You can easily make restaurant-quality Pepperoni Pizza from home, and paired with our easy homemade pizza dough and pizza sauce recipe this is the absolute BEST!
Make your pizza night a true feast by pairing with breadsticks or Cheesy Breadsticks, and a green salad with ranch dressing.
Why I love this recipe:
- Inexpensive: Our Homemade Pizza Dough is the key and so EASY and cheap to make (I bet you already have the ingredients you need!). I like to take 10 minutes to make it in the morning so it’s ready to use for pizza night.
- Adaptable cooking methods: You can cook our homemade pepperoni pizza in the oven, pizza oven, air fryer or on the grill. Follow my tips for your preferred method.
- Party favorite: We love to involve our kids or friends and let everyone build their own pizza for pizza night.
How to make Pepperoni Pizza:
Make Pizza Dough (see notes for store-bought suggestions): Combine ½ cup of warm water with the sugar and yeast. Stir to dissolve the yeast and let rest for 5 minutes. It should foam on the top. Add the remaining 1 cup of warm water, olive oil, salt and vinegar. Begin mixing on medium-low speed, gradually adding the flour a cup at a time, and knead the dough for about 7 minutes, or until it’s smooth and elastic. Transfer dough to a greased bowl and cover with a dry towel or greased plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until it has about doubled in volume.
Roll Out:Gently punch the dough down and place on a lightly greased or floured counter top. Divide dough into 2 or 3 equal pieces (makes about two 14” or three 9” pizzas).Roll and stretch the dough to desired size and thickness.Brush dough with olive oil.
Assemble: Layer pizza sauce, cheese, and pepperoni on the pizza crust.
Cook Pepperoni Pizzas:
Oven Method:Preheat oven to 450°F (with a pizza stone inside, if you have one). If using a pizza stone, add cornmeal and flour to apizza peelor parchment paper and place pizza dough on top (otherwise press the dough into apizza pan). Prick the top of the dough a few times with a fork and pre-bake the dough in the pizza pan, or slide onto a hot pizza stone to pre-bake for 3-4 minutes.Remove from oven and addpizza sauceand toppings. Return to oven and bake for 5-12 more minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly.
Pizza Oven Method*:Add cornmeal and flour to apizza peeland place rolled out dough on top. Add toppings. Slide into preheated pizza oven and cook according to pizza oven instructions.
Grill Method: Preheat grill to medium-high. Roll out dough and place on a piece of parchment paper. Spread with oil, then gently flip the pizza onto the grill, oil side down, and peel the parchment paper off. Cover grill lid and cook for 2-3 or until grill marks form on bottom. Flip the pizzas onto a plate and add sauce and pepperoni pizza toppings to cooked side. Reduce heat and slide pizzas back on grill to cook another 3-5 minutes
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: To make the pizza dough ahead, make the dough up until the first rise, spray with oil, cover with a tight fitting lid and refrigerate overnight, or for several hours, until ready to assemble pizza. For take and bake pizza, roll out the dough and pre-bake it in the oven for 5 minutes. Top with desired pizza toppings, cover well with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours, until ready to finish cooking pizza in oven, pizza oven or on the grill.
To Freeze: To freeze pizza dough, form a ball with the dough, spray with oil and freeze in an air-tight freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.Thaw dough in the refrigerator before using. To freeze take-and-bake pizzas, pre-bake the pizza crust for 5 minutes, add toppings, cover pizza with plastic wrap and foil and store in freezer for up to 1 month. Thaw before baking, for best results.
Variations:
- Additional Pepperoni Pizza Topping Ideas:hot honey(highly recommend!), fresh basil, crushed red pepper flakes, jalapeño slices.
- Add Veggies: olives, bell peppers, yellow peppers, onion, arugula, fresh basil, jalapeño slices.
- Add Meat: Sausage, Chicken, Bacon.
- Wheat Pizza Dough
More Pizza Recipes:
Recipe
5 from 46 votes
Pepperoni Pizza
Easy homemade Pepperoni Pizza made with homemade or store-bought pizza dough is so EASY and delicious, and way cheaper than eating out!
Servings 16 slices
Calories 305
Cost 8
Prep 10 minutes mins
Cook 10 minutes mins
Total 20 minutes mins
Equipment
Ingredients
Pizza Dough*:
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 3 ¾ – 4 cups bread flour (all-purpose flour would also work)
Toppings*:
- 1 cup pizza sauce homemade or good quality store-bought
- 2 cups pepperoni
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
Make the Pizza Dough:
Combine:In a large bowl of a stand mixer combine ½ cup of the warm water with the sugar and yeast. Stir to dissolve the yeast and let rest for 5 minutes. It should foam on the top. Add the remaining 1 cup of warm water, olive oil, salt and vinegar.
Knead Dough:Begin mixing on medium-low speed, gradually adding the flour a cup at a time, and knead the dough for about 7 minutes, or until it's smooth and elastic. You may not need all of the flour. The dough should be slightly sticky, but not so sticky that it really sticks to your fingertip when touched.
Rise: Transfer dough to a greased bowl and cover with a dry towel or greased plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 1 to 1.5 hours, or until it has about doubled in volume.
Roll out:Gently punch the dough down and place on a lightly greased or floured counter top. Divide dough into 2 or 3 equal pieces (makes about two 14'' or three 9'' pizzas).Roll and stretch the dough to desired size and thickness.Brush dough with olive oil.
Cook Pepperoni Pizzas:
Oven Method: Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (with a pizza stone inside, if you have one). If using a pizza stone, add cornmeal and flour to apizza peelor parchment paper and place pizza dough on top (otherwise press the dough into a pizza pan). Prick the top of the dough a few times with a fork and pre-bake the dough in the pizza pan, or slide onto a hot pizza stone to pre-bake for 3-4 minutes.Remove from oven and addpizza sauceand toppings. Return to oven and bake for 5-12 more minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly.
Pizza Oven Method*: Add cornmeal and flour to apizza peeland place rolled out dough on top. Add toppings. Slide into preheated pizza oven and cook according to pizza oven instructions.
Grill Method: Preheat grill to medium-high. Roll out dough and place on a piece of parchment paper. Spread with oil, then gently flip the pizza onto the grill, oil side down, and peel the parchment paper off. Cover grill lid and cook for 2-3 or until grill marks form on bottom. Flip the pizzas onto a plate and add sauce and pepperoni pizza toppings to cooked side. Reduce heat and slide pizzas back on grill to cook another 3-5 minutes
Notes
Yield: Makes two large 14” pizzas, or three 8” pizzas.
Pizza Dough: If you’d like to skip our homemade dough and use store-bought, buy 2 lbs of dough for this recipe. I recommend Trader Joes, Sam’s Club or Winco’s bakery fresh pizza doughs.
Toppings: The topping amounts are to cover two large pizzas.
Optional additional toppings: hot honey (highly recommend!), fresh basil, crushed red pepper flakes, jalapeño slices.
Pizza Oven: We have this 16” Ooni Pizza oven and LOVE it. The 12” ooni oven is less expensive and would also work great, to make smaller pizzas.
Make Ahead Instructions: Make the dough up until the first rise. Place the dough in an airtight container in the fridge to rise overnight, or for several hours, before rolling it out and pre-baking it. Or you can completely make the pizza dough, including pre-baking it in the oven for 6 minutes. Top with desired pizza toppings, cover well with plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours, until ready to bake your pizza.
Freezing Instructions: Form a ball with the dough and lightly spray it on all sides. Wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in a freezer safe bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, place the pizza dough in the refrigerator overnight to thaw and rise, then roll it out when you are ready to pre-bake. You could also pre-bake the pizza crust and freeze the pre-baked crust before adding sauce and toppings.Just make sure the crust cools completely, then wrap it in plastic wrap and tinfoil and store it in your freezer.
Nutrition
Calories: 305kcalCarbohydrates: 24gProtein: 14gFat: 17gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0.2gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 746mgPotassium: 146mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 285IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 181mgIron: 1mg
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I originally shared this recipe March 2019. Updated July 2023.
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About The Author
Lauren Allen
Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.
