Easy Stove-Top Pizza
If you are looking for an alternative to traditional oven-baked pizza, Stove-Top Pizza is easy to make in a non-stick skillet and satisfies any pizza cravings! Use any dough, customize the toppings and enjoy a fresh, personalized pizza that is crisp and delicious.
If you love pizza recipes, a few other favorites to try include fresh tomato pizza, homemade potato pizza and Italian pizza bianca!
Whether it is summer and you don’t want to turn on the oven or you just need an alternative way to make pizza, this homemade stove top pizza is a game changer. The results are a cheesy skillet pizza that is perfectly browned with all your favorite toppings.
From Italian mini pizzas to grilled zucchini pizza, there isn’t a pizza our family doesn’t like to have on a Friday or Saturday night. When it is hot, though, the thought of turning on the oven fills me with dread.
This stovetop pizza eliminates the need to use a hot oven! The crust is crispy, the cheesy melty and bubbly and you can even make it into a homemade calzone if that is more your style!
Why You Will Love Making Pizza Without An Oven
- No oven required: That’s right this method of skillet pizza requires no oven! So if it is summer and you don’t have a grill or fancy pizza oven outside, you can still have a pizza party inside without heating up your whole house!
- Crisp and delicious: Making pizza in a skillet ensures that your crust is golden brown, your toppings are soft and tender and your cheese is gooey!
- Easy method: This method of turning raw dough into cheesy pizza is so simple you may find yourself having pizza a few times a week!
- Customizable: Add your favorite pizza toppings, make a classic pepperoni pizza, have a thin crust pizza or a deep dish pizza, you can even make a calzone!
Skillet Pizza Recipe Ingredients
- Crust: Any homemade pizza crust works or use a store bought pizza dough for convenience.
- Tomatoes: Tomato puree or peeled fresh tomatoes. Pizza sauce, tomato sauce or marinara sauce also work.
- Seasonings: Salt, oregano and fresh basil.
- Toppings: Pancetta or Italian sausage.
- Cheese: Freshly grated mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.
Substitutions And Variations
- Any pizza dough works: From a store-bought dough to my best pizza dough, any pizza dough works with this recipe! Try beer pizza dough, sourdough pizza, no knead pizza dough or even no yeast pizza dough!
- Thin crust or deep dish: Stretch your pizza dough thin for a crispy crust or keep it thick for deep dish. Time to cook will increase or decrease depending on your preference.
- Veggie pizza: You will want to pre-saute your veggies so they don’t add too much moisture to the crust and prevent it from getting crisp.
- Calzone: Line the bottom of the cast iron pan with dough, cover half the dough with desired toppings and cheese then fold the other half over, pinch the sides and cook covered on medium heat for 15-20 minutes on each side.
How To Make Stovetop Pizza
To start, toss together the chopped tomatoes, salt, oregano, basil leaves and olive oil then set aside.
Lightly grease a heavy-duty skillet. Line the bottom of the pan with dough. Heat on low – medium heat covered until the first side is lightly browned. Flip the dough over.
On the browned side add the tomato mixture, pancetta and mozzarella. Spread to the edges of the pan. Cover and continue to cook on low to low to medium heat.
Uncover skillet pizza, lower heat and continue to cook. Check it to make sure the crust isn’t burning. Serve immediately.
Expert Tips
- Fresh shredded cheese: If you are wondering how to get the cheese to melt evenly on stovetop pizza the answer is to grate your own cheese from a block! Pre-shredded cheese often contains anti-caking agents that prevent cheese from melting properly.
- Pan type: I prefer a cast iron skillet pizza but any heavy bottomed nonstick skillet can be used. You can even use a grill pan if you would like! I would avoid using a pizza stone though.
- Preheat skillet: A hot skillet helps the crust form a crispy shell the minute it hits the pan!
- Use a lid. This will trap heat and act like an oven to ensure that everything cooks though.
- Extra crispy crust: Use oil or butter to grease your preheated pan to ensure that your crust is bubbly perfection.
- Flip the pizza: This not only prevents burning but helps each side of the crust crisp up.
- Keep the heat in check: Too high of heat and your crust will burn! Aim to keep a steady low to medium heat for even cooking. Low is better than medium or high when making stove top pizza.
- Avoid topping overload: This causes extra moisture to be released and results in a soggy crust!
Recipe FAQs
While pancetta can be added raw, pre-cooking it until it’s slightly crispy will give your pizza added texture and flavor.
There are a few tips to prevent your stove top pizza from burning too quickly! First, use a heavy bottomed pan. I love a cast iron skillet! Next, preheat the pan to avoid hot spots or dramatic temperature changes. As best as you can keep the heat from going too high and flip the pizza halfway through to reduce the chance of burning.
Preheat your skillet for pizza, remember to flip it so both sides cook evenly and don’t overload it with topping which can cause a soggy crust.
If you use my homemade pizza dough, you can make three medium-thick crust pizzas. If you make a thinner crust, you can make four pizzas.
Yes, although it could take a few minutes longer. Before eating, ensure the pizza crust is golden brown brown and the cheese melted.
How to store leftover pizza
Store any leftover pizza in an airtight container or wrapped well in plastic or foil, it will keep 3-4 days in the fridge.
How To Reheat Leftover Pizza?
If you have leftover stove top pizza, reheat it the same way you made it, in the skillet! This helps retain some crispness to the crust. Heat until your pizza is warmed through and enjoy!
More Pizza Recipes To Try
- Cheesy mushroom pancetta pizza
- Roman Pinsa pizza
- Italian shrimp pizza
- Lievito Madre Pizza Dough
- Pull Apart Pizza Bread
So if you are like me and this is a novelty for you too, then trust me on this! This Stovetop Pizza is delicious, fast and the perfect way to make pizza in the summer without heating the house! Buon Appetito!
Homemade Stove-Top Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 crust homemade or store bought pizza
FOR THE TOPPING
- ½ can peeled tomatoes or puree
- 1 pinch salt
- ¼ teaspoon oregano
- 3-4 leaves fresh basil chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (15 grams)
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped pancetta if desired or 1 sausage casing removed (10 grams)
- ½ cup grated firm mozzarella (I probably used more we like cheese) or more if desired (100 grams)
EXTRAS
- 2-3 tablespoons parmesan cheese
Instructions
- In a small bowl toss together the chopped tomatoes, salt, oregano, chopped basil leaves and olive oil. Set aside.
- Lightly grease a 9 1/2 inch (24 cm) heavy-duty frying pan.
- Line the bottom of the pan with the dough. Heat on low – medium heat covered for approximately 10 minutes until the bottom is lightly browned. Flip the dough over.
- On the browned side add the tomato mixture, pancetta and mozzarella, place around the border also.
- Cover and continue to cook on low to low/medium (more low then medium) heat for another 15 minutes. Uncover lower heat and continue for approximately 5 minutes. Check it after 10 minutes making sure it doesn't burn. Serve immediately sprinkled with parmesan cheese. Enjoy!
**Check your heat, remember not too high or it will just burn and not cook completely
Notes
Nutrition
Updated from June 12, 2015.
Using Rosemary’s no yeast dough recipe and rolled thin, this dough was not going to agree to being flipped over, so i made an excellent first time stove top pizza. I did pre-sauté crumpled Italian sausage, peppers, onions, diced garlic – lots of garlic :-), diced tomatoes, tomato sauce and Italian herbs in a little olive oil as suggested in the recipe, allowing to simmer down to evaporate the excess water while the dough baked in the pan over med-low heat. When ready this mixture topped the dough, accepted additional sauce and cheeses, then was allowed to mellow together over the med-low heat into a delicious first attempt pan pizza.
The excess dough was turned into a very small bread loaf in the same covered pan once the pizza was out. Next time, the excess dough will become garlic knots; which I hope Rosemary has an easy recipe for.
Besides yielding a delicious treat, making the dough is a fun part of the experience. Another delight: the kitchen stays clean, and cleanup is a breeze! This will become a fun date over for dinner night! 😉 🙂 🙂
Tonight’s fun is Rosemary’s home made pasta recipe.
Hi Osker, thanks so much, so glad you enjoyed it. Yes I love making pizza dough! Garlic knots I don’t have, but that’s a good idea! Take care!