Kimchi and Sausage Pizza Recipe

Name: Kimchi and Sausage Pizza
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 2 pounds store-bought or homemade pizza dough; 8 ounces store-bought napa cabbage kimchi or homemade Quick Kimchi; All-purpose flour, for dusting; Cornmeal, for dusting; 1 cup store-bought marinara sauce or homemade pizza sauce; 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese; 8 ounces crumbled Italian sausage; Fresh basil leaves, for garnish (optional)

When I was in junior high, my parents bought a pizza restaurant in Inglewood, California. What did a Korean family that recently relocated from Pennsylvania know about pizza? Absolutely nothing! But that didn’t stop my folks. They had us kids scrub the place down. They bought a pizza oven. They hired a Mexican cook. A sign was hung, and we were open for business!

Our refrigerator was filled with proofed dough that my mom learned to make. We had a meat slicer to cut the pepperoni, salami, and Canadian bacon, and the pizza sauce was house-made.

At the end of a long day slinging pies, we fed ourselves with our own pizza. Although we served our customers a typical American menu of cheese, pepperoni, and combination pizzas, ours were topped with kimchi.

I preferred mine with kimchi and Italian sausage. Kimchi and pork are a classic combination in many Korean dishes. This kimchi and sausage pizza recipe is reminiscent of the one I grew up eating.

Slice of kimchi and sausage pizza. — Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel

Tips and Tricks for Making Homemade Pizza

This homemade pizza is easy. Good tomato sauce, shredded mozzarella, crumbled Italian sausage, and plenty of kimchi is all you need. If a little 11-year-old girl from Seoul can do it, so can you! Here are some tips and tricks:

Although a home oven isn’t quite hot enough to get that perfect crust, a pizza stone retains heat well and can help. Make sure to preheat your oven for at least 30 minutes, which can happen while you assemble the pizza.
If you don’t have a pizza stone, use a large (at least 12-inch) cast iron skillet or a sturdy baking sheet that can withstand high heat. Lightly grease the cast iron skillet with cooking oil before preheating it. If the skillet is smaller than 12 inches, the dough will be thicker, so you’ll have to cook it for a little longer.
You can also grill your pizza if it’s too hot to turn your oven on. Here are instructions on how to grill pizza.
The dough may shrink while you roll it out. Let it rest for 15 minutes before trying again to give the gluten in the dough a chance to relax.

Reheat Pizza on a Skillet

Rather than microwaving leftovers (it’ll get soggy), reheat pizza on a skillet on the stove top over medium-low heat with a tiny bit of oil. You can also reheat it in the oven. More tips on reheating pizza like a pro can be found here!

More Pizza Recipes to Try

Kimchi and Sausage Pizza

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Total Time 30 mins

Servings 4 to 6 servings

Yield 2 10- to 12-inch pizzas

2 pounds store-bought or homemade pizza dough
8 ounces store-bought napa cabbage kimchi, or homemade Quick Kimchi
All-purpose flour, for dusting
Cornmeal, for dusting
1 cup store-bought marinara sauce, or homemade pizza sauce
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
8 ounces crumbled Italian sausage
Fresh basil leaves, for garnish (optional)

Prepare the pizza dough:

If the dough is refrigerated, let it come to room temperature on your counter for about one hour. Divide the dough in half, place both halves in a large bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap to keep the dough from drying out.

Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel
Preheat the pizza stone or sheet pan:

Position the oven rack in the center of the oven, and place a pizza stone or large sheet pan on it. Preheat the oven to 500°F for at least 30 minutes so that the pizza stone gets really hot.
Prepare the kimchi:

Roughly chop the kimchi into 1/4-inch pieces. Using your hands (wear food-safe gloves, if you wish), squeeze the juices out of the kimchi so the dough doesn’t get soggy. (Don’t toss the liquid! Make this stew with it.)

Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel
Roll out the pizza dough:

Dust your countertop lightly with flour. Working with one portion (1 pound) of dough at a time, use a rolling pin to roll it into a 10- to 12-inch circle. You can also spread the dough out with your fingers. Don’t stress about being precise with the size or shape. It doesn’t have to be a perfect circle!

Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel
Prepare the pizza peel:

Spread a thin layer of cornmeal on your pizza peel and place the rolled-out dough on top.
Top the pizza:

Spoon half of the marinara sauce on the dough and evenly spread it to the outer edges with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle half of the cheese over the sauce. Evenly distribute half of the sausage and squeezed kimchi.

Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel
Bake the pizza:

Carefully sprinkle some cornmeal onto the preheated pizza stone. Slide the pizza onto it and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and the sausage is cooked through.

While the first pizza cooks, assemble the second pizza with the remaining ingredients.

Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel
Cool slightly and serve:

Remove the pizza from the oven, transfer it onto a cutting board and let it cool for a couple of minutes. Sprinkle with fresh basil, if you wish, and serve.

Bake the second pizza while you enjoy the first one.

Did you love the recipe? Leave us a review in the comments!

Simply Recipes / Alison Bickel

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
593	Calories
21g	Fat
78g	Carbs
22g	Protein

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories	593
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 21g	27%
Saturated Fat 6g	32%
Cholesterol 31mg	10%
Sodium 1255mg	55%
Total Carbohydrate 78g	28%
Dietary Fiber 4g	15%
Total Sugars 6g
Protein 22g
Vitamin C 5mg	24%
Calcium 161mg	12%
Iron 6mg	33%
Potassium 449mg	10%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate. In cases where multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.