Published February 26, 2024.This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
This Sicilian pizza recipe is homemade in a sheet pan and loaded with sauce, cheese, and toppings for a meal the whole family will love. It’s delicious a dish that my Sicilian grandmother made fairly often.
We eat a lot of Italian food in our house. From pasta to pizza, we love it. If you want to try some Sicilian recipes, you must try my Pasta alla Norma or Sicilian Style Swordfish.
Sicilian Style Pizza
Sicilian Pizza is a “sheet-pan pizza” where pizza dough is formed in the pan and then topped off with sauce, cheese, and toppings, and then baked to form a golden brown crust.
My grandmother’s style was much thinner, but I, however, love the homemade thick style better. Once your dough has risen, you simply push it, pull it, and smash it to form it into the sheet pan, hence the sheet pan Sicilian pizza.There is no limit or creativity on toppings, so once the dough has been formed, the rest is up to you.
Sicilian style sheet pan pizza is very similar to cioppino or chicken parmigiana. There was a base recipe in Sicily, in this case, pizza, and then was adapted by Sicilian American immigrants to the style of pizza we have in the United States, which is baked in a sheet pan.
This could have been adapted due to oven or pizza baking constraints since I’m guessing not too many homes in New York had a wood-burning pizza oven in their apartment.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Flour– I use plain all-purpose flour in this recipe. You can also use bread or 00 flour, but you need to increase the amount of water by 5%.
- Water– You will need water at warm temperatures between 110° and 1115°
- Salt– I always use coarse salt in my cooking and baking
- Yeast– I use active dry yeast in this recipe. However, you can use instant yeast.
- Sugar – Regular granulated sugar is used to help feed the yeast.
- Oil – Any olive oil will work for this dough.
- Sauce – I’ve got a great pizza sauce recipe. However, I used plain crushed canned tomatoes in this recipe. you can use a store-bought or your favorite homemade recipe.
- Cheese – I used a combination of sliced and shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Toppings – This is entirely up to you, but I used bacon, pepperoni, sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms, green peppers, fresh basil, and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.
How to Make Sicilian Pizza from Scratch
- Add the flour, salt, sugar, olive oil, yeast, and water (110° to 115°) to a standing mixer with the hook attachment and mix it on medium speed for about 2 to 3 minutes or until it is combined into 1 big dough ball.
- From there I usually just cover it with a kitchen towel and go hang out somewhere for about 90 minutes or until the Sicilian pizza dough doubles in size.
- Once the dough is doubled in size, simply form it onto the sheet tray you are cooking in. Remember to brush the inside of the pan with olive oil first.
- For the crust, I like to mix some finely minced garlic with some olive oil first and then I brush the top of the Sicilian pizza dough with that. It just gives it that extra bit of love I feel.
- Then I add on some crushed tomatoes as that is really my sauce. If you have some age-old pizza sauce that you use, then awesome. If you have a sauce you’ve been dying to try on this Sicilian pizza, then please use it. I love the simplicity of crushed tomatoes and think it is just so good with it on this Sicilian pizza that I only ever use that and then season it a bit with salt and pepper before adding on all of the toppings.
- I usually use three different kinds of cheese, shredded mozzarella, sliced mozzarella and grated parmesan cheese for an incredibly delicious combo on this Sicilian pizza. The combination of cheeses adds some good fats and saltiness to the pizza for an unbelievable flavor.
- Add on your desired toppings and bake
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead:You can make this pizza up to 30 minutes ahead. Keep it warm at very low temperatures in the oven, e.g., 150 to 160°.
How to Store: Cover it in plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.Freeze it covered in plastic for up to 2 months.
How to Reheat: Preheat your oven to 350° and add the pizza still in the pan or directly onto a cookie sheet tray or preheated pizza stone and cook for 5-7 minutes or until hot and the cheese has melted.
How to Reheat from Frozen:Add the frozen pizza back to a preheated oven with a pizza stone and cook at 350° for 12 to 15 minutes or till hot and the cheese is melted.
chef notes + tips
- You can also knead the dough by hand if you do not have a stand mixer.
- Feel freeto use any of your favorite toppings, including vegetables, cheeses, or meats.
- You canalso get creative with the cheeses as well including using things like pepper jack or fontina.
- The main difference of this recipe is in the forming of the dough. A traditional pizza dough would be formed and rolled out into a circle and then baked on a hot stone. Sicilian pizza is where the dough is formed into a sheet pan and baked directly in that pan.
- Neopolitan pizza from Italy is usually round with a thin center and a thicker outer crust on the chewier side. Sicilian pizza is similar to focaccia and is very thick and the dough is bread-like in texture.
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Video
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Sicilian Pizza Recipe
4.91 from 43 votes
This Sicilian pizza recipe is homemade in a sheet pan and loaded with sauce, cheese, and toppings for a meal the whole family will love.
Servings: 12
Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
Rising Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes minutes
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon coarse salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon active yeast
- 1 ¾ cups warm water, 110° to 115°
For the Toppings:
- 6 cloves finely minced garlic mixed with 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- ½ cup crushed tomatoes
- 8 ounces shredded mozzarella
- 8 ounces sliced mozzarella
- ¼ pound crisp cooked bacon, cut into 2” pieces
- 10-12 pepperoni slices
- ¼ pound raw loose sausage separated into chunks
- 1 sliced Roma tomato
- 2 sliced domestic mushrooms
- ½ peeled and thinly sliced green pepper
- ¼ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
- 15-20 fresh basil leaves
- coarse salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
Dough: Preheat the oven to 500°.
Add the flour, salt, sugar, olive oil, yeast, and water to a stand mixer with the hook attachment.
Mix until just combined on low speed and then knead on low speed for 2 to 3 minutes.
Remove the bowl, cover it with a towel, and let it double in size, which takes about 90 minutes.
Next, drizzle some olive oil onto the sheet pan that you will be cooking in, I used a 12”x18”x2” sheet pan. If you have smaller sheet pans, divide the dough and make 2 pizzas, or reserve the remaining dough in the freezer.
Form the pizza dough into the sheet pan so that it is completely covered.
Next, evenly spread the garlic and olive oil mixture all over the pizza using a pastry brush making sure to leave a 1” crust around the outside.
Evenly spread on the crushed tomatoes, leaving a 1” edge around the outside, and then layer on as follows shredded mozzarella, sliced mozzarella, bacon, pepperoni, sausage, tomatoes, mushrooms, green peppers, parmesan cheese, basil leaves, salt, and pepper.
Cook the pizza for 12 to 18 minutes at 500° on a middle rack in the oven or until browned and cooked throughout.
Slice and serve.
Notes
Make-Ahead:You can make this pizza up to 30 minutes ahead. Keep it warm at very low temperatures in the oven, e.g., 150 to 160°.
How to Store: Cover it in plastic wrap and keep it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.Freeze it covered in plastic for up to 2 months.
How to Reheat: Preheat your oven to 350° and add the pizza still in the pan or directly onto a cookie sheet tray or preheated pizza stone and cook for 5-7 minutes or until hot and the cheese has melted.
How to Reheat from Frozen: Add the frozen pizza back to a preheated oven with a pizza stone and cook at 350° for 12 to 15 minutes or till hot and the cheese is melted.
You can also knead the dough by hand if you do not have a stand mixer.
Feel free to use any of your favorite toppings, including vegetables, cheeses, or meats.
You can also get creative with the cheeses as well including using things like pepper jack or fontina.
The main difference of this recipe is in the forming of the dough. A traditional pizza dough would be formed and rolled out into a circle and then baked on a hot stone. Sicilian pizza is where the dough is formed into a sheet pan and baked directly in that pan.
Neopolitan pizza from Italy is usually round with a thin center and a thicker outer crust on the chewier side. Sicilian pizza is similar to focaccia and is very thick and the dough is bread-like in texture.
Nutrition
Calories: 435kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 18gFat: 21gSaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 46mgSodium: 633mgPotassium: 208mgFiber: 2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 431IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 231mgIron: 3mg
Course: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Author: Chef Billy Parisi
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106 comments
- Rachel K.
This has been my go-to pan pizza for the last year! The crust is so flavorful, and turns out perfect every time! My chef husband loves when I make this!
- Reply
thanks for giving it a shot!!
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- Grace Holland
Amazing recipe! I changed the toppings to our likes and this is now the pizza recipe we will use. Thank you for the easy to follow recipe. 😊
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- sue😁
Looking so yummy 😋 ChefBilly a must do recipe thank you 🤩 😋😁👋
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- J johnson
This is my favorite way to make pizza now. I do want to suggest that you par bake the crust w the oil on it for about 5-6 minutes or until it starts to brown before putting your toppings on it. I’ve done it both ways and the crust has a better texture if you bake it first.
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- Gabrielle Smith
Are the nutrition facts per serving or for the whole crust?
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per serving
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- J. Kling
Not usually a fan of Sicilian pies: too heavy and doughy for me. I like a thin crust pizza. But after watching the video for this (and seeing Lidia Bastianich make a similar sheet pan pizza) I decided to give it a whirl.
This came together so easily and the verdict is: the crust is thicker but light as clouds. A good ratio of sauce, cheese, and toppings. My wife crowned it her new favorite homemade pizza!
My only adjustment would be to either oven time or bake time. I think a couple of more minutes to really crisp the bottom might do the trick.
A delicious meal for football Sundays!
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- Chef Billy Parisi
appreciate you trying this!
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- JoAnn
Outstanding ❤️
This pizza was to die for ~
Even I could follow this recipe. 😉- Reply
- Chef Billy Parisi
my pleasure!
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- JR
My mom made sheetpan pizza or a variation using Bisquick… Delicious. Then a cobbler, usuall peach or a slump , also using bisquick…fabulous
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- Chef Billy Parisi
sounds interesting, I’m sure it was great!
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- Joe Hauck
No stranger to Italian cooking nor baking and followed the recipe to a T. 19 minutes at 500 degrees and the crust was NOWHERE near done. Plus tons of moisture in the pan afterwards. Probably don’t need to try this recipe again…
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- Colleen
I made this today and it turned out perfect! Hubby said “This is good.. This is damn good.” 😊
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- Kris Marie
Perfect pizza for Friday night stay home dinner! Just made this and it is cooling just a bit. We absolutely LOVE this pizza! Bravo Billy!! Thank you again!
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- sheri mayer
My son’s paternal grandmother from Sicily made it differently. On top of the crust she added thin sliced parmesan cheese, then pieces of drained diced tomatoes, basil, sardines sometimes, then another layer of thin sliced parmesan.
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There are many variations, and that’s ok.
- John Gomes
How many sheet pan pizzas will this recipe make?
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- Ginger Headrick
Absolutely delicious. This is what I grew up with and it’s wonderful to be able to make it myself.
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- Dana L Polchowski Jr
I used bread flour for this and it still turned out absolutely amazing. I couldn’t have expected it to be any better! I’m fortunate enough to have access to a commercial grade kitchen and had the temp cranked up to 550 F. All 4 half-sheet pans turned out perfect; huge crowd pleaser that friends are still raving about!
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- John Havey
Great basic crust recipe, I used bread flour because that’s what I had on hand. Used my favorite jarred sauce, fresh mozzarella mixed with a little cheddar. Topped with mushroom , onion, black olive, and linguica. Excellent.
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appreciate you trying it.
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- kristina
Delicious recipe, it was easy and came out perfect! From a fellow scissor cutter 😀
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awesome
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- Donna Ruyter
I’ve made this Sicilian Pan Pizza at least 25 times. I change toppings all of the time. It’s perfect each time and a definite crowd pleaser! The dough is so easy, yet so tasteful.
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- Danielle
Excellent dough recipe! Definitely need to use it as 2 doughs. I’ve made it twice now. This time half red and half white with spicy chicken.
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Excellent!
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- Gail Fesnak
This was the best Pizza that I ever had. My dough was a little bit hard to come together but I think it was the humidity here. in NC. I let it rise in the off oven in the for ninety minutes. and it doubled. It was still a little bit tacky. Dipped my hand in olive oil stretched it out as best as I could but then back in the off oven to rest for 15 minutes. This time it was a lot easier to spread over the pan. Then I followed your recipe exactly. OMG this is the best pizza. The only mistake I made was not prepping the veggies in advance, lesson learned. I will definitely make this again. Thank you for a great recipe. Happy fourth of July! Waving at you from Charlotte NC
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thanks for giving it a shot!!
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- Kathy
I’ve made this three times now. Easy dough recipe that is just plain wonderful. And the crushed tomatoes really add to it. We put artichoke hearts, lots of mushrooms, and onions along with everything else. Can’t wait to make this for our grandchildren. Thanks for making my cooking life much more interesting… in my 70’s.
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excellent!
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- Janet Dwyer
Made it and we loved it. It’s a keeper!
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Amazing!
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- Barbara Ann Day
WOW! This is delicious! Not much of a pizza fan, but this one is more than just pizza! It has pizazz. I will be making this more often now. Thanks, Chef Billy for this remarkable recipe, and for all the good work you do.
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thanks for giving it a shot!!
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- Lyndi S
This pizza recipe is totally awesome! Love your idea on using crushed tomatoes vs cooking pizza sauce all day like I used to do. Thanks so much Chef!
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Great!
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- Kristie Maynard
Love this pizza recipe. I’ve never made home made pizza before and this is so easy and delicious! I’ll definitely be making it again and again. The whole family loved it!
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Awesome!
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- Kris Marie
Our FAVORITE pan pizza recipe. We just had it tonight. I use 00 flour instead of AP. Thank you again.
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thanks for giving it a shot!!
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- Lisa C
This is the best pizza in the world. It’s my granddaughters and my special thing to make. We have made it twice now. Thank you!
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thanks for giving it a shot!!
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- Wendy J. Walsh
Excellent, Best ever, Thanks Chef Billy
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My pleasure!
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- Lisa
This is my husband’s favorite pizza. Easy to make and delicious.
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- Leslie
This is the perfect sheet pan pizza dough. Came together perfectly and tasted delicious!
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Thanks for making it!
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- Sheila
I made the pizza recipe tonight and my husband loved it. I am enjoying trying some of your recipes and have more time to play in the kitchen. I need to practice with the dough recipe, it seemed dry, so not sure what I need to adjust. Easy and good meals are what I need!
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thanks for giving it a shot!!
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- Cindy
Easy and delicious!
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so good!!
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- Nancy B.
I made this two times in the past 3 weeks for guests. They loved it and it is fun & easy to do, Absolutely delicious !!
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thanks for giving it a shot!! Anything that could have been better to make it 5 stars?
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- Nancy B.
It should have been 5 stars… i just missed the last one. Wonderful recipe !!!
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Thanks for making it.
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- Dorothy Kersey
Hope this comment registers as I did not see my initial comment on his website. This is a foolproof recipe that I use often. Love that the dough is in a pan making it so easy. My pizza is vegetarian & great every time! Thank you Chef Billy!
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- Sue Foreman
I’m not a bread/dough maker and this turned out GREAT! I just followed Billy’s recipe exactly – changed the toppings a bit. (Wish I could post a photo here. I did on FB recipe comments.) We all LOVED it. I might make 2 smaller pizzas, instead of one big one, next time. Will add this to our family favorites. Thanks Billy.
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- AMarinelli
This is by far the best dough I have ever tried to make for a pizza and I have tried a lot of recipes. The crust came out absolutely perfect. This is the only recipe I will be using. Thank you for sharing it.
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- HCampbell
Love this recipe! This is the closest recipe I’ve found for Detroit style crust, and we love it. Our local pizza places have gotten so expensive. I can make my family happy with one of these babies for less than $5!
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- Mary
I was just going to ask if this is similar to Detroit style. I’m going to have to give it a try. Thanks for the review.
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- Megan
Delicious recipe!
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- Linda Underwood
I love your recipes. Thank you. My question is do you have a favorite canned crushed tomato brand. I find a big difference in quality.
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whatever’s organic and on sale.
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- Joanne
Thank you for a wonderful recipe , easy and delicious 🧑🏻🍳
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- Betty
Delicious! Great recipe and instructions were simple and to the point. A wonderful light crust when baked. Just so you know, my house smelled as wonderful as yours! We will definitely enjoy the leftovers! Thank you so much!
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- JoAnn Price
Where do you get your sheet pans? Never seen one with that big of an edge.
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- mari
what do you do if you don’t have a standing mixer?
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knead by hand 🙂
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- Kris Marie
Making for the 2nd time, it’s in the covered stage! We absolutely devoured this the 1st time!! Question, if I placed the pan on my hot pizza stone would that help crisp up the bottom crust in the pan? Thank you!
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- Carol
Got the dough rising now. My question is we usually get a Sicilian with just sauce and parm. Would I put more sauce on top for it or not?
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that’s up you, my grandma never sauced the top.
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- John Santosuosso
I’m I reading this right? A total of one pound of mozzarella cheese on one pizza?
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The sheet pan is larger than a typical one so yes.
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- Janice Schwer
Should it be baked close to the bottom of the oven to ensure the crust is browned on the bottom? I have never had luck making pizza. My Italian grandmother’s was fabulous….wish I had paid attention back then. she made it in a sheet pan too( and we always cut it with scissors too). I’m trying this tonight!
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I prefer middle or top since that is where it is hottest.
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- Tracy
I can’t wait to make this! The altitude where I live is 6000 ft. Will I need to make any adjustments to the recipe?
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Always thought this was solid regarding altitude – https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/learn/resources/high-altitude-baking
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- Lorraine Beaty
Hi my family and I absolutely love this pizza dough. I’ve made many attempts at pizza and they’ve all failed. So you can imagine how thrilled I was when your recipe was a success. And it’s a major success!! My question is this: can I roll the dough to make a thinner pizza crust? Sometimes we like traditional as opposed to Sicilian pizza. Thanks!
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No, it won’t make for a good thin crust pizza as it will still really rise. I’m going to work on a good thin crust pizza recipe next year.
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- Jesse R
Could I let the dough do a slow rise in the refrigerator overnight and use it the next day?
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Sure can
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- Daylen Ray
This was absolutely tasty!! I can’t wait to make it again and perfect it even more. I will keep this one around for sure. Thanks!
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- Leslie
This recipe is amazing! It’s so tasty and reminds me so much like East Coast pizza. I now live on the West Coast so its something I really miss. My only question is how can I get the crust crispier? I baked it for 14 minutes and the bottom was still very pale in color. I baked it a few more minutes but the cheese was starting to get dried out so I took it out. I used a Fat Daddio silver sheet pan. Not sure if I should have used a different pan. Thank you.
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Where in the oven did you cook it?
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- BETH MANITSKY
if you don’t have your mixer – should I knead and for how long?
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Yes, but it’s hard to give you an exact time because it depends on how hard you knead. I would say 8-10 minutes.
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- Tess
Which kind of yeast? Instant or Dry Active yeast?
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active, but you can use either.
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- Marianne
Hello, this looks amazing! Thinking of making this for a party. Could you let me know whether it would work to make the pizzas the day before but not cook them until the following day? Many thanks
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That would not work.
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- cassandra young
This is an awesome pizza dough recipe. I have been making homestyle pizza for over a decade and was looking for a change. This deep dish style did not disappoint. So easy! The only chage I did was to roll out two pizzas from the single recipe to make a little thinner.
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- Christian
Would you be willing to give a recipe for a thin crust version as well? I would love to try your take on that!
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Maybe one day, not a huge fan of thin crust as it’s just 2-3 ingredients.
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- Linda G.
Have you ever tried this in an anodized pan?
That’s what I always use for Sicilian Pizza.- Reply
- Ashleigh
😅 40 years ago, while I was in the Navy, I got to so an “up and down the boot” tour of Italy (and all around Sicily) tour. Every place we went, I would order “Sicilian style”pizza, as the town I had enlisted from had a Pizzeria that served it – thick and chewy crust, melty cheese, and yummy maliciousness in your mouth. I must have had over 100 different pizzas, and no two were the same, even in Sicily!
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LOVE this story, thanks for sharing! It is absolutely delicious!
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- Martha
Hi! This looks incredibly delicious. I have one question. Does using Bob Mills make a difference? I have General Mills organic APF. Can I use that as well?
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I love Bob’s and switched for to them years ago. I’ve always felt everything I made was superior and always turned out. I’m sure your flour could work.
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- Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert
This looks incredibly delicious! I love this! looks so good!
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- Connie | URBAN BAKES
Grandmothers always make the best foods! This Sicilian is looks so good! Making me want to have a slice asap lol
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- Anna
I need to make this pizza asap! It looks incredible!
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- Cheryl Sousan
perfect timing……I needed a pizza dinner idea for tonight! this looks fabulous!
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- Jessica
Okay this looks AMAZING! I can’t wait to try!
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