This Meat Lovers Pizza is amazing. Your family will love this simple from scratch pizza.
My family loves pizza night. They especially love pizza night in the summer because we make my mom’s famous pizza dough and then we make individual pizzas on the grill. It’s such a fun and easy dinner!
But when entertaining and making pizzas for guests, I like to get a little more fancy. This Meat Lover’s Pizza is a crowd pleaser and perfect for guests. Three different kinds of meat combine with cheese and my homemade pizza sauce on the perfect pizza crust. It is absolutely delicious!
How to Make Homemade Meat Lovers Pizza
Here is a brief overview of how this homemade meat lovers pizza comes together. For the full recipe including all measurements, see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Make the pizza dough. Roll out the pizza dough on a preheated pizza stone. See more on this below. Spread the sauce over the dough.
- Add the toppings. Top with one cup of mozzarella cheese. Add the cooked meat and pepperoni. Then top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake the pizza. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges of your pizza are golden and the cheese is well melted. Slice and enjoy while warm!
Making Pizza Dough From Scratch
Making homemade pizza dough is a game-changer for pizza night. Not only is it really simple, but the flavor and texture are so good for any homemade pizza! In the post linked below, I share step-by-step photos and give you all the tips you need to nail it. So even if you haven’t tried making pizza dough from scratch before, I highly recommend giving it a try. You can even prepare it the day before and have it ready to go when it’s time to make your pizza.
My homemade pizza dough is enough to make two 12-inch pizzas. For this recipe, you will need half that amount. See some of my other homemade pizza recipes below.
The Secret To The Perfect Pizza Dough Recipe
Making Pizza Sauce
My Pizza Sauce recipe comes together with just a few ingredients in the blender and adds the perfect flavor to your homemade pizza. This no cook sauce is easy to make, and you probably have most of the ingredients in your pantry already.
Pizza Sauce Recipe
Cooking Bacon For Meat Lovers Pizza
Even though the pizza will be baked in the oven, you will want to cook your bacon before making the pizza. If you are going to cook it in a skillet on the stovetop, I find it easiest to cut the bacon into small pieces using my kitchen sheers. Remove it from the pan with a slotted spoon just as it starts to crisp.
My favorite way to cook bacon is using the air fryer! Air fryer bacon is so easy and doesn’t have any grease splatter or bacon cooking in grease. You can also cook bacon in the oven.
Air Fryer Bacon
Shredding Your Own Cheese
For a recipe like homemade pizza where melty cheese is a key ingredient, I highly recommend buying a block of cheese and shredding it yourself. The reason this matters is because the preservatives on pre-shredded cheese that prevent it from clumping together in the bag also prevent it from melting well. While it may seem more convenient to just grab a bag of shredded mozzarella from the store, I promise it is worth buying a block of cheese and taking a few minutes to shred it yourself. You will see and taste a difference.
Using a Pizza Stone
I make all of my homemade pizzas on a pizza stone. It gives the crust the best crispy texture and cooks the pizza more evenly than an aluminum pizza pan. Because my pizza dough recipe makes enough for two pizzas, I keep two pizza stones on hand.
Please note that this pizza cooks best on a preheated pizza stone. If you don’t have one available, consider pre-cooking your rolled-out dough for five minutes before adding the sauce and toppings and continuing with baking. Another option is to completely make the pizza, bake it for 20 minutes, and then cover the pizza in foil and keep baking for another five to 10 minutes. This will crisp up the dough without burning the top.
Pizza Stone
Meat Lovers Pizza Toppings
The toppings for this meat lovers pizza include crispy bacon, Italian sausage, and spicy pepperoni. If your family doesn’t eat pork, you can use the turkey version of each of those ingredients. Make sure your bacon and sausage are fully cooked and the grease is drained before adding them to your pizza.
Other toppings ideas for meat lovers pizza include cooked ground beef, pancetta, sliced Canadian bacon, or ham.
Storing and Reheating Leftover Pizza
Keep any leftover homemade pizza in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat the portion you plan to eat in the air fryer or oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit until heated through. I like to reheat the pizza on the pizza stone as well.
Other Great Homemade Pizza Recipes
If you make this homemade pizza recipe of any of my other recipes, I would be so thankful if you came back and told me how you enjoyed it!
Meat Lovers Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough recipe (see note)
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce (120 grams)
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded (226 grams)
- 1/2 pound Italian sausage browned, cooked, with the grease drained (226.8 grams)
- 4 ounces bacon diced and cooked (113.4 grams)
- 1 ounce pepperoni (28.3 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Roll out the pizza dough to make a 12-inch crust. Spread the sauce over the dough.1 pizza dough recipe, 1/2 cup pizza sauce
- Top with 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese. Add the cooked meat and pepperoni. Then top with the remaining cheese.2 cups mozzarella cheese, 1/2 pound Italian sausage, 4 ounces bacon, 1 ounce pepperoni
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the edges of your pizza are golden and the cheese is well melted. (See note 2.)
Notes
- My homemade pizza dough is enough to make two 12 inch pizzas. For this recipe you will need half that amount.
- Please note that this pizza cooks best on a preheated pizza stone. If you don’t have one available, consider pre-cooking your rolled out dough for five minutes before adding the sauce and toppings and continuing with baking.
Susannah Stapp says
What Pizza Crust did you use, it looks really good.
There should be a clickable link in the recipe to take you to this my post about how to make the perfect pizza dough. It makes enough dough for two pizzas, and we LOVE this recipe: https://simplejoy.com/2014/02/secret-perfect-pizza-dough.html
Lori Hart says
I just love pizza. And mushrooms are one of my favorite toppings. I found your recipe over at the Two Cup Tuesday link party. I host Tickle My Tastebuds Tuesday and would love it if you would come over and share this recipe. I’m sure our party goers would love it!
Have a wonderful day!
Sandra says
I make your pizza dough and sauce for my pizzas. However, we only eat one pizza since it’s only my husband and I. How do you recommend keeping the second pizza- cooked completely and frozen or uncooked and frozen?
Hi Sandra! I’ve never tried freezing this dough, but I’ve had readers do it with great success. You could also just cut the original recipe in half for one pizza worth of dough.