Inside New York’s Pizza Rivalry: Sicilian vs. Grandma’s Pie

Sicilian pizza and Grandma pizza may look like they’re the same, but true pizza connoisseurs know that they are distinctly different and will tell you so.

New Yorkers’ Pizza Preferences

A recent survey conducted by the pizza app Slice found that New Yorkers' favorite pizza is Sicilian pizza, but some swear the true love of New Yorkers is a type of pizza called Grandma's pizza.

What Is Grandma’s Pizza?

Grandma's pizza (sometimes called Grandma's pie) originated in New York, and while it is a Sicilian-style pizza, it is not true Sicilian. Grandma's pizza has a thin crust and is generally not cooked in a pizza oven because, well, Grandmas in Long Island created the recipe and would cook it in a traditional oven like the one you and I have in our homes.

How Grandma’s Pizza Is Made

Like Sicilian pizza, Grandma's pizza is cooked in a square pan; however, this particular style of pizza is usually made with the cheese on the dough, then the sauce is laid on top of the cheese rather than the other way around.

Key Differences: Dough and Flavor

Another way to tell the difference between Sicilian and Grandma's pizza is that with Sicilian, the dough is stretched in the pan and then left to rise, which gives it a fluffier crust. Grandma's pizza dough is stretched into the pan and then popped into the oven, giving it little time to rise and making it much thinner and crisper. Another way to tell the difference between Sicilian and Grandma's pizza is that Grandma's tends to have a stronger garlic flavor, while Sicilian pizza has a sweeter flavor.

Origins of Grandma’s Pizza

While nobody can say exactly who was the first to create Grandma's pizza, the belief is that it came about sometime in the 1970s and that it was made by first-generation Italian immigrants in Long Island who were trying to replicate pizza as they remembered it from their home country, using the American ingredients they were able to get their hands on.