Homemade Pepperoni Pizza

Mouth-watering Homemade Pepperoni Pizza is wonderfully crispy every time. Achieve the perfect slice right at home!

Bring pizza night to the table in no time at all with this delicious Homemade Pepperoni Pizza. Use Homemade Dough, Sauce, and Pizza Seasoning for a more gourmet approach, or save some time with store-bought! Either way, you’ll be the dinnertime hero.

Everybody’s Favorite

Americans like to celebrate food, all types of food from all kinds of places. There is even a national Pepperoni Pizza day on September 20th.

Everyone loves a good slice of pizza, right?! Well, we are no different at our house.

My kids love pizza night and look forward to it with eager anticipation. We usually do pizza night accompanied by a movie, and it’s the kids’ favorite!

Some weeks I even let the kids make their own mini pizza and layer it with toppings (or lack of toppings) of their choice. Yes, the Homemade Dough and Pizza Sauce make it even better!

It might take a bit of extra work, but Homemade Pizza just tastes so much better, usually ends up costing less, and can be completely customizable! Our go-to, of course, is Pepperoni Pizza Recipe – a classic.

How to Make Pepperoni Pizza

PREP. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Place a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven to preheat as well.

DOUGH. If making homemade dough instead of using store-bought dough: In a large bowl, combine water, yeast, and sugar and let sit for 5 minutes, or until bubbly.

Add salt and oil, then mix in flour 1 cup at a time with a wooden spoon until combined and the dough is soft and slightly sticky. Knead for about 3 minutes (dough will be sticky and will stick to your hands).

Cover the dough with a tea towel and let rise at room temperature for 30–45 minutes.

This dough makes four 12-inch pizza crusts. Divide dough into four pieces and roll each out onto a floured surface to about ½ inch thick.

ROLL. Sprinkle cornmeal onto a pizza peel and, working with one crust at a time, transfer the rolled-out dough to the peel. Brush with olive oil and poke with a fork a few times to eliminate bubbling while baking.

Baking Options

BAKE WITH PIZZA STONE. At this point, there are a few different ways to cook the dough. The first is our favorite, if you have a pizza stone: Use the peel to transfer the crust to the preheated pizza stone and blind bake for 6–8 minutes.

Remove from the oven, add sauce, cheese, pizza seasoning, pepperoni, and any other desired toppings, and bake for 8–10 more minutes.

BAKE WITHOUT PIZZA STONE. If you don’t have a pizza stone, use a peel to transfer the crust to the preheated baking sheet and blind bake for 6–8 minutes. Remove from the oven, add toppings and bake for 8–10 more minutes.

To skip blind baking: While the dough is still on the peel, add sauce, cheese, pizza seasoning, and other toppings. Transfer the pizza to the preheated pizza stone or baking sheet and bake for 10–12 minutes

Repeat with the remaining crusts and toppings.

RECIPE TIPS

Dough. Stretch the dough with your hands instead of rolling it with a rolling pin. Using warm dough will help it stretch better.

Brush the exposed dough/crust with olive oil. For extra flavor, sprinkle on a little garlic or parmesan cheese.

Cheese. Shred your own cheese. The pre-shredded, packaged kind doesn’t melt as well.

Pepperoni. There are several types of pepperoni that can be used. Buy mini or large pepperoni. There’s also thinly sliced pepperoni, which gets a nice char, or thicker slices, which can be a bit chewier. Use pepperoni made from beef, pork, chicken, or a plant-based pepperoni.  

Stone. Use a hot oven and a pizza stone. Instead of a stone, place a pizza pan or baking sheet into the oven to preheat.

Additional Pepperoni Pizza ingredients. A great thing about Homemade Pizza is that it’s completely customizable! What one person thinks is delicious, another may not – like pineapple on pizza!

Pepperoni is a pretty basic topping that almost everyone likes. Some tasty additions may include:

• Meats: bacon bits, ham, or crumbled cooked sausage.
• Veggies: bell peppers, black olives, mushrooms, or onions.
• Cheese: Replace the mozzarella with another cheese or mix them together. Try cheddar cheese, parmesan cheese, gouda cheese, or goat cheese.
• Add extra spices to the sauce or right on top of the cheese such as garlic powder, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes.

Storing info

Freeze ahead of time. Blind baking is typically associated with pie making but is also used when assembling and freezing a pizza to be baked later.

• Blind bake the plain dough for about 6-8 minutes.
• Let the dough cool and place it on a piece of cardboard or a pizza pan.
• Wrap crust in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil and place in freezer. Freeze for up to 4 months.
• Thaw for 30 minutes before adding the toppings and baking.

STORE. Wrap leftover Pepperoni Pizza in foil or place it in an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for about 3 days.

FREEZE. Wrap and freeze it for 1-2 months. Reheat in the oven or microwave

If you love pepperoni pizza, you’ll enjoy:

• Pizza Dip
• Pepperoni Pizza Grilled Cheese
• Mini Deep Dish Pizzas
• Pizza Casserole
• Pizza Salad