Pepperoni & Hot Honey Pizza 🍕🔥🍯 Crispy, Spicy, and Sweet-Heat Balanced With a Bold, Charred Crust

The Pepperoni & Hot Honey Pizza is pure flavor rhythm: crispy curled pepperoni, pools of bubbling cheese, and a final drizzle of hot honey that sets the whole thing off.

It’s salty, savory, and just sweet enough to slap. Whether you’re team cup-and-char or thin-slice traditional, the balance here is everything.

Ingredients (Makes one 12–14″ pizza)

Dough

Use your standard pizza dough — thin and strong is best for this style.

Sauce & Cheese

• ½ cup crushed San Marzano tomatoes (lightly seasoned with salt)
• 4 oz shredded low-moisture mozzarella
• 2 tbsp grated parmesan or pecorino

Toppings

• 15–20 slices cup-and-char or thick-cut pepperoni
• Olive oil for brushing
• Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Hot Honey

• ¼ cup honey
• ½–1 tsp chili flakes
• Optional: splash of apple cider vinegar or pinch of salt

Simmer honey and chili flakes gently for 1–2 minutes. Let cool slightly before drizzling.

Instructions

Step 1: Preheat the Oven

1. Preheat oven to 500°F+ (260°C) with a pizza stone, steel, or cast iron pan.
2. Let it heat for at least 45 minutes to get max bottom crisp and top char.

Step 2: Shape and Sauce

1. Stretch dough into a 12–14″ circle.
2. Spread tomato sauce lightly and evenly.
3. Add mozzarella and sprinkle with parmesan.

Step 3: Top and Bake

1. Add pepperoni evenly — don’t crowd, you want curl and crisp.
2. Drizzle lightly with olive oil.
3. Bake 6–9 minutes until cheese bubbles and crust blisters. Broil briefly if needed.

Step 4: Finish With Heat

1. Drizzle hot honey generously over the pie right after baking.
2. Optional: sprinkle with red pepper flakes for extra fire.
3. Slice and serve hot.

Flavor Variations

• Double Pepperoni – Add a layer beneath the cheese and another on top
• Smoky Honey – Use chipotle or smoked chili flakes in your hot honey
• Buffalo Twist – Add blue cheese crumbles before baking and drizzle with Buffalo sauce
• Savory Swap – Use soppressata or nduja for deeper, richer spice

Drink Pairings

• Beer – Hoppy pale ale, West Coast IPA, or saison
• Wine – Lambrusco, chilled Gamay, or dry rosé
• Non-Alcoholic – Sparkling citrus soda or spicy ginger beer

Final Thoughts

The Pepperoni & Hot Honey Pizza is salty, spicy, sweet, and crispy in all the right places — a modern classic that earns its hype. It’s the kind of pizza that doesn’t just hit the spot — it owns it.

Crisp the edge. Curl the pepperoni. Drizzle that fire. 🥩🍕🔥🍯

🍕 Explore Our Homemade Pizza Recipes

From Neapolitan-style classics to bold flavor combos and deep-dish comfort, these pizza recipes cover every craving — made right in your own kitchen.

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🧀 Four Cheese Pizza – A rich, melty blend of mozzarella, fontina, parmesan, and goat cheese.
🥩 Pepperoni & Hot Honey Pizza – Sweet heat meets salty crisp in this fan-favorite combo.
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🍕 Cast Iron Skillet Deep Dish – Crispy-edged, cheesy-centered deep-dish perfection.
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