The easy homemade pizza made without a rolling pin. Sheet Pan Pizza is part Sicilian-style; part Detroit but all things good.

My grandma Josephine (Josie as I like to call her) was a phenomenal cook and a master at getting dinner on the table every night for 5 hungry kids (four boys!). And her sheet pan pizza recipe was a memory-maker. Josie spread scratch pizza dough in an enormous steel deep dish pan (that my grandpap handcrafted in the steel mill where he worked) and topped it with a savory sauce, layers of cheese and some of my papap's homemade Italian sausage.

Pizza doesn't get any better than that.

What is sheet pan pizza?

Some might call it Detroit-style pizza. In the case of my grandma’s sheet pan pizza, it is more likely that it was Sicilian-inspired because my family is from the “heel of the boot” region in Italy known as Reggio Calabria. That’s the region that is still mainland Italy before you cross to Sicily. 

Sheet pan pizza is made in well...a really large sheet pan. My grandpap made my grandma's pan to fit the exact dimensions of the inside of her oven. BIG. That pizza could feed about 25 of us with leftovers!

If you've been wanting to make a pan pizza at home and are looking for a classic recipe that works every time, my friend, you've come to the right place.

Best type of pizza dough

The best pizza dough for sheet pan pizza is a thick bread dough...almost like a bakery crust pizza dough. You can even butter the bottom of the pan like Chicago fav Lou Malanati’s butter crust. Dreamy.

Of course, you could use my homemade pizza dough recipe but the recipe here makes the perfect amount for a big sheet pan crust with just the right amount of thickness and cooks perfectly in the middle. 

Because no one likes a soggy, undercooked pizza crust.

The main ingredients

Let’s talk pizza crust and topping ingredients. Caveat: there are no hard and fast rules about what goes on this slab pizza recipe. Feel free to experiment. 

Unique pizza crust ingredients you’ll need

• Active dry yeast - Please don’t use quick rising or fast yeast. You’ll use one whole package of  yeast or 2 ¼ teaspoons. [add a tip for storing yeast down below]
• Olive oil - Josie’s recipe calls for at least ¼ cup of olive oil in the dough. This gives such good flavor. One of my favorites is Olio Santo but I also love the Tuscan olive oil from Costco. Make sure it’s the one that is 100% from Italy and isn’t a blend. It comes in a glass bottle and is harvested in October in Tuscany where, IMHO, all the best olive oils are born.
• All purpose flour - While you can use bread flour, it makes for a heavier crust. You still want some lightness in the crust. Also make sure that you measure the flour properly lightly aerating it, scooping and leveling it off gently with a clean butter knife. [create a post for measuring wet and dry ingredients].
• Kosher salt
• Sugar -because all yeast needs to be fed and don’t we all love a little sugar?

Best cheeses for thick pizza crust

• Fresh mozzarella - torn into pieces
• Sharp sliced provolone - my favorite is Boar’s Head Picante Provolone sliced fresh from the deli
• Grated whole milk mozzarella - buy a whole ball and choose one of your pizza party guests to help you grate it. And this box grater does a grate job. Pun intended.
• Pecorino romano or parmesan - use a high-powered blender like a Vitamix (this is the one I have but with the taller jar) or a food processor to finely grate any hard cheeses fresh. You don’t want any fillers—just please don't use the “green can”. My Mom’s Chicken Parmesan recipe is the only place to use the green can of parmesan 😉

How to make an easy pizza sauce

Believe it or not but we are going to use a pre-made pizza sauce. I know, right?

But of course I can't leave well enough alone. To the ready made pizza sauce, you'll add:

• a can of Roma tomatoes 
• crushed red pepper
• oregano
• salt/pepper
• sugar

Making pizza dough by hand

Mix your dough either by hand or in the food processor following the recipe directions carefully for proofing the yeast. For even more detailed information on how to proof yeast, head over to my easy Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe. It's another good recipe that is great for my Cast Iron Skillet Pizza.

Double proofing dough 

For this sheet pan pizza recipe, we are going to double proof the dough with a thin layer of the sauce on top. Adding some of the uncooked pizza sauce right on top of the dough marries the sauce and crust together in a most magical way.

1. After the dough has risen in the bowl, you’re going to spread it out into an oiled sheet pan, gently coercing the crust to pan’s edges (see the photo above).
2. Spread a thin layer of the sauce mixture on the uncooked pizza dough.
3. The pizza dough and sauce will hang out together for about 45 minutes or so. The dough will get nice and comfy and rise again in the pan.

YEAST PROOFING TIP

Place the tip of a thermometer under warm running water until the temp reaches 105˚.

-Josie + Nina

Step-by-step instructions

1. Roll out your favorite dough into a oiled sheet pan.
2. Top with about two-thirds of the sauce and cover lightly with some plastic wrap. Allow to rise for about 45 minutes.
3. Layer on your favorite toppings like cheese, meats followed by more sliced and shredded cheese.
4. Scatter over more sauce and bake until bubbly and golden.

Pizza topping suggestions

A classic sheet pan pizza recipe requires some meat, cheese and maybe a few veggies. This is not a delicate pizza. The sauce is lightly layered on the top over the meat. Many times Detroit-style pizzas call for the sauce to be layered on the top after baking and Sicilian pizzas sometimes mix all the ingredients together and place them on top of the crust.

We aren’t doing either here but don't let me stop you.

Some best pizza topping partners:

• Spicy soppressata, caramelized onions and the cheese trio blend described above
• Italian sausage and black olives
• Meat lover’s with sausage, pepperoni, pancetta, and Italian beef
• Frozen chopped spinach mixed with a little ricotta, garlic and parmesan by the tablespoonful (another Lou’s inspiration!)

Helpful tips

Weather - The weather does affect how pizza dough rises. I usually place my dough in an oiled bowl large enough for the dough to do it’s thing and then cover the bowl with a piece of plastic wrap that’s been sprayed with a little cooking spray. And then I cover that whole thing with a clean dishtowel and place it on the lowest rack of a cold oven. I do this in hot and cold weather to keep the humidity out and also create some warmth when it’s colder outside. If you live in a high altitude area, I suggest checking out King Arthur Baking's High Altitude Resource. It's a good one!

Size of sheet pan - While you won’t have a pan that is literally the size of your entire oven, a half sheet pan (approximately 12 ½”  x 17”) works beautifully for this recipe. You want it to be rectangular or it wouldn’t be sheet pan pizza now, would it? It would be deep dish pizza or if you use a cast iron skillet, you want my Cast Iron Skillet Pizza recipe instead (sooo good too!).

Pizza sauce recommendation - Not all jarred pizza sauces are the same. One of my favorites is from DeLallo. It’s not too sweet or loaded with unnecessary ingredients. 

FAQ's

Storing, freezing, reheating

Make ahead directions

1. Let the dough rise for the first time
2. Refrigerate the dough right in the bowl until about an hour and 15 minutes before you plan to bake it.
3. Remove the dough from bowl that was in the fridge and let it come to room temp for about 30 minutes.
4. Follow the directions for the second rise and on.

Storing + reheating

Store any leftovers for up to three days. Reheat on parchment lined baking sheet in a 350˚ preheated oven until bubbly.

To reheat from frozen, place in 425˚ oven and bake until bubbly about 15-20 minutes.

Freezing

Freeze the leftover pizza in individual layers wrapping first in parchment paper and then foil and placing the whole packet in a freezer safe bag.

📖 Recipe