Longganisa Pizza with Mozzarella and Red Onion
Recipe Guy
Filipino-American sausage pizza | Sliced longganisa | Banana-ketchup tomato sauce
Sweet, garlicky longganisa makes a substantial pizza topping, so thin slices and a tangy sauce matter. Mozzarella supplies the melt, a little cheddar adds sharpness, and red onion keeps each bite from being only sausage and cheese.
About This Recipe
Cook the longganisa links separately before slicing them into rounds. Their time in the pizza oven is for coloring the edges, not replacing that first cook. Letting the links cool makes cleaner slices and helps you distribute them without overlapping.
Banana ketchup joins prepared pizza sauce, vinegar, oregano, and red pepper flakes in a modest coating for the dough. Keep the raised rim clear. Once the pizza is baked, scallions and a short rest finish it before cutting into eight slices.
Ingredient Notes
Use sliced longganisa
Choose links rather than loose sausage so they can be fully cooked, cooled, and cut into distinct rounds that distribute evenly over the pizza.
Check the package
Longganisa may be sold fresh, frozen, fully cooked, or ready to heat. Follow the label and cook any raw pork sausage to 160 F before it goes on the pizza.
Balance the sauce
A tablespoon of banana ketchup adds Filipino sweet-style tomato flavor; cane vinegar keeps the sauce from becoming sugary beside the longganisa.
Cheese blend
Low-moisture mozzarella supplies melt and stretch, while a small amount of sharp cheddar stands up to the sweet, garlicky sausage.
Cooking Notes
- Give resistant dough the covered rest specified in the method instead of pulling harder. Once it relaxes, stretch gradually so the center does not become thin enough to tear.
- Place sausage rounds with small gaps between them. Overlapping slices concentrate meat and rendered fat in a few spots while leaving other portions with little longganisa.
Longganisa Pizza with Mozzarella and Red Onion Recipe
This Filipino-American pizza pairs fully cooked sliced longganisa with mozzarella, sharp cheddar, red onion, and a tangy banana-ketchup tomato sauce.
Yield: 1 (14-inch) pizza, cut into 8 slices Serving size: 1 slice (1/8 pizza)
Yield note: The base recipe starts with 6 ounces raw longganisa and uses all of its drained, cooked slices; the cooked weight will be lower and varies by brand. Do not add more links to reach 6 ounces cooked. The pizza serves 4 as a main dish or 8 as a snack.
Shopping List
- 1-pound prepared pizza dough ball
- olive oil
- raw pork longganisa links
- red onion
- low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella
- sharp cheddar cheese
- prepared pizza sauce
- banana ketchup
- cane vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- dried oregano
- crushed red pepper flakes
- scallions
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 pound prepared plain pizza dough, refrigerated or thawed
- 1 teaspoon olive oil for the rim
Longganisa Topping
- 6 ounces raw pork longganisa links (about 3 to 4 links, depending on size)
- 1/3 cup water for cooking the longganisa
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 5 ounces low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella, shredded
- 1/2 ounce sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Sauce and Finish
- 1/3 cup (85 grams) prepared pizza sauce
- 1 tablespoon banana ketchup
- 1 teaspoon cane vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 scallions, thinly sliced
Instructions
- Take the 1-pound dough ball out of the refrigerator 60 to 90 minutes before shaping. Keep it covered while it loses its chill.
- Put the raw longganisa links and 1/3 cup water in a medium skillet. Cover and cook over medium heat, turning occasionally, until the water is nearly gone, 8 to 10 minutes.
- Uncover and continue cooking the links in their rendered fat for 3 to 5 minutes, turning to brown all sides. Verify that the center of each raw pork link reaches 160 F on an instant-read thermometer.
- Transfer the cooked longganisa to a clean plate and cool for about 10 minutes. Slice crosswise about 1/4 inch thick and use the full cooked output from the 6 ounces raw links. Do not top up to 6 ounces cooked or return the sausage to a raw-meat plate.
- During the final 45 minutes of the dough rest, place a pizza stone or steel on a lower-middle rack and heat the oven to 500 F. For a dark heavy pizza pan or sheet-pan fallback, heat the oven to 475 F and allow 2 to 4 extra minutes of baking.
- Stir the pizza sauce, banana ketchup, vinegar, dried oregano, and crushed red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Taste the sauce with a small piece of cooked longganisa; it should be tangy enough to balance the sausage.
- Shape the relaxed dough into a 14-inch round with a 3/4-inch raised rim. If the dough pulls back, cover it for 10 minutes before stretching again.
- Transfer the dough to a prepared pizza peel for the stone or steel, or directly onto the pizza pan prepared according to its manufacturer's directions. Use parchment only if its manufacturer explicitly rates it for the selected 500 F or 475 F bake and cooking surface; ordinary 425 F-rated parchment is not suitable. Brush the rim with the measured olive oil and spread the sauce inside it.
- Scatter on the mozzarella and cheddar, then add the red onion. Arrange the sliced longganisa rounds evenly across the cheese, leaving small gaps rather than overlapping the sausage.
- Slide the pizza onto the hot stone or steel and bake until the underside and rim are browned, the cheese bubbles, and the longganisa edges begin to caramelize, 10 to 13 minutes. Use the same visual cues with a conventional pizza pan.
- Move the pizza to a cutting board, scatter on the scallions, and rest for 3 minutes before cutting into 8 slices.
Nutrition Estimate
Approximate values based on USDA-style generic ingredient data and typical prepared-dough and longganisa labels. Longganisa and cheese brands vary widely in fat, sugar, and sodium, so actual nutrition will vary by brand, exact portion size, substitutions, and cooking losses. For the cooked output from 6 ounces raw longganisa, not the 6-ounce fully cooked alternative; brands and drained fat affect values.
Tips For The Best Longganisa Pizza with Mozzarella and Red Onion
- Cook raw links completely first: The short pizza bake is for crisping the sliced sausage, not for safely cooking raw ground pork through.
- Cool before slicing: Warm links smear and lose their round shape. A 10-minute rest makes cleaner sausage rounds.
- Taste before adding salt: Longganisa, prepared dough, sauce, and cheese all contain sodium. This recipe needs no automatic addition of salt.
- Space the sausage: Overlapping coins trap rendered fat and can make the center heavy. Even spacing puts some longganisa on every slice.
- Match the sauce to the brand: For a very sweet longganisa, add another 1/2 teaspoon vinegar. For a salty or garlicky version, keep the sauce as written.
How To Serve And Store
Serve hot with atchara or a cucumber-tomato salad on the side. Keep wet pickles off the pizza until each slice is plated so the crust stays crisp. Cool leftovers within 2 hours and refrigerate in a covered container for up to 3 days. Reheat in a 400 F oven or toaster oven for 6 to 8 minutes, until the center reaches 165 F and the crust has crisped. For advance prep, cook and slice the longganisa up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate it in a covered container; bring the dough to room temperature only on baking day.
Common Questions
Can I use a different style of longganisa?
Yes. Sweet or garlicky pork longganisa both work. Cook raw links to 160 F first, then cool and slice them before assembling the pizza.
Can I use fully cooked longganisa?
Yes, as a separate, heavier-topping variation: use 6 ounces of links labeled fully cooked, slice 1/4 inch thick, and skip the raw-sausage simmer. Follow the package reheating directions. Six ounces fully cooked is not equivalent to the base recipe's 6 ounces raw, and changes the topping's nutrition.
Can I use skinless longganisa?
Yes, if it holds together as a link. Cook it gently, cool it fully, and use a sharp knife so the slices keep their shape.
What if I cannot find banana ketchup?
Replace it with 2 teaspoons regular ketchup plus 1 teaspoon packed brown sugar. Keep the vinegar in the sauce.
Can I use chicken longganisa?
Yes. Cook raw poultry longganisa to 165 F before cooling and slicing, then follow the pizza method as written.
Can raw longganisa cook entirely on top of the pizza?
Not with this method. The links are cooked separately to 160 F before cooling and slicing. The short pizza bake then heats the prepared topping and colors its edges alongside the cheese.
Can I bake it without a pizza stone or steel?
Yes. The card includes a heavy pizza pan or sheet-pan alternative at its lower listed oven setting. Use the same browned underside, colored rim, and bubbling cheese cues rather than judging only the topping.
Technique and food-safety references: reynoldsbrands.com; ask.fsis.usda.gov.
