The Ultimate Guide to the Best Pizza in Minnesota

Ranking pizzas in Minnesota is one of my favorite things to do. It gets me fired up, it gets you fired up, and it’s one of the rare nonpolitical conversations that gets everyone fired up.

Let’s be real—we’ve all eaten more pizza than almost any other category of food. And my favorites are determined like yours: through a combination of logic and emotion. We all have favorite styles: My wife doesn’t like square-cut tavern pizza, and Detroit-style is too much bread for me. We all have favorite emotional connections, like the pizza place you went to after you bought your first home, or the place up north by your family’s cabin that lets you throw peanut shells on the floor. I’ve tried to capture and rank all of that here, including a list of my overall personal top-5 pizza places. You may (and probably will) disagree, but we hope you’ll find some new pizzas to try or some old favorites worth revisiting.

Photo by Linda Soranno

DeRusha’s Top 5

1. PUNCH PIZZA

With the perfect Neapolitan pizza, Punch is a local chain that sometimes gets ripped by the trendy pizza people, but I admire the dedication to craft, the consistency, and the top-notch ingredients on every pie. The wood-fired crust strikes that elusive balance between char and chew, and somehow every location delivers the same reliably excellent experience. 12 locations; punchpizza.com

2. OG ZAZA

Maybe my favorite dough in Minnesota—fermented for 120 hours to develop a deep, sourdough taste and an extremely light airiness. The cooking style kisses up to burnt; owner Josh Hedquist calls it “caramelized,” but just as a Heggies should be pushed to the limit, this style creates great flavor and texture. Bloomington, Minneapolis (opening Sept. 7), Roseville, Shakopee, St. Paul; ogzaza.com

3. EL MAR PIZZA

When El Mar arrived in Plymouth, it got a lot of attention for a water system that tried to mimic the qualities of New York City water. It’s sort of like running local water through a tea bag to insert minerals we don’t have. Personally, I don’t think the water makes El Mar any better; I think it’s the talent of the team. This is an outstanding pizza—great chew, great undercarriage, and great toppings. Plymouth; elmarsnypizza.com

4. RED RABBIT

Pizza lists tend to focus on pizza restaurants, and Red Rabbit is known more as an Italian pasta joint than for its pie. And yet, it’s one of my absolute favorites, better than ever thanks to chef Adam Eaton reimagining the dough to achieve consistency even while the restaurants are incredibly busy. Seven-day fermentation, nothing but flour, water, salt, and yeast, fired in a wood oven at 600°F. Minneapolis, St. Paul; redrabbitmn.com

5. PIZZERIA PEZZO

There’s only one deep-dish pizza this former Chicagoan loves in Minnesota, and that is at Pizzeria Pezzo. The owners of Kowalski’s fell in love with a pizza in Chicago and brought the chef to Minnesota to open Pezzo. Authentic recipe, technique, and pizzas worth waiting 45 minutes for. Edina, White Bear Lake, Woodbury; pizzeriapezzo.com

Best New Pizza Places in 2026

1. Pizza Luna, Midtown Global Market; pizzalunamn.com
2. Red Rocket Pizza, mobile pizza oven; redrocketpizzacompany.com
3. Pizza Maya, St. Paul; instagram.com/pizzamayamn
4. SliceCraft, Big Lake; slicecraftmn.com
5. Pig Ate My Pizza, Bloomington; pigatemypizza.com

Best Tavern-Style/Old School

1. Brianno’s Deli Italia, Eagan; briannos.com
2. Good Times Pizza, Minneapolis; goodtimespizzampls.com
3. Latuff’s Pizzeria, Plymouth; latuffs.com
4. Tono Pizzeria + Cheesesteaks, 11 locations; tonomn.com
5. Ronnally’s Pizza and Pasta, Woodbury; ronnallys.com

Best Slices

1. El Mar, Plymouth; elmarsnypizza.com
2. Hello Pizza, Edina; hellopizza.com
3. Broder’s Cucina, Minneapolis; broderspastabar.com
4. Cossetta Alimentari, St. Paul; cossettas.com
5. Ginelli’s Pizza, Minneapolis; ginellispizza.com

Best Detroit-Style/Sicilian

1. Mario’s, St. Paul; mariosstp.com
2. Vagabondo, Excelsior; vagabondomn.com
3. Melt Pizza, Stillwater; meltpizzacompany.com
4. Wrecktangle Pizza, Duluth, Minneapolis; wrecktanglepizza.com
5. Mucci’s Italian, St. Paul; muccisitalian.com

Best Fancy Pies

1. Red Rabbit, Minneapolis, St. Paul; redrabbitmn.com
2. Sanjusan, Minneapolis; sanjusanrestaurant.com
3. Rosalia, Minneapolis, St. Louis Park; rosaliapizza.com
4. Farina Rossa, Minneapolis; farinarossamn.com
5. Red Wagon Pizza, Minneapolis; redwagon-mpls.com

Courtesy of Farina Rossa

Best Neapolitan

1. Black Sheep Pizza, Minneapolis; blacksheeppizza.com
2. Punch Pizza, 12 locations; punchpizza.com
3. Northern Fires Pizza, Minneapolis; northernfirespizza.com
4. Pompeii Pizza, Elk River; pompeiipizzeria.net
5. Vitta Pizza, Duluth; vittapizza.com

Photo by Linda Soranno

Best Brewery/Distillery Pizza

1. Earl Giles, Minneapolis; earlgiles.com
2. Surly Brewing, Minneapolis; surlybrewing.com
3. OMNI Brewing Co., Maple Grove, Rosemount, Victoria; omnibrewing.com
4. Day Block Brewing, Minneapolis; dayblockbrewing.com
5. Red Wing Brewing, Red Wing; redwingbrewing.com

Photo by Hoskovec Photography

Greater Minnesota

1. Meric’s Woodfire Oven & Tavern, Hampton; mericswoodfire.com
2. TNT Bar & Vi’s Pizza, Biwabik; facebook.com/p/TNT-Bar-and-Vis-Pizza-100063793202936
3. Sammy’s Pizza, 14 locations; mysammys.com
4. Pagliai’s Pizza, Mankato; pagliaismankato.com
5. Pi Wood-Fired Pizza, Rochester; live4pi.com