As I’ve made a few hundred pizzas, you can now make this best pepperoni pizza homemade recipe. It’s tried and true for several years and easy to follow. This is listed in our Homemade Pizzas in Oven Guide and is a part of our Pizzas, Italian Cuisine, Main Dishes, and Oven Dinners categories.
Best Homemade Pepperoni Pizza Recipe
Pepperoni Pizza Homemade Complete Recipe
Equipment
- 1 Pizza Baking Surface Pizza Pan, Baking Sheet, Pizza Stone, or Pizza Steel
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Ingredients
Pizza Dough (or use premade)
- 1 cup water warm from tap
- 2 Tbsp olive oil or other vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
- 2 Tbsp Vital Wheat Gluten optional for extra chewiness
- ½ tsp garlic powder optional
- ½ tsp active, dry yeast can be quick rising, instant, or bread maker yeast
Shaping Pizza Dough
- 2 Tbsp flour on work surface
- 1 Tbsp oil only for coating pan/sheet
- 2 Tbsp corn meal or semolina flour, for reducing dough sticking
Pizza Toppings
- ¾ cup Tomato-based Sauce Sauce Choices: tomato, spaghetti, pizza, Ragu, or marinara
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese can replace 2 ounces with fresh Parmesan and/or Asiago cheeses
- ½ medium bell pepper optional: seeds removed, diced
- ⅓ medium onion optional: purple or sweet; diced
- 1 medium tomato optional: seeds removed, diced
- 1 tsp Italian seasonings or oregano
- 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese grated (from shaker)
- 3 oz Pepperoni Slices ready-to-eat
Instructions
- PREPARE PIZZA DOUGHSet out dough from fridge or freezer or make pizza dough homemade or make pizza dough recipe using bread machine. Dough should be about room temp.
- Shape pizza dough, using flour as needed.2 Tbsp flour, 2 Tbsp corn meal
- Only If using skillet, pizza pan, or baking sheet: Spray or oil its baking surface and sprinkle corn meal on it; then, transfer dough to it.1 Tbsp oil, 2 Tbsp corn meal
- APPLY TOPPINGS IN ORDERAdd your toppings to the pizza dough using this order: sauce, fresh cheese(s), veggies, spices, parmesan cheese sprinkled, pepperoni slices to cover top completely.¾ cup Tomato-based Sauce, 8 oz mozzarella cheese, ½ medium bell pepper, ⅓ medium onion, 1 medium tomato, 1 tsp Italian seasonings, 2 Tbsp parmesan cheese, 3 oz Pepperoni Slices
- BAKINGTransfer topped pizza onto baking surface in preheated 500°F oven onto the 2nd from upper shelf.Baking TIME guidelines: cast iron skillet/pan (20-24 minutes or preheated iron 16-22 minutes), thin metal pizza pan or baking sheet (21-23 minutes), pizza stone (16-20 minutes), ¼" pizza steel (12-16 minutes).
- Let cooked pizza rest about 5 minutes before slicing.
Nutrition
How to Make Pepperoni Pizza Homemade Recipe Step by Step
Once you have all the homemade pepperoni pizza ingredients, you can proceed to follow this pepperoni pizza recipe pizza step by step.
How to make pepperoni pizza at home is very easy. The key is to have all of the right items ready and then get as much of the prep work done you can before you start building the pizza. Preheat the oven in advance. The next section covers the summarized steps, followed by the detailed steps.
What is Pepperoni Pizza Homemade Recipe made of?
The ingredients for making a pepperoni pizza homemade recipe consist of a few layers. It’s basically dough and pizza sauce, cheese, veggie toppings, seasonings, and finished with pepperoni slices.
- Pizza Dough: This is the base of all pizzas. It can be homemade or bought.
- Sauce: This is a tomato-based sauce spread across the surface of the raw pizza dough.
- Toppings: These additions consist of a variety of spices, vegetables, meats, and cheeses. In the case of a pepperoni pizza, the minimum topping would be mozzarella cheese, oregano, pepperoni, and no vegetables.
- Baking pizza from the oven
Spreading sauce to start a pepperoni pizza
Best Pepperoni Pizza Homemade Recipe Toppings and Ingredients
After the sauce has been applied, the toppings go on next. This is usually done in order with cheese next, followed by veggies, spices, and the very final is the pepperoni on top of the pizza. Here are a few examples of different kinds of toppings that can also be considered.
Adding toppings to a pepperoni pizza
- Onions
- Mushrooms (sliced or diced)
- Bell Peppers (Green, Red, or Yellow)
- Black or Green Olives (diced or sliced)
- Tomatoes (diced, thin sliced, or sun-dried)
- Spinach (fresh, chopped)
- Extra Cheese
- Red Pepper Flakes
- Fresh Basil
Adding final topping: Pepperoni !!!
Baking The Pepperoni Pizza Homemade Recipe in the Oven
You can use regular pizza pans, baking sheets, or cast iron skillets to bake this pizza in. You can also bake it directly onto a preheated pizza stone or pizza steel. Both methods are a little different on where you place the dough for receiving toppings. After all the toppings are completed, you can move it to the oven and bake it using the description in the recipe.
Pepperoni Pizza added to hot pizza stone in oven
Pepperoni for Pepperoni Pizza Homemade Recipe
We use Pepperoni for Homemade Pizza but it also continues to have cheese as well. Pepperoni is real meat but it’s been cured. Regarding pepperoni pizza, pepperoni actually didn’t get to be popular on pizza until after WWII.
Read our What is pepperoni? article that tells you more things about Pepperoni. Also, you’ll learn of its historical source, what pepperoni is made of, what goes with it on pizza, and other interesting info.
What Pepperoni Do You Use For Pizza?
I use a thinly sliced pepperoni as do others. Also, I often use the American Hormel Pepperoni slices. So, I usually get what they call the “Pillow Pack” as a 6 ounce package. And, I used about 1/2 the package for one pizza. I also have used their Turkey Pepperoni and the Less Sodium types at times but I prefer the standard original type. That’s what I use for this homemade pepperoni pizza recipe.
How Much Pepperoni Goes on a Pizza?
Hormel makes several kinds and I have also used the store brands of pepperoni with good success as well. They make large packages that restaurants buy in bulk also. Their food service package of sliced pepperoni for pizza has been know to state about 16 slices per ounce so that means you would use about 50 pepperoni slices for homemade pizza.
How To Make An Extra Pepperoni Pizza
There are 3 ways to add extra pepperoni to a pizza. Overall, you can add more pepperoni by a small amount, double it, or triple it. Here’s how to do add more properly.
Increase 25-50% of pepperoni. The first way is to overlap the pepperoni slices some. Pepperoni slices shrink while baking so they fall into place rather well.
2 layers of pepperoni: The second way is to have a double layer pepperoni pizza. However, the first layer goes right on the pizza sauce. The second layer goes on as the very last topping.
3 layers of pepperoni: The third final way is to have a triple layer pepperoni pizza. However, the order of adding these layers is very specific. So, the first layer goes on right after the pizza sauce. Then, the mozzarella cheese goes on. After that, the second layer of pepperoni goes on. Subsequently, continue with the regular toppings of veggies and any remaining cheeses and spices. Finally, you’ll finish with the 3rd layer of pepperoni on top.
Pepperoni Pizza Slice Nutrition
How Many Pepperoni Pizza Slice Calories?
The pepperoni pizza slice calories will vary based on your specific ingredients but it’s about 350 calories. So, this recipe for a 14-16 inch pizza has 8 slices. That’s about how many calories in homemade pepperoni pizza for 1 slice.
How To Reduce Calories in Pepperoni Pizza Homemade Recipe
Calories can be reduced by rolling out a thinner dough and discarding the excess. Also, using a pepperoni that uses turkey as part of the meat product reduces it further. Finally, using low fat cheeses also contribute to further reductions.
How Many Pepperoni Pizza Carbs?
So, there are about 32 grams of carbs in the regular pepperoni pizza homemade recipe.
How Much Protein in Pepperoni Pizza Homemade Recipe?
Overall, there are about 16 grams of protein in this pepperoni pizza homemade recipe for each slice.
How Much Pepperoni Pizza Sodium?
There are about 770 mg of sodium in this homemade pepperoni pizza recipe. Also, it can be reduced by using turkey pepperoni, low sodium pizza sauce, and low-fat cheese.
How Long Does Pepperoni Pizza Last In The Fridge?
This pepperoni pizza homemade recipe has lasted me 4-5 days in the fridge. However, you don’t want to let the pepperoni pizza sit out for very long after baking. I’ve let it sit out about 30 minutes after baking and then immediately put remaining slices in the fridge. Also, if I let it sit out about an hour, then I only keep it in the fridge for about 1-2 days max.
How To Make Pepperoni Pizza Pan Cast Iron
Also, you can make this recipe easily as a pepperoni pizza pan recipe in cast iron. So, just read over our articles below and use this recipe for the ingredients and toppings.
- Complete Guide: How To Make Cast Iron Pizzas in 5 Steps
What to Serve with Pepperoni Pizza
A simple green lettuce salad or spinach salad are super and healthy sides. Read more in our article “Sides With Pizza: The Best Pizza Sides To Serve“.
Or, even celery and carrot sticks are good crunchy things to munch on. Those sides, or something similar, can offer lower fat and calorie intake for the meal. They help give some fiber and other nutrients to go along with the meaty protein of the main course.
And, like the restaurants do, you could also have some cookies on hand for the after meal. I believe the popular kind is chocolate chip.
Conclusion of Pepperoni Pizza Homemade Recipe
In conclusion, this Pepperoni Pizza Homemade Recipe is incredibly easy to follow and the results are delicious for pizza night. Basically, you can choose to make your own dough, or use a pre-made option, which makes the process even simpler. So why not give it a try today?
If you want to learn more on how to make and shape pizza dough, transfer it to the oven, pizza recipes, pizza tools and techniques, read our “Homemade Pizzas in the Oven” Guide..
Also, try our Italian Calzone with pizza dough recipe using sausage and our pizza dough or our Italian Lasagna Meaty recipe! Here, you can make your own Italian Seasonings!
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