Flavors · New Haven

New Haven-style pizza

Thin, uneven crust, very well toasted, baked in a very hot coal or wood-fired oven. Locals in New Haven call it apizza, in the style of immigrants from southern Italy.

Traditional dish from New Haven, Connecticut

Also known as: apizza, New Haven apizza

Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.

Click a photo to enlarge it.

the United States
the United States
New Haven-style pizza — New Haven, the United States
New Haven-style pizza
New Haven-style pizza — New Haven, the United States
New Haven-style pizza
New Haven-style pizza — New Haven, the United States
New Haven-style pizza
New Haven-style pizza — New Haven, the United States
New Haven-style pizza

New Haven-style pizza — New Haven, the United States

New Haven pizza, in Connecticut, originated in the southern Italian immigrant neighborhoods in the early 20th century. Locals call it apizza, pronounced "abíts," as in the Neapolitan dialect of the city’s early pizzaiolos.

The dough is hand-stretched unevenly and baked in very hot coal- or wood-fired brick ovens until thin, crispy and with a heavily toasted, almost charred rim. In the simplest version, the tomato pie, it has only tomato sauce, oregano, garlic and a little grated cheese; mozzarella is ordered separately, known as "mootz."

One of the city’s best-known versions is the white clam pie, topped with fresh clams, garlic, olive oil and oregano, without tomato sauce. Pizza is served on metal trays and cut into irregular pieces. The Wooster Square neighborhood is home to many traditional pizzerias.

Share: WhatsApp

Where it comes from

New Haven , Connecticut

Ingredients

Long-fermentation dough; tomato sauce, oregano, garlic, grated cheese; mozzarella optional; for the white clam pie: clams, garlic and olive oil.

How it is eaten

Served on a metal tray, cut into irregular pieces, to be eaten with the hands.

When it is eaten

Year‑round.

Your questions

Questions about New Haven-style pizza

What is apizza?

It’s what New Haven locals call the city’s pizza: thin-crust and very toasted, baked in a coal- or wood-fired oven.

What is the white clam pie?

A New Haven pizza topped with fresh clams, garlic, olive oil and oregano, served without tomato sauce.

Why is New Haven pizza so toasted?

Because it’s baked in very hot coal- or wood-fired brick ovens that darken and crisp the crust.

Flavors of the United States

Discover other flavors of the United States

All the flavors of the United States