Puff Pastry Pizza — This EASY pizza is topped with oodles of cheese, pepperoni, bacon, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, and has a puff pastry crust! Never underestimate the power of a kitchen shortcut like puff pastry on busy weeknights when you’re looking for a family-friendly and kid-approved dinner recipe that’s FAST to make!
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Pizza Made Using Puff Pastry
I’m always on the hunt for quick and easy dinners that are family friendly, kid-approved, and great for busy weeknights.
This puff pastry pizza with oodles of cheese, pepperoni, bacon, and some fun extras like cherry tomatoes and fresh basil checks all the boxes.
It uses a great kitchen shortcut — namely puff pastry for the dough which creates a flaky, light crust.
Don’t worry if you don’t have puff pastry dough in your area because I have lots of other favorite pizza recipes without it that are highlighted underneath the recipe card section.
I have a recipe for Two-Ingredient Pizza Dough as well as One-Hour Whole Wheat Pizza Dough which is totally from scratch.
Not only is pepperoni and bacon puff pastry pizza great for a quick dinner, it also makes for a great game day snack whether we’re talking tailgating or March madness. Your hungry group of fans will be asking for more.
Ingredients in Puff Pastry Pizza
To make this easy family-favorite puff pastry pizza recipe, you’ll need the following common and easy to find ingredients including:
- Puff pastry dough
- All-purpose flour
- Olive oil
- Pizza sauce
- Shredded cheese
- Pepperoni slice
- Cherry tomatoes, optional
- Bacon, optional
- Fresh basil, optional for serving
- Grated Parmesan cheese, optional for serving
- Red pepper flakes, optional for serving
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Pizza with Puff Pastry
Making pizza with puff pastry is a cinch! Just follow these easy and straightforward steps:
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly flour it.
- Gently unfold the thawed puffed pastry dough onto the parchment and use a rolling pin to gently roll it and smooth out any creases. (Note: The dough will not expand or stretch very much when rolling it.)
- Bake the puff pastry for 10 minutes.
- Remove it from the oven, brush it with olive oil, add pizza sauce, cheese, pepperoni, optional tomatoes and bake for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Add the optional bacon and basil and bake for 2 to 3 minutes. (Or you can simply garnish with basil and don’t actually have to bake it in!)
- Garnish as desired and serve immediately!
How to Thaw Puff Pastry
Make sure not to over thaw the dough. It should still be slightly stiff when you begin working with it. Just 30 minutes unwrapped on the counter is ideal.
At most, puff pastry dough should only thaw for 40 minutes because it needs to be cold in order to bake properly.
By thawing the puff pastry dough for 30 minutes, you still have 10 minutes to work with it before baking it.
Additional Puff Pastry Pizza Topping Ideas
While my family is fond of classic pepperoni and cheese pizzas, I also jazzed up this savory puff pastry recipe with cherry tomatoes, bacon, and fresh basil.
However, the sky is the limit for pizza toppings including the following crowd favorite pizza topping ideas:
- Sausage (cook and crumble it before adding it)
- Shredded chicken (precooked such as deli rotisserie chicken)
- Mushrooms (optionally saute them in olive oil in a skillet before adding)
- Black olives
- Bell peppers
- Onions
- Ham
- Pineapple
Add whatever you have on hand and your hungry friends and family will gobble right up!
Recipe FAQs
For pizza made with puff pastry, you’re looking for frozen puff pastry dough. There are many brands but I tend to stick with Pepperidge Farms. Sometimes you can find a store brand that is comparable but sometimes not. Trader Joe’s at times depending on your area and the season carries their own but it’s not a guarantee.
Without a doubt, you will want to use mozzarella cheese when making your puff pastry pizza for its superior melting quality. There are pizza cheese blends which are usually a blend of mozzarella and provolone cheeses. Other cheeses like burrata and cheddar melt fine but for me are not my go-to choices when I want cheese pizza so I always reach for mozzarella. Cheeses like Parmesan or pecorino don’t melt as well and I like to use them shaken or sprinkled on at the end.
Yes you sure can! Puff pastry pizza is easy to double and since most brands of puff pastry dough come two to a package, you’re set. Feel free to make one version of puff pastry pizza as shown here and then get creative with the second one, perhaps with some of the topping options I listed above. If you’re baking two at once, they may take a bit longer to bake so keep an eye on your pizzas.
Tip: One puff pastry pizza makes four average pieces. If you’re feeding more than two people, definitely consider making two pizzas unless you’re serving it as a snack with something else.
If your puff pastry pizza crust is soggy, you either didn’t blind bake (i.e. partially bake) the puff pastry before adding the sauce and toppings OR you added too much sauce or toppings to the pizza.
Tips for the Best Puff Pastry Pizza
- Adding the olive oil: To be absolutely sure that you wind up with the best puff pastry pizza, it is very important that you when roll the dough before baking, do not add the olive oil. Add the olive oil after baking because otherwise the pastry will puff up too much during the first bake.
- As the dough bakes: The dough really won’t expand or puff up too much during the first 10-minute bake so don’t be alarmed when you see that. After you continue baking it after adding the sauce and other toppings is when you’ll notice that it puffs up.
- Adding the sauce: Make sure to leave a small clear margin around the edges when adding the sauce and toppings so they don’t overflow.
- Adding the toppings: When adding pizza toppings apart from the cheese, don’t get too carried away! I generally stick with 3 toppings, plus some fresh herbs if you’re into them. Here I used pepperoni, cooked bacon, tomatoes, and then fresh basil.
- If using fresh herbs: Keep in mind that fresh herbs like basil or rosemary will be prone to burning so keep an eye on them. Alternatively, you can add any fresh herbs you may be using as garnishes after baking if you prefer. The residual heat from the pizza will wilt them quickly.
Side Dishes for Puff Pastry Pizza
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Puff Pastry Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 sheet puff pastry dough, thawed for 30 minutes
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ⅓ cup pizza sauce, homemade or store bought
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese or pizza cheese
- 9 pepperoni slices, or as desired
- 4 cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2 strips bacon, cooked and finely chopped
- Fresh basil, optional
- Grated Parmesan cheese, optional for serving
- Red pepper flakes, optional for serving
Instructions
- Take out the puff pastry dough from the freezer, unwrap it, and leave it on your counter for 30 minutes, not more and not less. Tip - If it's too cold it will rip when you work with it and if it's too warm it won't rise properly in the oven.
- Preheat the oven to 400F, line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and sprinkle the flour; set aside.
- After 30 minutes, unfold the puff pastry dough onto the floured parchment, and use a rolling pin to gently roll the dough to smooth out any notable creases. Note - The dough will not expand or stretch much when rolling it.
- Bake for 10 minutes.
- Remove it from the oven and brush it all over with olive oil.
- Add the pizza sauce leaving a 1/2-inch bare margin around the edges, evenly sprinkle the cheese, add the pepperoni, cherry tomatoes* (See Notes) and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the cheese is lightly bubbling.
- Remove from the oven, add the bacon, optional basil now** (See Notes), and bake for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Remove from the oven, add the basil now if you didn't already and want to add it, optional Parmesan, optional red pepper flakes, and serve immediately. Pizza is best warm and fresh but will keep airtight in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat gently in the microwave, noting the crust will not be crispy as is usually the case with leftover pizza.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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