Grandma-Style Sausage and Peppers Pizza
A sheet-pan pie for a crowd
The short version
Grandma-style sausage and peppers pizza: dough pressed into an oiled sheet pan, topped with mozzarella, browned Italian sausage, sautéed peppers and onions, then spoonfuls of garlicky tomato sauce. No special oven needed.
- Prep
- 30 min
- Cook
- 22 min
- Total
- 52 min
- Serves
- 8 squares
Ingredients
This recipe doesn’t list a serving count, so it scales by batch.
- 1 lb pizza dough, at room temperature
- 4 tbsp olive oil, divided
- ¾ lb sweet or hot Italian sausage, casings removed
- 1 red and 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 small onion, thinly sliced
- 10 oz low-moisture mozzarella, shredded
- 1 cup crushed tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove, grated
- ½ tsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano
- Salt and red pepper flakes
Instructions
- 01
Oil the pan. Pour 3 tbsp olive oil into a half-sheet pan. Stretch the dough toward the corners; if it springs back, rest 10 minutes and stretch again.
- 02
Brown the sausage. Crumble the sausage into a hot skillet and cook until browned and no longer pink, about 6 minutes. Lift it out and keep the fat.
- 03
Soften the peppers. Cook the peppers and onion in the sausage fat for 5 minutes until just tender. Season lightly with salt.
- 04
Make the sauce. Stir the crushed tomatoes with garlic, oregano, the remaining olive oil and a pinch of salt. It stays uncooked.
- 05
Top. Heat the oven to 475°F (245°C). Scatter mozzarella to the edges, then the sausage, peppers and onion. Spoon the sauce over in stripes or dollops.
- 06
Bake. Bake on the lowest rack 18–22 minutes until the bottom is crisp and the edges are browned. Finish with Pecorino and pepper flakes.
Larry’s rule: Cheese goes down before the sauce. That's the grandma trick — the sauce stays bright and the crust doesn't go soggy.
Quoting or citing this recipe? Credit “Uncle Larry Adventures” andlink to this page.