Italian*
Gourmet Vegetarian*
Hawaiian
Herb Chicken Mediterranean deLITE*
Murphy’s Combo*
Papa’s Perfect*
Vegetarian*
Veggie deLITE*
As you can see, most of their signature pizzas have those bad preservatives we try to avoid (mainly because they contain either Creamy Garlic Sauce or Pepperoni). That said, we generally opt to build our own pizzas – and they are just as delicious!
Five reasons you should get yourself a Papa Murphy’s Pizza tonight:
1. Mom gets a night off cooking. (Yay!)
2. Everyone eats without complaining. (Double yay!!)
3. You can try new topping combos, so everyone gets something they like.
4. Papa Murphy’s always has coupons and specials (as if $10 pizzas weren’t already a fantastic deal).
5. You don’t have to worry about anyone having meltdowns the next day because you ate out!!!
Convinced? You can find your local Papa Murphy’s here. We highly recommend it!
Becoming Hippies 