California Pizza Kitchen Is The Latest Restaurant To Light Up Halloween

Did Papa John’s know, way back in late 2019, that it was going to change the face of pizza restaurants during October forever? We’re not sure it did – but it did. That was the moment it debuted its Jack-o’-lantern pizza, showing the world that yes, you could make a pizza spooky, provided you had the intention and good enough dough-shaping skills. Papa Murphy’s subsequently followed suit with its own jack-o’-lantern-shaped pizza, which has returned this year, and California Pizza Kitchen also jumped on board. 

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And guess what? CPK’s bringing them back for another spin. You can’t move for spooky dough and cheese in 2026, it seems. Let’s discuss.

CPKids Jack-O-Lantern Pizza

This year, California Pizza Kitchen has brought back its CPKids Jack-O-Lantern Pizza for the month of October. As its name suggests, this is intended for little ones: Each 7” personal pizza comes with triangular pepperoni pieces, making the lantern’s eyes and nose, and a semicircle of pepperoni for the mouth, all on a bed of cheese and tomato. Oh, and a little nub of dough on top to form the stalk. 

Although these are smaller pizzas and so don’t have quite the same wow factor as the ones from Papa John’s and Papa Murphy’s, they’re also less prone to mistakes. The bigger the lantern-shaped pizza, the more likely its construction is to go wrong: Pepperoni ends up smeared down the side of what should be its face, the shape morphs beyond recognition, and it all becomes spooky in a different way. CPK’s, meanwhile, are more contained. And the price isn’t too bad, either.

Price? What Price?

The price of $5. Grab your CPKids Jack-O-Lantern Pizza for $5 until October 31 at all California Pizza Kitchen locations, excluding Hawaii. You can also get them in two different forms: Either pre-cooked or as a kit to put together yourself at home. Halloween party vibes right there.

These Halloween pizzas arrive at a time when CPK has been busy saying sorry to its customers. The chain recently announced its Apology Pizzas, with 25,000 free pizzas available to its diners as a way for the restaurant to recognize the forgotten flavors everyone’s been clamoring for. All you have to do is comment on its social media, and you’ll get an offer through to your DMs. Oh, and the chain also revealed that it would be bringing back a fan-favorite flavor in 2027, too.