The Rascal House Deluxe is described on the menu as “everyone’s favorite” — and that is not marketing copy, it is a 40-year track record. Aged pepperoni, mild Italian sausage, sliced mushrooms, green peppers, and red onion, all on a bed of 100% pure provolone cheese on a hand-tossed crust. Five toppings. One pie. No arguments at the table.
Rascal House has been building this pizza since the original Downtown Cleveland location opened in 1980. It comes in medium, large, and Bellybuster (the 16-cut format that feeds five to eight people), and it shows up in office orders, dorm rooms, hotel deliveries, and post-game spreads across Cleveland every day of the week.
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What toppings are on the Rascal House Deluxe pizza?
The Rascal House Deluxe comes with aged pepperoni, mild Italian sausage, sliced mushrooms, green peppers, and red onion on a base of 100% pure provolone cheese. No mozzarella blend, no cheese substitute — provolone all the way through, which gives the pie a sharper, slightly tangy pull compared to the softer stretch of a typical mozzarella pizza.
The toppings are layered over Rascal House’s house tomato sauce, applied to the hand-tossed crust before the provolone goes down. Mushrooms, peppers, and onion go on top of the cheese so they roast against the oven heat during the bake, picking up color and releasing their moisture into the pie rather than steaming underneath. The result is a loaded pizza that does not get soggy in the middle, even on delivery.
Every topping on the Deluxe is fresh-cut per order. Sliced mushrooms rather than canned, green peppers cut in-house, red onion rather than white. These are details that show up in the texture of every bite — slightly firm vegetables against the richness of the meat and cheese.
Why five toppings? The logic behind the combination
Most people who order a combination pizza are ordering for a group. And in any group of three or more, someone wants pepperoni, someone wants sausage, and someone always asks if there are vegetables. The Deluxe settles all three conversations at once.
The five toppings were not chosen at random. Pepperoni and sausage are the two most-ordered pizza meats in America by a wide margin — multiple surveys consistently rank them as the top two. Mushrooms are the most-ordered vegetable topping. Onions and green peppers round out what the pizza industry calls a “supreme” or “combination” configuration, the classic formula for a fully loaded pie that appeals to the broadest range of tastes.
What separates the Rascal House Deluxe from a generic “supreme” is the specific product choices. Aged pepperoni rather than standard pepperoni, mild Italian sausage that adds seasoning depth without heat, and provolone as the cheese foundation rather than a mozzarella blend. These are not interchangeable decisions — each one shifts the flavor profile in a specific direction toward something richer and sharper than the chain version of the same idea.
The result is a pizza where every slice has balance. You get fat and acid from the pepperoni, herbed richness from the sausage, earthiness from the mushrooms, crunch from the peppers, and a mild sharpness from the onion. Nothing dominates. Nobody at the table compromises.
How the Deluxe compares to other Rascal House specialty pizzas
Rascal House has a full specialty pizza lineup. Understanding where the Deluxe sits in that lineup explains why it keeps getting ordered over the alternatives.
Rascal House Deluxe vs. Meat Lovers
The Meat Lovers runs aged pepperoni, Italian sausage, hickory-smoked bacon, and ham on provolone. It is the choice when the group is all-in on meat and has no interest in vegetables. There is no mushroom, no pepper, no onion. The Meat Lovers is a richer, heavier pizza with more fat from the bacon and ham.
The Deluxe is the pick when the group is mixed, or when someone wants a pizza that has a little of everything without being weighed down by four meat toppings. The vegetable layer gives the Deluxe a brightness the Meat Lovers does not have.
Rascal House Deluxe vs. Pepperoni Extreme
The Pepperoni Extreme is built for one type of order: when someone wants pepperoni and only pepperoni. More than a double load of aged pepperoni from crust to crust. It is a serious pizza for serious pepperoni people.
The Deluxe is the smarter order for a group. The Pepperoni Extreme is the right move when ordering solo or when you already know the whole table agrees on pepperoni.
Rascal House Deluxe vs. Veggie Supreme
The Veggie Supreme uses green peppers, onions, mushrooms, diced tomatoes, and black olives with provolone and feta. It is the vegetarian answer. The Deluxe and the Veggie Supreme share three toppings (mushrooms, green peppers, red onion) but the Deluxe adds the meat and uses provolone alone rather than the feta blend.
If the order is going to a group with a vegetarian, the Veggie Supreme handles that corner of the menu. If everyone eats meat, the Deluxe is the standard.
When to choose the Deluxe over everything else
Order the Deluxe when the group is two or more people with mixed preferences, when you want one pizza that covers the full flavor range, and when you are ordering for an office, a hotel room with multiple guests, or a post-game spread where debate is the last thing anyone wants. It is the fewest-decision pizza on the menu.
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What sizes does the Rascal House Deluxe come in?
The Rascal House Deluxe comes in three sizes: medium (8-cut, serves 2-3), large (12-cut, serves 3-5), and Bellybuster (16-cut, serves 5-8).
The medium covers a two-person order with leftovers or a light lunch for three. The large is the standard order for a small group of four to five. The Bellybuster is the format worth knowing about for anyone feeding a crowd.
What is the Rascal House Bellybuster?
The Bellybuster is Rascal House’s largest pizza format: 16 cuts, sized to feed five to eight people. It comes in the same specialty pizza lineup as the medium and large, so you can order the Rascal House Deluxe in Bellybuster format for a full group without having to order two separate pies.
For office orders, catering-style group deliveries, and game-night spreads, the Bellybuster Deluxe is the most efficient order. One pizza, 16 slices, everyone covered. Pair it with a wing tray and a couple of salads and the office lunch is handled.
The Bellybuster format is also available for all other specialty pizzas and for the create-your-own option, so groups with specific topping preferences can still hit the same portion size.
Why provolone? The cheese makes the difference
Rascal House uses 100% pure provolone on the Deluxe rather than a mozzarella blend, and it is one of the more distinctive choices in their recipe.
Provolone is a firm, slightly aged Italian cheese with more sharpness and salt than fresh mozzarella. It melts smoothly, pulls cleanly, and has a flavor that holds up against the stronger toppings on the Deluxe — particularly the aged pepperoni and Italian sausage. Where mozzarella can go neutral and fade into the background, provolone adds its own flavor layer. The result is a pizza where the cheese is an active ingredient rather than a vehicle for the toppings.
This is a deliberate choice that has been part of the Rascal House recipe since the beginning. When Mike and Fouly Frangos built the original menu in 1980, provolone as the standard cheese was part of what set the restaurant apart from the chains operating on mozzarella blends. It is still the standard today across every Rascal House location.
The Rascal House Deluxe and the group order problem
There is a specific frustration that anyone who has ordered pizza for a group knows. Three people, three opinions. Someone wants only pepperoni. Someone wants just vegetables. Someone is fine with anything. The safest pick ends up being a plain cheese pie that nobody hates and nobody loves.
The Deluxe was designed to solve this problem. It brings pepperoni for the meat-first person, vegetables for the lighter eater, Italian sausage for the person who wants more depth than plain pepperoni, and mushrooms for the person who always adds mushrooms. No single topping dominates any slice. The balance means every person in a mixed group gets something they recognize and something they want.
This is why the Deluxe converts from being a regular menu item to an institutional order for offices and recurring deliveries. Once a group orders it once and everyone is satisfied, it becomes the default. Office managers and event coordinators who order from Rascal House for recurring lunches tend to land on the Deluxe as the standing order because it generates zero complaints.
How to order the Rascal House Deluxe
Order online at rascalhouse.com or through the Rascal House app. Navigate to Specialty Pizzas, select the Rascal House Deluxe, choose your size (medium, large, or Bellybuster), and add to cart. For delivery, enter your address and pay online. For carryout, the pizza is typically ready in 10 to 15 minutes.
For office orders or group deliveries of multiple Bellybusters, calling the location directly is faster than ordering online. The downtown location is (216) 781-6784 and the University Circle location is (216) 791-4444. Both handle same-day large orders.
If you are ordering for an event and need the Deluxe as part of a full catering spread alongside wings, subs, and salads, see the casual catering menu for box lunch and party tray options.
What makes the Rascal House Deluxe a 40-year menu item
Some pizzas are put on a menu and rotated out. The Deluxe has been on the Rascal House menu since 1980 because it does not need updating. The formula works. The toppings are the most popular combination in American pizza ordering, assembled on a provolone base with a hand-tossed crust that holds up to the load.
The Rascal House has been recognized by the Cleveland Plain Dealer as “Cleveland’s Best Pizza,” and the Deluxe is part of the reason for that recognition. Not because it is a novelty pizza with unusual ingredients, but because it does the foundational combination pizza better than most — consistent quality, fresh toppings, a cheese that adds flavor rather than disappearing, and a crust that behaves correctly.
Forty-five years of Cleveland students, downtown workers, hotel guests, and sports fans have eaten this pizza. That is not a coincidence. It is what a good combination pizza looks like when the recipe is built carefully and left alone.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What toppings are on the Rascal House Deluxe pizza?
The Rascal House Deluxe has aged pepperoni, mild Italian sausage, sliced mushrooms, green peppers, and red onion on a bed of 100% pure provolone cheese. It is built on a hand-tossed crust with Rascal House tomato sauce as the base.
What is the difference between the Rascal House Deluxe and the Meat Lovers?
The Rascal House Deluxe combines two meats (pepperoni and sausage) with three vegetables (mushrooms, green peppers, red onion) on provolone. The Meat Lovers uses four meats (pepperoni, Italian sausage, hickory-smoked bacon, and ham) with no vegetables. The Deluxe is the group-friendly pick; the Meat Lovers is the choice when the whole table wants maximum protein.
How big is the Rascal House Bellybuster?
The Bellybuster is Rascal House’s largest pizza format — 16 cuts, sized to serve 5 to 8 people. It is available for the Rascal House Deluxe and all other specialty and create-your-own pizzas. It is the standard format for office orders and group catering deliveries.
What cheese does Rascal House use on the Deluxe?
Rascal House uses 100% pure provolone cheese on the Deluxe, not a mozzarella blend. Provolone is firmer and sharper than standard pizza mozzarella, and it holds up well against the bold toppings on the Deluxe.
What sizes does the Rascal House Deluxe come in?
The Rascal House Deluxe comes in medium (8-cut, serves 2-3), large (12-cut, serves 3-5), and Bellybuster (16-cut, serves 5-8). All three sizes are available for delivery and carryout through rascalhouse.com.
Is the Rascal House Deluxe a good pizza for group orders?
Yes. The Rascal House Deluxe is built specifically for mixed groups because it combines the two most popular pizza meats with three of the most popular vegetable toppings on one pie. It consistently satisfies mixed preferences without requiring separate orders for different tastes. The Bellybuster format makes it practical for offices, events, and gatherings of up to eight people.
