The Best Sausage Italian Pizza
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Pizza that delivers on flavor and texture is worth the extra tricks. This Sausage Italian Pizza is about combining a flavorful no-cook pizza sauce, plenty of mozzarella, cooked Italian sausage, and bright fresh basil, while making sure the crust doesn’t suffer. Whether you have a high-heat pizza oven or a regular home oven, the right method can give you cheese that’s perfectly melted, toppings that stay juicy without turning the base soggy.
I usually make this with my sourdough pizza crust for extra chew and flavor, but any good dough works. The sauce takes almost no time, and with a few tips borrowed from pizza experts and home cooks, you’ll avoid wet middles or floppy crusts. Two pizzas, about 4-6 servings, ready in ~30 minutes if your oven is hot and your prep is prepped.
Why You’ll Love Sausage Italian Pizza
- Quick and simple: From start to finish in about 30 minutes.
- No-cook pizza sauce: Just mix and spread. Full flavor without simmering!
- Flexible cooking methods: Works in a pizza oven or a standard home oven.
- Customizable toppings: Add veggies, swap cheeses, or spice it up to your taste.
- Restaurant quality at home: Golden crust, melted cheese, and fresh herbs elevate it.
Ingredients Needed To Make Sausage Italian Pizza
Make sure you scroll down to the recipe card to see the full list of ingredients needed for this recipe.
Pizza Sauce (for 2 pizzas):
- Tomato Sauce
- Tomato Paste
- Italian Seasoning
- Dried Oregano
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
Pizza Ingredients (for 2 pizzas):
- Pizza Dough Rounds (Homemade or Store-Bought)
- Mozzarella Cheese
- Cooked Italian Sausage
- Fresh Basil, Chopped
- Cornmeal (Optional, for pizza peel)
Tips and Tricks
- Use a pizza stone or steel pre-heated to its highest safe temp to help get heat from the bottom and avoid a soggy crust.
- Make sure dough is at room temperature before stretching so it stretches well and doesn’t tear or bake unevenly. Cold dough tends to resist stretching and bakes less evenly.
- Use low-moisture mozzarella (or at least let fresh mozzarella sit on paper towels to blot off juice) so it doesn’t release water during baking. Moist cheese is a big contributor to soggy centers.
- Don’t overload the toppings or sauce. A thin even layer of sauce, moderate cheese, and toppings gives the crust a chance to bake through.
- For sausage: if you buy links, cook them first, drain fat, slice or crumble so they don’t release more grease on the pizza. Sausage adds great flavor, but too much fat can make the pizza soggy.
- After baking, let the pizza rest on a cooling rack for a minute or two instead of placing on solid pans or plates. This allows steam to escape from the bottom so crust stays crisper.
Oven Temperatures
Oven temperatures can vary significantly from one oven to another. To achieve consistent results, it’s crucial to know the exact temperature inside your oven. The safest and most accurate way to determine this is by using an oven thermometer. This simple tool can help you avoid underbaking or overbaking your treats.
How To Make Sausage Italian Pizza
- Make the sauce. Combine Tomato Sauce, Tomato Paste, and all seasonings. Stir until smooth. Set aside.
- Preheat oven. For a pizza oven: 750°F. For home oven: place a pizza stone inside and heat to 500°F. Let stone heat for at least 30 minutes if doing home oven (this helps crisping).
- Prepare dough. Sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza peel or parchment. Stretch each dough round into a pizza shape; try not to over-handle.
- Assemble pizzas. Spread half the sauce on each dough round evenly (avoid piling sauce in center). Top with mozzarella, then add cooked sausage.
- Bake.
- Pizza oven: 5-8 minutes, until crust is golden and cheese melted.
- Home oven: 10-14 minutes, until edges golden brown and bottom looks cooked. Use the stone to help cook base.
- Finish & serve. Remove from oven, top with fresh basil, slice while hot.
Commonly Asked Questions
What kind of dough should I use?
Any good pizza dough will work. Store-bought, sourdough, or your own recipe. If using your sourdough pizza crust recipe, let it proof fully and be sure to stretch it well. For a chewier texture, higher hydration dough (more water), but this must be balanced with sufficient heat and a well-heated stone.
Get all the best baking tips!
Wondering how in the world to get the BEST bake every time? We’ve laid it all out for you.
How do I avoid a soggy crust?
- Use a preheated stone or steel in the home oven.
- Stretch dough thin and evenly.
- Use a moderate amount of sauce and low-moisture cheese.
- Drain cooked sausage well.
- Let pizza rest on a rack after baking so steam doesn’t get trapped underneath.
Can I use raw sausage instead of cooked?
You can, but you’ll need to fully cook it first or slice/par-cook sausage, then add it to pizza so it’s safe and won’t leak excess grease. Practicing this also helps ensure browning and flavor, rather than soggy patchy cooked meat. Par cooking sausage links and thinly slicing enhances browning and texture.
Do I need a pizza stone or special equipment?
No, but it helps. A hot pizza stone or steel gives better bottom heat and more even bake. If you don’t have one, use a heavy baking sheet, pre-heated, turned upside down is better. Also, baking from a lower rack helps bottom crust.
Home oven vs pizza oven. What’s different?
Pizza ovens are much hotter, so pizza cooks faster (5-8 mins). In a home oven, you’ll need more time (10-14 mins), and preheating the stone, using the top rack carefully, and controlling sweat from the toppings are more important.
What if my pizza burns on top but is undercooked underneath?
- Try moving pizza rack lower in the oven.
- Reduce heat or finish the top with broil only for a minute.
- Pre-cook or par-bake crust for a few minutes before adding toppings.
- Use fewer or lighter wet toppings.
How much sauce and cheese should I use?
Use enough sauce to cover the dough but avoid slathering it on thick. Too much sauce causes moisture issues. Probably about ¼ cup per 10–12″ pizza, scaled for size. Cheddar/low-moisture mozzarella blends work well to reduce water release.
Sausage Italian Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza Sauce (for 2 pizzas)
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- 3 oz tomato paste
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp dried oregano
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp onion powder
- ¼ tsp garlic powder
Pizza Ingredients
- 2 pizza dough rounds homemade or store-bought
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 8 oz cooked Italian sausage
- ¼ cup fresh basil chopped
- Cornmeal for pizza peel, optional
Instructions
Instructions for Sauce
- In a bowl, combine tomato sauce, tomato paste, and seasonings.
- Mix until smooth. Set aside until ready to use.
Preheat Oven:
- Pizza oven: 750°F
- Home oven: 500°F with a pizza stone inside
Prepare Dough:
- Sprinkle cornmeal on pizza peel or baking sheet.
- Stretch each dough round into a pizza shape.
Assemble Pizza (per pizza):
- Spread half the sauce evenly over dough.
- Sprinkle with 1 ½ cups mozzarella.
- Add half the cooked sausage.
Bake:
- Pizza oven: 5–8 minutes (until crust is golden and cheese melted).
- Home oven: 10–14 minutes (until edges are golden brown).
Finish & Serve:
- Remove from oven and top with fresh basil.
- Slice and enjoy hot.
This Sausage Italian Pizza balances flavor, texture, and relative simplicity. With a well-heated oven (or pizza oven), proper prep of ingredients, and attention to moisture, you’ll get golden crust, melting cheese, juicy sausage, and fresh basil without the soggy mess. Once you nail the bake and timing, this becomes a go-to pizza recipe.
So please, please, tell me what brand of Italian sausage you are using that is gluten and dairy free?! Also, what brand of cheese blend? The crust can easily be made gluten and dairy free, but finding any type of sausage that is gluten and dairy free is nearly impossible.
Hello,
For sausage, Danielle used Carando Mild Toscano Ground Sausage
For Cheese, Kite hill cream cheese