Spicy Sausage and Pepper Pizza
This spicy sausage and pepper pizza is a fiery twist on a classic Italian pie, packed with umami flavors and tons of heat in every bite.
Equipment
- Stand mixer optional
Ingredients
New York Style Thin Crust Pizza Dough (adapted)
- ½ cup warm water
- 1¼ cups bread flour divided
- 0.125 oz active dry yeast
- ¾ tsp granulated sugar
- 1 tbsp olive oil plus 1/2 tsp for coating
- ¾ tsp salt
Spicy Pizza Sauce
- 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 chipotle pepper in adobo
- 2½ tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2½ tsp minced garlic
- 1½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1½ tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp ground red cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp oregano
- ¼ tsp sea salt
Spicy Pizza Toppings
- 3 oz mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1½ oz Monterey jack cheese shredded
- 1½ oz sharp cheddar cheese
- 2 small fresno peppers sliced into thin discs
- 12 slices jarred hot cherry peppers
- ⅓ lb hot Italian ground sausage cooked
- 1 pinch sea salt
- 1 tsp chili oil for drizzling
- Chives minced (optional garnish)
Instructions
New York Style Thin Crust Pizza Dough (adapted)
- Add water, ¼ cup bread flour, yeast, and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir well to combine and let sit until foamy and bubbling, about 20 minutes.
- Then add remaining 1 cup bread flour, 1 tbsp olive oil, and salt to the mixture. Stir to combine until a loose dough ball forms, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Using the dough hook attachment, knead the dough on low speed until soft and resilient, about 10 minutes.
- Lightly coat the dough ball in about 1/2 tsp olive oil and transfer to a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 24-48 hours.
- Remove the dough from the fridge and let rest at room temperature for about 1 hour before making the pizza.
Spicy Pizza Sauce
- Next, prepare 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.
- Carefully transfer the sauce to a blender. Cover and blend on medium speed until smooth, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.* Set aside.
Assembling The Pizza
- 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 with your hands to combine.
- Remove pizza dough from the oven. Top with a half cup of the Spicy Pizza Sauce, leaving about a quarter-inch of space around the edges for the crust. Evenly sprinkle with the blended cheeses, 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
New York Style Thin Crust Pizza Dough: We made this recipe by Amanda-Rae, with a few modifications based on the reviews (using some of Brian B’s tips) and learnings from our Mastering Pizza cookbook. If you want to try making this dough from scratch, make sure you prepare it 1 to 2 days ahead of time so it has time to rise. Alternatively, you can use store-bought dough for this pizza and it will still taste delicious!
Pizza sauce: We included a full recipe here for our spicy pizza sauce since it uses one 28-oz can of crushed tomatoes. It’s more than enough sauce for one pizza (it will make about 3-1/2 cups total), but you can easily freeze the rest for easy pizza nights. We love using our half-cup Souper Cubes tray for this!
Cheese: We recommend buying blocks of cheese and shredding it fresh for this recipe. Freshly shredded cheese melts the best and makes the best pizza!
Fresno peppers: Slice the fresno peppers into very thin discs, but leave all the seeds in. They'll be spicy but they give this pizza delicious flavor!
Blending the sauce: Blending the sauce gives it a nice smooth consistency for spreading on the pizza, plus it incorporates the chipotle pepper for delicious smoky flavor and spice. Be careful when blending a hot sauce - you might want to grab an old kitchen towel and hold it over the lid while you blend, since the heat can make the pressure build up inside the blender.
Baking pizza: Pizza can be finicky and cooks at different rates depending on the hydration level of your dough, your oven's actual temperature, and other factors. We recommend keeping an eye on your pizza as it cooks and using visual cues to tell when it's done - use our time estimates as a rough guide.
Nutrition
Calories: 274kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 12g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 732mg | Potassium: 410mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 801IU | Vitamin C: 15mg | Calcium: 178mg | Iron: 2mg