The Very Obvious Reason Papa John's Pizza Tastes Sweet, According to a Former Employee

A former Papa John's manager recently shared his many insights in a Reddit IAmA session. The unnamed employee also worked as a Domino's manager; however, his Papa John's company secrets were particularly enlightening and refreshingly honest. In addition to naming the two pizzas you should stay away from, the employee also shared his special recipe that is a re-creation of the chain's buttery garlic sauce. Read ahead to learn all of the interesting tidbits.

Have you ever wondered why that addictive red sauce has a sweet aftertaste? After making this observation, a Reddit user asked the employee why the pizza tastes as though "the red sauce is candied." According to the employee, there's a simple reason for that. "It's full of sugar," he said.

The chain's decades-old tagline states, "Better Ingredients. Better Pizza. Papa John's." The employee complimented the company when he said the Papa John's tagline actually holds up. "They do actually have better ingredients," he said, adding, "The sauce is surprisingly high quality and the vegetables are all fresh."

When asked to name the worst pizza-topping combination available at Papa John's, he said, "John's Favorite is awful." The signature pizza consists of sausage, pepperoni, Italian seasoning, and a six-cheese blend. If that combination doesn't sound too bad to you, the employee insisted, "It's just grease on top of grease."

Though it sounds tasty, the creamy Spinach Alfredo Pizza is a risky order. The employee admitted that it goes to waste pretty quickly. He said, "Papa John's has a spinach alfredo sauce that's delicious but only gets ordered maybe once a week, and it hits its sell by date 3 days after you open the bag." Oh, but it gets worse. According to him, employees don't actually throw out the sauce after it goes bad. He said, "No one actually throws it out until it's either gone or nasty looking."

Next time you have leftover pizza, don't even think about using the microwave. In order to get the most out of your pizza, the employee recommended his method involving a frying pan with a lid and olive oil. According to him, letting the pizza simmer over a small amount of olive oil "makes the crust crispy without drying out the toppings."

After receiving so many questions about that famous Papa John's garlic sauce, the employee finally shared his recipe at the top of the page. For starters, you'll need to sauté a few cloves of minced garlic. When the garlic gets soft, reduce your heat to a low simmer. Then add basil, parsley, salt, and two entire sticks of butter — yes, really. He added, "The heat should be just enough to melt the butter and not much more." Interestingly enough, Papa John's uses margarine for its garlic sauce; however, the employee argues that butter tastes better.