Sloppy Joe Pizza
Don't be fooled by the long ingredient list. This sloppy joe pizza recipe is super easy to make and will satisfy your comfort food cravings any time of year.
Makes: 1 (12- to 14-inch) pizza
Cost: $15
Equipment
- Cutting board and knife
- Skillet
- Rolling pin (optional)
- Large rimmed baking sheet or baking stone/steel
- Pizza peel (optional)
- pastry brush
Ingredients
For the sloppy joe sauce
- ½ medium yellow onion
- ½ medium green bell pepper
- 2 medium cloves garlic
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ pound 90% lean ground beef
- ⅔ cup ketchup
- ⅓ cup water
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
- Freshly ground black pepper
For the pizza
- 1 (14- to 16-ounce) ball pizza dough (1-Hour, New York Style, and Overnight are the best doughs for this recipe, or you can use a half recipe of Sheet Pan dough to make Sicilain or Detroit style.)
- Extra-virgin olive oil
- 6 or 7 slices cheddar cheese
- Sliced scallions or chopped fresh parsley, for garnish
Instructions
To make the sloppy joe sauce
- Finely chop the onion and pepper, and mince or press the garlic. Or, save some time by quartering the veggies and pulsing them all in a food processor until very finely chopped.
- Melt the butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the ground beef and cook, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon or spatula, until it's no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes.
- Add the onion, pepper, and garlic and cook until the veggies are soft and fragrant, another 3 minutes or so.
- Stir in the ketchup, water, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, chili powder, salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Turn the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce is nice and thick.
- Scrape the sauce into a large bowl and let it cool on the counter while you prepare your dough and other toppings.
To make the pizza
- Preheat the oven to 500°F (if using a baking sheet) or as high as it will go (if using a baking stone/steel; place the stone in the top third or place the steel in the bottom third of the oven before you start preheating). Let the oven preheat for at least 30 minutes. Then, if you’re using a baking stone or steel, switch the oven to Broil on high.
- Stretch or roll out your dough to a 12- to 14-inch circle, then transfer it to a baking sheet / pizza pan or a lightly floured pizza peel (if using a baking stone/steel).
- Prick the dough all over with a fork and brush the edges with a little olive oil.
- Spoon the sloppy joe sauce onto the dough, spread it out evenly, then top with the cheese slices.
- Transfer the pizza to the oven and bake until the crust is evenly browned on the bottom and the cheese has charred in spots—8 to 10 minutes on the baking sheet, 5 to 8 minutes on the baking stone/steel.
- Remove the pizza from the oven, sprinkle it with salt, and finish with the sliced scallions or chopped parsley. Slice and serve!
Notes
- Want to make sandwiches instead? Just double the sauce recipe to make about 6 sloppy joes.
- Want to make Grandma- or Detroit-style Sloppy Joe Pizza? Make a recipe of Sheet Pan Pizza Dough. If you want to make a full-size Grandma-style pizza, double the sloppy joe sauce recipe and use these baking instructions. If you're making a half-sheet-pan Detroit-style pizza, freeze half of the dough and use these baking instructions.
- Sloppy Joe sauce recipe inspired by this one on AllRecipes.com and this one on FoodNetwork.com.