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–+ servings

Bolognese Pizza

5 from 3 votes
Bolognese pizza with fresh dairy free mozzarella cheese slices and torn fresh basil leaves.
Homemade bolognese pizza is an easy recipe made with a flavorful bolognese meat sauce topped with mozzarella and fresh basil leaves. If you love pasta bolognese, you have to try the pizza version.
Author: Lindsey Jenkins
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 4 pizzas

Ingredients
 

Bolognese Sauce

  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium yellow or white onion diced
  • 2 stalks celery diced
  • 2 large carrots peeled and diced
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 pound ground Italian sausage
  • 1 cup red wine OR beef broth
  • ¾ cup milk of choice I used oat milk
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
  • freshly ground black pepper to taste

Pizza

Instructions

Make the bolognese sauce

  • Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven or large pot over medium heat. Add in the diced onion, celery, and carrot. Saute for 4-5 minutes or until the onions are translucent, stirring occasionally. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for an additional minute.
  • Add the ground sausage and break it up with a spatula. Cook until browned and no longer pink.
  • Add the wine (or broth) and simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, or until it has evaporated. Add in the milk of choice and simmer uncovered until evaporated.
  • Add Italian seasoning, tomato paste, crushed tomatoes with juice, bay leaf, and a teaspoon of kosher salt. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes until the sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally. Remove the bay leaf and season to taste with more kosher salt as needed and freshly cracked black pepper.

Assemble the pizza

  • Preheat your oven to 500°F/260°C and place a pizza stone (or an inverted, rimmed baking sheet) on the middle oven rack.
  • On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll the pizza dough into a circular shape and then transfer it to a generously floured (alternatively you can use cornmeal) pizza peel or preheated baking sheet.
  • Spoon a layer of the sauce onto the dough, leaving about ½-inch space around the edges. Follow with shredded cheese or dairy free mozzarella slices.
  • Bake for about 7-10 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Top with torn pieces of fresh basil leaves.

Notes

See the blog post for step-by-step photos and helpful tips.

Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations

No ground sausage? - you can use any type of ground meat such as ground beef or ground chicken, just make sure to season it more since Italian sausage is well-seasoned.
No red wine? - you can also use white wine or beef broth.
No crushed tomatoes? - you can also use whole peeled tomatoes (you crush them with your hands into the pot), diced, or chopped tomatoes. 
​Make spicy bolognese pizza - use spicy Italian sausage and also add in red pepper flakes.
Make it gluten free - use your favorite gluten free pizza crust or flatbread as the base.
Add-ons - dairy free parmesan cheese (or dairy parmesan or pecorino romano if not dairy free).