You’ll love the combination of flavors on this Italian sausage pizza with roasted peppers, tomatoes and basil. It’s classic and delicious! Plus, I’m sharing all of my secrets for making really great pizza at home.

Sausage pepper tomato pizza with a hand going to grab a slice

Just call me the queen of homemade pizza! We recently moved to a house with a brick pizza oven and I feel like I just upped my game 100%. I’ve been making homemade pizza for years— almost every Friday night!— and now I’m really taking it to the next level.

My goal is to show you how easy it is the make really great homemade pizza at home, and also to share with you some of my favorite pizza recipes. Like this Italian sausage pizza with roasted peppers, fresh tomatoes and basil! It’s a classic combination of flavors that really shine when you use fresh quality ingredients and make it all yourself.

sliced italian sausage pizza with peppers and tomatoes

Table of Contents

Ingredients you’ll need

Here’s everything required to make this Italian sausage pizza (full recipe can be found in the recipe card):

sausage pizza ingredients with labels
  • Pizza dough— here’s my favorite homemade recipe, or you can use your favorite store-bought dough.
  • Fresh mozzarella— shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese will work too (whole milk, not part-skim). 
  • Italian sausage— either sweet or spicy Italian sausage will be great.
  • Roasted bell pepper— I like to make my my own for freshness, but you can use jarred roasted red peppers.
  • Fresh tomatoes— use cherry tomatoes or sliced heirloom tomatoes.
  • Olive oil
  • Salt and pepper
  • Fresh basil

How to make Italian sausage pizza

  1. Prepare pizza crust. Prepare your favorite pizza dough recipe as directed (here is mine, it’s so easy!). Or, if you’re using store-bought refrigerated pizza dough, let it come to room temperature at least 1 hour. On well-floured surface roll out the dough to about 15 inches, or make it a little bigger if you like a thin crispy crust. rolled out pizza dough on the counter
  2. Prepare toppings. Roast the bell peppers either on the open flame of a gas grill or stovetop, then slice. You’ll also need to pre-cook the sausage since the bake time is so short and raw sausage won’t have enough time to cook during the pizza bake time. 
  3. Add pizza toppings. Ensure the pizza crust is loose on your counter and add more flour if needed. Quickly brush the dough with olive oil and top with cheese, cooked sausage, bell peppers, tomatoes and salt and pepper.  adding toppings to pizza dough
  4. Bake. Use a pizza peel to quickly transfer your pizza to the oven. Bake until the edges are golden brown and the cheese is bubbly and just starting to brown. baked italian sausage pizza on pizza peel
  5. Add fresh basil. Top with fresh basil once the pizza comes out of the oven, and if you have any additional garnishes to add, now’s the time.
  6. Slice and serve. This pizza is best served immediately. Enjoy!baked Italian sausage pizza before slicing

Serving suggestions and variations

There’s pretty much no wrong way to make a pizza! Here are a few suggestions if you’d like to switch things up and make it your own:

  • Make it a grilled pizza. Did you know you can cook pizza on a grill? It’s a great option in the summertime, learn how here.
  • Change up the toppings. Use red pizza sauce, a sprinkle of parmesan or feta in addition to the mozzarella, or use other veggies like mushrooms, caramelized onions or olives. 
  • Add other garnishes like fresh thyme or rosemary, a drizzle of hot honey, or red pepper flakes.

Recipe tips

  • Don’t overload the pizza. Adding too many toppings will weigh down the dough and create excess moisture and sogginess.
  • The best way to reheat leftover pizza: My favorite way to reheat leftover pizza is in the air fryer! Warm at 350°F for 3-5 minutes.
  • Make pizza dough in advance. Want to make your morning pizza baking even easier? Prepare the dough the night before! Simply follow the instructions in the recipe below to mix the dough and let it rise in the fridge overnight. Let it come to room temperature for at least 30-60 minutes before dividing it and proceeding with the recipe instructions.

baking tip:Tips for making amazing pizza at home

  1. Bake at a high temperature. I bake my pizzas at 500°F. A high temperature causes the gas trapped inside the dough to expand very quickly, creating a light and fluffy crust.
  2. Preheat oven for longer. Preheating for at least 30 minutes ensures it’s super hot throughout.
  3. Use a pizza stone or pizza steel. (I prefer a pizza steel over a stone, it just does a better job.) When the pizza is baked on a hot stone or steel, the dough starts cooking immediately, similar to what happens in a traditional brick pizza oven. The pizza cooks faster, in about 8 minutes, and the light and fluffy crust is golden and crisp on the outside. Preheat your stone or steel in the oven for the entire preheat time so it’s very hot.
  4. Finish under the broiler if needed. If you’d like even more browning, turn on the broiler for the last minute of cooking. Watch that it doesn’t burn!

I share even more tips for homemade pizza here: How to Make Pizza at Home: Your Ultimate Guide
More Baking Tips »

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Get the recipe

a hand taking a piece of italian sausage pizza

Italian Sausage Pizza with Roasted Peppers, Tomatoes and Basil

Servings: 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
You'll love the combination of flavors on this Italian sausage pizza with roasted peppers, tomatoes and basil. It's classic and delicious! 
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Ingredients
 

  • 4 oz spicy or sweet Italian pork sausage
  • 1 small bell pepper
  • Pizza dough for 1 pizza
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
  • ½ cup cherry/grape tomatoes or 1 medium heirloom tomato , sliced
  • 4 oz fresh mozzarella , thinly sliced (225 grams)
  • Salt and pepper , to taste
  • A handful of fresh basil leaves

Equipment

pizza steel
Pizza steel
Pizza peel
Pizza Peel
pizza wheel cutter
Pizza wheel

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 500°F (or its highest setting if it doesn't go to 500°F) for 30 minutes. If baking on a pizza steel or stone, preheat it in the oven at the same time, see Notes.
  • Brown sausage in a skillet until cooked all the way through, then transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
  • Roast the whole bell pepper directly over the flame either on a gas stovetop or grill, using tongs to turn it every minute or so until bell pepper is charred all over. Let it cool enough to touch, then slice into strips, discarding the seeds and stem.
  • On a well-floured surface roll out pizza dough to a rough 15-inch circle. If you like thin crispy crust, roll it a little thinner.
  • Make sure the pizza dough is loose on the countertop, add more flour if needed. Then spread olive oil over the dough and top with cheese, cooked sausage, roasted peppers and tomatoes. Add a generous sprinkle of salt and pepper.
  • Use a pizza peel to transfer the pizza to the oven and bake until edges of the crust are browned and cheese is melted on top, bubbly and just starting to brown.
  • Immediately slice pizza, top with fresh basil, and and serve.

Notes

  • Feel free to use a homemade pizza dough recipe or store-bought. If using refrigerated pizza dough, allow it to come to room temperature at least 1 hour before rolling it out.
  • I recommend using a baking steel if you make a lot of homemade pizza. It makes a big difference in texture and appearance! However, you can bake this pizza recipe on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper (the parchment paper shouldn’t burn, but it will turn dark brown at the edges). Transfer dough to the sheet pan before adding toppings.
  • Notes on ingredients:
    • You can also use shredded low-moisture mozzarella (whole milk, not part-skim) in place of the fresh mozzarella.
    • Use sweet or spicy Italian sausage or bulk ground/breakfast sausage.
    • Feel free to use jarred roasted red peppers in place of bell pepper.
Calories: 225kcal, Carbohydrates: 3g, Protein: 11g, Fat: 19g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 8g, Cholesterol: 44mg, Sodium: 388mg, Potassium: 197mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 1214IU, Vitamin C: 43mg, Calcium: 152mg, Iron: 1mg
Cuisine: Italian
Course: Main Course
Author: Annalise Sandberg
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Have you tried this recipe?I’d love to hear about it! Leave a rating and review below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram @completelydelicious with #completelydelicious.

This recipe was originally published July 2014.