This is my quick and easy version of Italian Stromboli. Made with a premade pizza dough, Italian sausage and peppers, this stromboli is not only delicious but you can get it on the table in about 30 minutes or less!

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What is Stromboli?
Stromboli is an Italian American dish where a large rectangular piece of pizza dough with various fillings and cheese is rolled into a loaf shape, baked and sliced. Slightly different from a calzone which uses a smaller circular shaped pizza dough with filling and sauce and folded in half, then baked or sometimes deep fried. I think of Stromboli as more of a meal for 4 to 6 people whereas a calzone is usually for one person. Stromboli typically does not have sauce inside, but I personally like to serve it with a side of marinara for dipping. Heaven! This makes a great appetizer to bring to parties too. I plan to bring this to our Christmas Eve gathering this year.
My Quick and Easy Version of Italian Stromboli
This version is my express version of Stromboli. Normally, you would make your pizza dough ahead and mix your sausage with spices and herbs. That all sounds lovely and good (and believe me it is!), but this mama doesn’t always have that kind of time. And to be honest this quick version tastes just about the same as if you made the whole thing from scratch!
Total Time Savers
Premade Pizza dough: If you prefer to make your own dough for your Italian Stromboli, by all means-go for it! But some nights it’s nice to have these things on hand, amiright? I can usually find a bag of premade pizza dough in the deli section of my local grocery store. You can typically find it where you would find refrigerated pizza toppings such as pepperoni. Trader Joe’s has a good one that has Italian herbs in the dough. It’s good!
Storing your dough: Until it’s time to use your dough, you can store it in your freezer. I’ve kept mine in the freezer for about a month or so and it was still good after I thawed it. Just make sure that if you are freezing it, let it thaw in the fridge the night before. Keep it in the fridge because if you leave it on the countertop, it may double in size and be over proofed. I’ve had that happen! If you keep it in your fridge too long though, it may go flat so try to use it within 3 days.
Sweet Italian sausage: I usually get the pre-seasoned mild sweet Italian ground sausage by Johnsonville. Sometimes I will get it from my local deli but if I can’t manage to go to an extra store, Johnsonville works just fine. The spicy Italian sausage works great too if you like the extra heat. I love using that in my homemade zuppa Toscana recipe. You can check that recipe out here.
Marinara: Yes, I know you can make your own marinara. I’ve made it many times! But we’re going for speed and convenience in this recipe. The sauces I like are Newman’s Own Organic or Organicville Marinara. Use what you like! We won’t be adding the sauce to the filling, we’ll be using this for dipping.

Ingredients:
- Premade pizza dough
- 1 lb ground sweet Italian sausage
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
- 8 oz of shredded mozzarella
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning or oregano
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 1 egg
- salt and pepper to taste
Supplies:
- Rimmed baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- Silicone baking mat (optional but gosh darn it, these work so well, and NOTHING sticks to them!)
- Sharp paring knife for scoring
- Silicone basting brush for egg wash
- Meat Chopper (Optional but it makes life easier!)
- Slotted Spoon



Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees
- On medium heat in a medium sized pan, cook the ground sausage, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
- Use a meat chopper to get the sausage into small uniform pieces.
- Slice bell pepper into thin strips
- Cut the top and root side of onion off, cut in half and make thin slices
- Peel and cut garlic cloves in half and slice thinly
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the sausage into a bowl and set aside.
- To the pan, add some olive oil to the sausage grease, and add the vegetables for about 5 minutes, seasoning with salt.
- Once veggies are soft, remove from heat.
- On a piece of parchment paper, spread pizza dough out evenly into a large rectangle. Be careful not to spread the dough too thin or it will tear while rolling.
- Evenly, spread sausage, vegetables and mozzarella onto the rectangle.
- Using the parchment paper on one side, lift and roll the dough releasing the paper and rolling into a long loaf shape being careful not to tear the dough.
- Tuck the ends of the dough underneath the loaf.
- Carefully transfer stromboli to lined baking sheet.
- Using a sharp paring knife, score the dough into lines where you would cut the pieces.
- Wisk an egg in a small bowl and brush the egg wash over the entire stromboli.
- Sprinkle Italian seasoning or oregano over the top and place in oven
- Bake for 25 minutes or until dough is golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow the Stromboli to rest for about 5-10 minutes before cutting.
- Cut along the score marks and serve with marinara.
Watch my video on how to make Italian Stromboli HERE
Sausage and Pepper Stromboli

Made with red peppers, Italian sausage and premade pizza dough, this stromboli is not only delicious but a quick and easy take on a classic Italian American dish.
Ingredients
- Premade pizza dough
- 1 lb ground sweet Italian sausage
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 Red Bell Pepper
- 3 cloves garlic
- 8 oz shredded mozzarella
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning or oregano
- 1 Tbs olive oil
- 1 egg
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- On medium heat in a medium sized pan, cook the ground sausage, seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.
- Use a meat chopper to get the sausage into small uniform pieces.
- Slice bell pepper into thin strips
- Cut the top and root side of onion off, cut in half and make thin slices
- Peel and cut garlic cloves in half and slice thinly
- Using a slotted spoon, remove the sausage into a bowl and set aside.
- To the pan, add some olive oil to the sausage grease, and add the vegetables for about 5 minutes, seasoning with salt.
- Once veggies are soft, remove from heat.
- On a piece of parchment paper, spread pizza dough out evenly into a large rectangle. Be careful not to spread the dough too thin or it will tear while rolling.
- Evenly, spread sausage, vegetables and mozzarella onto the rectangle.
- Using the parchment paper on one side, lift and roll the dough releasing the paper and rolling into a long loaf shape being careful not to tear the dough.
- Tuck the ends of the dough underneath the loaf.
- Carefully transfer stromboli to lined baking sheet.
- Using a sharp paring knife, score the dough into lines where you would cut the pieces.
- Wisk an egg in a small bowl and brush the egg wash over the entire stromboli.
- Sprinkle Italian seasoning or oregano over the top and place in oven
- Bake for 25 minutes or until dough is golden brown.
- Remove from oven and allow the Stromboli to rest for about 5-10 minutes before cutting.
- Cut along the score marks and serve with marinara.
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