Spicy Sausage Pizza with Jalapeno Ranch Sauce
by This post may contain affiliate links.
This easy recipe for Spicy Sausage Pizza is topped with a scrumptious homemade three cheese jalapeno ranch sauce, crumbled Italian sausage, and fresh sliced jalapenos for one seriously delicious pizza!
Table of contents
For years, one of my best friends and her Dad owned a pizza place in Arizona. Every time I would go to visit, we would eat a lot of pizza, and my order was always the same. I called it โThe Whitneyโ. It was a combination of Italian sausage, jalapenos, and three cheeses, and it was so delicious!
They sold the pizzeria a few years back, so I decided to make my own version of โThe Whitneyโ at home. I started with the base of the pizza and made my own white sauce. Since I know that everyone loves to dip their pizza in ranch dressing, I decided to incorporate a jalapeno ranch dressing into the white pizza sauce.
I combined three cheeses with the spicy, flavorful ranch dressing, creating a sauce that I could pretty much eat with a spoon! Whatโs even better is when you put the sauce on top of a crispy pizza crust, topped with Italian sausage and fresh jalapeรฑos.
This pizza recipe has everything I want in a pizza. Itโs crispy, cheesy, spicy, flavorful, and oh-so-delicious!
Ingredients
- Italian sausage โ youโll want loose sausage for this recipe. If you canโt find Italian sausage, not in the casing, you can always use Italian link sausage, and simply remove the sausage from the casing. If you want to spice up this recipe even more, use hot Italian sausage.
- Cream cheese โ this will be melted into the base of the white sauce.
- Chicken broth โ feel free to make your own broth at home using bouillon, or purchase a can of chicken broth at the grocery store.
- Parmesan cheese โ I recommend freshly grating the cheese for the best flavor and texture.
- Mozzarella cheese โ some of the cheese will be used to make the white sauce, and the rest will be used to top the pizza. I always recommend grating fresh mozzarella cheese at home yourself. The bags of pre-shredded cheese at the grocery store contain anti-caking additives that prevent them from melting as well.
- Jalapeno ranch dressing โ I used Litehouse Jalapeno Ranch for this recipe, but feel free to use your favorite brand.
- Pizza dough โ feel free to use a can of Pillsbury pizza crust, like I used in this recipe, or your favorite store-bought pizza dough. If you want to make pizza dough from scratch, you can get my recipe in this post for pan pizza.
- Jalapenos โ youโll want two fresh sliced jalapenos to top the pizza. This is what makes it a spicy sausage pizza! If you want to limit the spice, only add one jalapeno on top of the pizza, or leave them off altogether.
Instructions
Iโve included step by step photos below to make this recipe super easy to follow at home. For the full detailed recipe instructions and ingredient quantities, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Cook the sausage. Add the loose Italian sausage to a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Crumble and cook the sausage until itโs no longer pink. Drain any grease from the skillet, then set the sausage aside.
- Prepare the white sauce. Heat a large saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Add the cream cheese and chicken broth, whisk together as the cream cheese melts. Once smooth, add shredded parmesan and mozzarella cheese, continue whisking while the cheese melts into the sauce. Pour jalapeno ranch dressing into the pan and whisk all of the ingredients together. Reduce the heat on the stove to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Assemble the pizza. Roll the pizza dough out on a baking sheet. Spread the three cheese jalapeno ranch sauce evenly across the pizza dough. Top with the cooked sausage and sliced jalapenos. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top and place it in the oven to bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown. Remove it from the oven and cut the pizza into slices.
Time saving tip
Use store-bought pizza dough to make this entire recipe come together in just 30 minutes! This is perfect for an easy weeknight meal or game day snack.
What to serve with it
Homemade pizza night wonโt be complete without a few tasty sides! Serve this Italian sausage pizza with any of the following recipes.
- Cheesy Garlic Bread Nachos
- Garlic Knots
- Pull Apart Pizza Rolls
- Garlic Bread
- Italian Salad
- Grilled Caesar Salad
And be sure to finish the meal with a delicious Apple Dessert Pizza!
Storage and reheating
Leftover pizza will stay good, stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, for up to 5 days.
Reheat the pizza on a sheet pan under the broiler in the oven on high for 2-3 minutes. Or preheat the oven to 350ยฐF, wrap the pizza in foil and place it in the oven for 15 minutes. You can also reheat the pizza in the microwave for 1-2 minutes.
Optional toppings
In addition to the Italian sausage and jalapenos, feel free to add any of these other tasty pizza toppings.
- Diced red bell peppers โ add ยผ cup of diced peppers with the jalapeno peppers.
- Diced red onion โ add ยผ cup of diced onions with the jalapenos.
- Fresh basil โ add on top after the pizza has cooked for a fresh finish.
- Red pepper flakes โ sprinkle on top after the pizza has cooked for even more spice.
- Ricotta cheese โ mix ยฝ cup ricotta cheese with ยฝ teaspoon Italian seasoning, then dollop it on the pizza when it comes out of the oven.
More Italian recipes
Try all of the other popular Italian recipes on the blog!
Spicy Sausage Pizza with Jalapeno Ranch Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pound loose Italian Sausage
- 8 ounces cream cheese, cubed
- ยพ cup chicken broth
- ยฝ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- ยพ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded (divided)
- ยพ cup jalapeno ranch dressing
- 14 ounces pizza dough
- 2 fresh jalapenos, sliced
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ยฐF.
- Add the loose Italian sausage to a large skillet on the stove over medium-high heat. Crumble and cook the sausage until itโs no longer pink. Drain any grease from the skillet, then set the sausage aside.
- Heat a large saucepan on the stove over medium heat. Add the cream cheese and chicken broth, whisk together as the cream cheese melts.
- Once smooth, add the parmesan cheese and ยฝ cup mozzarella cheese, continue whisking while the cheese melts into the sauce.
- Add the jalapeno ranch dressing and whisk all of the ingredients together. Reduce heat on the stove to low and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Roll the pizza dough out on a baking sheet.
- Spread the three cheese jalapeno ranch sauce evenly across the pizza dough.
- Top with the cooked sausage and sliced jalapeรฑos. Sprinkle the remaining ยผ cup of mozzarella cheese on top. (Add more, if desired.)
- Place the pizza in the oven to bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.
Notes
Nutrition Facts
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
2 Comments on โSpicy Sausage Pizza with Jalapeno Ranch Sauceโ
Oh my gosh. Pizza night just got serious ๐
Serrrrriously Regan! That sauce is bomb.com! Youโll have to try it with Cabot mozzarella since you can get your hands on it out there ๐ And you could switch up the toppings if your kids donโt like spicy jalapeรฑos or sausage! Pretty much anything would be delicious on that sauce!