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    Home » Recipes » Dinner

    Modified: Jan 20, 2025 · Published: Aug 8, 2020 by Melinda O'Malley Keckler · This post may contain affiliate links · this blog generates income from ads.

    Homemade Stuffed Crust Pizza

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Homemade Stuffed Crust Pizza is an easy-to-make homemade pizza crust stuffed with mozzarella cheese. The chewy and crisp crust is ready for your favorite toppings in about 30 minutes and might remind you of the pizza crust from your favorite pizzeria!

    Top the pizza crust with your (affiliate link) favorite red sauce or better yet, make your own from scratch. Garlic Parmesan Pizza Sauce is a delicious white pizza sauce that goes great with this cheesy homemade crust!

    A serving a cheese-stuffed pizza being scooped up,
    Jump to:
    • ⭐ Why Melinda Loves Stuffed Crust Pizza
    • 🍕Ingredients to Have on Hand
    • ⭐ Pro Tip
    • 📋 How to Make Homemade Stuffed Crust Pizza
    • 🍽 Homemade Cheese Stuffed Crust of Any Size
    • 💭 Recipe FAQs
    • 🥘 More Dinner Recipes
    • Recipe
    • Comments

    ⭐ Why Melinda Loves Stuffed Crust Pizza

    The ingredients are tossed together while the yeast does all the hard work. Serve this with Crunchy Cole Slaw, Mixed Bean Salad or Easy Edamame Salad instead of a tossed salad.

    At a mere 20 seconds of "kneading time," the homemade dough is easy on the arms.

    It's a versatile pizza crust recipe. Stuff the crust or leave the crust plain, either way, this is a wonderful, chewy pizza crust that bakes to perfection.

    🍕Ingredients to Have on Hand

    A bag of pizza flour.

    Flour: I've made this recipe for years and used all-purpose flour. The results were great. (Affiliate link.) But then on a fluke one day I bought Neopolitan Style Pizza Flour and couldn't believe the difference in the crust's texture. I highly recommend making your cheese stuffed crust using this type of flour. (Photo above.) It creates a crispy, puffy crust that's perfect with pizza toppings and melted cheese!

    ⭐ Pro Tip

    Looking for Neopolitan Style Pizza Flour? I found it in my grocery store next to the pizza sauce and spaghetti sauce. But in some stores, I've also seen it on the shelves near the baking supplies and all-purpose flour. Or, just use my affiliate link and get it here. (I make a small commission, but your price is the same.)

    Cheese stuffed pizza crust ingredients on a large plate.

    It really couldn't be much easier to make homemade cheese-stuffed pizza crust. For a wonderful family-style menu, especially if you have a crowd, serve pizza with Cheesy Baked Ziti or spaghetti topped with Sunday Gravy or Spicy Alfredo Pasta Sauce.

    Yeast: Use any variety or brand. I prefer the quick-rise type of yeast but any yeast will work great, just be sure to check the expiration date.

    Mozzarella Cheese Sticks: Also known as string cheese, is just the right shape to create a cheese "rope" around the edge of the pizza crust. As an option, you could also use shredded cheese, but the best cheesy and melty results come from using string cheese.

    Garlic, Olive Oil, Sugar and Salt: These pantry staples are easy to keep on hand and together create the flavor and texture for the pizza crust.

    See the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

    📋 How to Make Homemade Stuffed Crust Pizza

    It's easy to take a regular homemade pizza crust from ordinary to extra-special with the simple addition of 9 sticks of mozzarella cheese. Here's how to create and stuff the pizza crust, step-by-step.

    Yeast bubbling in the bottom of a large bowl with olive oil and water.

    Step 1: Place the yeast along with the warm water, olive oil, garlic, sugar and salt in the bottom of your mixing bowl. Let the ingredients sit for about 10 minutes or until the yeast starts to foam and bubble. (Photo above.)

    Pizza dough ingredients in a mixer with a dough hook.

    Step 2: Add 3 cups of flour to the same mixing bowl and blend using a dough hook until a soft dough is formed. (Photo above.)

    A mound of pizza dough after being kneaded.

    Step 3: Place the remaining ½ cup of flour on a cutting board and add the mound of dough. (Photo above.)

    A hand holding a mound of pizza dough over a mixing bowl.

    Step 4: Knead the dough for about 20 seconds then spray the inside of the mixing bowl with Pam, or grease with shortening, and return the dough to the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a dish towel and let rise for 20 minutes. (Photo above.)

    Pizza dough with cheese sticks.

    Step 5: Spray a pizza pan with Pam or grease with a thin film of shortening and use your fingers to spread the dough across the pizza pan, covering it thoroughly. Arrange the mozzarella cheese sticks along the edges of the dough, leaving about 1 inch of space from the edge of the dough. Wrap each cheese stick with the extra dough. (Photo above.)

    Pizza dough on a pan, with stuffed crust.

    Step 6: Continue covering each cheese stick until you've created a cheese-stuffed edge all the way around. (Photo above.) Top with your favorite pizza sauce and toppings, bake and enjoy!

    Pro Tip: Be sure to seal the edge of the crust to keep the cheese from spreading once it melts during baking.

    🍽 Homemade Cheese Stuffed Crust of Any Size

    The recipe is the perfect amount of pizza dough for a standard 16-inch pizza pan, but you can easily adapt and spread the pizza crust in nearly any size pan.

    Unbaked pizza with toppings.

    Round pizzas anywhere from 14 inches to 16 inches are classic but as an option, you could create several round mini pizzas using this recipe.

    Unbaked pizza with toppings and a cheese stuffed crust.

    Or shape the dough on a baking pan and create a square or rectangle, cheese-stuffed crust pizza.

    💭 Recipe FAQs

    What type of flour should I use?

    I'm a big fan of using Neopolitan-style pizza flour (scroll up to the "Ingredients to Have on Hand" section for those details), such as the King Arther Baking Company brand. It's ground more finely than all-purpose flour and will create a puffy and crispy pizza crust. But all-purpose or even bread flour can also create delicious results.

    How do I reheat stuffed crust pizza?

    The microwave does a good job of reheating leftover pizza from the refrigerator. But to successfully recreate that pizzeria-style pizza with a cheese-stuffed crust, I recommend placing the leftover slices on a baking sheet and reheating them in a 325° F oven for 10-15 minutes.

    Can I use store-bought pizza dough?

    Sure. That's a great time saver too.

    Do I have to stuff the crust with cheese?

    You can leave the cheese sticks off the crust and enjoy a delicious un-stuffed pizza crust! I made this recipe for years without stuffing the crust.

    A baked pizza on a pizza pan.

    🥘 More Dinner Recipes

    Homemade Cheese Stuffed Crust is a delicious weeknight dinner with the family, but also fun for gatherings. Here are a few more recipes to feed your hungry crowd.

    • A serving of spring roll in a bowl on a table outdoors with two forks and a plate.
      Spring Roll in a Bowl
    • A serving of spicy peanut noodles on a plate with peanuts, onion and cilantro.
      Spicy Peanut Butter Noodles
    • A gravy bowl full of gravy with a serving spoon.
      Better Than Bouillon Gravy Recipe (Make-Ahead)
    • Photos showing various recipes that include meat and cheese.
      10 Easy Dinner Recipes with Meat and Cheese

    If you tried Homemade Stuffed Crust Pizza or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I look forward to hearing from you!

    Recipe

    A serving a cheese-stuffed pizza being scooped up,

    Homemade Stuffed Crust Pizza

    Forget takeout or delivery, make your cheese-stuffed pizza crust at home. This recipe makes just the right amount for one large, family-sized pizza. Other great recipes to feed a casual gathering include Cheeseburger Sliders with Hawaiian Rolls and Chicken Spaghetti with Rotel!
    5 from 25 votes
    Print Rate Pin Recipe
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Rising Time: 20 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 50 minutes minutes
    Servings: 8 people
    Calories: 241kcal
    Author: Melinda O'Malley Keckler

    Ingredients 

    • 1 cup water - heated to 110°-115° degrees, from the kitchen faucet
    • 1 envelope dry yeast
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 2 tablespoons garlic, finely chopped - use more, less, or no garlic, to your taste
    • 1 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
    • 3 ½ cups all purpose flour - use pizza flour
    • 9 sticks mozzarella cheese sticks - unwrapped

    Instructions

    Prep Cheese and Crust Ingredients

    • Place warm water (hot from the kitchen faucet works fine) in a mixing bowl and add the yeast, olive oil, garlic, salt and sugar. Let sit for 10 minutes.
    • Unwrap 9 mozzarella cheese sticks, discard the plastic wrappings and set the cheese aside.

    Add Flour

    • Once the yeast has started to bubble in the mixing bowl, add three cups of flour and mix using a bread hook or a sturdy spoon, until the dough no longer sticks to the sides of the bowl.
      Add a few tablespoons of additional flour if needed to create a firm dough.

    Knead

    • Sprinkle a ¼ cup of flour on a cutting board or piece of parchment paper. Remove the mound of pizza dough from the bowl and place it on top of the flour. Knead for 20 seconds.

    Rising Time

    • Spray the same bowl you used to mix the dough with Pam or use a paper towel to spread it with a thin coat of shortening.
      Return the mound of dough to the bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a towel.
      Place the bowl in a warm spot (or on the kitchen counter) and allow the dough to rise for 20 minutes.
    • After 20 minutes place the dough on your pizza pan, use your fingers to pat the dough and spread it to the edges of the pan.
      Place the unwrapped cheese sticks along the edge of the pizza dough, leaving about 1 inch of extra dough between the cheese and the edge of the pan.
      Gently stretch the extra inch of dough around each cheese stick and press the dough down to seal the cheese stick in place.
      Add the toppings to the top of the pizza crust.
      Bake at 425° F for 15-20 minutes. Check the pizza at 15 minutes.
      How to Know When the Pizza is Done: The pizza crust will be golden brown, the cheese should be melted in the center and the toppings should be hot.
      Note: Depending on how many toppings you have, the pizza may need an additional 5 - 10 minutes or so to bake.

    Notes

    Unlike some bread dough, the rising time for homemade pizza crust is less than 30 minutes and you won't need to wait until the dough doubles in size. Just let the dough sit long enough to rest and "grow" by about ¼ the size of the original mound of dough. Top this crust of Garlic Parmesan Pizza Sauce for a winning flavor combination!
    Calories: 241kcalCarbohydrates: 43gProtein: 6gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 303mgPotassium: 75mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 0.3IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 14mgIron: 3mg

    Please note, the nutrition details are estimated using a food database, so they’re just a rough estimate not an exact science.

    Did you try this recipe? Leave a comment below or @crinkledcookbook on Instagram, snap a photo and tag it #crinkledcookbook

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    Comments

      5 from 25 votes (25 ratings without comment)

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    1. Claudia says

      July 05, 2024 at 2:07 am

      5 stars
      I’ve tried this recipe before, and it's incredible! The stuffed crust really takes the pizza to the next level. Great choice!

      Reply
    2. JC says

      July 03, 2024 at 7:02 pm

      5 stars
      This was ridiculously delicious. My entire family went nuts over it!

      Reply
    3. Bernice says

      July 03, 2024 at 9:47 am

      5 stars
      What a treat! I won a pizza oven just after Christmas and have been looking for a great pizza dough recipe for a while. We tried yours and it worked perfectly!

      Reply
      • Melinda O'Malley Keckler says

        July 03, 2024 at 10:13 am

        That's great to hear and enjoy that pizza oven!

        Reply
    4. Sonja says

      July 02, 2024 at 12:06 am

      5 stars
      Finally I know how to make stuffed crust pizza, so I can have it anytime when the craving strikes. I had tried it before with grated cheese, with limited success, so your idea with the mozzarella sticks was just the tip I needed for the perfect stuffed crust.

      Reply
      • Melinda O'Malley Keckler says

        July 02, 2024 at 7:01 am

        Thank you Sonja! Enjoy. 🙂

        Reply
    5. Adriana says

      July 01, 2024 at 6:41 pm

      5 stars
      My favorite pizza is with stuffed crust. This one was so good!

      Reply
      • Melinda O'Malley Keckler says

        July 01, 2024 at 7:53 pm

        Thank you for the five star rating Adriana!

        Reply

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