What's the best way to cook this pizza?

We like using a baking steel or pizza stone! Preheat your oven and baking steel for 30-60 minutes before baking, then use a pizza peel (or a cutting board or flat baking sheet) to carefully transfer your prepared pizza to the hot stone (we like using a piece of parchment paper to make it easier to slide the pizza around). When pizza is ready, use tongs to carefully pull it out of the oven and onto a cooling rack or cutting board.

Can I make this without a pizza stone or baking steel?

Yes! If you want to mimic the crispy crust you get with a pizza stone, you can put a sturdy sheet pan - one that you know doesn't warp in high heat - into the oven (if it has edges, turn it upside-down so it's easier to slide the pizza on) to preheat for 30 minutes or so, then slide your pizza onto the hot baking sheet. You can also make this recipe into a pan pizza: just press the dough into shape right on a baking sheet or pizza pan, add toppings, and bake!

Which Italian Sausage is best for pizza?

We usually buy Hot Italian Sausage to use on pizza, but you can pick whatever spice level you want! It usually comes in mild and spicy/hot varieties, so you can use whichever version you prefer. Italian Sausage is sold as ground meat or in link form. If you get sausage links, you can cook the whole sausages and slice them into round sausage pieces, or you can remove the sausage from the casings and cook it on the stovetop. We always recommend cooking your sausage before using it as a pizza topping.

Spicy Sausage Arugula Pizza

Name: Spicy Sausage and Arugula Pizza
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 30 min
Cuisine: Italian-American
Ingredients: 1/2 pound hot Italian sausage; 1 batch of your favorite homemade pizza dough; 1/2 cup pizza sauce; 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese; salt and pepper to taste; 2 cups fresh arugula; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; 1 teaspoon olive oil; salt to taste

Description

This spicy sausage arugula pizza is ready in no time!

Ingredients

Scale

For the pizza:

1/2 pound hot Italian sausage
1 batch of your favorite homemade pizza dough
1/2 cup pizza sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
salt and pepper to taste

For the arugula topping:

2 cups fresh arugula
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt to taste

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Instructions

Prep

Cook the Italian sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat, stirring frequently to break it up into small chunks. Drain excess grease and set the cooked sausage aside.
If you're making your own pizza dough or pizza sauce, finish those up before continuing!

Make the pizza

Heat oven to 500° Fahrenheit with a baking steel or pizza stone inside. For best results, let the oven heat at least 30-60 minutes so the steel can get nice and hot.
Lay a piece of parchment paper over a large cutting board. Stretch out your pizza dough and lay it on the parchment (this will make it easier to slide the pizza in and out of the oven!)
Spread pizza sauce over the dough, leaving a thin border of crust along the edges. Top with mozzarella cheese, cooked Italian sausage, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Use your cutting board as a pizza peel to gently slide the pizza (still on the parchment paper!) onto the hot baking steel. Be careful not to let the cutting board touch the hot baking steel. Bake 10-15 minutes until the crust is browned and cheese is bubbling. Note: The exact bake time will vary based on your oven, equipment, and dough: check on the pizza every few minutes and pull it out of the oven as soon as it looks done!
Use a pair of tongs to gently pull the finished pizza out of the oven and back onto your cutting board. Transfer pizza to a wire cooling rack for 5-10 minutes (this helps the crust stay crispy!)

Top with arugula and serve

In a small mixing bowl, toss arugula together with lemon juice, olive oil, and a pinch of salt.
Move pizza to the cutting board, top with dressed arugula, then slice and serve immediately.

Notes

Additions and substitutions. Use store-bought shredded mozzarella or slice your own fresh mozzarella for this recipe. Swap some or all of the mozzarella cheese for white cheddar, gruyere, havarti, parmesan, or asiago cheese. Use spinach, spring mix, or kale instead of arugula. Swap the Italian sausage for cooked chorizo, bacon, chicken, or beef/meatballs. Add extra pizza toppings (onions, mushrooms, garlic) if you like.

Do I have to heat my oven to 500° F? Nope - you can absolutely use a lower oven temperature if you prefer! We find that the high temperature yields the best crust, but we've also baked this pizza at 450°F and 475°F with great results: just make sure you give your baking steel or pizza stone plenty of time to heat up (ideally 30 minutes to an hour) and extend the cooking time if you need to.

Can I bake this pizza without a baking stone or pizza steel? Yes! If you have a sturdy sheet pan - one that doesn't warp in high heat - you can use that in place of a pizza stone (if your sheet pan has edges, turn it upside down in the oven to make it easier to slide the pizza on and off). Pop the sheet pan in the oven while it heats, but it doesn't need to preheat as long as a baking steel does. You can also make this recipe as a pan pizza - just press the dough into a pan, top, and bake!