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Stromboli is what happens when a whole Italian deli counter gets rolled up inside golden pizza dough, layers of pepperoni, hard salami, smoked ham, provolone, and melty mozzarella brushed with seasoned garlic butter, and the first time I sliced into one on a football Sunday the girls hovered like seagulls until every pinwheel piece was gone. If your family loves our sheet pan pizza, this is its rolled up show off cousin.
Come October, the same roll dresses up as a mummy for Halloween, and I will show you both ways.
Stromboli Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 20 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 30 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 1 hour
- 🍽️ Serving: 4 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 1163kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Savory Italian deli meats and melty cheese in golden garlic butter dough
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, even simpler than our from scratch homemade Neapolitan pizza dough
Quick Answer
Roll refrigerated pizza dough into a 14 inch square, then layer on pepperoni, hard salami, and smoked ham, followed by provolone slices, sliced pepperoncini, shredded mozzarella, and grated parmesan. Roll it tightly into a log, crimp the seams, and set it seam side down on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush with melted butter mixed with garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and red pepper flakes, sprinkle with more parmesan, and bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes until deep golden brown. Rest 10 minutes, slice, and serve with warm marinara.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Refrigerated dough removes every barrier. Canned pizza dough rolls out to an even rectangle in seconds, so the whole roll comes together in 20 minutes of hands on time with zero kneading or rising.
- Layering order keeps the bottom crisp. Meats go down first and cheese stays up top, so the rendered fat bastes the fillings instead of soaking the dough underneath.
- A tight roll means clean pinwheels. Rolling snugly and crimping every seam traps the fillings so each slice holds that gorgeous spiral instead of unraveling on the board.
- Seam side down seals itself. The weight of the log presses the seam closed as it bakes, no fancy crimping skills required.
- Seasoned garlic butter does double duty. Brushing before baking flavors the crust and turns it deep golden, and the parmesan sprinkle bakes into a savory crackly top.
- A 10 minute rest saves the slices. Letting the log cool briefly lets the molten cheese set just enough to slice into neat pinwheels instead of oozing everywhere.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- One log slices into party pinwheels or a family dinner, it works as an appetizer and a main.
- It uses simple grocery store ingredients, no special equipment and no dough skills needed.
- It is two recipes in one, a classic Italian style roll most of the year and the mummy showstopper from our Halloween spread, right up there with our Margherita pizza for family pizza night.
Key Ingredients
A deli counter order and a couple of cans of dough, that is the whole list.
- Refrigerated pizza dough: Two 13.8 ounce cans, one for the roll and one for the mummy strips if you are going the Halloween route. It rolls out evenly and bakes up golden every time.
- Pepperoni, hard salami, and smoked ham: The classic Italian deli trio. Layer them in that order and fill in any gaps so every bite gets meat.
- Provolone and mozzarella: Provolone slices lay down a creamy base layer while shredded mozzarella melts into every crevice for the cheese pull.
- Sliced pepperoncini: Little rings of tangy heat that cut through the rich meat and cheese, do not skip them.
- Salted butter, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning: Melted together with a pinch of salt and red pepper flakes, this is the brush on flavor that makes the crust irresistible.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
One roll, endless directions to take it.
- Make the Halloween mummy: tint the garlic butter with a little black food coloring, lay thin strips of the second dough across the baked roll criss cross style, tuck the ends under, and add candy eyeballs after baking.
- Swap the meats, all pepperoni for pizza lovers, or turkey and roast beef for a deli style roll.
- Add vegetables, roasted red peppers, sauteed mushrooms, or a handful of fresh spinach layered with the cheese.
- Change the cheese, sharp white cheddar or pepper jack both melt beautifully in place of provolone.
- Make it saucier by spreading a thin layer of our homemade pizza sauce over the dough before layering the meats, just keep it light so the roll stays crisp.
How to Make Stromboli
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Roll one pizza dough out into a roughly 14 by 14 inch square, then layer on the pepperoni, hard salami, and smoked ham, filling in any holes. Top with the provolone slices, sliced pepperoncini, shredded mozzarella, and a sprinkle of parmesan, reserving about a tablespoon of parmesan for the top.
- Starting at the edge closest to you, roll everything up tightly into a log and crimp all the seams and edges closed. Transfer the log seam side down to the prepared baking sheet. Mix the melted butter with the garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, and red pepper flakes, brush it generously over the top and sides, and sprinkle on the reserved parmesan.
- Bake for 30 minutes until deep golden brown, tenting loosely with foil if the top browns too quickly. Let the log rest for 10 minutes so the cheese sets, then slice into pinwheels and serve warm with marinara or pizza sauce for dipping.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Roll on a lightly oiled surface. A quick spray keeps the dough from sticking and tearing while you build the layers.
- Leave a bare border of dough on all sides. An inch of naked dough at the edges gives the seams something to grip so nothing leaks out.
- Crimp like you mean it. Pinch every seam and both ends firmly closed, melted cheese will find any escape hatch you leave.
- Do not skip seam side down. The seam seals itself under the weight of the roll as it bakes.
- Tent with foil if it browns fast. Every oven runs different, a loose sheet of foil at the halfway mark keeps the crust golden instead of burnt.
- Rest before slicing. Ten minutes on the pan lets the molten cheese settle so you get clean spiral slices, use a serrated knife for the neatest cut.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Slice it into thick pinwheels and set out a bowl of warm homemade marinara sauce for dipping, that is the classic move and nobody has ever complained.
For a full pizza night spread, put it next to our sheet pan pizza and a Margherita pizza so everyone gets their favorite format of the same delicious idea.
It also plays the appetizer role beautifully before an Italian dinner, slice it thin and serve alongside our baked ziti or a big meatball pizza for a table that looks like a pizzeria.
Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days. Reheat slices in a 350 degree oven or air fryer for 5 to 8 minutes so the crust crisps back up, the microwave works in a pinch but softens the crust.
Stromboli FAQs
A Stromboli is rolled into a log like a jelly roll and sliced into pinwheel pieces, while a calzone is a half moon pocket folded over the fillings and sealed at the edge. Calzones also usually hold ricotta and get eaten as one serving, where a rolled log slices up to feed a crowd. Both start from the same pizza dough, the shape and the serving style are the real difference.
The classic build is pizza dough layered with Italian deli meats like pepperoni, hard salami, and ham, plus provolone and mozzarella cheese, all rolled into a log and baked until golden. Tangy touches like pepperoncini and a garlic butter brushed crust are common, and it is almost always served with marinara or pizza sauce on the side for dipping rather than sauced inside.
Keep the sauce on the side instead of inside, put the meats down first so the cheese does not touch the bottom dough, and bake it seam side down on parchment so steam can escape from the vents. If you want sauce inside, spread only a very thin layer and leave a wide bare border. Resting the baked log 10 minutes also lets steam escape before you slice.
Yes. You can assemble the roll, wrap it tightly in plastic, and refrigerate it up to a day before brushing and baking, add a few extra minutes to the bake time straight from the fridge. You can also bake it fully, cool it, and reheat slices at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. For longer storage, wrap the baked and cooled log well and freeze it up to 2 months.
Store cooled slices in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat them in a 350 degree oven or an air fryer for 5 to 8 minutes until the crust re crisps and the cheese melts again. The microwave heats them faster but leaves the crust soft, so give microwaved slices a minute in a hot skillet if you want the crunch back.
Mix a little black food coloring into the garlic butter before brushing so the roll bakes up shadowy, then cut the second can of pizza dough into 1 inch strips and lay them across the log criss cross style like bandages, tucking the ends underneath and leaving a gap near the top. Bake as directed, cool 10 minutes, then press two candy eyeballs into the gap. It is the easiest showstopper on the Halloween table.
Made this Stromboli? Leave a comment and a star rating below, and tell me if yours was classic or wearing bandages!
Stromboli
Ingredients
- 27.6 ounces 2 13.8 ounce cans refrigerated pizza dough
- ¼ pound pepperoni
- ¼ pound hard salami
- ½ pound deli smoked ham
- 9 provolone cheese slices
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup sliced pepperoncini peppers
- ⅓ cup grated parmesan
- 2 tablespoons salted butter melted
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Black food coloring
- 2 eyeballs candy, googly, or toy
- Marinara or pizza sauce for dipping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and set aside.
- On a clean work surface, lay out one of the pizza doughs and roll it out into a square that is approximately 14”x14”. Depending on your work surface, it may help to lightly spray with oil before laying the dough out.
- Layer the slices of meat onto the dough by starting with a layer of pepperoni, then a layer of hard salami – making sure to fill in any holes, and last, a layer of the ham.
- On top of the meat, add a layer of provolone, then sprinkle the sliced pepperoncini, and top with the mozzarella. Finish the layers off with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, reserving about a tablespoon of the parmesan cheese to use later.
- Starting on the end closest to you, roll the stromboli tightly into a log. Crimp all the seams and edges together. Transfer the stromboli to the prepared baking sheet and lay the stromboli seam side down.
- In a small bowl, mix the remaining melted butter, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, salt, red pepper flakes, and black food coloring.
- Brush the black butter mixture all over the top and sides of the stromboli.
- Sprinkle the top with the remaining parmesan cheese.
- Open the second roll of pizza dough and cut 1” thick slices using a knife or a pair of scissors. The strips should be long enough to lay across the stromboli.
- Lay the strips of dough across the stromboli, crisscrossing as you go to make the appearance of a mummy. Leave a little space between the strips towards the top of the stromboli to place the eyes later.
- Carefully tuck the ends of the strips under the stromboli using your finger or a butter knife.
- Bake the stromboli in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. If the top begins to brown too fast, tent the top of the stromboli with a sheet of aluminum foil.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes, then place the eyeballs onto the stromboli before serving. Serve with marinara or pizza sauce for dipping.
Notes
- The black food coloring is optional, see above on options.
- You can use any of your favorite pizza fillings for this.
- If you want to make your own homemade pizza dough you can.
- Easily double this recipe to make more.
- If you are serving this as a meal it will serve 3-4, if you are serving as an appetizer it will serve 8.
- This can be frozen, see above on how to do that.
Nutrition
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