Spicy Soppressata Pizza with Hot Honey

Who doesn’t love pizza night? This spicy soppressata pizza with hot honey is the perfect excuse to have friends over! With homemade pizza dough, red sauce, melty mozz, and serrano peppers, it’s cheesy, hot, sweet, and takes just a few minutes to throw together. You will be obsessed with this unexpected (but super delicious!) combo.

I know that when most people think of food in Nevada, they probably think of all-you-can-eat buffets or like, shrimp cocktail lol. But for me, it’s pizza + honey.

And ok, to be fair, I did grow up in Vegas and had never had pizza with honey until I moved to Reno. But if you walk into pretty much any local parlor, it’ll likely have a giant bottle of honey on each table next to the parm and red pepper flakes. It’s technically for dipping leftover crust in, but I’d be lying if I said I don’t find immense satisfaction when a drizzle of honey makes its way to the topping zone.

So needless to say, this pizza is an ode to Reno. It has soppressata, serrano peppers, lots of mozz, and a generous drizzle of the signature ingredient, hot honey, for a spicy, cheesy, sweet-and-savory dinner situation. Grab a six pack and save this recipe for your next casual dinner party with friends!

Looking for more crowd-pleasing pizza recipes? Make sure to try my Sicilian-style pizza, cacio e pepe pizza (my fave!), or buffalo chicken pizza.

My favorite pizza party recipe

As a trained chef (and wife to an Italian), I’ve picked up lots of tips and tricks over the years to making homemade pizza that’s actually good. And this is one of my all-time faves! The recipe is inspired by the famous “bee sting pizza” which I first had at a local spot in Reno. But it’s originally a cult classic from NYC!

• You can make this recipe with homemade pizza dough or store-bought if you want an extra-easy dinner.
• Thanks to all my tips and tricks, it tastes like it came straight from your favorite pizza joint.
• This recipe makes 2 regular pizzas or 1 pan pizza so it’s amazing for parties & game nights!

Ingredients

• Pizza dough – you can use store-bought or homemade dough in this recipe.
• Sauce – pick a good-quality sauce, it makes such a big difference. I like this roasted tomato sauce but store-bought is great too.
• Mozzarella – whole milk mozzarella will give us that classic melty-ness. Low-moisture or classic mozzarella will both work.
• Soppressata – you can usually find soppressata with the other cured meats (like salami). Or, look for it at the deli counter!
• Serrano peppers – for extra spice, we’ll top the pizza with thinly-sliced serrano peppers. Jalapeños work too.
• Red onion – I like really thinly-sliced red onion. You can also use shallots.
• Parmesan – a sprinkle of parmesan gives this pizza a hint of umami.
• Hot honey – my favorite is this homemade bourbon hot honey. But if I don’t have homemade on hand, I recommend Mike’s Hot Honey!
• Basil – make sure you’re using fresh basil for the best flavor.
• Red pepper flakes – a sprinkle of red pepper flakes will add just a bit more heat.

Use freshly-grated cheese in this recipe! Pre-grated has additives that will make the cheese grainy and rubbery once it’s melted.

About soppressata

I tested this recipe with pepperoni, salami, prosciutto, and soppressata. But soppressata was the clear winner! If you’ve never had it before, soppressata is an Italian dry-cured salami made with chilis, wine, spices, and black pepper. It tastes similar to regular salami but has a deeper, spicier flavor!

If you can’t find soppressata, any salami you like will work. Also, soppressata ingredients vary from region-to-region, so feel free to experiment with different kinds.

Let’s make pizza!

1. Start by stretching the pizza dough into two 12-ish inch circles. You want to stretch the pizza until it’s nice and thin! And make sure to leave a 1-inch border for the crust.
2. Then, use a spoon to evenly spread the sauce over the top of the dough circles.
3. Evenly sprinkle both pizzas with lots of mozzarella.

To keep the pizza from sticking to the peel, dust it with a generous sprinkle of cornmeal. As a bonus, it also gives the pizza that classic pizza parlor “crunch” on the bottom!

4. Place slices of soppressata on top of each dough circle.
5. Then, sprinkle the serrano peppers and red onions on the pizzas. Add the parmesan cheese.
6. Bake the pizzas at 500°F (260°C) for 7-9 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.
7. Lastly, finish the pizzas with fresh basil, hot honey, and red pepper flakes. Eat and be merry!

It’s important to use the hottest setting of your oven to bake the pizza. Mine goes up to 500°F (260°C). The high heat will give the crust a nice golden bottom and bubbly cheese on top!

Pizza stone

To make great pizza at home, I 1,000% recommend investing in a pizza stone! The pizza stone gets nice and hot as the oven heats which gives you that super crispy crust like you would get at a restaurant. And you don’t even have to take it out of your oven. My stone just lives there full-time. It’s great for heating leftovers too!

No pizza stone or pizza peel? All good. I’ve also tested this recipe using a sheet pan! Just place a metal sheet pan in the oven and let it get super hot. Then, use a wood cutting board to gently slide the raw pizza onto the hot sheet pan.

Pan pizza

When I have lots of friends over, I usually make a pan pizza instead of two 12-inch pizzas. The pan pizza makes one big pizza with all of the ingredients which is great for slicing and sharing!

Just use my Sicilian-style pizza recipe for the full instructions. No need for a pizza stone! And for the toppings, use all of the mozzarella, soppressata, serrano peppers, red onion, and parmesan listed in the recipe card.

Servings & side dish ideas

This recipe will make 16 slices of pizza which will usually serve about 5-8 people depending on if you’re making sides or not. I like to add a few sides to round everything out!

Try this simple green salad with sherry shallot dressing, antipasto tortellini salad, or cheesy pesto garlic bread on the side. Garlic butter chicken wings would be amazing too. Don’t forget some cold beer or crisp wine!

Refrigerate & reheat

It’s no secret that pizza makes great leftovers. Just place the pizza slices in a single layer in an airtight container or zipper bag. Refrigerate for up to 3 days.

To reheat this bee sting pizza, you can use the microwave, oven, or air fryer.

• Microwave – heat the pizza slices at full power for about 1 minute.
• Oven – heat a pizza stone or sheet pan at 375°F (190°C). Place the pizza slices on the sheet pan or pizza stone and cook for 8-10 minutes until it’s nice and hot.
• Air fryer – reheat the pizza at 350°F (177°C) for 2-3 minutes. Cook for another 1-2 minutes if needed!

If you make this recipe, I would love it if you left a star rating and review! I read every single comment and love hearing what you think about my recipes. Thank you for supporting Sunday Table!

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xo Sara Lynn

Song of the day – If You’re On the Water by The Saxaphones

Originally posted on June 14, 2019.