The 6 Healthiest Papa Murphy's Menu Items—and 4 To Skip

Pizza is a beloved classic, but it isn't traditionally considered healthy. While there is no one definition for "healthy," the high-calorie count, fatty meats, and greasy cheese that make pizza don't fall into most ideas of health. This is especially true for pizza you get from a restaurant, which is often more calorie-dense than what you'd make yourself. Luckily, many pizza chains are offering healthier menu options, like the "take-and-bake" chain Papa Murphy's.

This pizza restaurant offers customizable pizzas and calzones that you can either take home and bake yourself or have baked in-store for you. Like any restaurant menu, their menu items vary in terms of nutritional value, with some healthier and not-s0-healthy options available. To help you make the best choice for your goals, we looked through the menu and chose the healthiest and unhealthiest menu items at Papa Murphy's.

How We Chose the Healthiest Papa Murphy's Orders

Here are some factors we considered when looking at the healthiest menu items available at Papa Murphy's:

• Veggies: Vegetable toppings, like peppers, tomato, onion, and olives, are a great way to add volume to your pizza for a few calories. These ingredients may even contribute some fiber, which makes your pizza more filling. While not all of our options include a veggie, many do, and you can always add your favorite vegetables to these options.
• Lean protein: Sausage and pepperoni may be traditional pizza meat toppings, but they have more fat and saturated fat. Although they contribute protein, you can get this nutrient from leaner meats with less fat. Chicken and ham are good examples of lean meats, and you won't find any fatty meats on our best list.
• Sodium: Pizza can be a concentrated sodium source, so you won't see any pizzas over 600 milligrams per serving on our healthy list. The salad options have more sodium than this, but you can remedy this problem by reducing the amount of dressing used on your lettuce and skipping some of the cheese.

Read on to learn about the 6 healthiest Papa Murphy's menu items and 4 to skip. Then, check out The Healthiest Orders at 7 Major Fast-Food Pizza Chains.

The Best Papa Murphy's Menu Items

Pizzas & Calzones

Best: Gourmet Vegetarian Crustless Pizza

Papa Murphy's offers a unique crustless pizza option you won't find at many other chain pizzerias. This makes for a low-carb pizza that is also reasonable in calories. Unfortunately, this veggie crustless pizza doesn't have much fiber, but a single slice will only set you back 130 calories while packing 8 grams of protein.6254a4d1642c605c54bf1cab17d50f1e

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Best: Herb Chicken Mediterranean Thin Crust

This thin-crust pizza is a great option for its reasonable fat count, two grams of fiber, and 11 grams of protein. Chicken as the protein makes for a higher-protein pizza while keeping fat grams and total calories moderate. Two slices of this pie keep you under 500 calories for the meal, while providing over 20 grams of protein and 4 grams of fiber, making for a balanced option.

Best: Thai Chicken Thin Crust

Another chicken pizza, the Thai Chicken Thin Crust provides even more protein and fewer grams of fat. Unfortunately, it doesn't pack any fiber, but you can add a side salad for a fiber boost. The unique flavor of this pizza comes in part from a Thai sweet chili sauce, which also provides some sugar. Skip the sauce or ask for it on the side to reduce the amount you use and, in turn, your total calories, carbs, and sugar intake.

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Best: Chicken Bacon Artichoke Crustless Pizza

At only 150 calories and three grams of carbs per serving, this crustless pizza is a keto-friendly option. Although crustless pizzas don't provide fiber, you can remedy this by loading your pizza up with veggies or adding a side salad. Two slices of this pizza are only 300 calories, leaving you room to add some fibrous veggies on the side.

Salads & Sides

Best: Chicken Caesar Salad

This Chicken Caesar Salad is loaded with protein for under 200 calories. This count doesn't include the dressing, which adds another 140 calories per serving. Use the dressing sparingly to keep calories and fat grams within your calorie budget, and consider this a healthier alternative to pizza. The 5 grams of fiber and 25 grams of protein will make for a filling meal.

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Best: Mediterranean Salad

Another salad option, the Mediterranean Salad, includes olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and feta cheese for delicious Mediterranean flavors. Add chicken to boost protein, and go with the balsamic vinaigrette dressing, which provides only 70 calories per serving. You'll get plenty of fiber from this order and a reasonable number of carbs for a balanced meal.

The Worst Papa Murphy's Menu Items

Worst: Pepperoni & Mozzarella Calzone

What looks like a pizza pocket, calzones are known for packing all of your pizza ingredients inside of a warm crust pocket. Delicious, yes, but this calzone also packs more than a day's worth of sodium in a single order. You'll get plenty of protein and enough fat to satisfy a whole day's needs. If you can't pass up this item, have only half and pair it with a veggie or side salad to create a more balanced option.

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Worst: 5-Meat Stuffed Pizza

Stuffed pizzas may feel like a fun indulgence, but the extra cheese will no doubt set you back an extra couple hundred calories. At just under 500 calories, this stuffed pizza loaded with fatty meat only packs 12 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber. If you must try a stuffed pizza, trade the traditional meats for lean options, like chicken or ham, to lower the fat, saturated fat, and calorie counts.

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Worst: Cowboy Family Slice

The Cowboy Pizza packs pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, and olives, along with a few types of cheese. This makes for a single slice of pizza that provides 18 grams of fat and only 1 gram of fiber. While the calories are lower than the calzone and stuffed options, having more than one slice will make for a high-calorie meal. Instead, go with a thin slice of this pizza to save over 100 calories and 12 grams of carbohydrates without sacrificing much protein.

Worst: Garlic Monkey Bread

If you are eating pizza, an order of garlic monkey bread will only add to your carb count. Unfortunately, this carb provides no fiber and will also add to your fat grams and sodium content. These empty calories may be delicious, but they don't add many valuable nutrients to your meal and contribute to calories that aren't especially filling. Skip this altogether, and if you want something on the side, do it with a salad or veggies.

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