Even though everyone loves pizza night, if your family is sick of having the same old cheese pizza every week, it might be time to try something new. It’s easy to make pizza night more fun by adding new toppings like sausage. Your family will keep coming back for more slices. Sprinkling some sausage on top of your pizza will also up its protein content — a nice bonus!.
You need to do some work before you can enjoy a sweet and spicy sausage pizza bite. Let’s look at some strategies and options to make your next pizza night unforgettable.
Sausage is a beloved protein topping for pizza. The savory, meaty flavor pairs perfectly with tomato sauce, cheese and all your favorite crusts. But with so many types of sausage out there, what kind should you use to top your pizza?
There are a few front-running contenders when it comes to sausage for pizza. Here’s an overview of some of the most popular kinds and how they enhance this classic dish.
Italian Sausage
Hands down Italian sausage is the most common type used on pizza. There are a few reasons this style reigns supreme
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Mild flavor – Italian sausage strikes a balance between porky richness and seasoning. Its blend of herbs like fennel seed garlic and oregano complement pizza beautifully without overpowering it.
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Customizable spice level – You can go mild, hot or sweet to suit your preferences. Mild Italian sausage brings just a hint of heat. Spicy varieties add hot peppers for a fiery kick. Sweet Italian sausage includes basil and often fennel for a more delicate taste.
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Texture – Italian sausage can be sliced or ground, bringing fun textural variety to pizza. Mix of sliced links and crumbled meat is ideal.
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Easy to find – Italian sausage is readily available at grocery stores, making it a convenient, go-to pizza topping.
Pepperoni
Pepperoni is another pizza staple, bringing spice, saltiness and a concentrated meaty flavor. Features that make it ideal for pizza include:
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Intense taste – Pepperoni is assertively seasoned, holding its own atop a slice.
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Crisp texture – When cooked, pepperoni curls into delicious little crispy cups, which many pizza fans adore.
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Pizza popularity – Pepperoni likely comes second only to cheese as the most common pizza topping.
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Convenience – Pre-sliced pepperoni can simply be layered onto pizzas, keeping prep easy.
Chorizo
For a slice with a kick of heat and Southwest flair, chorizo sausage shines on pizza. Benefits of chorizo as a topping include:
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Smoky, spicy flavor – Chorizo gets its signature taste from paprika and chili peppers. It brings lots of robust flavor to pizza without being overpowering.
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Interesting texture – Dry-cured chorizo has a firm, dense texture that holds up well atop pizza. Fresh chorizo crumbles nicely when cooked.
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Easy customization – Chorizo blends well with traditional toppings or Southwestern ingredients like peppers, onions and cilantro.
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Prep shortcut – Chorizo is often sold pre-cooked, so you can simply slice, dice or crumble it straight onto your pizza.
Andouille or Kielbasa
These smoked sausage varieties also work nicely for pizza:
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Andouille – Brings a smoky, garlicky, Creole-style kick to pizza along with a coarse texture.
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Kielbasa – Imparts a delicate smokiness, hint of garlic and a firm, sliceable texture. Usually made from pork or beef.
Their pluses are convenience, widely available and smoky depth complementing tomato sauce and cheese. Pre-cooked, they just need a quick heating before serving.
Bratwurst, Bockwurst and Weisswurst
These German-style sausages also translate tastily to pizza:
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Bratwurst – Pork sausage with bold, balanced seasoning of nutmeg, ginger, coriander and more.
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Bockwurst – Made from veal and pork with salt, white pepper and paprika for light flavor.
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Weisswurst – Mild white sausage of veal, pork, parsley, lemon, and cardamom.
They work nicely sliced atop pizza or can be removed from casings and sauteed into crumbles first. Each offers its own unique flair.
Breakfast Sausage
Looking to get creative? Breakfast sausage patties or links bring a playful, morning touch to pizza. Most are made from pork or turkey seasoned with sage, black pepper, red pepper flakes and other zippy spices. Try adding crumbled breakfast sausage to a pizza with scrambled egg topping for an anytime meal.
Plant-Based and Turkey Sausage
Veggie or turkey sausage are great options for plant-based, vegetarian and low-fat pizzas. Seasoned like Italian, chorizo or breakfast sausage, they mimic meaty flavors remarkably well. Be sure to cook thoroughly as the texture differs.
Sausage Pizza Perfection
While the classics like Italian sausage and pepperoni are sure bets, don’t be afraid to get creative with chorizo, andouille or even breakfast sausage. Different textures from links, slices and crumbles make for a dynamic pie. Let the recipe and your taste preferences guide you to sausage pizza success!
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Types of Sausage You Can Use For Pizza Toppings
There are a lot of different kinds of sausage in a lot of different sizes and flavors, so you can make the perfect pizza for your tastes. These kinds of sausage are often used as pizza toppings. Try some of them on your next pizza night at home:
- Hot: If you like red pepper flakes on your pizza, you’ll love putting hot Italian sausage slices or crumbles on top of your pie.
- If you like your salty foods to have a little sweetness to them, on the other hand, adding sweet Italian sausage to your pizza will make your taste buds sing.
- Mild: Mild Italian sausage is the perfect pizza topping for people who don’t like their meat too spicy or too sweet.
- Patties: Italian sausage patties can be hot or sweet. They can be broken up in a skillet to make sausage crumbles, or they can be kept whole to make meatballs that look amazing on top of your pie.
- Links: How about some breakfast pizza? Breakfast sausage links and a runny egg make for a delicious brunch treat.
- Ground meat: Ground sausage is great for easy, quick cooking when you’re in a hurry. You can save time by not cutting or decasing the Italian ground sausage. Instead, just put it in a skillet and cook it.
- If you don’t like red meat, you can still add protein and flavor to your pizza by topping it with chicken sausage.
How to Successfully Cook Sausage Links
While many people believe cooking sausage is a challenge, we think it’s quite the opposite. Some of the most common ways to cook Premio sausage links are on the stove, in the oven, or on the grill. No matter what method you use, make sure the pork sausage and chicken sausage are both cooked to 160 degrees Fahrenheit and 165 degrees Fahrenheit, respectively, so they are safe to eat. Stick to the following steps to cook your Premio sausage properly:
- Put a pan with 6 tablespoons of water on medium heat.
- Place sausage links in the skillet.
- Cover the pan and cook for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Rotate links often.
- Take off the lid and cook for another five to seven minutes.
- Enjoy!
- Place links on a foil-lined baking sheet.
- Place the sheet 7 to 9 inches below the heating element in a cold oven and set the temperature to broil.
- Broil for 13 to 15 minutes on each side.
- Serve and enjoy.
- Preheat your grill with medium flames.
- Set the links on the racks and cook them for 15 to 20 minutes.
- Turn sausage routinely for even browning.
- Serve as desired.
Recipe: Easy Sausage Pizza
FAQ
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