America’s favorite pizza, and with good reason! This homemade pepperoni pizza recipe starts with pre-made dough and is a great starting point for anyone making their first pizza at home!
We’ll also explore some interesting topics like over/under as well as the double pepperoni pizza!
Pepperoni Pizza Ingredients
Because we’re assuming this is one of your first home-made pizzas, we are going use a pre-made pizza dough ball – we encourage you to try out Trader Joe’s pizza dough or Whole Foods. But if you’re ready to make your own dough, you will find that our Easy Peasy Pizza Dough is perfect for this recipe, which will make a 14″ shallow-pan pizza. But we have lots of dough recipes if you are comfortable giving it a try!
Stretching the Dough
Begin hand stretching the dough out before moving on to the rolling pin. As you work the dough, it will begin to get sticky. So start by lightly flouring your work area and lightly flour the dough before you start. You may need to add more flour during the process.
Flip the dough frequently as you work it. You’ll probably find using a rolling pin will help make the dough flat and uniform with less chance of a tear, but not everyone agrees with doing this!
Start from the center of the dough and stretch/roll outward. Regularly lift, turn, and flip the dough. Continue adding small amounts of flour to keep it from sticking to the work area or your rolling pin. Be patient to avoid creating folds or tearing the dough. Don’t fret too much if the pizza isn’t round. Getting a consistently thin crust while keeping it perfectly round is no easy feat, so let the pizza be the shape it needs to be if you can get the thickness right.
Continue to stretch out your dough until it’s 14” in diameter and then transfer to a pizza pan (or cookie sheet). Do this before you add the sauce and toppings to avoid a mess!
The Rolling Pin Debate
Some people prefer to hand-stretch out your dough and although that takes some more technique, you shouldn’t shy away from it. Hand-stretching the dough helps preserve the gasses introduced by the yeast fermentation. That makes for an open structure in the crust, which many people like. But if you’re not very good at it yet, a rolling pin is going to help you make it thin and consistent. In addition, if you’re going for more of a wafer-thin pizza crust that’s got more rigidity, the rolling pin is going to be the answer.
Additional Pepperoni Pizza Recipe Tips
- It may not be the first thing you think of, but making sure your hands are clean is really important. Don’t use scented soaps and don’t use moisturizer. So, get those hands surgeon-clean before you touch the dough!
- Buying pre-made dough is absolutely fine for this recipe, but I’d encourage you to try starting from a dough ball and stretching it out rather than a pre-shaped crust.
- You don’t want your dough cold – room temperature dough will stretch more easily and it will be less likely to pull back as you roll it out. Give refrigerated dough at least 30 minutes to come up to temperature before you start to stretch it.
- A pizza pan or cookie sheet is a great starting point for novice pizza makers. Launching a pizza is a skill that takes practice.
- If you’ve got a small hand rolling pin like this one, it can come in handy to focus on rolling out small areas that are a little too thick without over-rolling the rest.
- If you tear a hole, you can generally fix it by pinching it back together or tearing off a piece from the edge and pressing it back in. Patched holes are going to make launching a pizza from a peel more challenging, so don’t force the pizza to be too thin or too round. Because today’s pizza isn’t going to have a ton of sauce, you can get more flavor out of your pizza by adding seasoning to the crust. Feel free to add a little more salt, some pepper, garlic, oregano, and other Italian seasoning!
Add The Toppings
If you make your Pepperoni Pizza recipe in a pizza pan, you have a lot more flexibility with how much sauce and toppings you load onto your pizza. If you are launching your pizza, practice with a thicker sauce while you perfect your technique. Go with a thin layer as well to reduce the water content. You should still be able to see the dough through the sauce across the entire pizza.
You can choose between larger slices of pepperoni, smaller pepperoni (which make for little “roni cups”), or you can cut larger slices into smaller ones. Both the second and third options will result in more distribution of your pepperoni so you can get some in each bite – something I prefer.
Of course, mozzarella is the most well-known pizza cheese. And you can use either grated or slice buffalo mozza balls. Because pepperoni is already distributed over the pizza, I prefer grated.
You can skip the pepperoni entirely if you want an (anything but) plain thin crust cheese pizza, or you can add other ingredients too, but you’ll likely want to keep it light and simple. Extra ingredients (especially ones with moisture) will make for a soggy crust and a floppy slice.
Pepperoni Over or Under the Cheese??
Do you put the pepperoni or the cheese on top?!? Really, this is a matter of taste. The pepperoni will certainly cook differently if on top than if under the cheese, and therefore so will the cheese. Many folks prefer the extra browning (or even crisping) when the pepperoni is on top. The oil will boil out often staying inside the cupping pepperoni. Those favoring pepperoni on top generally like the concentration of the flavor because of the oil.
Others find the little puddles of oil unappetizing – sometimes so much they’ll dab it off with a napkin. That’s just a mess! If that’s you, try the pepperoni underneath. It has the hidden advantages of distributing the pepperoni flavor more throughout the pizza and slightly subduing it. The cheese top is also more uniform.
So we’ll show you both options for your pepperoni pizza recipe today with a half and half!
Double Pepperoni Pizza
Do you really love pepperoni on your pizza? The two secrets to a great double pepperoni pizza:
- Put a layer of larger pepperoni slices below the cheese!
- Put a layer of mini pepperoni cups on top of the cheese!
This will allow the pepperoni flavor to infuse into the sauce while cooking and still give you crispy little pepperonis on top. Pepperoni in every bite!
Pepperoni Pizza Recipe Cooking Instructions
This recipe can be cooked in your oven on or off of a pizza stone, pizza steel, or pizza pan. The biggest variation will be cooking time. If you’re using a wood burning outdoor pizza oven, it’ll take a little effort in managing the wood to get the proper temperature (especially if you’re also making and topping the pizza).
Novice pizza chefs will probably want to start off using a regular indoor oven using a pizza pan like the GoodCook AirPerfect.
If you’ve got an outdoor pizza oven (like our Solo Stove Pi) you can make a delicious pepperoni pizza too. Because the crust of our Easy Peasy Pizza dough is likely quite a bit thicker than a classic Neapolitan pizza, I recommend you cook this at a lower temperature with the stone closer to 650ºF than to the typical 900ºF.
Note that if you are planning to use a pizza stone, this Pepperoni Pizza recipe is going to be hard to launch with a hot oven in front of you.
Cooking Time: Pizza in an Indoor Oven
- Cook at 450°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 5 extra minutes
- Remove and rest for 5 minutes before cutting and eat immediately.
Cooking Time: Outdoor Pizza Oven
- Cook at >650°F (unless the crust is very thin, in which case ~900ºF)
- 6-8 minutes
- Rotate a quarter turn 4 times.
- Rest for 5 minutes before cutting and eat immediately.
Rotate the Pizza!
With the Solo Pi, get the stone gets very hot! But the temperature at the back (measured with an infra-red thermometer) and the front will generally at least 100ºF different. That’s why it’s important to rotate the pizza during cooking. Even in a conventional oven there is still generally variation, so it’s good to rotate your pizza at least once while cooking.
Once the pizza is in the oven, you’ll need to rotate. The first rotation is the most critical – the entire pizza needs to have firmed up enough that you can turn it without it losing its shape or tearing a hole – but you also can’t see the hottest side, so you don’t want it to burn. That’s why you don’t want the oven to be at maximum heat.
In a conventional oven, you probably only need to rotate your pizza once. In an outdoor oven, you generally want to rotate it a quarter turn at a time. Before that first turn, use your turner or peel and nudge the end closest to you to make sure it’s going to keep its shape.
Check the Bottom
Prior to pulling the pizza out, use your turner to lift the pizza and check how firm it is and how well done the bottom is. Make sure it has some stiffness and some browning.
Time to Eat Your Pepperoni Pizza
Remove the pizza and let it stand for at least three minutes before cutting. In fact, try to wait as long as possible before cutting to keep the moisture on top of the pizza and retain the crust’s strength.
Cut, serve, and enjoy this delicious pepperoni pizza recipe!
Pepperoni Pizza Recipe Crust Variations
You can get more flavor out of your pizza by adding seasoning to the crust – even if it’s premade. Feel free to add a little more salt, some pepper, garlic, oregano, and other Italian seasoning!
You can also try our thin-crust pepperoni pizza recipe!
Topping Variations
There are so many variations to pepperoni you can try on this pizza!
A worthy alternative to pepperoni is of course salami for those who don’t like it spicy but you can also try turkey pepperoni. You can also go with Italian meat variations – Neapolitan Salami, Speck, Parma Ham – but I’d most strongly recommend any (or all) of these, which are commonly found on Italy’s own pizza alla diavola:
- Calabrese salami
- Soppressata (spicy if you can find it)
- Finocchiona
Feel free to mix and match your meats – just don’t over load your pizza!
Cheese options vary too. You can readily find a 4-blend grated Italian or pizza cheese package at the grocery store. You can also try cheddar, provolone, or jack cheese without any real difference. If you want to get experimental, try grating Gouda or raclette.
How to Reheat It
If the pizza is from the fridge: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Once it reaches temp, place it on a pan or the pizza stone for 15 minutes. Alternatively, you can heat the slices in a skillet on the stovetop – no need to preheat the pan! Place the skillet on the stovetop over medium heat, place the pizza in, and let heat for 6-8 minutes.
Pepperoni Pizza Recipe
Equipment
- Pizza Peel or Pan (Can also use a cookie sheet)
- Pizza Stone Optional
- Pizza Cutter
Ingredients
- 1x 14" Pizza Dough Make your own or use a store-bought dough.
- .5 cups Pizza Sauce You can make your own sauce or use a store-bought sauce.
- 2 ounces Pepperoni (Equals about 3/4 cup) Depending on how heavy you like the distribution to be.
- 4 ounces Your preferred pizza cheese (Equals 1 cup) I enjoy a mixed Italian blend.
- 1 tablespoon All-purpose flour for rolling out the dough.
- 1 teaspoon Olive oil if you are using a pizza pan
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Prepare your pizza dough. While you can use most freshly made doughs about 10 minutes after making it, most store-bought pizza doughs must be out of the fridge for at least 30 minutes to warm up to room temperature. Check your specific instructions if you're using store-bought.
- Some people roll out the dough with a rolling pin, and some like flattening it into a disc shape with their hands. I say you stick to what method you are most comfortable with. Use some flour to keep it from sticking to your hands, the counter, or your rolling pin.
- If you use a pizza pan in the oven, most are non-stick, but adding a thin coat of olive oil which helps prevent any sticking and promotes even browning on the bottom of your pizza.
- Place the dough on the peel or pan.Once your dough is on the peel/pan, you may need to straighten the edges with your fingers.
- Take a spoon and apply the sauce a spoonful at a time. Take the back of the spoon and spread it out over the dough, leaving about 1" of crust without sauce around the edge. Many people like using a "bullseye" pattern, swirling the sauce from the center out. Start with less sauce and add more as needed. It is easier to add more than take it away.
- Once you're happy with your sauce distribution, add a thin layer of turkey pepperoni.
- Sprinkle your cheese of choice evenly over the top.
- Bake for 8 minutes
- Rotate pizza and bake for another 8 minutes
- Check the top and crust. If the top is done, turn the oven off and leave for another 5 minutes. If you have a pizza stone, this is the perfect time to transfer the pizza to the pizza stone.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and let stand for another 5 minutes.
- Cut and 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.