All the flavor you love in cheeseburgers in a large sheet pan pizza! This fun Cheeseburger Pizza is an easy, family-friendly meal.
This unique take on pizza is perfect for a game day party or an easy dinner any night of the week.
Cheeseburger Pizza is just that, a cheeseburger in pizza form. You won’t find any ketchup or mustard on this pizza because, ketchup and mustard on pizza? I just can’t.
Instead, a ground beef mixture with peppers and onions and BBQ sauce create classic burger flavor and a combination of melted cheddar cheese and gooey mozzarella top it off. This base recipe can be customized with a variety of ingredients (see variations below) to create the PERFECT Cheeseburger Pizza for your family.
Table of contents
Recipe Highlights
- Sheet Pan Pizza – Baking pizza on a sheet pan makes enough to feed a good sized group all at once.
- Customizable – Use homemade or store-bought pizza dough to create this cheeseburger pan pizza and switch up the other ingredients to suit your taste.
- Family-Friendly – The cheeseburger flavor profile is a fun and unique take on pizza that appeals to all ages.
Ingredients for Cheeseburger Pizza
- Pizza dough -My Homemade Pizza Crust recipe yields just shy of 2 pounds of dough which is the perfect amount for a pan pizza. If you use store-bought pizza dough, you will likely need to use two bags. You can also split the toppings between two smaller pizzas.
- Ground beef – 90- to 93% lean ground beef.
- Diced yellow onion
- Diced green bell pepper– We love the flavor from green bell pepper for this pizza but you can substitute milder red or yellow bell pepper if you’re not a fan.
- Minced garlic
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- BBQ sauce – A little BBQ sauce goes a long way in adding classic cheeseburger flavor. Use your favorite brand.
- Pizza sauce – I like to whip up a batch of my super easy Easy No-Cook Pizza Sauce. Or, just pick up a jar of sauce from the store.
- Fresh mozzarella -Thinly sliced fresh mozzarella makes a really nice impact with big sections of gooey, melted cheese. Look for pre-sliced mozzarella to make it really easy. Shredded mozzarella will also work.
- Cheddar cheese – Shredded cheddar cheese – for more classic cheeseburger flavor.
Variations
- Bacon – Sprinkle crisped, crumbled bacon over the ground beef mixture before topping with the cheese for Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza.
- Pickles – Instead of thick dill pickles slices which can take on an odd texture when baked, try chopping dill pickle slices and sprinkling them over the ground beef mixture before adding the cheese. Chopped banana peppers would be a great choice too.
- Lettuce and tomato – Top the baked pizza with shredded iceburg lettuce and thinly sliced or chopped tomato for a fresh element.
How to Make Cheeseburger Pizza
This is a quick overview of how to make this recipe. You’ll find detailed instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Shape the pizza dough – Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Roll out the pizza dough on a lightly floured board, then wrap it around the rolling pin to make it easier to transfer to the baking sheet. Pat the dough down, shaping it so that it fits right up to the edges of the pan.
- Par-bake the pizza crust – Bake the crust for 5 minutes at 450 degrees F. Don’t be concerned if the crust puffs up a little in the oven. Remove it from the oven and set it aside and it will deflate a little as it rests.
- Make the cheeseburger topping – Spray a large pan with nonstick cooking spray and place it over medium heat. Cook the ground beef, crushing it with a spoon, until no pink remains. Drain the grease from the pan and return it to the heat. Season with salt and pepper and add the diced onion, green bell pepper, and garlic. Add the barbecue sauce and mix well to combine.
- Simmer – Simmer the mixture on low for about 5 minutes.
What is Par-baking?
Par-baking is the process of partially baking the pizza dough. This gives the crust a head start to make it a bit firmer so that it will stand up to the substantial ingredients without getting soggy.
- Pour the pizza sauce on to the par-baked crust, spreading it to the edges with a pastry brush or the back of a spoon.
- Spread the cooked beef mixture evenly over the top.
- Tear the slices of mozzarella into smaller pieces and place them evenly over the beef mixture.
- Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the top. Bake the pizza for an additional 15 minutes or until the cheeses are melted and edges of the crust are lightly browned. Let it rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Serving Suggestions
Serve Cheeseburger Pizza with a Simple Italian Salad for a complete meal. If you’re serving a larger group, add a pasta dish like Meaty Tortellini Skillet, Creamy Beef and Shells, or Baked Macaroni and Cheese.
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Cheeseburger Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 ½ to 2 pounds pizza dough, (homemade or store-bought)
- 1 pound 90% lean ground beef
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- ½ cup diced green bell pepper
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
- freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¾ cup BBQ sauce
- 1 cup pizza sauce, (homemade or store-bought)
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
- 1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Coat a 12- x 16-inch rimmed baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Roll out the pizza crust dough and pat it down, shaping it so that it fits right up to the edges of the pan. Place the pan in the preheated oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from the oven.
- Meanwhile, coat a large frying pan with nonstick cooking spray. Cook the ground beef over MEDIUM heat, crushing it against the pan with a large spoon, until fully cooked. Drain as much of the grease from the pan as possible. Return the pan to the heat and season with the salt and pepper, to tastes. Add the onion, bell pepper, and minced garlic. Finally, add the BBQ sauce. Combine well and allow to simmer for about 5 minutes over LOW heat. Remove from heat.
- Pour the pizza sauce on to the par-baked crust, spreading it to the edges with a pastry brush or the back of a spoon. Spoon the cooked beef mixture evenly over the top. Tear the slices of mozzarella into smaller pieces and place them evenly over the beef mixture. Sprinkle the cheddar cheese over the top.
- Return to the oven and bake for an additional 15 minutes or until the cheeses are melted and edges of the crust are lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to sit for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Bacon – Sprinkle crisped, crumbled bacon over the ground beef mixture before topping with the cheese for Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza.
- Pickles – Instead of thick dill pickles slices which can take on an odd texture when baked, try chopping dill pickle slices and sprinkling them over the ground beef mixture before adding the cheese. Chopped banana peppers would be a great choice too.
- Lettuce and tomato – Top the baked pizza with shredded iceburg lettuce and thinly sliced or chopped tomato for a fresh element.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
This post was originally published on October 22, 2012. It has been updated with new text and images.
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This website is barely functional on a phone, which is how I most often browse the internet. Wish I could tell you at least the recipe was good, but I can’t read it to make it.
It would be helpful to know what issues you are experiencing so I can have it looked at by my tech team. Thanks!
thank you for this recipe 🙂 my mom used to make something like this and now i make it for my husband and he loves it!
Definitely a good idea for game nights or movie night!
Ketchup, mustard and pickles on a cheeseburger pizza is superb!!! UNO has a pizza like that….yummo!!!
Mmmmmm, another comfort-food delite I wanna try. I confess, I tend to short-circuit some of the more labor-intensive aspects of your recipes, like homemade pizza dough, but the overall effect will be the same.
Pillsbury makes a tube o’ dough that I’m sure will work out just fine for this.
Thanks!
Sounds like you had a great time at Foodbuzz festival. My kids will love this cheeseburger pan pizza. 😀 I always do the same thing – changing into yoga pants. LOL!
Oh, yum! I’ll get the yoga pants! 🙂
I’m always looking for good pizza dough recipes! Thanks for the link to yours, I’m going to check it out 🙂
This just blew my mind. I *need* to make this the next time I have people over! Pinning! 😀
Thanks Willow!
I love fresh mozzarella! This is a such a great idea for a pizza!
Just had to have one more filling and hearty meal before you moved on to the greens! 🙂 What a pizza! Perfect name for it! Glad you had fun at the festival.
Cheeseburger on a homemade pizza. Never thought i would see the day. It looks fantastic and actually quite simple. It is a great alternative to plain cheese and tomato pizza.