Close your eyes and picture the smell of freshly baked pizza dough mingling with the tang of sauerkraut and pickles, the smoky richness of corned beef, and the gooey pull of Swiss and Mozzarella cheese. That, my friends, is the Reuben Pizza experience.
Together with A Food Lover’s Kitchen, we’re putting a spin on the ultimate comfort food, combining the best of deli and pizzeria worlds into one glorious bite.
A Brief History of the Reuben Sandwich
The origins of the Reuben sandwich are as rich as its flavor, with a history steeped in culinary debate. Wikipedia discusses multiple possibilities that I’ve summarized below.
I love these debates!
Did it Come from Omaha?
One popular tale traces the Reuben sandwich to Omaha, Nebraska, in the 1920s. Reuben Kulakofsky, a Lithuanian-born grocer, is said to have created the sandwich during a late-night poker game at the Blackstone Hotel. Kulakofsky’s creation—a hearty mix of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing piled onto rye bread—became a hit with his friends and later appeared on the hotel’s menu. The sandwich gained fame when a hotel employee submitted it to a national sandwich contest in the 1950s, earning its spot as an American classic.
But New York City also lays claim…
Another version of the Reuben’s history points to New York City as its birthplace. Arnold Reuben, the owner of Reuben’s Delicatessen, is credited with inventing a similar sandwich in the early 1900s. According to this story, Reuben was inspired by an actress who visited his deli and asked for something hearty and unique. His version of the sandwich was said to feature ham, turkey, and coleslaw, and while it evolved over time, it’s thought to have laid the groundwork for the modern Reuben.
And a third alternative is from the same deli, but credits Alfred Scheuing, who was a chef that worked at Reuben’s and invented it in the 1930’s.
Which Story is True?
While the various versions have their champions, the Omaha story seems to have the most documentation to back it up, thanks to the Blackstone Hotel’s menu archives.
What Makes a Reuben Pizza Special?
We know a Reuben sandwich is all about bold contrasts: the savory corned beef, the tangy sauerkraut, the creamy Swiss cheese, and the slightly sweet yet tangy Russian or Thousand Island dressing. By swapping the rye bread for pizza dough, we get all those incredible flavors, but with the added bonus of a crispy, chewy crust.
Ingredients for the Best Reuben Pizza Recipe
(Including ingredients for homemade Thousand Island dressing)
- Pizza Dough:
- Pre-Made Pizza Crust – We are quite big fans of Trader Joe’s pizza dough (follow the link to learn why).
- Rye Pizza Dough – You can’t beat homemade dough and this is the perfect recipe for this pizza!
- Sauerkraut – Make your own or use a store brand, like Hengstenberg, Nathan’s, or Bubbies.
- Swiss Cheese – Great for its creamy and nutty taste; Gruyere can be substituted if you don’t have Swiss cheese. In fact, that’s my preference (and Gruyere is also a cheese from Switzerland)
- Mozzarella Cheese – Perfect for pizza due to its mild and melty taste.
- Corned Beef – You can make the corned beef yourself. It’s a brined brisket, essentially. Or you can buy a premade corned beef or substitute with pastrami for a slightly different flavor.
- Russian Dressing OR Thousand Island Dressing – You can make your own or use a store-bought brand. See below for A Food Lover’s Kitchen’s Thousand Island Dressing recipe.
A Food Lover’s Kitchen’s Fun Additions:
These are a couple of unique ingredients they added, which turned out great!
- Dill Pickles – I know it sounds strange, but it’s really tasty. We use them on a few of our pizzas and they add a ton of great flavor – and essential if you substitute the corned beef with something that isn’t brined (i.e. vegetarian, turkey, etc.)
- Caraway Seeds – Some people have given me grief about putting seeds and nuts on pizza, but we love the flavor these add. But if you have an aversion to this taste or just don’t like seeds on your pizza, leave them off.
Reuben Pizza Recipe Alternatives
Just like a Reuben sandwich has variations, our Reuben pizza recipe has a variety of alternatives to explore!
- As mentioned, you can make a rye pizza dough with our recipe.
- Go French Canadian by substituting Montreal Smoked Meat for your corned beef!
- The “Rachel” version uses Pastrami in place of corned beef, making it rather similar to our Pastrami pizza
- Poultry your preference? Some people call the turkey version the “Rachel” as well, but more often this variation gets named the “Georgia Reuben” or the “California Reuben”
- Feeling fishy? The Walley Reuben uses (yep) walleye fish in place of beef! Similarly, there’s an option using Grouper!
- Vegetarian? Try substituting the corned beef with Beyond Meat and adding extra pickle to make up on the “brineyness”.
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Preheat your oven to the temperature recommended for your dough.
- Prepare Your Ingredients.
- Make sure all of your ingredients are ready before you stretch out your dough. Have the meat diced, the cheese grated, etc.
- If you are using homemade dressing, prepare that first.
- The ingredient ratios in the recipe assume a pizza that’s 12 inches in diameter. So adjust either your dough weight OR your ingredients, if necessary.
- Prepare Your Dough
- Stretch or roll out your pizza dough on a floured surface.
- Place the dough on your peel or pizza pan.
- Parbake the Pizza
- Because the dressing is pretty wet, this pizza benefits from parbaking it – which means partially cooking it.
- Depending on your pizza recipe and cooking temperature, the length of time for parbaking will vary.
- I recommend parbaking for 1/3 of the total cooking time. So if your dough recipe says 18 minutes, parbake for 6, then take it out to top it. If it’s a Neapolitan at 800+ degrees, you can parbake for about 30 seconds.
- Top Your Pizza
- Remove the pizza from the oven and put on a heat-resistant surface.
- Spread a thin, even layer of Thousand Island or Russian dressing over the dough, leaving about 1 inch of crust uncovered.
- Sprinkle half the shredded Swiss cheese on top of the dressing.
- Distribute the corned beef and sauerkraut evenly across the pizza.
- For a bit of crunch and pop, add the optional dill pickles and a dash of caraway seeds.
- Top it off with the remaining cheese for that irresistible melty finish.
6. Finish the Bake
- Transfer the topped pizza back to the oven.
- Continue to bake for the remaining 2/3 of the time (per the dough recipe), and until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly on top, and the crust underneath is browned and firm.
- Allow the pizza to rest on a cutting board for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Slice and serve immediately!
How to Make Thousand Island Dressing
If you want to make your own Thousand Island dressing, it’s very easy and you likely already have the ingredients on hand. Here the recipe from A Food Lover’s Kitchen:
- 1/3 cup mayo
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1 tablespoon dill pickle relish
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Whisk all the ingredients together in a bowl.
Tips for making the Best Reuben Pizza
- Parbake the crust before topping: Because the dressing is pretty moist, parbaking your dough before topping will help give the crust some extra strength.
- Dry the Sauerkraut: Excess moisture from the sauerkraut can make your pizza soggy. Drain it well and pat it dry before adding it to the pizza.
- Customize the Dressing: Don’t have Russian dressing on hand? Mix mayo, ketchup, and a splash of vinegar for a quick alternative.
- Experiment with Cheeses: Swiss is classic, but I love Gruyère. Mozzarella is a go to because of how well it melts, but provolone is also a great substitute.
- Other Sandwiches: As mentioned, there are a lot of variations of the Reuben you can try. But you can also try to replicate entirely different sandwiches like a pastrami on rye!
Reuben Pizza Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Outdoor pizza oven Optional
- 1 Pizza stone/Pizza steel/Pizza Pan Also optional for cooking your pizza in your indoor oven
- 1 Cutting board
- 1 Pizza Cutter
Ingredients
Pizza Ingredients
- 1 pre-made pizza crust Either use a pre-made dough or refer to one of our dough recipes such as our Rye Pizza dough: https://satisfyingslice.com/rye-pizza-dough/
- ½ cup sauerkraut drained 71 g
- 1 cup Swiss cheese shredded 108 g
- ½ cup Mozzarella cheese shredded 56 g
- 1 cup diced corned beef 113 g
- ¼ cup chopped dill pickles 36 g
- 1 tablespoon caraway seeds 6 g
For homemade Thousand Island dressing:
- ⅓ cup mayonnaise 79 ml
- 1 tablespoon ketchup 15 ml
- 1 tablespoon dill pickle relish 15 g
- ½ teaspoon garlic salt 3 g
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper 1 g
Instructions
Preheat your oven to the temperature recommended for your dough.
Prepare Your Ingredients.
- Make sure all of your ingredients are ready before you stretch out your dough. Have the meat diced, the cheese grated, etc.
- The ingredient ratios in the recipe assume a pizza that’s 12 inches in diameter. So adjust either your dough weight OR your ingredients, if necessary.
- If you are using homemade dressing, prepare that first.Mix the mayonnaise, ketchup, dill pickle relish, garlic salt, and black pepper in a bowl and whisk together.
Prepare Your Dough
- Stretch or roll out your pizza dough on a floured surface.
- Place the dough on your peel or pizza pan.
Parbake the Pizza
- Because the dressing is pretty wet, this pizza benefits from parbaking it – which means partially cooking it.
- Depending on your pizza recipe and cooking temperature, the length of time for parbaking will vary.
- I recommend parbaking for 1/3 of the total cooking time. So if your dough recipe says 18 minutes, parbake for 6, then take it out to top it. If it’s a Neapolitan at 800+ degrees, you can parbake for about 30 seconds.
Top Your Pizza
- Remove the pizza from the oven and put on a heat-resistant surface.
- Spread a thin, even layer of Thousand Island or Russian dressing over the dough, leaving about 1 inch of crust uncovered.
- Sprinkle half the shredded Swiss cheese on top of the dressing.
- Distribute the corned beef and sauerkraut evenly across the pizza.
- For a bit of crunch and pop, add the optional dill pickles and a dash of caraway seeds.
- Top it off with the remaining cheese for that irresistible melty finish.
Finish the Bake
- Transfer the topped pizza back to the oven.
- Continue to bake for the remaining 2/3 of the time (per the dough recipe), and until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly on top, and the crust underneath is browned and firm.
- Allow the pizza to rest on a cutting board for 3 to 5 minutes.
- Slice and serve immediately!
Notes
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.