You won’t believe how easy it is to make this pizza with low sodium ingredients! It bakes up crispy and delicious with only 57 mg of sodium per slice.
Pizza lovers rejoice! You can still enjoy a terrific pizza while living a low sodium lifestyle. The key is making your pizzas with the lowest sodium ingredients possible. This recipe starts with half a recipe of my Homemade Low Sodium Pizza Crust topped with my Low Sodium Tomato Sauce, Low Sodium Homemade Italian Sausage, a simple red bell pepper and onion sauté, and a really low sodium shredded swiss cheese.
Pizza is typically extremely high in sodium, so much that it’s part of the Salty Six, a list of the six saltiest popular foods we love to eat. By swapping out the high sodium ingredients like the crust, cheese, and Italian sausage with lower sodium options, the sodium count decreases enough that it can easily fit into my husband’s 1500 mg per day limit. As always, check with your doctor to determine your daily sodium limit.
Ingredients You Need to Make This Low Sodium Pizza with Italian Sausage & Peppers
Here’s what you need to make this pizza.
Olive Oil
Onion
Red Bell Pepper – You can use any bell pepper for this recipe. I love red, but green, yellow, or any color, or a mix, will work.
Italian Seasoning – Make sure your seasonings are all salt-free
Salt-Free Seasoning – I’m partial to Aldi’s line of Stonemill Salt-Free Seasonings, but you can use your favorite.
Black Pepper
Easy Low Sodium Pizza Crust or your favorite pizza dough – You can use store-bought dough; be sure to check the sodium count.
Low Sodium Homemade Italian Sausage – I highly recommend making Italian sausage from scratch. Store-bought sausages are typically extremely high in sodium.
Easy Low Sodium Tomato Sauce or your favorite low sodium tomato sauce
Shredded Swiss Cheese – Swiss cheese is always the first cheese I reach for because it’s typically lower in sodium than other cheeses. For a splurge, I’ll mix a little mozzarella in with the Swiss for extra cheesy goodness.
Equipment You’ll Need
How to Make Low Sodium Pizza with Italian Sausage & Peppers
For many people, the trickiest part about making pizza from scratch is rolling out the dough into that elusive perfect circle. Here’s a pro tip: don’t worry about getting the dough into a perfect circle. No one I’ve ever cooked for has denied a slice of pizza because it wasn’t cut from a perfect circle. Roll the dough out to the thickness you prefer. Transfer it to your pizza pan, if you’re using one, and use your fingertips to press the dough evenly into the pan.
Another option is to roll the dough out on a piece of parchment paper. It won’t stick to the parchment, and you can use the parchment paper to help transfer it to your pizza pan or baking sheet.
Once the dough is in your pan, I recommend chilling the pizza in the freezer for 10 mins. This helps prevent the dough from shrinking as it bakes. Add the tomato sauce and the rest of your toppings, bake and enjoy!
Step by Step Instructions
- Sauté onion, peppers, and seasonings in olive oil. Set aside.
- Roll dough into a 12-inch circle and place in a pizza pan or on a baking sheet. Place pan and dough in the freezer for 10 mins.
- Spread tomato sauce evenly over the dough. Top with Italian Sausage, peppers and onion, and cheese.
- Bake until crust is lightly browned and crisp and cheese is bubbly.
Variations
Pizza is one of the easiest foods to customize. If Italian Sausage and Peppers aren’t your thing, swap them out for your favorite pizza toppings. If you’re using a protein, make sure it’s fully cooked before you add it to your pie. If you like your veggies crunchy, add them raw. I like to sauté them first to soften them a bit.
Low Sodium Pizza with Italian Sausage & Peppers FAQs
Can I make this without a pizza pan or pizza stone?
Absolutely! I make pizza in a pizza pan, but it’s easy and equally delicious to make a freeform pizza by rolling your dough out and placing it on a baking sheet. If your baking sheet is not nonstick, dust it lightly with cornmeal to prevent your pizza from sticking. If you are using a pizza stone, place it in the oven as it preheats so the stone gets hot.
What if I want a thicker crust?
This recipe uses a half recipe of my Easy Low Sodium Pizza Crust recipe, 1 12-oz ball of dough, for a thin, cracker-like crust. For a thicker crust, roll or press dough into a smaller circle before adding toppings, or roll or press a full pizza crust recipe into a 12-inch circle. Bake an additional 3-5 minutes until the crust is cooked through.
Low Sodium Pizza with Italian Sausage & Peppers
Ingredients
- For the Peppers:
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, sliced
- 1 red, yellow or green bell pepper, sliced
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon salt free seasoning
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- For the Pizza:
- 1 12oz ball pizza dough or Homemade Low Sodium Pizza Crust
- 6 tablespoons Easy Low Sodium Tomato Sauce or your favorite low sodium tomato sauce
- 1½ cups (about 6.5 oz) Low Sodium Homemade Italian Sausage
- 1½ cups shredded Swiss cheese (about 4 oz.)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450° F.
- Sauté the Peppers: Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Season with Italian seasoning, salt free seasoning and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until peppers and onion are crisp-tender, 5-7 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Roll dough on a lightly-floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Use your fingers to gently press dough into pizza pan or place dough on a large baking sheet. Place dough in freezer for 10 minutes. (This helps prevent dough from shrinking when baked.)
- Remove dough from freezer and spread tomato sauce evenly over dough. Top with Italian sausage, sauteed peppers, and cheese.
- Bake until the crust is crisp and golden brown, 12-15 minutes.
Notes
This recipe makes a thin, cracker-like crust. For a thicker crust, roll dough into a smaller circle before adding toppings. Bake an additional 3-5 minutes until crust is cooked through.
Nutrition Facts
Low Sodium Pizza with Italian Sausage & Peppers
Serves: 8 slices
|
Amount Per Serving: 1 slice
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 263 | |
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat 12.9 mg | 18.5% | |
| Saturated Fat 5.8 g | 25% | |
| Trans Fat | ||
| Cholesterol 36 mg | 12% | |
| Sodium 57.5 mg | 2.4% | |
| Total Carbohydrate 22.3 g | 7.3% | |
| Dietary Fiber 2.7 g | 8% | |
| Sugars 3.4 g | ||
| Protein 12.8 g | ||
| Vitamin A 21.7% | Vitamin C 53.1 % | |
| Calcium 10.2% | Iron 12.4% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
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