Pepperoni Bread is a classic appetizer perfect for family get-togethers or holidays. This stromboli oozes with 3 kinds of cheese and is filled with Italian cold cuts like pepperoni and salami.
If you love pepperoni bread you may also like Sausage Bread, The Best Homemade Shrimp Cocktail, or Baked Italian Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms.
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Why Pick Stromboli as Your Appetizer
My family grew up on cold-cut bread growing up. It was a family activity to make this Pepperoni bread or stromboli. It's such an easy recipe to let your kids help you make, and it got me and my brothers excited to be in the kitchen.
You can let your kids spread the cheese or the meat. Let them paint the bread with the egg. It's a fun way to get everyone involved if you're into that sort of thing. And if you're family doesn't eat meat, just try our Veggie Stromboli!
We always made recipes like this around the holidays. Try Sausage and Cheese Quiche if your family is looking for a breakfast recipe to hold people over in the mornings of Christmas or Thanksgiving!
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions
Pepperoni and Salami. The best part about this recipe is that you can put whatever you want into the stromboli. I love pepperoni bread with salami, but another great combo is salami and soppresatta. You could add prosciutto or capicola. It's sort of like our Chopped Italian Sandwich where you can add in your favorite flavors.
Meats. Make sure that they cut the meat very thin. Otherwise, the bread will turn out chewy.
Cheese. I prefer to use sliced cheese for bread. It's easier to roll it up like this than shredded cheese.
Dough. Make sure you bring the dough to room temperature to start. I like to use a NY-style pizza dough and I'll often just pick it up from the pizzeria whether I'm making pepperoni bread or Chicken Alla Vodka Pizza!
*Please see the recipe card below for more information on the Ingredients.
How to Make Pepperoni Bread
Step 1: Preheat oven to 375℉. Roll out your pizza dough on a heavily floured surface until it is about ¼ inch thick in the shape of a pizza. I use a recipe from Good Cheap Eats! They split their dough in 2 but I keep it all together as one big dough.
Step 2: Layer your slices of cheese across the pizza so they cover as much of the dough as possible. Then sprinkle the parmesan across the dough.
Step 3: Add a layer of salami and a layer of pepperoni. Cover as much of the open space as you can between the two meats
Step 4: Pull the edges of the dough so there is some space between the cheese/meat and the edge of the dough. Roll the dough into a log or loaf of bread with the seam placed at the bottom so it doesn't unroll.
Step 5: Cut the bread into 8 even rolls using a very sharp knife, but not a serrated knife. Place them in an oiled, round baking pan so that they're touching in the middle. There should be some space around the edge.
Stromboli expand so you want to make sure there is some room to grow and let the edges get crispy.
Step 6: Brush the edges and top of the pinwheels with the egg mixture. Season the edges with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove the pepperoni bread from the oven and let it sit for 15 minutes. Serve hot with leftover Sunday Sauce or just by itself.
Pro-Tips
- When rolling the dough out, avoid letting it become too thin. The thinner the dough is, the more likely it is to fall apart and break during the cooking process while the bread is expanding.
- Make sure that the dough is at room temperature when you start to roll it out. Leave it out on the counter until it reaches room temperature.
Recipe FAQs
You can bake the bread as a loaf instead of cutting it into pinwheels. Then just bake the bread in the oven on a baking tray for 30 minutes. The only thing that will be different is the shape.
Calzones have one fold while stromboli are rolled. The calzone ingredients are placed on half of the dough and then the dough is folded over. The stromboli ingredients are rolled into the dough.
How to Store and Reheat
Storage is easy. Wrap the pepperoni bread in aluminum foil and store it in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
When reheating, defrost first in the fridge if frozen. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees until it is warmed through. You can bake from frozen but just bake for longer to adjust for the temperature.
Video Recipe
Great Appetizers For The Holidays
Please leave a comment and star rating below in the recipe card! I love to hear what you think of our recipes. Feel free to tag us on Instagram @vindelgiudice.
📖 Recipe
Pepperoni Bread (Stromboli)
Equipment
- 1 baking pan
Ingredients
- 1 large pizza dough
- ¼ lb slicing pepperoni
- ¼ lb slicing salami
- ¼ lb mozzarella
- ¼ lb provolone
- ½ cup parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375℉. Roll out your pizza dough on a heavily floured surface until it is about ¼ inch thick in the shape of a pizza. Layer your slices of cheese across the pizza so that they cover as much of the dough as possible. Then sprinkle the parmesan across the dough. Add a layer of pepperoni and salami so that the meat isn't overlapping.
- Pull the edges of the dough so there is some space between the cheese/meat and the edge of the dough. Roll the dough into a log or loaf of bread with the seam placed at the bottom so that it doesn't unroll.
- Cut the bread into 8 even rolls and place them in an oiled round baking pan so that they're touching in the middle. There should be some space around the edge. Brush the edges and top of the bread with the egg mixture. Season the edges with salt, pepper, and garlic powder.
- Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve hot with tomato sauce!
Notes
- When rolling the dough out, avoid letting it become too thin. The thinner the dough is, the more likely it is to fall apart and break during the cooking process while the bread is expanding.
- Rolls can be stored in the refrigerator and the freezer and then reheated by baking in the oven at 350℉.
Nicole
This is the first time I’ve ever prepared and brought an appetizer to a family party. I’m not much of a chef and would prefer to buy my contributions. This recipe seemed easy enough, so I decided to give it a shot. Multiple people asked for the recipe when leaving. This Stromboli was such a hit! Thank you always from scratch.