This Italian Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza is a Friday night favorite, and it’s a million times better than your standard boxed pizza! This post will show you exactly what to do and how to make it—It’s Easy!
Dustin and I have never agreed on what type of pizza we like best. I know. Crazy, huh? How can we still be together if we can’t agree on something as vital to marriage as pizza?
You know we both love our pizza. But without fail, Dustin will always be an Italian Sausage and Pepperoni Pizza kinda guy. Me? I like variety! I bounce from the Hawaiian to the Vegetarian to the Supreme to the…I imagine you get my point.
Dustin is the way he is because meat-only toppings are his jam. Add some breakfast bacon and maybe some salami and he’s in heaven.
Eventually, I decided to embrace Dustin’s beloved pizza. But…in my own way. I wasn’t going to use mediocre Italian sausage or cheap, thin pepperoni found in the majority of frozen pizzas. Nope. I bought freshly made sweet Italian sausage links from my butcher and some nitrate and nitrite free pepperoni. Yep, my way.
Ingredients
Contadina(R) Quick Pizza Sauce:
½ (12 ounce) can CONTADINA® Tomato Paste
1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
Fleischmann’s® Easy Pizza Crust:
3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, or more as needed
2 (.25 ounce) envelopes FLEISCHMANN’S® Pizza Crust Yeast or RapidRise® Yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
1 ⅓ cups very warm water (120 degrees F to 130 degrees F)
⅓ cup oil
Toppings:
1 (6 ounce) package HORMEL® Pepperoni
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese, or more to taste
Directions
Instructions Checklist
Step 1
For sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients with 1/2 cup water in a medium bowl; set aside for flavors to develop while making crust. Freeze remaining paste .
Step 2
For crusts: Combine 2 cups of flour with the dry yeast, sugar and salt. Add the water and oil and mix until well blended (about 1 minute). Gradually add enough remaining flour slowly, until a soft, sticky dough ball is formed.
Step 3
Knead for about 4 minutes, on a floured surface, until dough is smooth and elastic. Add more flour, if needed. (If using RapidRise® Yeast, let dough rest, covered, for 10 minutes.)
Step 4
Divide dough in half. Pat each half (with floured hands) into a 12-inch greased pizza pan OR roll dough to fit pans.
Step 5
For pizzas: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Top crusts with sauce, pepperoni and cheese.
Step 6
Bake for 18 to 20 minutes until crusts are browned and cheese is bubbly. For best results, rotate pizza pans between top and bottom oven racks halfway through baking.