Brooklyn Ave. Pizza Co.’s Mole Pizza: This pizzeria in Los Angeles offers a cross-cultural Latino pie topped with Mexican mole poblano, Oaxaca cheese and crema and a Central American fermented cabbage called curtido, along with mozzarella cheese.

Donatos Pizza’s Cauliflower Crust: Cauliflower crusts have become a trend unto themselves. Low in carbohydrates, they appeal to the paleo and keto crowds as well as to people who are just trying to lose weight. Donatos Pizza, a 160-unit chain based in Columbus, Ohio, made a 10-inch cauliflower crust a permanent option in January, and promoted it with the following limited-time offers:

Cauliflower Bruschetta pizza: Cauliflower crust topped with red sauce, Smoked provolone cheese, green peppers, onions, bruschetta tomatoes, spinach and a new plant-based sausage

Cauliflower Garden pizza: Cauliflower crust topped with red sauced, smoked provolone, green pepper, onions, mushrooms and plant-based sausage

Cauliflower Heat Pizza: Cauliflower crust topped with red sauced, smoked provolone and pepper Jack cheese, jalapeño peppers, crushed red pepper and plant-based sausage

Fired Pie’s Nashville Hot Chicken Pizza: Nashville hot chicken was originally developed as a punishment for an unfaithful husband (who, it turned out, loved his fried chicken doused in spicy oil), but now it’s not only trendy in its own right; it has become trendy on pizza — sort of a new take on Buffalo chicken pizza. This version from Fired Pie, a 21-unit chain based in Scottsdale, Ariz., starts with Nashville hot sauce instead of marinara sauce. That’s topped with mozzarella cheese, Nashville hot chicken, spicy coleslaw and chopped dill pickles. It was launched in mid-October and is slated to be available through mid-January, 2021

MOD Pizza’s Lucia: This chain of around 500 units based in Bellevue, Wash., likes to give human names to its pizza, like this one, which was available for the first quarter of 2020. Jumping on the spicy pizza trend, the Lucia had Calabrian chile red sauce base topped with shredded mozzarella, ricotta, smoky pepperoni and basil

Papa Murphy’s Triple Pepp Pizza: This take-and-bake chain was well-poised for the pandemic, since their food is designed to be taken home and cooked there. This pizza, made with three sizes of pepperoni — giant, regular and mini-cup — highlights the trend of taking traditional comfort food and changing it just enough to make it special. This pizza was introduced in April.

Patxi’s Pizza’s S’mores Pizza: The 22-unit chain based in Sausalito, Calif., has an example of a dessert pizza with this item that capitalizes on the popular combination developed around campfires of toasted marshmallow and milk chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers. For this version, the marshmallows and chocolate are garnished with graham cracker dust on a pizza.

Pizza Guys’ Curry Veggie Delight Pizza: This chain of around 70 units based in Sacramento, Calif., was one of several pizzerias that started bringing Indian influence to its food. This pie topped with white garlic sauce, mozzarella cheese, curry seasoning, red onions, green bell pepper, rosemary potatoes and chopped cilantro was launched in September and available through December

Rind and Wheat Bakery’s The Wharf: This pizza by Ricky Webster, owner of Rind and Wheat Bakery in Spokane, Wash., was made for the California Milk Advisory Board’s Real California Pizza Contest and reflects the growing popularity of two things: sourdough bread and seafood. Inspired by clam chowder, this pizza is made with fresh clams, crème fraîche, mozzarella cheese and heavy cream on a sourdough crust. Webster, who also previously worked as executive chef for Sysco in Spokane, won the competition’s $10,000 grand prize for the pizza, as well as $5,000 in the Real California category.

State of Mind Public House’s Elotero: Lars Smith, chef and owner of this restaurant in Los Altos, Calif., won $5,000 in the California Milk Advisory Board’s Real California Pizza Contest for this Cal-Mex pizza made with Oaxaca, Cotija and Requeson cheeses and pork shoulder braised  with guajillo chiles. Although named for the Mexican street corn elote, this item reflects the distinctiveness and evolving nature of Californians’ own interpretation of Mexican cuisine.

State of Mind Public House’s Elotero: Lars Smith, chef and owner of this restaurant in Los Altos, Calif., won $5,000 in the California Milk Advisory Board’s Real California Pizza Contest for this Cal-Mex pizza made with Oaxaca, Cotija and Requeson cheeses and pork shoulder braised  with guajillo chiles. Although named for the Mexican street corn elote, this item reflects the distinctiveness and evolving nature of Californians’ own interpretation of Mexican cuisine.

Toppers Pizza’s vegan pizzas: Pizza can easily be made vegetarian, but this 67-unit chain based in Whitewater, Wis., took the extra step of developing vegan pizzas in consultation with Milwaukee-based chef Melanie Manuel. First tested in Madison, Wis., in July, vegan pizzas are now available systemwide with dairy-free mozzarella substitute, vegan ranch dressing and meatless crispy chicken substitute. Pictured here is the Vegan Korean BBQ Chicken-Less Topper: Korean barbecue sauce, dairy-free mozzarella substitute, crispy vegan chicken substitute, onions and green peppers

Uno’s Pizzeria & Grill’s Vegan Cheeseburger Pizza: This item from the 90-unit chain based in Boston, introduced as a limited-time-offer for January, highlighted two pizza trends: Pizza with hamburger toppings, which reflects the fact that pizza travels better than burgers, and plant-based meat substitutes on pizza. The pizza had vegan Beyond Burger crumbles, cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, ketchup, mustard, pickles and onions on a pizza crust