Dips

Pepperoni Pizza Dip

Pepperoni Pizza Dip is a delicious way to feed guests at your next party! Made with cream cheese, mozzarella, marinara sauce, and pepperoni!

pepperoni pizza dip

Who doesn’t love pizza? This delicious Pepperoni Pizza Dip is a fun spin on a traditional homemade pizza. Skip the hassle of making a crust and bake the cheese and sauce in a shallow pan. Then serve the dip with breadsticks, garlic bread, or sliced Italian bread. It’s perfect for a party or a game night treat! All the flavor and fun of pizza, with less work!

What You Need for This Recipe

  • Cream Cheese
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • Parmesan cheese
  • Marinara sauce
  • Diced tomatoes
  • Pepperoni
pizza dip

How to Make Pepperoni Pizza Dip

The first step to making this amazing pizza dip is melting the cheese. Preheat your oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Add about 1/2 tsp of olive oil to a round glass baking dish to keep the cheeses from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Next, add 8 ounces of cream cheese to the pan. The cream cheese will melt faster if you cut it into small cubes before baking. This also makes it easier to stir and incorporate into the dip. Next, add about 4 ounces of shredded mozzarella cheese. And an ounce of grated Parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Choosing the Right Cheese

Mozzarella cheese can be purchased pre-shredded in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores. However, this cheese is less flavorful and doesn’t melt as easily as fresh mozzarella. So check out the cheese selection near the Deli counter of your local grocery store! They typically have a variety of fresher cheeses available. This includes fresh mozzarella. Buy an 8-ounce ball of fresh mozzarella, then grate it at home with a standard cheese grater. Not only will fresh mozzarella take this pizza dip to the next level, but it will also elevate any homemade pizza or pasta dishes too!

As the cheese is melting, prepare your sauce! For pizza dip, you can use any jarred pizza or marinara sauce. Since we typically have marinara sauce on hand, I decided to use that for my recipe. I also wanted this pizza dip to have a little texture, so I added diced tomatoes. I strained a 16 ounce can of diced tomatoes using a mesh strainer. Then, I squeezed the tomatoes to get rid of as much excess moisture as possible. I want a thick dip, not soup! Some of my tomatoes were a little larger than I preferred, so I cut them into smaller chunks with a pairing knife.

The Difference Between Pizza Sauce and Marinara Sauce

Want to know the biggest differences between pizza sauce and marinara sauce? First, pizza sauce is typically less flavorful. It’s made with tomato paste, olive oil, basil, salt, and pepper. Whereas marinara has more robust ingredients like onions and garlic. It’s also made with crushed roasted tomatoes versus tomato paste. Pizza sauce is also thinner than marinara. This makes it easier to spread evenly over the pizza crust. Also, pizza sauce is typically sweeter and less acidic thanks to the tomato paste.

Since I use a marinara sauce for my dip, I add a little sugar to up the sweetness. First, check the ingredients of your marinara sauce to be sure it didn’t already contain sugar. I typically use Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce, which doesn’t have any added sugar. Add half of a teaspoon of sugar directly into the marinara sauce. Then, stir in the diced tomatoes. Pour the sauce into the melted cheese and stir. Keep stirring until all of the cheese is well mixed into the sauce.

breadstick dip

Serve with Breadsticks for an Extra Kick!

Top the cheese and sauce mixture with the rest of the shredded mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Then sprinkle a bit of parsley over everything. Lastly, top the pizza dip with Hormel pepperoni. Pepperoni pizza is my favorite, so I couldn’t make a pizza dip without it! Bake the dip in the oven for an additional 5-8 minutes. It’s done when the cheese is completely melted on top. Serve this dip with warm breadsticks, garlic bread, or sliced Italian bread. Many grocery stores carry frozen breadsticks or garlic bread options. These can be baked alongside the dip to ensure everything is fresh and hot when served.

What To Do With Leftovers

Store pizza dip leftovers for 24 hours in an airtight container in the refrigerator. The top layer of cheese may harden and be difficult to dip. I suggest removing it and melting fresh cheese over the top. Or try serving the leftovers over a bowl of pasta for a quick and easy meal!

This pepperoni pizza dip is absolutely delicious! It has all of the best parts of pizza in a simple to make form. Try it at your next gathering! And while you’re at it, check out these other delicious dip recipes: Buffalo Chicken Dip, Texas Caviar Dip, Layered Greek Dip, and 5 Layer Dip.

Pepperoni Pizza Dip

This delicious Pepperoni Pizza Dip is a fun spin on a traditional homemade pizza. It's made with cream cheese, mozzarella, marinara sauce, and pepperoni!
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Appetizer
Cuisine Dips
Servings 10 people

Ingredients
  

  • 8 oz cream cheese
  • 8 oz mozzarella cheese grated
  • 2 oz parmesan cheese grated
  • 16 oz diced tomatoes
  • 16 oz marinara sauce
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1 oz Hormel pepperoni
  • sprinkle dried parsley

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350
  • Add 1/2 tsp of olive oil, 8 oz cream cheese, 4 oz mozzarella cheese, 1 oz Parmesan cheese to a round glass baking dish
  • Bake for 10 minutes until cheese is melty
  • Combine 16 oz marinara sauce, diced tomatoes, and 1/2 tsp sugar in a separate bowl
  • Stir sauce mixture into melted cheese until cheese is fully melted and incorporated into the sauce
  • Top with remaining mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, dried Parsley, and pepperoni
  • Bake an additional 5-8 minutes, until cheese is melted
  • Serve the pizza dip hot with breadsticks, garlic bread, or sliced Italian bread
Keyword pizza, pizza dip

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2 Comments

  1. Neely Moldovan

    Oh my god I want some! This sounds like something my whole family would love!

  2. You’re speaking my language with this one! I’m a huge pepperoni pizza fan. It’s one of my favorite foods and I could eat it all the time! I love the idea of deconstructing it to create a dip with the ingredients. So creative! I’ll have to make this for myself soon!

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