It’s been a few weeks since I have posted, you can blame the holidays! We were jam packed with weekends full of out-of-state family visits so the blog got put on the back burner for a little bit, but I am back with an awesome recipe that we tested tonight with great delicious success!
For some reason during the last few weeks of this pregnancy I have been really craving mozzarella sticks! Specifically those cheesy breadsticks from public school lunches… do you know the ones? I don’t know where this random craving came from but I can imagine them now… They aren’t really whole foods approved unfortunately. 😂
Add to that, the fact that my toddler has been begging me for “macaroni pizza” (she means pepperoni) and we have a match made in heaven. I just had to experiment and try this recipe for pizza sticks! Dippable, cheese inside, pepperonis, and perfectly simple red marinara sauce.
You could customize these in any way your pizza dreams inspired you. White sauce, pineapple, olives. But tonight at the request of my toddler it was the simple 4 ingredient pizza stick for us. Bread, Sauce, Cheese, Pepperonis. Honestly, it’s sometimes hard to beat that combo!
I’ve had this pizza dough recipe written down in my recipe binder for years now, so I don’t remember where it came from. It works with white flour as well, but we are a whole wheat family (I’m on the hunt the for a new mill!) so this recipe is 100% whole wheat.
I haven’t altered it for sourdough or ancient grains yet, but if you want to try it, let me know how it goes!
Besides basic baking ingredients, you will need:
- Mozzarella cheese (1 lb block, or about 8 cheese sticks worth.)
- Regular sized Pepperonis
- Tomato sauce (I like to use the organic kirkland brand from costco)
- Tomato Paste (ditto)
- Parmesan cheese (I get mine from Azure Standard)
This is a fun “family cooking” recipe, the kids will love to help too. It does take slightly more effort than a slab or pie pizza, but it is a great variation and the sticks are just fun to eat. You can also make these ahead and freeze them (after cooking) as an easy freezer meal. I haven’t tried re-heating them from frozen, but I’m sure it would work just fine.
Also, you could totally put the sauce inside the pizza sticks, but we prefer to dip them. Either way works!
These are very easy to make. After you have made the dough all you have to do is: roll out the dough, place toppings, roll into a stick, and place on a pan.
I have a feeling these are going to become a regular at our house. I will have to play around with fancier gourmet variations and more grown up flavors. I love white sauce pizzas, that will have to be my next pizza stick recipe to tackle! I hope you love this pizza stick recipe from scratch!
Whole Wheat Pepperoni Pizza Sticks
Ingredients
Whole Wheat Pizza Dough
- 2 1/4 tsp yeast
- 1 Cup warm water
- 2 1/2 Cup whole wheat flour
- 1 TBSP vital wheat gluten (optional)
- 2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp himalayan salt
Marinara Sauce
- 15 oz can tomato sauce
- 6 oz can tomato paste
- 1 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1 1/2 tsp basil
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp paprika (optional)
Pizza Ingredients
- 8 mozzarella cheese sticks (or a 1 lb block of mozzarella cut into 1 cm thick sticks)
- 6 oz Pepperoni
- 2 TBSP Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 Cup Parmesan Cheese
Instructions
Making the Dough
- Preheat the oven to 450°. Combine the yeast and the water and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the flour, gluten (if using), oil, and salt. Mix or knead until dough is smooth.
- Divide the dough into 16 equal portions. Roll each portion into about a 4×6 inch rectangle. (Alternatively, you can roll the entire dough into a large square and cut 16 rectangles out of it.) I like to roll and assemble just a few sticks at a time.
Assembling the Pizza Sticks
- On one side of each rolled out portion of dough, place 4 pepperonis. You will have to overlap them slightly.
- Cut all 8 cheese sticks in half lengthwise (the long way). Place one cheese slice on top of the pepperonis on each portion of dough. Starting with the pepperonis and cheese, tightly roll the dough into a stick, making sure to pinch the ends closed.
- Place the pizza sticks on a buttered sheet pan and brush the tops with olive oil. Sprinkle the parmesan cheese on top.
- Bake for 10 minutes, then check if the dough is fully cooked. If it seems too soft, add 2 more minutes, then check again until completed.
Marinara Sauce
- Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and heat slowly until hot.
Notes
- This recipe makes approximately 16 sticks, enough for about 4 people.
- You can customize your pizza sticks to include any desired pizza ‘toppings’
- You can make these sticks with the sauce inside, but we prefer to dip them
Any questions about this recipe for pizza sticks? Leave them in the comments below!
