Review: Pizza Hut's Crafted Flatzz Are Tasty But Not Craveworthy

I grew up in Pizza Hut's nostalgic Book It! era. I remember finishing a book in class and being awarded a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. This promotion launched a generation of millennials who have now grown up, and to be honest, are seeking the same sort of thrill they got from receiving a personal pizza as a reward. While we millennials now have adult money and most certainly can buy personal pan pizzas ourselves, it's nice to have some kind of a reward element to the transaction. Pizza Hut, it seems, feels our plight. To try to fill this Book It!-shaped hole in our hearts, the brand has released a line of flatbread pizzas called Crafted Flatzz, designed with adult tastes in mind.

On the day these were released, I made my way to my nearest Pizza Hut to pick up all of the Crafted Flatzz flavors. For lunch, my husband and I tried each one. In the end, we enjoyed a nice pizza lunch, and it was a tasty return to Pizza Hut, but the question remained: Are these Crafted Flatzz crave-worthy enough to order again, or are they simply the latest addition to the growing trend of fast food flatbread?

The newest deal at Pizza Hut is the $5 Crafted Flatzz. Like the name suggests, these flatbreads are only $5, provided you order them before 5 p.m. Clearly, this type of deal is intended to draw the lunch and early dinner crowd, rather than those who may be ordering for a family around dinner time.

On the Pizza Hut website, you'll find these Crafted Flatzz in the Deals section of the page. Five flavors of flatbreads are available: Nashville Hot Chicken and Chicken Bacon Ranch are new to the range, as well as Pepperoni Duo, Three Cheese, and The Ultimate, coming in as signature options. Each of the pizzas is on a Crafted Flatzz crust, which the chain describes as a "Hand-crafted, artisan-style crust baked until golden and crispy." For any extra toppings, the price of the pizza increases by 60 cents for each addition. When your flatbread is ready, it comes in its very own oblong pizza box, really driving home the idea of having a personal pizza. 

Pizza Hut's Crafted Flatzz are a limited-time offering. They will stick around for most of the fall, but according to the chain, November 9, 2025, is the anticipated end date. Like any other limited-time offering, the item could sell out at certain locations, which might mean availability becomes scarce before the end date. Within that timeframe, you can order your Crafted Flatzz anytime of day, but note that the price may vary after 5 p.m.

In the United States, the Crafted Flatzz come in five flavors, but at different Pizza Hut locations around the world, you can find a unique spin on the offerings. In the United Kingdom, for instance, you'll find Pesto Veggie with Balsamic Drizzle as a topping. Meanwhile, Tandoori Chicken is an offering in India, and customers in Taiwan can pick up a Korean BBQ flatbread to satisfy their hunger. 

The first Crafted Flatzz I tried was the Three Cheese. Like the name of the menu item suggests, this is a basic pizza with marinara sauce and three cheeses: mozzarella, Parmesan, and Romano. There's also a hefty helping of oregano sprinkled on top.

This was one of my favorite flavors of the five, mostly because I enjoyed the extra taste of Parmesan on this pizza more than what I've had on other cheese pizzas. In many ways, it reminded me of thinly crusted cheese pizzas I've had in the past, just in a smaller package. These personal flatbreads are very similar to a personal pan pizza, just with a much thinner crust and an oblong shape. Pizza Hut marketed these flatbreads as adult-only flavors, but I struggle to see how a kid who typically enjoys a cheese pizza wouldn't also like this one.

It's not common that I run across a pepperoni pizza that actually has pepperoni slices that cup up. However, the Pepperoni Duo flavor has both flat pepperoni that clings right to the cheese and an old world pepperoni that cups up and is crispy on the edges. Interestingly, the latter seems like it was pre-cooked and placed on the flatbread rather than cupping up during the cooking process. In any case, the extra crispiness is enjoyable.

Flavor-wise, the Pepperoni Duo tasted like the Three Cheese simply had pepperoni added to it. I got a slight zestiness from the pepperoni, but it didn't feel all that different from a thin crust pepperoni pizza. Like the cheese flavor, I struggle to see how a child who enjoys pepperoni pizza wouldn't also like this one. There's not much about it that makes it feel like it should be restricted to an adult palate.

Supreme pizzas are some of my favorite offerings, and The Ultimate flavor is basically a supreme version of the flatbread. As far as toppings, this one is positively loaded, with flat pepperoni, Italian sausage, and veggies. Pizza Hut specifically notes that the onions are caramelized and the peppers are roasted, and the flatbread also has tomatoes.

Although I welcome the addition of veggies to my pizza, The Ultimate felt a bit overloaded for the crust. As soon as I picked up one piece of the flatbread, it flopped over. The crust just isn't sturdy enough for all of the toppings The Ultimate Crafted Flatzz includes. Although the peppers are roasted, I didn't taste any roasted flavor, a curiously missing element that I expected to be present. Though I initially imagined The Ultimate would be one of my favorites, it was ultimately a letdown. Perhaps some crusts just aren't meant to hold supreme toppings.

One of my favorite Crafted Flatzz of the bunch was the Chicken Bacon Ranch. Since I've typically seen this trio as a combination on a sandwich, I wasn't entirely sure how it would translate to a flatbread. I must say, it works pretty well, though I wouldn't go out of my way to order it again. I can't imagine this flatbread satisfying the desire for chicken and bacon ranch flavors over a chicken bacon and ranch sandwich, like one of Jimmy John's toasted sandwiches, for example.

The Chicken Bacon Ranch flatbread has a combination of crispy and breaded chicken, bacon, ranch, mozzarella, and a seasoning made with Parmesan and oregano. My only real complaint about it is that I wish the chicken was shredded rather than breaded and crispy. Placed on the flatbread itself, the breaded and crispy chicken looks like chicken nuggets. It's not desirable to look at, nor do I think it adds much to the dish, whereas I imagine the shredded chicken might taste better.

The last flavor of the Crafted Flatzz I tried was the Nashville Hot Chicken variety. I'll admit that my experience with Nashville hot chicken is far less than with Buffalo chicken, so I was wholly unprepared for the level of spice that Nashville hot chicken packs. The Nashville Hot Chicken uses the same type of chicken as the Chicken Bacon and Ranch, so my complaints about the type of chicken continue here. In general, I just found this flatbread to be far too hot. Not only is it immediately spicy, but the heat continues to build. 

Unfortunately, there are no pickles on this flatbread, which I think would have been a nice addition. Nevertheless, Pizza Hut gives a nod to pickles with its ranch sauce, which has a pickle flavor. Even still, sliced pickles may have helped temper some of that incredibly fiery Nashville heat (especially since Pizza Hut has offered a pickle pizza before). This one honestly might need a warning label, and that's coming from someone who generally enjoys spicy foods.

None of these flavors stuck out as something that I will crave again. I found the crust to be just a little chewier than I wanted it to be, and in general, the options just felt too similar to some frozen pizza brands I've tried. Admittedly, I liked the Chicken Bacon Ranch flatbread, but I can't imagine craving it again.

As for the intended target audience, Pizza Hut's marketing around the Crafted Flatzz aims to pull in adults and give them some me time with a pizza that is all their own. I can't imagine any of these five flavors truly making someone feel like they are getting a special moment to themselves. 

However, if Pizza Hut took some of the international flavors it's offering in other countries and brought them to the U.S. market, I can imagine adults would flock to these more exciting options. Otherwise, in addition to the Three Cheese, Pepperoni Duo, and The Ultimate choices, the Chicken Bacon Ranch and Nashville Hot Chicken just don't feel artisanal enough for what Pizza Hut is going for.