Hot Italian Stromboli. – Half Baked Harvest

Hot Italian Stromboli – made at home! This is so much better than your local pizzeria. Pizza dough rolled up with basil pesto, marinara sauce, Italian chilies, roasted red peppers, lots of melty Italian cheese, and spicy pepperoni. As soon as the stromboli comes out of the oven serve it while all that cheese is hot and bubbly. Trust me, this is a deliciously fun change from the everyday pizza night. We sure love this easy dinner!

Ohh, I hope you all love this as much as we do, I’m so excited about this recipe! It’s no secret that we love pizza. If I wasn’t cooking for the site every day, we’d definitely be having pizza at least once a week. And back when my dad did the cooking, we definitely did!

Of course, dad used a store-bought, pre-baked pizza crust, but even with the so, so crust, we’ve always enjoyed pizza at home! It was very, very rare we ever ordered it out.

But when we went out to dinner on vacation, often someone would order a stromboli for the table. To no one’s surprise, the stromboli was 9 times out of 10 the crowd favorite. It’s a fun change from pizza.

I’ve only made stromboli at home a handful of times. But I was feeling the need to switch up pizza night, so here we are with the most delicious recipe!

I used my dad’s pizza as inspiration for the flavors. He always cooks with a lot of basil, chilies, cheese, and to be honest, he’d top a ton of dishes, Italian or not, with thinly sliced pepperoni. He didn’t have any food “do’s or dont’s”.

My stromboli is layered with pesto, marinara sauce, Italian chilies, Italian seasoning, and plenty of cheese (provolone is my fav here). Then I add in a combination of thinly sliced pepperoni with thinly sliced Spanish deli chorizo too.

Details On This Hot Italian Stromboli

Start with the dough. I like to use my homemade pizza dough recipe. I usually make my recipe from the HBH Every Day Cookbook. If you can think a few hours ahead of time, I’d recommend making your own dough. If not, store-bought pizza dough works great too. Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s both have great options that I love!

The rest is assembly and baking. We’re using 1 pound of dough, so I divide it in half to make 2 strombolis. Roll each dough round out into a rectangle. I make mine a little larger than say a 9×13-inch baking dish.

Now, transfer the rolled out dough to a piece of parchment. Don’t skip this. The stromboli will be too hard to move once it’s all assembled and ready to bake.

Layer the dough with basil pesto, then marinara sauce, and sprinkle on some chili flakes. Or try using the Calabrian chili paste I’ve been loving. Then add lots of roasted red peppers, and now cheese!

I love a mix of mozzarella and provolone. They melt perfectly and are delicious when paired with these flavors.

For the meats, I LOVE pepperoni. For me, it’s a must. I also like to use deli-style Spanish chorizo, it adds a lot of flavor and spice. We find it to be unique and delicious!

Tuck in the dough and wrap and roll, just as if you were making cinnamon rolls.

Now that the stromboli is formed, brush each with a beaten egg and then sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake. You’ll have a very cheesy stromboli that will smell incredible. Like your favorite pizzeria, but at home!

Looking for more Italian recipes? Here are a few to try:

Calabrian Chili Roasted Red Pepper Pizza

Spicy Tuscan Chicken Pasta

Pull Apart Italian Sub Sliders

Creamy Roasted Tomato Ricotta Pasta with Crispy Prosciutto

One Pot Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta with Whipped Ricotta

Lastly, if you make this Hot Italian Stromboli, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!