I’ve fallen in love again. It was something unexpected, unconventional, yet undeniably delicious—pastrami pizza! Heather bought me some heavily marbled pastrami from a local market, and I just had to try combining the spicy, smoky depths of pastrami with our joy of pizza! Join me as I explore how this unlikely pairing became a new favorite!

While most of our blog post recipes focus on how to make some of the most amazing and wonderful regional classic pizzas, we certainly don’t shy away from unique ingredients either. So it’s not uncommon for us to come home from the market or store with something new to try in or on a pizza!
A Bit of Pastrami History
Pastrami’s journey to becoming a beloved deli staple is as rich and layered as its flavor. Originally from Romania (where it’s called pastramă), pastrami is a method developed to preserve meat before refrigeration was invented. Jewish immigrants from Romania and Bessarabia brought this technique to the United States in the late 19th Century (perhaps starting around 1872), where it found itself a home in New York City’s delis. Specifically, it’s believed that Sussman Volk created the first pastrami sandwich in New York in 1887.
Interestingly, pastrami is not always made from beef. In fact, Jewish Romanians commonly made goose-breast pastrami because that was more common there. But in the late 1800s, beef navel was cheaper, and thus, beef pastrami became the standard. Today, other cuts of beef are used, and you might even be able to find turkey pastrami.
Whatever meat is being used, the process of making pastrami involves curing the meat in brine, then coating it with a mix of spices (typically including garlic, coriander, black pepper, paprika, cloves, allspice, and mustard seed), smoking it, and finally steaming it to perfection. This meticulous preparation results in pastrami’s distinctively tender texture and robust flavor profile.

Why Pastrami on Pizza?
Pastrami is an unconventional pizza topping that brings a delightful twist to the traditional pie. Its robust flavor pairs beautifully with melted cheese’s gooeyness and tomato sauce’s tangy sweetness, creating a mouthwatering balance of flavors. The slightly fattier versions of pastrami render beautifully in the oven, melting slightly to infuse your pizza with its rich, meaty, and subtly spiced flavors. This melting process not only enhances the texture of the pastrami but also contributes a lovely depth to the overall dish.
Pastrami Pizza Recipes
Naturally, a “Pizza Pastrami” could be as simple as draping slices of pastrami over top of any style of pizza. But I know we can do better than that! Here are a couple of pastrami pizza recipes you can try:
- General thoughts:
- If you have highly marbled pastrami, I suggest putting it on the top of the pizza to allow the oven to render the fat out (especially in a high-temperature pizza oven).
- But if the pastrami is very lean, you might consider putting it under other toppings so it doesn’t dry out. That is unless you like the texture of crispy bacon, in which case put it on top!
- Use pastrami in place of prosciutto or speck.
- Use pastrami instead of pepperoni on the bottom of your Chicago deep-dish pizza.
- Use pastrami on a smoked pizza.
- Try combining your pastrami with a different cheese. Swiss cheese is a classic pairing with pastrami, but Provolone or Gouda can be really exciting alternatives.
Okay, so that’s a couple of ideas. But what’s the best pastrami pizza recipe…?
How to Make the Best Pastrami Pizza Recipe
Pastrami makes an amazing sandwich. In making our pretzel crust pizza, New Jersey Tomato Pie, and Nashville Hot Chicken Pizza, we’ve discovered that mustard and pickles can be surprisingly delicious additions. So, I’ll put it out there that the best pastrami pizza recipe should includes all of these things.
On Rye
And why not add rye to the crust while we’re at it? Here’s our recipe for rye flour pizza dough.

Using Rye flour in pizza dough is an unconventional choice. But it can add the very distinctive flavor of pastrami on rye, which will add complexity and depth to your pizza crust.
Rye flour is known for its slightly tangy flavor, which beautifully complements the spiciness and smokiness of pastrami. However, rye flour doesn’t develop gluten as well as wheat flour, which means it can result in a denser and less stretchy dough if used alone. To counter this, we need to use a blend of rye and high-protein bread flour. Our recipe uses a 1-part rye to 2-part bread flour ratio to preserve the strength of the dough.
What About Tomato Sauce?
Well, I’m going all in on our pastrami-on-rye-style pizza, which means I’m leaving the tomato sauce in the cupboard! That’s not to say you have to. You can substitute the mustard for traditional pizza sauce or even mix them (it works—it’s really not so different than having ketchup, mustard, and pickles on a burger).

And the Cheese?
As mentioned above, you can certainly veer off from mozzarella here. Swiss cheese would be the most obvious choice to stay true to the pastrami-on-rye. Swiss cheese offers a mild, nutty flavor with a hint of sweetness that balances the spiciness of the pastrami. Its melting qualities make it a great choice for pizza, creating a gooey, stretchy layer that pairs wonderfully with the meat.
You can also experiment with Provolone or Gouda (even smoked Gouda) as well!
Pickles!
Pickles as a topping might be as highly controversial as pineapple on pizza. But dill pickles are an amazing pairing with pastrami and mustard, so if you’ve come this far…

How to Make the Ultimate Pizza Pastrami
What Ingredients You’ll Need

- 4 oz. of pastrami sliced medium (I suggest pastrami with more marbling when cooking at a very high temperature).
- If you want more pastrami, I suggest thicker slices rather than piling them into two layers.
- 1 pizza dough ball – our rye dough recipe makes a 14″ pizza (13 ounces of dough).
- 4 oz. of shredded Swiss cheese
- 10-12 slices of dill pickles (3 ounces)
- Be sure to dry the pickles before putting them on the pizza.
- 2 oz. of stone ground mustard
- 1/2 oz. of yellow mustard
As with any pizza toppings, you can customize your taste by using more or less of any ingredient, substituting (for example, you might like Gouda instead of Swiss), or adding/removing anything.
How to Make Our Pastrami Pizza Recipe
First, if your dough is coming out of the refrigerator, take it out at least one hour before cooking.
Preheat the oven (475°F for an indoor oven, 700°F for an outdoor pizza oven). This will likely take 30 minutes.
Prepare Your Dough
- Stretch/roll out the pizza dough to make a pizza ~14 inches in diameter.
- If you use a pizza pan, add a thin coat of olive oil.
- If using a pizza peel, flour the peel so the dough won’t stick.
Prepare the Ingredients
- Have all of your toppings ready to apply, including drying the pickles
Prepare the pizza
- Place the dough on the peel or pan. You may need to straighten the edges with your fingers.
- Mix the two mustards and spread them on the pizza. Use a basting brush to spread the mustard evenly.
- Distribute the pickles over the pizza.
- Distribute the cheese over the pizza.
Wait? Where’s the pastrami??
Adding the pastrami:
If you are using very lean pastrami, I suggest putting it under the pickles and cheese at this point. Especially if you are cooking the pizza in a high-temperature pizza oven. See below

On the other hand, if you have a nicely marbled pastrami, you can add it last and allow it to crisp up but not get TOO crispy.

Cooking Time: Pizza in an Indoor Oven
- If using our rye dough recipe, cook at 475°F on a pizza pan or cookie sheet. Otherwise, use the recommended temperature for the dough you are using.
- 8 minutes, then rotate
- 8 minutes, then use a spatula to transfer the pizza to the pizza stone
- The top of the pizza should already be browning, in which case, turn the oven off.
- Leave in the oven for 3 extra minutes (on a pizza stone if you have one).
- Remove and transfer to a cutting board. Let the pizza rest for 4 minutes before cutting and serving immediately.
Cooking Time: Outdoor Pizza Oven
- If you are using our rye dough recipe, Cook at ~700°F. Otherwise, use the temperature recommended for the dough you are using.
- Insert the pizza into the oven with a pizza peel.
- Cook for 1 minute
- Rotate a quarter turn 3 times for about 1 minute each time.
- Remove and transfer to a cutting board. Let the pizza rest for 3 minutes.
- Cut, then serve immediately.
Tips and Tricks for Pastrami Pizza Recipes
Naturally, your favorite pastrami pizza recipes could differ from ours, but here are a few suggestions to consider:
- I’ve said this a couple of times – very lean pastrami (think deli counter at the grocery store) could easily overcook and even burn if put on top of the pizza – especially when cooked at high temperatures. In this case, I encourage you to put it below the cheese.
- If you want a very meaty pizza, I suggest asking your butcher to cut the pastrami thicker rather than piling two layers on the pizza (especially if it’s on top).
- Yellow mustard is very strong. Even if you like it, use it sparingly; otherwise, it will overwhelm the pastrami.
- Dry off the pickles before putting them on the pizza.

Best Pastrami Pizza Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Basting Brush
- 1 Outdoor pizza oven Optional
- 1 Pizza Peel Optional
- 1 Pizza pan or cookie sheet (if cooking in regular oven)
- 1 Pizza Cutter
Ingredients
- 4 ounces pastrami sliced medium thickness. Extra marbling will be especially good for a high temperature pizza oven.
- 1 dough ball (perfect for this pizza is our rye flour pizza dough) This recipe assumes a 13 ounce dough ball making a pizza between 14 inches in diameter.
- 4 ounces Swiss cheese shredded
- 3 ounces dill pickles sliced (10-12 slices)
- 2 ounces stone ground mustard
- .5 ounces yellow mustard
- 2 tablespoons flour for work area
- 1 teaspoon olive oil for pizza pan/baking sheet in indoor oven
Instructions
- Preheat the oven (475°F for an indoor oven, 700°F for an outdoor pizza oven)
Prepare Your Dough
- Stretch/roll out the pizza dough to make a pizza ~14 inches in diameter1 dough ball (perfect for this pizza is our rye flour pizza dough)
- If you use a pizza pan, add thin coat of olive oil.
- If using a pizza peel, flour the peel so the dough won't stick.
Prepare the Ingredients
- Have all of your toppings ready to apply, including drying the pickles
Prepare the pizza
- Place the dough on the peel or pan. You may need to straighten the edges with your fingers.
- Mix the two mustards and put it on the pizza. Use a basting brush to spread the mustard evenly across the entire pizza.
- If you are using very lean pastrami, I suggest putting it under the pickles and cheese at this point. Especially if you are cooking the pizza in a high-temperature pizza oven.But if you have marbled pastrami, you can add it last to best cook the meat.
- Distribute the pickles over the pizza.
- Distribute the cheese over the pizza.
- If you are adding the pastrami last, add it now.
Cooking Time: Pizza in an Indoor Oven
- Cook at 475°F on a pizza pan or cookie sheet
- 8 minutes, then rotate
- 8 minutes, then use a spatula to transfer the pizza to the pizza stone
- The top of the pizza should already be browning, in which case turn the oven off.
- Leave in oven for 3 extra minutes (on a pizza stone if you have one).
- Remove and transfer to a cutting board. Let the pizza rest for 4 minutes before cutting and serving immediately.
Cooking Time: Outdoor Pizza Oven
- If using our rye dough recipe, Cook at ~700°F.
- Insert the pizza into the oven with a pizza peel.
- Cook for 1 minute
- Rotate a quarter turn 3 times for about 1 minute each time.
- Remove and transfer to a cutting board. Let the pizza rest for 3 minutes.
- Cut then serve immediately.
Nutrition

Todd’s cooking skills have revolved around the grill since about age 12, when he developed a love for grilling and took over for Mom at the BBQ. He worked at Wendy’s and at Earl’s Tin Palace (a restaurant chain in Canada) but never really did any sort of baking…until he and Heather started making pizza together! Now he’s often making dough in the mornings and pizza in the evenings.
I haven’t tried this pizza yet, but looks amazing. Recently acquired a pizza oven and will be trying this for sure!