As a consumer, fast food pizza is like a tennis match out there, and I’ve been watching Domino’s and Papa Johns volley back and forth. Earlier this year, Papa Johns launched toasted sandwiches, a mainstay on Domino’s menu. Then Domino’s was like, Oh yeah? We’re going to launch a Slice Sauce and stake our claim right on the packaging: “The Ideal Sauce for your Slice.”
Bold claims require bold evidence, and as a self-declared garlic butter loyalist, I was ready to officiate.
For context, Papa Johns’ Garlic Butter is one of the primary reasons that its pizza is my #1. I always have a spare garlic butter cup in the fridge; you know, for these moments, or impulsive late-night pizza eating.
So a direct head-to-head was non-negotiable.
The Slice Sauce runs $0.99 as an add-on in the app, where it’s described as “creamy and zesty with a hint of Parmesan.” Respectable price point.
In the container, it skews orange-ish, closer to Thousand Island dressing with the flecks and everything, but the smell is zesty and promising. On the first bite, the Parmesan and Asiago cheese blend shows up – genuinely the first taste, not just marketing copy. But it quickly gives way to something more ranch-coded, with a buttermilk finish that keeps things interesting.
To keep this tennis analogy going – here’s where it goes to deuce: I preferred it on the MeatZZa, where it amplified the cheesiness and left a tangy, ranch-like aftertaste that worked. On my mushroom vegetarian slice, it overly accentuated the tomato in a way that felt like there was too much tomato sauce.
Papa Johns’ Garlic Butter, by contrast, played nice with both – universally complementary, and deeply buttery in a way that just hits like a Serena Williams serve.
Would I buy the Slice Sauce again? Nah. It’s not bad, it’s just fine, especially when Papa Johns’ garlic butter exists and is elite. Domino’s talked a big game, and the sauce is a solid showing, but it wasn’t the upset I was hoping for.
Purchased Price: $0.99
Size: 1 cup (35g)
Rating: 5 out of 10
Nutrition Facts: 170 calories, 18 grams of total fat, 3.5 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 15 milligrams of cholesterol, 370 milligrams of sodium, 2 grams of total carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 1 gram of total sugars, and 1 gram of protein.
To me it tasted like the liquefied innards of a pizza flavored Combo.
I always order the Garlic Butter sauce when I’m getting takeout from Monical’s Pizza (a regional chain, at least here in Illinois). I’ll have to try Papa John’s Garlic Butter sauce the next time I have a chance to pick up their pizza. (The nearest Domino’s to me is actually closer than the nearest Papa John’s; I wonder if Domino’s offers a garlic butter sauce in addition to their Slice Sauce?)
Domino’s Pizza Slice Sauce sounds like an interesting addition for people who enjoy extra flavor with pizza crusts and sides. Unique dipping sauces often become surprisingly popular because they add a different twist to familiar menu items.
I eat here because the pizza is cheap. Since when do dip pizza?
Everything about this looks horrifying, the “pizza” and the sauce. Yikes!
we found it jarring. way too strong a taste. turrible.
Tried it out when it first launched since it was literally free and didn’t like it at all. Tasted like Big Mac sauce/burger sauce/thousand island, which I think is a really bad clash of flavors with pizza. Seemed really odd that they gave it away with stuffed crust pizza and not sandwiches or salads, which it would likely pair much better with.
I tried it and thought it tasted like parm ranch.