Pepperoni Pizza

Pepperoni pizza made with sourdough crust is fresh, fast, cheesy and next-level in texture. You only need simple ingredients and high heat to get big cheese pulls and that pizzeria finish!

With store-bought or homemade pizza dough and a few toppings, you’ll have a better-than-delivery pizza in under 15 minutes. Bubbling cheese, golden crust, the perfect tomato pizza sauce, and of course crisp pepperoni…this pizza has it all! This is our go-to Friday night pizza. Eat it hot—but not too hot. We’ve all scorched the roof of our mouths on pizza before!

The stretchy, gooey cheese pull is courtesy of the best blend of low-moisture and fresh mozzarella. Make it a cheesy week with some ultimate lasagna or pizza rustica next! Serve them with a chopped kale salad if you’re feeling like you want some balance. You’ll be everyone’s favorite home cook in no time—kids and grown-ups alike!

Ingredients

• Pizza Dough: Can I use store-bought dough? You can use any pizza dough that you would like. My favorite is of course my own sourdough pizza dough recipe! If you opt to skip the yeast for it, just be sure to give it extra time.
• Pizza Sauce: I’ve used this homemade pizza sauce recipe for years, but you could also use jarred pizza sauce.
• Mozzarella Cheese:  I like to use a mixture of low-moisture mozzarella and fresh mozzarella. Fresh mozzarella gives you that great melty experience and the best flavor, but the water content can make your pizza soggy or drip onto the oven floor. Holy mess, batman!
• Pepperoni Slices: I use turkey pepperoni in my best pepperoni pizza recipe, but you can use pork if you prefer! You can use those little pepperonis or bacon that will curl up and make cups in the oven!

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

Variations

• Use pizza night to give new life to leftovers! Cut up those mushrooms, olives or roasted broccoli, crumble up the turkey burgers, or dice up all the leftovers from that sausage, bell peppers & onion dinner. No one will notice or care once it is all melted together with cheese.
• Make it spicy! Add some crushed red pepper, sliced jalapenos or a drizzle of hot honey to your homemade pepperoni pizza. Be sure you balance out the flavor with a pinch of salt!
• Switch up the sauce. Use a garlic cream sauce with a dash of garlic powder or a pesto for a different type of pepperoni pizza than the classic. Add a bit of fresh basil or arugula for garnish!

Professional tips

• Keep your toppings under control. Too many toppings will keep your crust from getting crispy or will weigh it down and it will flop undesirably. If you don’t care about the perfect New York flop (I’m looking at you, Dave Portnoy! One bite; everyone knows the rules.) then pile on the toppings and eat it with a knife and fork. I won’t tell.
• Use a piece of parchment for assembly. Assemble your pizza with your favorite toppings on a piece of parchment paper on a cutting board for easy transfer.
• Pre-cook some of your toppings. For pizzas that bake quickly like this one, I find it best to precook any toppings that I will add. I give onions and peppers a quick sauté in a little olive oil or use thawed frozen vegetables, which are typically blanched before flash freezing.

How to Make Pepperoni Pizza

Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below!

Step 1: If you are using sourdough pizza dough, about 1-2 hours before you want to bake, remove the pizza dough from the refrigerator to final proof. If you froze it, be sure you thaw it in the fridge the night before. If not, you can use dough directly from the counter or from the fridge without allowing it to sit out. 

Step 2: Preheat the oven to 500°F with a pizza stone if you have one. If you don’t, you can just build the pizza on a metal baking sheet and bake it together. You won’t get as nice a crust but it will still be delightful. 

Step 3: If you are using a pizza stone, flour a pizza peel or dust with cornmeal. If not, sprinkle cornmeal on a metal baking sheet. 

Step 4: Place one piece of dough onto a floured, flat surface. Dust the top of the dough with additional all purpose flour and, using floured hands, tap your fingers around the rim of the dough about ¾ inch inside the edge. This will be your crust. Creating a physical marker allows you to stretch the dough inside while preserving the thick crust. If you want a thin crust pizza, you can use a rolling pin. 

If you do get a huge bubble just pop it. It’s going to be outrageous when it hits the oven. I made a little kind of trench around, and mound it up in the center and then I’ve created my crust. 

Step 5: Lift up the dough and place it on top of both your closed fists. Using a gentle outward motion, gently separate your fists to thin out the center of the pizza. You’ll want to work quickly and move to different parts of the dough to keep it from getting too thin in any one place. It really only takes 3-5 stretches especially when the dough is room temperature. 

Step 6: Gently place the stretched dough onto your floured peel or dusted baking sheet and reshape to arrange it into a circle. 

Step 7: Spoon and spread out the pizza sauce. Top with shredded mozzarella and crumbled fresh mozzarella, and arrange pepperoni on top. 

When spreading your pizza sauce, you want to leave a little border on the edge.

Step 8: Give the pizza peel a little shake to check and make sure that the pizza moves freely. If not, lift and toss a little flour or cornmeal under the spot that is sticking. 

Step 9: Carefully open the oven door. Slide the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone using the peel. I find it easiest to line it up in the back and let it slide off the peel into place as you remove the peel. Alternately just put the sheet pan with the pizza in the preheated oven. 

Step 10: 500°F is hot, so a pizza of this size will bake quickly. It will only take 5-7 minutes on a pizza stone. Baked on a baking sheet, it will be closer to 8-10 minutes. When the pizza crust is golden brown and puffed, take a peek underneath the crust using tongs. If the bottom is crispy and golden, then the pizza is done! 

Step 11: Use tongs to remove it from the stone, or oven mitts to remove the baking sheet from the oven. Use tongs to transfer the pizza to a cutting board, and slice! 

Frequently Asked Questions

Before You Go

I hope you enjoyed this professional chef tested recipe. Check out our other delicious, chef-developed dinner recipes!