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    Home » Recipes » Pizza

    Pizza With Sausage And Red Pepper Sauce

    Published: Feb 20, 2018, Last updated: Feb 20, 2018 by Emily This post may contain affiliate links.

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    Pizza with sausage and roasted red pepper sauce, so easy and delicious! Swap your traditional tomato pizza sauce for roasted red bell peppers and you won't believe how easy, thick, creamy and packed with flavour it is (p.s there's no cream involved). Try something new on your next pizza night!

    Pizza with sausage is always going to be good!

    An overhead shot of pizza with sausage, roasted red pepper sauce, mozzarella and arugula sitting on a wooden surface

    I love topping my pizza with sausage and especially Italian ones because they have so much flavour. I've tried a lot of different combinations from sausage and rosemary, spicy sausage, red onion and broccoli to sausage, pear and gorgonzola (<<< so delicious).

    But one thing I haven't tried when making a sausage pizza is swapping the typical tomato pizza sauce for something else. For this recipe, I decided to blitz up some roasted red bell peppers, tomatoes and garlic into a thick, smooth and creamy pizza sauce and omg it's SO delicious!

    Other Ways To Use This Sauce

    This sauce is absolutely delicious spread on pizza but it could also be used for so many different meals such as;

    • Pasta (use as a pasta sauce and dilute with reserved pasta water)
    • Meatballs (toss meatballs in this sauce and have on a ciabatta)
    • Chicken (Pour the sauce over grilled or breaded chicken)
    • Calzone (Turn your pizza into a calzone for something different)

    What Type Of Sausage To Use?

    • Use good, high quality sausages (nothing under 70% pork)
    • Italian sausages work great (sausages with added herbs and garlic)
    • Spicy sausages would also be a great option

    Tip: I add the sausage to the pizza raw. Take it out of the skin and dot it over the pizza in small amounts before baking.

    How To Make Pizza With Sausage And Roasted Red Pepper Sauce - Step By Step

    First make the pizza dough, you can find an in-depth tutorial for making traditional pizza dough here. If you don't have time to make pizza dough from scratch then check out my instant pizza dough recipe (ready in 10 mins) for a great, quick thin pizza crust recipe.

    Cut the red bell peppers in half and remove the white pith. Use two small/average sized red bell peppers or one large (in Italy they are extra large so I only need one). Cut the tomatoes in half too.

    Place them in a large baking tray with 2 cloves of garlic, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until soft and slightly charred (photos 1 & 2).

    step by step photos for making pizza with sausage and roasted red pepper sauce

    Once roasted, remove the garlic from their skins and place all the veg in a food processor or use an immersion (hand-held) blender. Blitz the peppers, tomatoes and garlic until very smooth and thick. Taste and add season if needed (photo 3).

    Tip: The peppers should be slightly charred if there is a lot of black charred bits then remove some of them before blitzing.

    Tip: This pizza is topped with capers, they give a sharp, saltiness that goes very well with the sweet red pepper sauce. If you don't like capers or aren't using them then add a little squeeze of lemon juice to the blitzed peppers so it isn't overly sweet.

    Sprinkle semolina flour or polenta over your baking tray (the one you're going to bake the pizzas on). Roll out your pizza dough to fit your tray, either round or rectangle and place on the tray (photos 4-6).

    Top the pizza with roasted red pepper sauce then sausage, capers and mozzarella. Bake in a very hot oven for 7-10 minutes or until the crust is crispy and cheese is melted and bubbling. Finish the pizza with a sprinkling of rocket (arugula) (photos 7-9).

    A close up of pizza with sausage and roasted red pepper sauce, melted mozzarella and topped with arugula.

    If you've tried this pizza with sausage and roasted red pepper sauce or any other recipe on the blog then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you! You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM and PINTEREST to see more delicious food and what I'm getting up to.

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    5 from 7 votes

    Pizza with sausage and roasted red pepper sauce

    Pizza with sausage and roasted red pepper sauce, so easy and delicious! Swap your traditional tomato pizza sauce for roasted red bell peppers, you won't believe how easy, thick, creamy and packed with flavour it is!
    Course Main Course
    Cuisine Italian
    Prep Time 20 minutes
    Cook Time 40 minutes
    Total Time 1 hour
    Servings 4 people
    Calories 454kcal
    Author Emily Kemp

    Ingredients

    For The Dough

    • 1 batch of basic pizza dough OR
    • 1 batch or Instant pizza dough

    For The Topping

    • 2 sausages
    • 2 red bell peppers
    • 5-6 grape tomatoes
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 2 tablespoon capers
    • 8.8 oz (250g) mozzarella 2 balls
    • 1 tablespoon olive oil
    • 1 pinch salt and pepper
    • 1 small handful rocket/arugula
    • 1 tablespoon semolina flour or polenta , for dusting

    Instructions

    Pizza Dough

    • First, make the pizza dough by following one of the first two links. Basic Pizza dough (traditional dough) or Instant Pizza dough (no yeast, no rise, thin crust dough).

    Pizza Topping

    • Preheat the oven to 180°C/350F/gas mark 4. Cut the red bell peppers in half and remove the white pith. Use two small/average sized red bell peppers or one large (in Italy they are extra large so I only need one). Cut the tomatoes in half too.
    • Place them in a large baking tray with 2 cloves of garlic, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until soft and slightly charred.
    • Once roasted, remove the garlic from their skins and place all the veg in a food processor or use an immersion (hand-held) blender and blitz the peppers, tomatoes and garlic until very smooth and thick. Taste and add season if needed.
    • Increase the oven temperature to 225°C/425F/gas mark 7. Sprinkle semolina flour or polenta over your baking tray (the one you're going to bake the pizzas on). Roll out your pizza dough to fit your tray, either round or rectangle and place on the tray.
    • Top the pizza with roasted red pepper sauce then sausage, capers and mozzarella. Bake in a very hot oven for 7-10 minutes or until the crust is crispy and cheese is melted and bubbling. Finish the pizza with a sprinkling of rocket (arugula).

    Notes

    • Recipe makes 2 large pizzas
    • Overall time does not include rising time for traditional pizza dough.
    • Use my Instant Pizza Dough if you're short on time.

    Using semolina flour

    Semolina flour is commonly used in Italy to line trays or pizza stones before baking the pizzas. It stops the bases from sticking and gives a nice crispy crust. You can also use polenta for this or just a light dusting of regular flour.

    What Type Of Sausage To Use?

    Use good, high quality sausages (nothing under 70% pork)
    Italian sausages work great (sausages with added herbs and garlic)
    Spicy sausages would also be a great option
    Tip: I add the sausage to the pizza raw. Take it out of the skin and dot it over the pizza in small amounts before baking.

    Roasting the peppers

    The peppers should be slightly charred if there is a lot of black charred bits then remove some of them before blitzing.

    If not using capers

    This pizza is topped with capers, they give a sharp, saltiness that goes very well with the sweet red pepper sauce. If you don't like capers or aren't using them then add a little squeeze of lemon juice to the blitzed peppers so it isn't overly sweet.
     

    Nutrition

    Calories: 454kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 20g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 22mg | Sodium: 886mg | Potassium: 175mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 2040IU | Vitamin C: 79.4mg | Calcium: 230mg | Iron: 3mg
    Helpful Info for All Recipes
    • I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
    • When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
    • All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
    • All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
    • Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
    • Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
    • You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
    Did you try this recipe?Mention @insidetherustickitchen or tag #insidetherustickitchen! We'd love you see what you're getting up to in the kitchen!

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Angela

      February 23, 2018 at 7:49 pm

      OMG! Why have I never thought of this! A new pizza door just opened..and I'm in there! YUM!!5 stars

      Reply
      • Inside the rustic kitchen

        February 23, 2018 at 10:04 pm

        Hahaa, nothing better than pizza!

        Reply
    2. All That I'm Eating

      February 23, 2018 at 6:22 pm

      That red pepper sauce looks so good, I will need to try that next time! Would it be really bad to make one of these pizzas each?! Not sure I want to share.

      Reply
      • Inside the rustic kitchen

        February 23, 2018 at 7:35 pm

        Haha not at all!

        Reply
    3. Albert Bevia

      February 23, 2018 at 5:48 pm

      This pizza looks amazing, I have to try that roasted red pepper sauce, and oh yeah the capers must be amazing here, superb recipe

      Reply
      • Inside the rustic kitchen

        February 23, 2018 at 7:35 pm

        Thanks so much Albert!

        Reply
    4. Karly

      February 23, 2018 at 5:01 pm

      Gotta try this one! Look amazing!

      Reply
      • Inside the rustic kitchen

        February 23, 2018 at 7:36 pm

        Thanks Karly, hope you enjoy!

        Reply
    5. Jacque Hastert

      February 20, 2018 at 5:09 pm

      I want a slice right now. This pizza looks amazing!5 stars

      Reply
      • Inside the rustic kitchen

        February 20, 2018 at 7:13 pm

        Thanks so much Jacque!

        Reply
    6. Julia

      February 20, 2018 at 4:09 pm

      I had no idea semolina gives the pizza crispy crust so thanks for the info! BTW, love the red pepper sauce! 🙂5 stars

      Reply
      • Inside the rustic kitchen

        February 20, 2018 at 7:14 pm

        The red pepper sauce is so yummy, great for a change!

        Reply
    7. Liz @ I Heart Vegetables

      February 20, 2018 at 3:01 pm

      Homemade pizza is so perfect because you get to customize it exactly how you like it! That red pepper sauce sounds delicious!5 stars

      Reply
      • Inside the rustic kitchen

        February 20, 2018 at 7:15 pm

        Exactly, that's why I love it too! Thanks so much!

        Reply
    8. helen @ family-friends-food.com

      February 20, 2018 at 2:53 pm

      That red pepper sauce looks awesome - I'll have to try it. Love your suggestion of adding capers too. Delicious!5 stars

      Reply
      • Inside the rustic kitchen

        February 20, 2018 at 7:15 pm

        Thanks so much Helen!

        Reply
    9. Amanda

      February 20, 2018 at 1:45 pm

      This is such a great, hearty pizza! Love that sauce 😀5 stars

      Reply
      • Inside the rustic kitchen

        February 20, 2018 at 7:15 pm

        Thanks so much Amanda, it's great for something different!

        Reply
    10. Jessica Fasano Formicola

      February 20, 2018 at 1:17 pm

      This pizza looks incredible! I always crave pizza and this looks like a winner.5 stars

      Reply
      • Inside the rustic kitchen

        February 20, 2018 at 7:16 pm

        Thanks so much Jessica!

        Reply

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