If you’re a pizza lover, you MUST try this Pepperoni Pizza recipe. It’s melty, meaty, and downright delicious with a garlic herb crust to pump up the flavor. Once you get to the end of your slice, dip your bread stick-like stuffed crust in a sauce of your choosing.
Disclosure: I partnered with Fleischmann’s® Yeast for this recipe post, but all opinions expressed here are my own. I am grateful for authentic partnerships like this.
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Pizza is undeniably a universal love language. Almost everyone I’ve come across has a weakness for ooey-gooey cheese, flavorful toppings, and the perfect crust. When it comes to my husband and daughter, I can personally attest to them being a little pizza obsessed. Well, to say they love pizza is an understatement! Seriously my daughter Harmony could eat pizza every single day.
While ordering pizza may seem like an easy option, I assure you that homemade pizza is simpler than you think to prepare. Plus, it tastes even better knowing you took the time and effort to make it from scratch.
How To Make The Best Pizza Crust
I’ll say it right now, the key to making the perfect pizza is ALL in the crust. If you have little ones at home, definitely get them involved with this part. Teach them how to knead and shape the dough.
Not only is it a great skill to learn, but it’s also really enjoyable to do together. My daughter and I have so much fun doing this on pizza night. Just be prepared for your kitchen to get a little messy, but that’s all part of the fun!
If the words yeast or kneading make you breathe a little faster, let me put some myths to rest. No, it doesn’t take forever for your dough to rise. Using Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Instant Yeast helps cut down on the time it takes to make the perfect crust.
Every time I use it, the dough turns out consistently tender, soft, and pillowy. Trust me, when it comes to dough, you want to use yeast that’s reliable. If you’re still a bit scared of using yeast, learn all about the basics before you dive in!
Ingredients
- All-purpose flour: For the best bite of pizza, I recommend all-purpose flour. It results in a crust that is perfectly light and airy yet still structured and satisfying.
- Salt: To enhance the flavor of the crust, add a pinch of salt!
- Granulated sugar: To help activate the yeast. Regular granulated sugar works best, but you can also use unrefined cane sugar.
- Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Instant Yeast: My secret weapon to incredible pizza crusts every time! Seriously, I love how much time this yeast saves me, and it’s shelf-stable for much longer than other types of yeast.
- Lukewarm water: I cannot stress enough that the temperature should be lukewarm. If it’s too hot, it will inactivate the yeast. If it’s cold, the dough will take forever to rise!
- Olive oil: To add just the right amount of richness. Use high-quality extra-virgin olive oil both in the dough and to coat the bowl. If you don’t have olive oil, opt for avocado oil.
- Butter: Ensure the butter is unsalted to better control the salt levels in this recipe.
- Pizza sauce: Use Homemade Pizza Sauce for the most authentic taste. If you’re in a pinch, store-bought pizza sauce will also work.
- Mozzarella & parmesan: Mozzarella adds a mild, melty flavor while parmesan adds a pop of savoriness, creating the ultimate combination. Also, feel free to experiment with provolone, cheddar, or gruyere!
- Pepperoni slices: Salty, spicy, and tangy, pepperoni is a classic pizza topping! Test out other types of salami or Italian cold cuts.
- Seasonings: Boost the rustic flavor of this recipe by adding oregano, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and a pinch of salt.
How to Make Garlic Herb Crust Pizza
Prepare The Dough
Add a cup of all-purpose flour, salt, sugar, and yeast to a medium-sized bowl. Quickly combine the dry mixture with a whisk. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and lukewarm water, and mix until it’s well combined.
Knead The Dough
Go ahead and flour a surface and your hands. Add the dough to the surface and begin kneading the flour into a dough. Continue to knead and rotate the dough, adding small amounts of flour until you have a ball that’s soft and smooth.
Let The Dough Rise
Take a large bowl and coat it with olive oil. Add the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for at least 2 hours (longer is better).
Roll The Dough
Once the dough has risen, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. Make sure you stretch it to about 12 inches in diameter.
Prepare The Pepperoni Pizza
Top the pizza dough with sauce, leaving the cheese-stuffed edges bare. Sprinkle on both kinds of cheese, pepperoni slices, and oregano. Stir together the melted butter, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, and pinch of salt, then brush this mixture over the edges of the pizza crust.
Bake The Pizza
Place the pizza on a lower shelf and bake until the crust is lightly browned and the cheese is bubbling. Allow the pizza to rest for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Tips And Tricks
- Watch the crust: The end result should be golden brown. If it’s still white, it needs a bit more time. Just don’t let the bottom get too dark because no one likes a burnt crust!
- Use Fleischmann’s® Yeast: To guarantee a soft and chewy pizza crust every time, give Fleischmann’s® Yeast a try.
What To Do With Leftovers
Is there anything better than leftover pepperoni pizza? Seriously, I’m not sure if I prefer it fresh or the next day! Before you start packing it away, just make sure it’s fully cooled and the cheese is starting to harden a little.
- Fridge: Keep the pizza in the fridge for up to 5 days. Feel free to wrap the slices individually, or keep them together in an airtight container.
- Freezer: As long as it’s in an airtight freezer-safe container, cooked pizza can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Reheating
If frozen, thaw the pepperoni pizza in the fridge overnight. To reheat pizza, my food hack is to use the air fryer. It crisps the dough up and makes the cheese and toppings taste just like they did when you made it fresh!
If you don’t have an air fryer, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F, and add your slices to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Heat for about 15-20 minutes, or until the cheese is perfectly melted. I recommend loosely covering the pizza slices with foil so they steam a little.
More Pizza-Inspired Recipes
For more pizza flavors, you need to check out some of these GBC favorites:
- Homemade Pizza Rolls
- Pizza Grilled Cheese
- Meaty Pizza Rolls
- Meat Lovers Pizza
- Neapolitan Pizza
- Philly Cheese Steak Pizza
- Sicilian Pizza
- Mexican Pizza
- Prosciutto Pizza
Pepperoni Pizza with Garlic Herb Crust
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Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour separated
- 2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Instant Yeast
- 1 tbsp quality olive oil plus more to coat the bowl
- ⅔ cup lukewarm water between 120°—130°F
For the Pizza Toppings
- 3/4 cup pizza sauce
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese freshly shredded
- 3 tablespoons parmesan freshly shredded
- 8-12 pepperoni slices
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
For the Crust
- Add 1 cup all-purpose flour, salt, sugar and RapidRise yeast to a medium sized bowl. Quickly combine the dry mixture with a whisk.
- Then add the tablespoon of olive oil and water. Mix until well combined. It will be sticky.
- Flour a surface and your hands. Add the dough to the surface and begin kneading flour into the dough. Continue to knead and rotate the dough, adding small amounts of flour until everything is mixed together.
- Do a little kneading and form a ball. At this point, the dough should not be super sticky.
- Take a large bowl and coat with quality olive oil. Add the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at room temperature for at least 2 hours (3 hours is better).
- When ready, preheat the oven to 450 F.
- Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface. It should be pretty pliable and easy to work with. Make sure you stretch to about 12 inches in diameter.
- Transfer to a prepared round pizza pan or stone.
For the Pizza Toppings
- Top the pizza dough with sauce leaving a 1/2 inch of edges for the crust bare.
- Sprinkle on the cheeses then add the pepperoni slices.
- Stir together the melted butter, oregano, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and pinch of salt. Brush the butter over the edges of the crust. If using a pizza pan with holes, place a large baking sheet under it or on the bottom shelf to help catch oil drippings.
- Place on lower shelf and bake for 18 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling.
- Allow the pizza to rest for 5 minutes then slice and serve.
Notes
- Watch the crust: The end result should be golden brown. If it’s still white, it needs a bit more time. Just don’t let the bottom get too dark because no one likes a burnt crust!
- Use Fleischmann’s® Yeast: To guarantee a soft and chewy pizza crust every time, give Fleischmann’s® Yeast a try.
Nutrition
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How cute is your daughter helping you with this?? It makes me miss the days when mine were that young and helping me in the kitchen (they are 18 and almost 16 now)! Pizza from scratch just can’t be beat. And I love Fleischmann’s® Rapid Rise Yeast. I use it all the time!
This pepperoni pizza was absolutely delicious! Nothing beats homemade. The garlic herb crust took it to the next level!
The crust was delicious! The whole family loved it!
This is a great crust recipe. It gets perfectly crisp and I love the added garlic.
this pizza is DELICIOUS! great idea to add seasoning to the dough. PS this dough is so easy and delicious, with great yeast
Love the herb garlic crust idea. I love garlic bread, pizza, and pepperoni, so it’s like two for the price of one deal. The dough recipe is really easy, in case someone is intimidated to make one from scratch.