Sheet Pan Pizza – a tender and crispy pizza crust loaded with homemade pizza sauce, parmesan cheese, bubbly mozzarella cheese, and crispy pepperoni.
Sheet Pan Pizza
An easy and forgiving method for a homemade pizza you make without any special pizza equipment. Start with a super-hydrated dough that bakes up tender and soft with crispy edges right on your everyday sheet pan. Instead of a bulky pizza stone that is rarely used, bake the pizza on a preheated cast-iron pan upside down in the oven to create a crispy crust on the bottom of the sheet pan. Top the pizza with a quick and flavor-packed pizza sauce that doesn’t require any cooking. Then finish it with freshly grated Parmesan cheese, classic mozzarella cheese, and pepperoni. This pizza is so good, I keep coming back to it. It’s great for serving a crowd on Friday nights, and the leftovers are delicious.
Ingredients for Sheet Pan Pizza Dough
- Flour – regular all-purpose flour
- Instant Yeast – also called Bread Machine Yeast
- Sugar
- Water
- Kosher Salt – wait 10 minutes to add the salt to the dough so the yeast can activate.
- Olive Oil – for the pan only. Do not add the olive oil to the dough.
- Non-Stick Cooking Spray
How to Make Homemade Pizza Dough for a Sheet Pan Pizza Recipe
Sheet Pan Pizza Crust recipe adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Pepperoni Sheet Pan Pizza. I prefer this recipe and method over their regular Sheet-Pan Pizza, which is thicker and denser. ATK describes this pizza crust as focaccia-like because of its super-hydrated dough, and I agree. It’s super tasty, easy to work with, and perfect for a sheet-pan pizza.
- Combine flour, yeast, sugar, and water, and let sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.
- Then add salt and knead pizza dough using dough hook on stand mixer.
- Use oiled hands to transfer pizza dough to olive oil-coated sheet pan.
- Stretch pizza dough, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 1 hour.
- After an hour, stretch pizza dough to edges of the pan. Recover and let rise again for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, uncover and pinch edges of pizza dough against sides of sheet pan to form a crust.
Ingredients for Pizza Sauce and Pizza
Pizza Sauce
- Crushed Canned Tomatoes – use a high-quality can of crushed tomatoes, like San Marzano tomatoes, for the best flavor
- Olive Oil
- Garlic Cloves- freshly minced
- Sugar
- Kosher Salt
- Seasonings – Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Dried Oregano
Pizza
- Parmesan Cheese – freshly grated for best flavor.
- Mozzarella Cheese – use freshly grated whole milk mozzarella for best melting.
- Pepperoni
- Fresh Basil
How to Make Pizza Sauce
Stir together crushed tomatoes, olive oil, fresh garlic, sugar, kosher salt, onion powder, garlic powder, and dried oregano. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. I love this easy pizza sauce. It tastes fresh and delicious with no cooking required. This recipe does make more sauce than needed for the pizza. Use the leftover sauce for dipping mozzarella sticks, or use the leftover sauce and pepperonis to make pepperoni grilled cheese sandwiches or quesadillas.
How to Assemble and Bake Sheet Pan Pizza
- While the pizza dough is rising, prepare the pizza sauce, and shred the parmesan and mozzarella cheese.
- Preheat the oven, and place a cast-iron pan upside down on the lower rack of the oven.
- When the pizza dough is ready, spread a thin layer of pizza sauce over the dough, leaving a 1-inch crust all around.
- Sprinkle Parmesan cheese all over pizza dough. Top with mozzarella cheese, then pepperoni.
- Place sheet pan on top of cast iron pan and bake for 18-20 minutes, or until cheese is melting and bubbling.
- When pizza is ready, slide onto a wire rack to cool and slice.
- Top with fresh basil if using.
- Store leftovers in the fridge and reheat using the skillet method below for best results.
Recipe Tips
- Dough will be very soft. – This isn’t a typical stretchy pizza dough recipe. It’s very hydrated and wet. Coating the sheet pan in oil and using oiled hands to handle the dough are essential to keep it from sticking. It’s very forgiving and perfect for a sheet pan pizza.
- Do not cook the pizza sauce. – The tomatoes taste fresh, and the sauce is packed with flavor.
- Skip Pre-shredded Cheese – Whole milk mozzarella and parmesan you shred yourself have the best melting and flavor for homemade pizza.
- Transfer to Wire Rack after Baking – the crust will get soggy if left in the sheet pan after baking, so transfer to a wire rack immediately. The pizza is easy to slide out thanks to the non-stick cooking spray and generous coating of oil.
Reheating Sheet Pan Pizza
The absolute best method for reheating this sheet pan pizza is to reheat the slices in a covered non-stick skillet on medium-low heat. The heat from the skillet will recrisp the bottom of the pizza while the indirect heat from the lid will melt the cheese and warm the toppings. It’s my favorite method for reheating any kind of pizza. You won’t believe how good the pizza turns out!
More Favorite Toppings Ideas
- Cheese Pizza – use a blend of cheeses
- Hawaiian Pizza – Canadian Bacon, Fresh Pineapple, and Jalapeño Slices
- Meat Lovers – Cooked Italian Sausage, Pepperoni, and Salami
- Classic Pizza Parlor – Pepperoni, Mushrooms, and Black Olive
More Sheet Pan Recipes to Try
Sheet Pan Pizza
Equipment
- Heavy Sheet Pan
- Cast Iron Skillet to use as a pizza stone
- Stand Mixer with Dough Hook
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons Instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 1/3 cups water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil reserved, do not add to dough
- Non stick cooking spray
Pizza Sauce
- 28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Pizza
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 1 pound whole milk mozzarella shredded
- 4 oz pepperoni about 45 slices
- Fresh Basil
Instructions
For the Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together flour, yeast, and sugar. Do not add the salt yet. Turn mixer on medium-low with dough hook attached and stream in water just until dough forms, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Once dough is formed, about 3-4 minutes, turn off mixer and cover dough with plastic wrap. Let dough sit for 10 minutes, giving yeast time to develop.
- Turn mixer to medium speed and add salt to dough, letting mixer knead dough for about 8 minutes, or until a soft ball of dough forms. Dough will be wet but should just clear sides of bowl.
- Spray sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray, then add olive oil to sheet pan. Use your hands to coat sheet pan with olive oil, then use oiled hands to transfer pizza dough to sheet pan. Use oiled hands to spread dough into large rectangle shape as shown in pictures. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for one hour, until doubled in size and soft and puffy. While the dough is rising, preheat oven and prepare pizza sauce.
To Preheat the Oven
- Place cast-iron pan upside down on lowest rack of oven and preheat oven to 450℉. Let cast iron pan and oven heat for an hour while the pizza dough is rising, so that the oven and pan are as hot as possible.
For the Pizza Sauce
- Combine all sauce ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. This makes about 3 cups of pizza sauce, enough for the pizza plus extra.
For the Dough
- After the pizza dough has risen for one hour, use slightly oiled hands to press and stretch dough all the way to edges of pan. Recover with plastic wrap and let rise again for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, use slightly oiled fingers to pinch a crust against the lip of the baking sheet.
Assemble the Pizza
- Spread an even thin layer of pizza sauce over pizza dough. Use 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups of sauce, depending on preference. Sprinkle Parmesan over sauce, followed by mozzarella cheese. Top with pepperoni. Pepperoni will shrink, so make sure to place them close together. I use about fifty-four pepperoni. Six across the short edge and nine down the long edge.
- Carefully place sheet pan onto preheated upside-down cast iron pan on oven rack. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until cheese is melted, spotted brown, and bubbly. Remove pizza from oven and slide onto wire rack to cool for about five minutes before slicing. Top with fresh basil.
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