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The Best Sheet Pan Pizza Recipe with homemade Italian sausage, melted mozzarella, and a crispy-bottomed crust feeds the whole family for less than the cost of one delivery pizza. Pizza dough stretched onto a rimmed baking sheet, brushed with olive oil, and baked at 450°F for 15-18 minutes gives you Sicilian-style square slices with bubbly cheese and seasoned ground pork crumbles. If you love our homemade chain-restaurant copycats, this sheet pan pizza is your next pizza-night obsession.
One rimmed baking sheet, store-bought dough, homemade fennel-and-garlic sausage, and 35 minutes total is all that stands between you and 12 squares of cheesy crispy-edged pizza.
Sheet Pan Pizza Quick Look
- 🕐 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🍴 Cook Time: 20 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 35 minutes
- 🍽 Serving: 12 slices
- ⚡ Calories: 240kcal per slice
- 🌶 Flavor Profile: Crispy-edged Sicilian-style crust, tangy pizza sauce, bubbly mozzarella, and seasoned fennel-garlic pork sausage in every square (sheet pan family pizza, cookie sheet pizza, weeknight dinner).
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our other party-friendly recipes.
Quick Answer
Sheet pan pizza is a Sicilian-style rectangular pizza baked on a standard 9×13 rimmed baking sheet or half-sheet pan instead of a round pizza stone. The thicker dough stretched into the corners produces crispy-edged slices with a Detroit-pizza-like bottom crust, melted bubbly cheese on top, and easy square-cut portions perfect for family dinner or party platters. This version uses store-bought pizza dough, homemade fennel-garlic ground pork sausage, mozzarella, and pizza sauce baked at 450°F for 15-18 minutes.
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Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- 450°F is the sweet spot. Hot enough to crisp the bottom crust without burning the cheese on top. 425°F leaves a doughy center; 475°F scorches the cheese before the crust sets.
- Homemade sausage beats pre-seasoned. Pulverized fennel seeds + garlic + oregano + basil mixed into plain ground pork gives you fresh-tasting Italian sausage flavor that pre-seasoned packs can never match.
- Brush the pan with olive oil, not non-stick spray. Olive oil flavors the bottom crust into a crispy fried-edge texture and prevents sticking. Non-stick spray just keeps the pizza from sticking.
- Half cheese under sausage, half on top. The first layer locks the sauce to the dough; the second layer melts AROUND the sausage to anchor it. All-on-top loses sausage when you slice.
- Room temp dough stretches without springing back. Cold dough fights you – leave it on the counter 30 minutes before stretching for an even, full-pan layer.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Feeds the family for less than delivery. 12 slices from one pan, less than $10 in ingredients, hot and on the table in 35 minutes.
- Store-bought dough = pro-level shortcut. No yeast, no proofing, no kneading – just stretch and top.
- Fresh homemade sausage. One bowl, a few pantry spices, 30 seconds of crushing fennel – beats any pre-packaged Italian sausage tube.
- Crispy-edged squares. Sicilian-style sheet pan pizza means every slice has at least one crunchy edge – the most-fought-over slices on pizza night.
- Customizable. Swap sausage for pepperoni, add veggies, double the cheese, drizzle with hot honey – one base, endless toppings.
Key Ingredients
- Pizza dough: 1 pound, room temperature. Store-bought refrigerated dough (Trader Joe’s, deli pizza shop dough, or grocery brand) – leave on counter 30 minutes before stretching.
- Ground pork: 1/2 pound. Mixed with fennel + garlic + spices to make homemade Italian sausage. Use store-bought Italian sausage to shortcut.
- Fennel seeds: 1 1/2 teaspoons. The defining Italian sausage flavor – crushed with mortar/pestle or pulverized in a coffee grinder.
- Mozzarella cheese: 3 cups shredded. Low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella melts best. Pre-shredded works but block-and-shred-yourself melts smoother.
- Pizza sauce: 1/2 cup. Store-bought (Rao’s, Mutti, or grocery brand) – thinner than marinara, fits the dough better.
- Olive oil: 2 tablespoons. Brushed on the sheet pan for that crispy fried-edge bottom crust.
- Garlic + oregano: for the sausage AND a finishing sprinkle on top before baking. Doubles the herbal flavor through every bite.
See the recipe card below for exact quantities and the full ingredient list.
Variations and Substitutions
One base, infinite pizza nights. Pick the variation that matches the mood.
- Classic pepperoni: skip the sausage prep, top with 4 oz sliced pepperoni instead. Easiest kid-friendly version.
- Veggie supreme: add sliced bell peppers, red onion, sliced mushrooms, and black olives on top of the cheese before baking.
- Hawaiian: swap sausage for diced ham + canned pineapple chunks (drained). Controversial in the best way.
- BBQ chicken: swap sauce for our Easy Homemade BBQ Sauce, top with shredded rotisserie chicken + thin red onion.
- White pizza: skip pizza sauce, brush dough with garlic-infused olive oil + ricotta dollops + mozzarella + fresh basil after baking.
- Hot honey: drizzle warm finished pizza with hot honey (Mike’s Hot Honey or homemade) for sweet-spicy contrast against the sausage.
How to Make Sheet Pan Pizza
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Crush the fennel seeds, then mix them with the ground pork, garlic, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper in a bowl.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add the seasoned sausage. Break it up into crumbles, stirring occasionally, until cooked through.
- Transfer the cooked sausage to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain while you prep the pan.
- Brush a 9×13 rimmed baking sheet all over with the olive oil, including the corners.
- Add the room-temperature pizza dough and stretch it out to fill the entire pan in an even layer.
- Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the dough, leaving about a 1/2-inch border for the crust.
- Top with half of the shredded mozzarella cheese spread evenly across the sauce.
- Scatter the cooked sausage crumbles over the cheese, then top with the remaining mozzarella.
- Sprinkle with oregano and garlic powder. Bake 15-18 minutes until golden and bubbly. Cool 5 minutes, slice into 12 squares, and serve with Parmesan.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
Five small moves that separate The Best Sheet Pan Pizza from a soggy or scorched one.
- Room temp the dough first. Cold dough fights the stretch and snaps back. Counter-rest 30 minutes minimum before stretching – gluten relaxes and you get full pan coverage.
- Use a metal sheet pan, not glass. Metal transfers heat fast for the crispy bottom; glass insulates and gives you doughy underside.
- Drain the sausage thoroughly. Excess pork fat on top of the dough makes the cheese slide off and waterlogs the crust. A paper towel pat after draining is worth it.
- Sauce thin. Half a cup spreads thin and toasts into the dough. A full cup makes the middle soggy.
- 5-minute rest before slicing. Pizza right out of the oven shreds cheese off the dough when you cut. 5 minutes lets the cheese set into clean square portions.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Serve with grated Parmesan, red pepper flakes, and dried oregano on the side – the classic pizza topping trio.
- Pair with our Cream Cheese Pinwheels (Jalapeno Popper) as a make-ahead appetizer for pizza night.
- Round out the meal with a simple Caesar or our Creamy Garlic Salad Dressing over romaine for a classic pizzeria-style dinner.
- Serve game-day style on the same baking sheet you cooked it on – slice and call everyone to the kitchen.
- Leftover slices reheat best in a 400F oven on a wire rack for 6-8 minutes – microwave makes the crust chewy.
Make The Best Sheet Pan Pizza Recipe for your next pizza night – 35 minutes start to slice, 12 squares per pan, fresh-tasting Italian sausage you made yourself. Tag us on Instagram @ThisSillyGirlsKitchen when you do; we love seeing your homemade pizza nights.
Sheet Pan Pizza FAQs
Yes – 1/2 pound of store-bought Italian sausage (sweet or hot) saves the fennel-crushing step. Brown and drain the same way. Homemade has slightly fresher flavor but store-bought is a legitimate weeknight shortcut.
A standard half-sheet pan (about 13×18 inches) or a 9×13 rimmed baking sheet both work. The half-sheet gives you 16 slightly thinner squares; the 9×13 gives you 12 thicker squares. Same bake time either way.
Two ways: (1) Cook the sausage, prep the sauce, and shred the cheese up to 24 hours ahead – store separately and assemble right before baking. (2) Bake the full pizza, cool, slice, and refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat individual slices in a 400F oven for 6-8 minutes.
Yes – bake fully, cool completely, slice, wrap individual squares tightly in plastic wrap, then place in a freezer bag for up to 2 months. Reheat from frozen in a 400F oven for 12-15 minutes.
Look for refrigerated pizza dough in the deli or bakery section (not the canned crescent-roll style). Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, deli pizza shops, and most grocery store brands work. 1-pound balls are the right size for a half-sheet or 9×13 pan.
Two fixes: (1) Make sure the dough is fully room temperature – 30-60 minutes on the counter relaxes the gluten so it stretches without snapping back. (2) If it still fights you, let it rest in the pan 5-10 minutes after partial stretching, then come back and finish – the rest period lets the gluten relax further.
Other Recommended Copycat Recipes
If you made The Best Sheet Pan Pizza Recipe, leave a star rating and a comment below. We love hearing how your pizza night went. Tag us on Instagram @ThisSillyGirlsKitchen so we can see your homemade pies.
Pair pizza night with our Air Fryer Buffalo Chicken Tenders for a full game day spread.
For the after school freezer aisle move that beats the microwave every time, our hot pocket air fryer trick that beats the microwave hits the crispy golden crust the box always promised. 360 degrees, 13 to 15 minutes, no spray, no flip, freezer to plate in 16 minutes.
Building a pizza night spread? Add these copycat Pizza Hut cheese sticks next.
Building a pizza night spread? Add crispy cream cheese wontons next.
The Best Sheet Pan Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
For the sausage:
- 1 ½ teaspoons fennel seeds
- ½ pound ground pork
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
For pizza assembly:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pound room temperature pizza dough
- ½ cup pizza sauce or to taste
- 3 cups shredded mozzarella
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- grated parmesan cheese to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Crush the fennel seeds with a mortar and pestle, pulverize them in a coffee grinder, or place them into a plastic bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
- In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the ground pork, fennel, garlic, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. I like to do this by hand.
- Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add in the sausage. Break it up into crumbles, stirring occasionally and cook until there is no pink left and it is lightly seared, 8-10 minutes.
- Let the sausage drain on a paper-towel-lined plate until you are ready to assemble the pizza.
- Brush a 9×13 rimmed baking sheet with the olive oil all over.
- Add the pizza dough and stretch it out to fill the whole pan in an even layer. If you are having trouble stretching it, let it sit for 5 minutes, then come back and stretch again.
- Add pizza sauce and spread it out all over the dough leaving about ½ inch border.
- Top with half of the mozzarella cheese.
- Add the crumbled cooked sausage. Top with the remaining mozzarella.
- Sprinkle the oregano and garlic on top of everything. Bake for 15-18 minutes until the crust along the edge is golden brown and the cheese is melted and golden.
- Let cool for 5 minutes then slice and serve with grated parmesan for topping.
Notes
- You can make your own sausage or use store-bought.
- Use your favorite crust, see some suggestions above.
- You can dress this with other toppings, again see some suggestions above.
- If you want a hotter sausage add 1 teaspoon of red chili flakes.
- Sausage is even better if you prepare it the day before and let it sit in the fridge overnight until using it. The flavors bloom overnight.
- This can be frozen, see my tips above how to do that.
Nutrition
Love This Recipe?
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Super yummy! Made it with ground beef instead. Definitely gonna add veggies next time
Yes! So glad you liked it!
One of the best at home pizzas we’ve ever had!
Delish! A bit too much mozzarella I’ll keep it to two cups next time