If I had to choose a favorite pizza topping, it would have to be sausage and mushroom. Or Margherita pizza. They both rank equally high on my list but today, I'm going to shine the light on sausage and mushroom pizza. But of course, this is not your ordinary sausage and mushroom. I added a few more elements including balsamic roasted peppers, buffalo mozzarella, and lemony arugula to give you a classier version of the original. This sausage mushroom pepper pizza is, in my book, one super delicious pizza.
Sausage Mushroom Pepper Pizza
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper
- 2 spicy Italian sausage links casings removed
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms sliced
- 8 ounces buffalo mozzarella torn into pieces
- ½ cup marinara
- 12 inch pizza dough
- 1 cup arugula
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. If using a pizza stone preheat for 1 hour. Alternatively, preheat a baking sheet placed upside down on the top rack for 10 minutes.
- Prepare the toppings. Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Saute the sliced bell pepper until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Cook for another minute and remove from heat. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Wipe the same skillet clean and cook the sausage until browned, breaking up the meat into bite-size pieces. Remove from heat, drain the excess oil, and set aside.
- In the same skillet, saute the mushrooms until browned and caramelized, about 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Dust a clean work counter with flour and use your hands to roll out the dough into a 12-inch circle, pushing from the center out. Spread the marinara sauce on the dough and top with sausage, roasted red bell pepper, mushrooms, and torn mozzarella.
- Carefully transfer the pizza to the hot baking sheet. Turn off the oven and turn on the broiler to high. Broil the pizza for 2 minutes, then turn off the broiler and turn on the oven back to 500 degrees F. Continue to back for another 6-7 minutes or until the pizza is browned and the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven.
- Toss the arugula with lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Top the pizza with the arugula and serve immediately.
**Helpful tips and common mistakes
This sausage mushroom pepper pizza takes a little more work because of the extra toppings but it will all be worth it, trust me. They're all actually very easy to prepare and can even be made the day before, excluding the arugula.
You basically want to cook the sausage, mushrooms, and peppers before topping it on the pizza. I used spicy Italian sausage for a little extra kick but you do you. Just make sure to cook it all the way and drain excess oils to prevent the pizza from being soggy and oily.
Saute the mushrooms until browned and the peppers until charred. To give the peppers extra flavor, season them with balsamic vinegar. Let all of the ingredients cool before assembling the pizzas.
I used my standard pizza dough recipe which you can find here. A sourdough pizza crust also works wonders with this recipe. Shape the dough, pile on the toppings, and bake on the preheated pizza stone or baking sheet until the cheese is melty and the crust is browned.
Finish the sausage mushroom pepper pizza with arugula tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon for some brightness.
I absolutely loved this pizza. I loved it so much that I made it three times in three weeks and I'm still not tired of it. The salty spicy sausage with the tart peppers, savory mushrooms, and bright arugula all compliment each other so perfectly. Seriously, this might be my new favorite pizza.
For more pizza inspiration check out this yellow margherita pizza!
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