Spicy Pizza With Hot Cherry Peppers
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Craving a spicy pizza? Try this fiery twist on a sausage and pepper pie, featuring hot cherry peppers, Fresno peppers, spicy sausage, and chili oil.
We’re turning up the heat for this month’s unique pizza recipe! Inspired by our love of hot chili peppers and savory, comforting flavors, this spicy pizza with hot cherry peppers is one of our favorite spicy recipes yet.
Topped with spicy pizza sauce, a three-cheese blend, hot Italian sausage, two kinds of hot peppers, plus hot chili oil, there’s no running away from the heat when it comes to this spicy pizza. But even though it’s knock-your-socks-off hot, it’s got a balanced flavor that tastes truly incredible. Depending on what bite you take, you’ll either get a punch of spice, a slow growing heat, or just a small kick. But no matter what, by the time you’re done eating your mouth – and your stomach – will be burning hot. It’s the kind of spicy that sits with you all night.
If you’re not a fan of spicy food, this pizza may not be for you. But if you love the burn of a hot chili pepper and the lingering glow in your mouth after eating fiery foods, you’ll fall in love with this spicy sausage and pepper pizza! Trust us, these hot summer days aren’t the only thing that’ll have you sweating once you taste a bite of this pizza 🙂
What This Recipe Entails
To make our hot cherry pepper pizza, you’ll need about 15 minutes to make a spicy pizza sauce. While that cooks, you can prep the toppings and stretch the dough. Then, simply assemble and bake!
If you want to make pizza dough from scratch, make sure to build in extra time for that. We like making a thin crust New York style dough for this recipe.
- Prep time: 15 minutes
- Cook time: 15 minutes
Spicy Pizza Ingredients
If you ask us, the best toppings for spicy pizza are hot Italian sausage, multiple varieties of hot peppers, and a drizzle of chili oil! Some may think that over-the-top heat in every bite is overkill, but that’s exactly the point of this pizza.
- Spicy pizza sauce – This spicy pizza starts off strong with a spicy sauce, made with crushed tomatoes and some of our favorite chili peppers, including chipotles in adobo for a hint of smoke that tells you this pizza is gonna be fire.
- Three cheese blend – A blend of mozzarella, Monterey jack, and sharp cheddar cheese gives this pizza a tasty depth of flavor and a fiery marbled look. The bright yellow cheddar really makes this pizza pop!
- Hot Italian ground sausage – You can typically find this at the grocery store. Look for a “hot” or “spicy” version of Italian sausage. If you use regular Italian sausage, you won’t get the same spicy flavor in this pizza – but if it’s all you have, experiment with spicing it up on your own! Crushed red pepper flakes and chili oil are great ingredients for getting a ton of kick.
- Hot peppers – We use both spicy Fresno peppers and jarred slices of hot cherry peppers for the perfect blend of fresh and pickled textures and flavors. If you can’t find Fresno peppers, look for any small, red chili peppers you feel courageous enough to gamble on.
- Chili oil – A light drizzle of chili oil after cooking turns the heat up a notch on this spicy pizza. It’s the secret ingredient that truly takes this pie to the next level!
How To Make Hot Cherry Pepper Pizza
- Make the spicy sauce. Combine the sauce ingredients in a saucepan and cook over medium heat until fragrant and warmed through, then transfer to a blender and blend until smooth.
- Prebake the dough. Stretch the dough onto a greased and floured pizza pan, then bake for a few minutes to stiffen the crust in preparation for all the toppings you’re going to load onto it.
- Assemble. Top the dough with sauce, then the cheese blend, then the peppers and sausage. Finish with a pinch of salt.
- Bake the pizza until the crust is golden-brown and the cheese is bubbly.
- Add the finishing touches. Drizzle the pizza with chili oil and top with chives before slicing and serving.
Serving Suggestions
Spicy pizza isn’t for everyone, so we don’t recommend making this for a pizza party unless all your friends love heat as much as you do…
Although, we think it could be fun to challenge your friends to a Hot Ones style spicy food challenge with this pie 🙂
Serve this spicy pizza with your favorite cocktail to wash it down – we suggest something acidic like a rum caipirinha – or maybe a glass of milk. Or if you’re really insane, pair it with our spicy mezcal margarita for even more heat.
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Leftover spicy pizza can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes, or until warm.
Our spicy sausage and hot cherry pepper pizza is salty, savory, spicy, and comforting – the kind of meal that warms your insides and makes you say mmm with every bite. It even smells incredible, from the moment it starts cooking until the very last slice is gone. Eating pizza is all about the experience, and this pizza surely packs a punch with all the flavors, textures, and aromas.
Try the recipe below and let us know if you can handle the heat! Don’t forget to rate, comment, and share if you like it. We’d love to know what you think 🙂
Expert Tips
- Pizza dough – If you’re making pizza dough from scratch, plan ahead. Depending on the recipe, you’ll need a day or two for it to rise before baking. Also note that you’ll want the dough to come to room temperature before stretching it so it’s easier to work with.
- Shred your own cheese – Freshly shredded cheese melts so much better, so grab a cheese grater and shred it yourself from the block. The pre-shredded cheese you buy in bags at the store typically has a powdery coating on it to keep the shreds from sticking together, which means it doesn’t melt quite as nicely.
- Don’t skimp on the heat – When slicing the hot peppers, leave the core and seeds intact for the most heat! This is where all the capsaicin (what makes it spicy) lives.
- Make ahead tips – You can make the spicy sauce and cook the Italian sausage ahead of time if you’d like, and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days before making this pizza. Note that you won’t use all of the sauce, so you’ll have some extra to store away anyways. We recommend freezing it in half-cup portions using a Souper Cubes tray so it’s ready for the next time you want a spicy pizza!
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Spicy Pizza With Hot Cherry Peppers
Equipment
Ingredients
- 425 grams pizza dough New York style thin crust
Spicy Pizza Sauce
- 28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo
- 2½ teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2½ teaspoons minced garlic
- 1½ teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
- 1½ teaspoons chili powder
- 1 teaspoon ground red cayenne pepper
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
Toppings
- 3 ounces mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1½ ounces Monterey jack cheese shredded
- 1½ ounces sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 small fresno peppers sliced into thin discs
- 12 slices jarred hot cherry peppers
- ⅓ pound hot Italian ground sausage cooked
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 teaspoon chili oil for drizzling
- Chives minced (optional garnish)
Instructions
- First, make the spicy pizza sauce. Add crushed tomatoes, chipotle in adobo, olive oil, garlic, red pepper flakes, chili powder, cayenne, paprika, oregano, and salt to a saucepan. Stir to combine and cook over medium heat for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until fragrant and warm.Carefully transfer the sauce to a blender. Blend on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F and and lightly grease a 14-inch pizza pan with cooking spray.
- Lightly dust your hands with flour and carefully stretch the pizza dough into a 14-inch circle. Pick up the dough and work around the edges, gently pulling and letting gravity help you, then lay the stretched dough flat onto the pan.
- Prebake the dough for 4 minutes. While it's in the oven, add shredded cheeses to a bowl and toss gently to combine.
- Remove pizza dough from the oven. Top with about ½ cup of the spicy pizza sauce, leaving a quarter-inch of space around the edges for the crust. Sprinkle the blended cheeses evenly over the pizza, then top with sliced Fresno peppers and hot cherry peppers. Finally, top with hot Italian ground sausage and a pinch of salt.
- Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, or until crust is crispy and cheese is bubbly and golden-brown.
- Let the pizza cool for about 1 to 2 minutes, then top with a drizzle of chili oil and a sprinkle of chives. Slice and serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.
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