The diavola pizza recipe is a tomato and mozzarella pizza topped with spicy salami and chili oil. At home, you bake it on a preheated stone at 550°F for 11 to 15 minutes, after a dough rest of at least 24 hours.
The heat comes mostly from the salami, so start with a salami you already enjoy and add chili oil in small steps. Making the dough a day ahead keeps the evening simple.
What Is a Diavola Pizza?
A diavola pizza is an Italian pizza topped with spicy salami, and its name means devil in Italian. It is also called diavolo or pizza alla diavola.
A diavola pizza recipe keeps the classic base of tomato sauce and fresh mozzarella. The heat is the defining feature. The Ooni recipe notes that much of the kick comes from Neapolitan spicy salami, so the choice of salami matters as much as the sauce.
This diavola pizza recipe adds a chili oil on top of the salami, so you can tune the heat without changing the base. Some cooks also use crushed red pepper, Fresno chilis or Calabrian chilis for extra bite.
Treat the heat as a separate decision from the rest of the pizza. The tomato sauce, mozzarella and basil stay mild, so the spice sits on top and each person can add more chili to their own slice. For a related spicy topping, see the pepperoni pizza recipe.
Ingredients for a Diavola Pizza Recipe
A diavola pizza recipe for four pizzas needs 4 oz of spicy salami, 12 oz of fresh mozzarella, a 28 oz can of whole tomatoes and chili oil made from 5 dried Calabrian chiles.
- Dough: 4 cups tipo 00 flour, 1 tablespoon kosher salt, 1¾ teaspoons instant dry yeast, 1½ cups warm water
- Chili oil: 1 cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes, 5 dried Calabrian chiles
- Sauce: one 28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes, 1 garlic clove, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Toppings: 4 oz spicy salami, 12 oz fresh mozzarella, 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, ½ cup fresh basil leaves
The Food Network’s home recipe crushes the tomatoes by hand with the garlic, sugar and salt, which leaves small chunks in the sauce. Other versions use San Marzano tomatoes or fior di latte mozzarella. If you want a plain base to compare, the Neapolitan pizza dough recipe is a good starting point for the dough. The salami variety decides how hot the final pizza is, so check the label before you buy.
Corrie Cooks uses a simpler diavola pizza recipe for one pizza. It starts with one ball of store-bought or homemade dough, ½ cup tomato sauce, 1½ cups shredded mozzarella and ¼ pound of thinly sliced spicy salami. It finishes with chili flakes to taste, a pinch of salt, olive oil and fresh basil. Because store-bought dough skips the long rest, this version suits a weeknight, while the Food Network method suits a planned meal for four.
Diavola Pizza Recipe: Step by Step at Home
Make the dough for this diavola pizza recipe a day ahead, heat the chili oil, crush the tomatoes, then bake each pizza on a hot stone at 550°F for 11 to 15 minutes. The dough needs at least 24 hours in the refrigerator before you shape the pizzas.
- Mix 4 cups tipo 00 flour, 1 tablespoon kosher salt and 1¾ teaspoons instant dry yeast. Add 1½ cups warm water and combine by hand. Cover and let rise somewhere warm for 3 to 5 hours, until doubled.
- Divide the dough into four pieces, shape each into a ball, and refrigerate them in lidded containers for at least 24 hours, up to 3 days.
- Before baking, reshape the balls and let them sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours. Stretching tips are in this guide to how to stretch pizza dough.
- Heat the olive oil, red pepper flakes and Calabrian chiles over medium heat for 2 to 3 minutes, until the flakes deepen in color. Pour the oil into a glass jar and cool it for about 1 hour.
- Crush the tomatoes by hand with the garlic, sugar and salt until small chunks remain.
- Heat the pizza stone in the oven at 550°F for 1 hour. Stretch one ball into an 8 to 9 inch round, brush it with 1 tablespoon of chili oil, spread ¼ cup sauce, then add 1 oz salami, 3 oz mozzarella, ¼ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano and another tablespoon of oil.
- Slide the pizza onto the hot stone and bake for 11 to 15 minutes, until the edges puff and the cheese begins to brown. Rest it for 5 minutes, then top with basil, slice and serve.
Repeat the last step with the remaining dough balls. Keep the leftover sauce and oil in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator, where they stay good for up to 5 days.
Two details cause most problems with this diavola pizza recipe. The first is the sauce. The Food Network method spreads about ¼ cup of sauce over an 8 to 9 inch round and leaves a 1 inch border, so a heavy layer will make the center wet. The second is the stone. A diavola pizza recipe baked on a stone that has not heated for the full hour will bake slowly and pale, so give the stone its full hour before the first pizza goes in. After the bake, see how to clean a pizza stone for after-bake care.
If you prefer not to slide the pizza off a peel, Corrie Cooks suggests moving the dough onto parchment paper first, then sliding the parchment and pizza onto the hot stone or baking tray. The parchment makes the transfer easier, though the bake time stays the same.
Oven Settings for a Home Oven and a Pizza Oven
A home oven bakes a diavola pizza at 550°F for 11 to 15 minutes, while a pizza oven at 900°F finishes one in about two minutes. The method you choose sets the temperature and the timing. For a wider look at heat ranges, see pizza oven temperature.
The three published methods below differ mainly in temperature and bake time. Use the home oven settings unless you have a dedicated pizza oven.
| Method | Temperature | Time |
|---|---|---|
| Home oven, Food Network method | 550°F with stone heated 1 hour | 11 to 15 minutes |
| Home oven, simpler method | 475°F on a preheated stone or tray | 10 to 15 minutes |
| Pizza oven, Ooni method | 900°F (480°C) on the baking stone | 1.5 to 2.5 minutes |
In the pizza oven method, you turn the pizza with a peel about every 20 seconds so the crust colors evenly. Ooni’s pizza oven recipe also notes that the salami supplies much of the kick, and suggests having lots of water on hand if you add crushed red pepper or fresh or Calabrian chilis.
The Ooni method also gives the preheat time. It recommends preheating the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, aiming for 900°F on the baking stone, before you stretch the dough into a disc about 12 inches across. Its per pizza build uses about ⅓ cup of sauce, about ⅓ cup of mozzarella, about ½ cup of salami, 5 to 6 basil leaves and a drizzle of olive oil. Those amounts come from a batch of 11 pizzas, so they scale differently from the four pizza home recipe above.
Use the pizza oven numbers for this diavola pizza recipe only if your oven reaches that temperature and you can turn the pizza quickly. In a home oven, the 550°F setting with a full hour of stone heating is the safer starting point.
Controlling the Heat and Storing Leftovers
In this diavola pizza recipe, you control the heat with the amount of salami, crushed red pepper and chili oil. Leftover sauce and oil keep for up to 5 days in the refrigerator when stored in airtight containers.
- For more heat, add a pinch of crushed red pepper or thin slices of Fresno chili.
- After baking, you can spoon a little extra chili oil over the pizza.
- For a milder pizza, choose a salami labeled mild or cut the chili oil in half.
- Taste one small piece before you add more chili to the whole batch.
Heat levels differ between salami brands, so the same diavola pizza recipe can taste hotter on one pizza than another. Adjust in small steps.
The salami quantities also vary between sources. The Food Network diavola pizza recipe uses about 1 oz of spicy salami per pizza, while the Ooni method uses about ½ cup, which is a larger amount by volume. If you want the classic heat of a diavola pizza recipe, start with the smaller amount and add more on the next pizza only if the first one tastes mild.
Keep the leftover sauce and oil in the refrigerator and use them within the 5 day window.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does diavola mean?
Diavola means devil in Italian. The name refers to the spicy salami that gives the pizza its heat. The pizza is also called diavolo or pizza alla diavola.
Can I make a diavola pizza recipe in a regular oven?
Yes. Preheat the oven and the stone to 550°F and let the stone heat for about an hour. Bake each pizza for 11 to 15 minutes, until the edges puff and the cheese browns in spots.
How long should dough rest for a diavola pizza recipe?
Refrigerate the shaped dough balls for at least 24 hours, and up to 3 days. Before baking, let them sit at room temperature for at least 2 hours so they are easy to stretch.
Is a diavola pizza very spicy?
The salami provides most of the heat, and crushed red pepper or chili oil can raise it. Start with the amount in the recipe, then taste and adjust. The final level depends on the salami you choose. A pizza built on mild salami will taste much milder than one made with a hot Calabrian salami.
How long does leftover chili oil last?
Store the leftover sauce and oil in separate airtight containers in the refrigerator. They keep for up to 5 days.
If you are making your first diavola pizza recipe, follow the 24-hour dough rest and the 550°F setting before you experiment with extra chili. Once the base works, adjust the salami and heat to suit the people you cook for, and keep notes on what you changed so the next one tastes the way you want.