Fill this homemade stromboli with your favorite meats and/or cheeses like pepperoni, ham, prosciutto, provolone, mozzarella, and more. I make it from my homemade pizza dough, a simple 6-ingredient dough that stays soft on the inside and develops a wonderfully crisp crust. There’s only 1 rise, which gives you enough time to prep any fillings. Stromboli makes a wonderful meal, but also works as an appetizer or game day snack.
One reader, Lisa, commented: “This is the second time I am making this recipe. First time I used provolone cheese and pepperoni, and tonight we had a Philly cheesesteak one (used peppers, onions, and Steak-umm). Fantastic!! Five stars does not do this recipe justice. Would rate it higher if I could. ★★★★★”
This recipe is such a fan favorite, that it deserved a spot in print! You’ll also find this recipe in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Tell Me About This Homemade Stromboli
- Flavor: This recipe is more like a guideline because you can customize it with your favorite various fillings. Stromboli is a pizzeria menu staple where I grew up in Philly and I usually make it with Genoa salami, deli pepperoni, provolone, and mozzarella cheese. I love brushing the dough with melted butter, garlic, and fresh parsley for added flavor. Garlic powder, dried herbs, or even an Italian seasoning work wonderfully on the dough too. Or spread your favorite pizza sauce on top—see recipe note below. Flavoring/filling options are endless.
- Ease: Looking at the recipe below, you may be intimidated by its length. Don’t be nervous—I wrote the recipe in extreme detail in case you have questions along the way. I work well with visuals, so I include step-by-step photos and a video tutorial too. Overall, I’d say this is an intermediate recipe. The dough is pretty straightforward. Shaping/filling/rolling is easy, but take the time to review this post and directions before you start. No matter how your baked stromboli looks, you’re eating crust/cheese/meats/garlic/and maybe some sauce. It’ll be delicious, I promise.
- Time: There’s no arguing that homemade dough takes time, but the results are always worth the effort. Luckily this dough only requires 1 rise and you can prep your fillings as you wait. It will take you a little less than 3 hours to complete the full recipe.
Stromboli from Pizza Dough
You can make 1 stromboli with 1 pound of store-bought or homemade pizza dough. Even though store-bought dough is convenient, I encourage you to try this homemade dough. It requires just 6 basic ingredients and about 60–90 minutes of rise time.
2 Important Notes on my Pizza Dough:
- My pizza dough yields about 2 lbs. of dough, which is enough for 2 strombolis or 1 stromboli + a batch of cheesy breadsticks, 1 pizza, or even 8 garlic knots.
- I don’t recommend halving this dough recipe. You can try, but for absolute best results, make the full recipe. If you only need 1 stromboli, freeze the other half of dough for another time. I promise you’ll want to make stromboli again.
It’s really handy to have 1 all-purpose dough that works in many different ways; you’ll appreciate its ease and versatility. I use this exact dough for ham & cheese pockets and pepperoni pizza rolls, too.
Stromboli Fillings
Options are endless. If it works as a pizza topping, it will probably work as a stromboli filling. You can’t really go wrong because if you’ve used too much filling, you won’t be able to roll the dough up.
- Base: Butter + garlic + parsley is a great spread for the dough before adding other fillings. Feel free to use more garlic and parsley or swap parsley for another herb or Italian seasoning. You can also use pizza sauce. See below.
- Meats & Cheeses: Make sure any meat you use is cooked. You can use 1/2 pound of various sliced meats per stromboli, this could be about 20 slices per stromboli but that depends on the thickness of the meat. Some meat suggestions are capicola, salami, soppressata, prosciutto, deli ham/turkey/roast beef, and/or pepperoni. Avoid using small pizza pepperoni slices. For best results (and flavor), use large pepperoni slices from the deli counter. You want about 1/2 pound of cheese per stromboli as well. If using shredded cheese, I recommend 1 and 1/2 cups per stromboli. If using sliced deli cheese, I recommend 10-12 slices per stromboli. You can also mix—I usually use 6-8 large slices provolone and 1 cup mozzarella cheese.
- Only Cheese: If you want a meat-free stromboli, still use the recommended amount of cheese. If you add more, it may spill out the sides or be difficult to roll and slice. Feel free to add vegetables. See next.
- Veggies/Herbs: Other filling ideas, instead of or in addition to meats/cheeses, are a layer of cooked mushrooms, cooked chopped broccoli, or cooked sliced peppers (blot excess moisture if you can), spinach, or basil leaves (chopped or whole). For a meatless stromboli, 2 cups of vegetables per stromboli (plus your cheese) works well.
Want to add pizza sauce? You can add pizza/marinara/tomato sauce to the filling. Feel free to skip the melted butter and garlic (or leave it on, doesn’t matter) and spread 1/2 cup of sauce onto each rolled out dough before layering on the meats and cheeses in step 6.
Step-by-Step Photos
Make and knead the dough, referencing my How to Knead Dough tutorial as needed. After you punch down the dough, divide it in half to make 2 strombolis. You can freeze half for another time if desired.
Roll each out into a (roughly) 10×16-inch rectangle and spread with garlic butter.
Sprinkle with fresh parsley or desired herbs, then layer on meats and cheeses, leaving a 3-inch gap on top and 1-inch gap around the edges. Brush edges with egg wash, which helps keep everything sealed.
Roll up, tucking in the ends. Do this slowly and make sure the roll is tight.
Brush with egg wash, sprinkle with coarse sea salt or flaky sea salt, pepper, more herbs, or a little cheese. (Toppings are optional.) Cut 3-4 slits on top for air to escape.
Bake until golden brown, then cool for 5 minutes before slicing. It’s flaky and crisp when it’s warm—totally irresistible. Pizza or marinara sauce is great for dipping! If you ever need a homemade sauce to try, we really like Beth’s homemade pizza sauce.
Stromboli Vs. Calzone
And, finally, here’s a quick explanation if you’re interested. Stromboli and calzone are not the same, though they can be prepped with the same ingredients. The difference is their shape. Stromboli originated in Philadelphia by restaurant owner Nazzereno Romano and is rolled like a cinnamon roll, baked as 1 long log, then sliced. Italian calzones originated in Naples, are folded in half like a semi-circle or half moon, then baked and served individually. Both can be filled with the same ingredients, though a calzone usually includes ricotta (something a little too wet for stromboli) and both are usually brushed with an egg wash to help seal the edges and provide a golden crisp crust. Lots of love for both!
*PS: Don’t forget about Chicago-style deep dish pizza when weighing your pizza options, too. 🙂
See Your Homemade Stromboli
Many readers tried this recipe as part of a baking challenge!
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Homemade Stromboli (Yields 2)
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: two 16 inch strombolis (about 10-12 slices each)
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Italian
Description
Use this dough recipe and the filling/toppings below to create 2 Homemade Strombolis. See all recipe notes before beginning because you can save half of the dough for another time or make other dishes with it (such as pizza or breadsticks). More filling suggestions, helpful step-by-step photos, and a video tutorial are included in the post. This recipe is also in my New York Times best-selling cookbook, Sally’s Baking 101.
Ingredients
Homemade Dough for 2
- 1 and 1/3 cups (320ml) warm water (between 100-110°F, 38-43°C)
- 2 and 1/4 teaspoons (7g) instant or active-dry yeast (1 standard packet)
- 1 Tablespoon (13g) granulated sugar
- 2 Tablespoons (30ml) olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 and 1/2 cups (about 450g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and work surface
Fillings for 2
- 3 Tablespoons (43g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 garlic cloves, minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1 pound thinly sliced meats such as Italian cold cuts, deli ham, or large pepperoni slices*
- 3/4–1 pound (340–454g) cheese (about 3 cups shredded or about 16–20 slices deli cheese)*
Egg Wash & Topping for 2
- egg wash: 1 large egg beaten with 1 Tablespoon water
- optional: fresh or dried parsley, flaky sea salt, and/or grated Parmesan
Instructions
- Whisk the warm water, yeast, and granulated sugar together in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment. Cover and allow to rest for 5 minutes. *If you don’t have a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and mix the dough with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula in the next step.
- Add the olive oil, salt, and flour. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer (and switch to the dough hook if using the paddle) and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- Rise: Lightly grease a large bowl with oil or nonstick spray—just use the same bowl you used for the dough. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for 60–90 minutes or until doubled in size. For a tiny reduction in rise time, see my answer to Where Should Dough Rise? in my Baking with Yeast Guide.)
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°). Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
- Shape the dough: When the dough is risen, punch it down to release the air and divide it in half. (If you aren’t making 2 strombolis, freeze the other half of the dough. See freezing instructions below.) On a lightly floured work surface using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll each portion of dough into a 10×16-inch rectangle. Use your hands to square off the edges, as shown in the video. If the dough keeps shrinking as you try to shape it, cover it lightly and let the dough rest for 10 minutes before trying again. (The gluten just needs to relax.)
- Add fillings: Mix the melted butter and garlic together. Using a pastry brush or the back of a spoon, spread the garlic butter evenly over each rectangle. Sprinkle each with parsley. When you start layering on meats and cheeses, leave a 1-inch border on the bottom and sides and a 3-inch border on top. (Basically you’ll have an empty 3×16-inch gap on top that only has butter/garlic on it. This is because when rolling, the fillings will be pushed forward. See photos and video if you need a visual.) Arrange a layer of sliced meats onto each dough rectangle, usually about 8–10 overlapping slices on each, depending on the size of your slices. Add a layer of cheese. Repeat with more meat and cheese until all is used—about 1/2 pound meat and 1/2 pound cheese per stromboli.
- Brush the edges with egg wash, including the 3-inch border at the top. Slowly roll each into a tight 16-inch log, folding in the two ends as you roll. Dust your hands or the dough with flour if things become too sticky.
- Carefully transfer each stromboli to a prepared baking sheet. Pinch or tuck in the ends to seal. Brush the top of each stromboli with egg wash and, if using, sprinkle on the optional toppings. Using a sharp knife, cut 3–4 slits into the tops of each, which helps steam escape. At this point, you can either bake or cover the shaped stromboli tightly and refrigerate for up to 8 hours.
- Bake for about 25 minutes or until the crust is golden brown—if you have an instant-read thermometer, the center of the stromboli should be at least 200ºF (93ºC). If meats are particularly greasy (like pepperoni), some grease will spill out the sides. Cheese may bubble out the sides or top slits, too. If baking both at the same time, rotate pans halfway through baking and extend bake time (if needed) by 2–3 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on the baking sheets for 5 minutes before transferring to a cutting board and slicing.
- Serve plain or with warm pizza/marinara sauce for dipping.
- Cover and store leftover stromboli (slices or whole) in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Notes
- Freezing Dough: This dough recipe is the same as my pizza dough recipe. It yields 2 strombolis. After the dough rises and you divide the dough in half (step 6), you can freeze half of the dough. (If you want to freeze all of this dough, I recommend you still divide it in half and freeze separately.) Shape half or halves into a ball(s). Lightly coat all sides of the dough ball(s) with nonstick spray or olive oil. Place the dough ball(s) in a zipped-top bag and seal tightly, squeezing out all the air. Freeze for up to 3 months. To thaw, place the frozen pizza dough in the refrigerator for about 8 hours or overnight. When ready to make stromboli, remove the dough from the refrigerator and allow to rest for 30 minutes on the counter. Continue with step 6, punching down the dough to release air if needed.
- Overnight Dough Instructions: To prevent these notes from getting too crowded, see pizza dough post for overnight dough instructions.
- Refrigerate Shaped Stromboli Ahead of Time: See end of step 9.
- Freezing Shaped Stromboli Before Baking: Instead of freezing the dough as a whole, you can freeze the shaped stromboli before baking. Fill and roll stromboli as directed in step 7. Do not cut slits or add egg wash (step 8). Carefully place filled/rolled stromboli on a piece of plastic wrap. Sprinkle with flour to help prevent sticking. Wrap up tightly. To preserve freshness, I recommend a layer of aluminum foil over the plastic wrap as well. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw, still wrapped, in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Brush with egg wash, add optional toppings, and cut steam slits. Place stromboli on a lined baking sheet and bake as directed. Since stromboli is pretty cold going into the oven, it will take a couple extra minutes to bake.
- Freezing Baked Stromboli: Allow baked stromboli to cool completely. Wrap in plastic wrap or aluminum foil (or a layer of both), and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw, still wrapped, for just 1 hour at room temperature. Bake, lightly covered with aluminum foil, in a 350°F (177°C) oven for 30 minutes.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer or Large Mixing Bowl and Wooden Spoon or Silicone Spatula | Baking Sheets | Silicone Baking Mats or Parchment Paper | Dough Scraper | Rolling Pin | Pastry Brush | Instant Read Thermometer | Coarse Sea Salt or Flaky Sea Salt
- Amount of Dough/1 Stromboli: My homemade pizza dough, written in this recipe above, yields about 2 lbs of dough, which is enough for 2 strombolis. If you only want 1 stromboli, freeze half of the dough as noted in step 5 or make a pizza such as margherita pizza, BBQ chicken pizza, or a batch of cheesy breadsticks. If you’re only making 1 stromboli, make sure you halve the filling ingredients. For the egg wash/topping ingredients, it’s difficult to halve the egg, so whisk 1 egg with 1 Tbsp water, use as directed, then discard any leftover. (You’ll have leftover egg wash even if you’re making 2 strombolis.)
- Fillings & Vegetable Stromboli: Butter + garlic + parsley is a great spread for the dough before adding the meats/cheeses. Feel free to use more garlic and parsley or swap parsley for another herb or Italian seasoning. You can also use pizza sauce. See next note. Use 1/2 pound of various sliced deli meats per stromboli, this could be about 20 slices per stromboli but that depends on the thickness of your meat. Avoid using small pizza pepperoni slices. For best results (and flavor), use large pepperoni slices from the deli counter. You want about 1/2 pound of cheese per stromboli as well. If using shredded cheese, I recommend 1 and 1/2 cups per stromboli. If using sliced deli cheese, I recommend 10-12 slices per stromboli. You can also mix—I usually use 6-8 large slices provolone and 1 cup mozzarella cheese. For a meatless option, you can add cooked mushrooms, cooked chopped broccoli, or cooked sliced peppers (blot excess moisture if you can), spinach, or basil leaves (chopped or whole)—2 cups of vegetables per stromboli (plus your cheese) works well. Options are endless here. You can’t really go wrong because if you’ve used too much filling, you won’t be able to roll it up.
- Want to add pizza sauce? You can add pizza/marinara/tomato sauce to the filling. Feel free to skip the melted butter and garlic (or leave it on, doesn’t matter) and spread 1/2 cup of sauce onto each rolled out dough before layering on the meats and cheeses in step 6. If you ever need a homemade sauce to try, we really like this homemade pizza sauce.
- Egg Free: Skip the egg wash if needed. You can brush each shaped stromboli with 1 Tablespoon melted butter instead.
Reader Comments and Reviews
My boyfriend said it was the best thing I had ever made! I used mozzarella cheese and made it vegetarian by subbing the meat for spinach and mushroom sautéed with olive oil, salt, and crushed red pepper
So happy to try this recipe. These turned out so good. I froze one for a meal later in the month. My husband loved the ham and cheese one. The one I froze is turkey, cheese and broccoli. Can’t wait to try that one. The cheese I used in both is provel. A staple from my hometown of St. Louis. I am just so happy that they sell it here in KC.
My husband and I absolutely loved this recipe! We made a pepperoni, black olive, mushroom, provolone, and mozzarella stromboli and it was delicious. Can’t wait to use my second dough ball!
This recipe was great! Made two absolutely delicious strombolis. I used Sally’s whole wheat pizza crust dough rather than the regular pizza dough recipe, and it turned out great and still very flavorful!
I really enjoyed making this recipe and eating it too! It’s simple, visually pleasing, and crispy deliciousness!
My 2.5 played with some of the dough for hours!!! It was sweet.
This recipe was awesome! I’d been craving it ever since I saw it. I made it with ham, deli pepperoni, and provolone. Made some marinara for the dipping sauce! I appreciated Sally’s video to show how much space to leave. The filling does, indeed, shift a bit as you roll!
Really very nice
Okay, we have a tradition at our house that every Friday night is homemade pizza or homemade stromboli night. I have been making this homemade braided pizza stromboli for years, which my family loves. But, shut the front door, this stromboli just blew it out of the recipe box! While I may make the other stromboli again at some point, this will become our new go to. We loved the texture of the dough once it baked up crisp. I did let our rolls (I made both because I have a teenage son) in the oven a little longer and they did get probably a little darker, but I think that only enhanced the flavor. I only had pepperoni on hand, but I can’t wait to try this with some other Italian ingredients and see how the flavors meld. This is my first time trying a monthly baking challenge and I wasn’t sure since I already had a stromboli recipe in my back pocket. I’m really glad I tried it.
My family was skeptical (my husband kept asking me why I wasn’t making pizza) but they quickly changed their minds after the first bite! The directions made this super easy to follow. Mine did not look as good but it was delicious. I made 2, one with pepperoni, soppressata, and prosciutto with provolone, gouda, and mozzarella cheese. I made a second one with just cheese (kids request) – this one was hard to roll as the there was nothing to give it any structure. As a result the cheese oozed out during baking but it was still delicious. Ran out of time to make sauce so I used Rao’s pizza sauce which was delicious! Thank you Sally, I had never even heard of Stromboli before but now the kids have requested it for their birthday meal – highest praise!
This was so delicious and fairly easy. I always struggle with dough, but not THIS one!!! I’m making another batch of dough to keep in freezer so I can pull out easily and make again. My kids LOVED this!!!!!!
This recipe was so delicious! I love both your regular and whole wheat pizza dough recipes and so when I saw this I knew I had to try it. It was definitely challenging rolling it up (I think maybe I stuffed it too full), but baked perfectly!
So easy and delish! We enjoyed it with salami and prosciutto with mozzarella. We are looking forward to making it again with pizza sauce and onions.
I had never made Stromboli before I tried Sally’s recipe and I loved it! The dough is perfect, her instructions are easy to follow and helpful. This is my family and I’s new favorite recipe for our pizza and movie night on Fridays! It was a lot of fun to roll up the Stromboli and it didn’t take me any more time than it does for regular pizza. Absolutely love it! Thank you for another great recipe Sally!
I don’t know how you ensure it, but your challenge recipes always turn out to be a success! I was nervous about this one, and I struggled a bit at points, but it came out terrific, and my husband declared that it might be his new favorite dinner (and he’s a foodie!)! I almost skipped the garlic butter, but was so glad I didn’t. Layering cold pizza sauce on top of the warm stromboli was perfection in a mouthful. Thank you for this challenge!
Just finished making this recipe. I have never made pizza dough before and this recipe made it so easy! Very easy to follow the step by step directions. I substituted ham and Colby Jack cheese for the filling. It was a huge hit for dinner. Will definitely make this again!
So good! Love how customizable the recipe was and I even used dairy free cheese! So good and a fun dinner with the family
SOO good!! My husband was so impressed when I cut through this, it was delicious. Super easy and great for a crowd. We used pepperoni, salami, onions and green peppers. Freezing the second roll to use for a quick dinner later on. Thanks, Sally!
This was so good! I doubled the recipe and made 2 pepperoni, one olive and pepperoni, and one broccoli and nearly all of it was gone! I did have a bit of a hard time rolling them at first, but got the hang of it after the first 2. We will definitely be making this again! Thank you!
Followed all the steps as written and came out perfect! Love hour the garlic butter melted into the dough!
Wow! What a great recipe! Easy to make and customize fillings for different members of my family (3 picky boys ). I split the dough into 3 and filled each differently.
Thanks Sally for starting the year with such a great challenge
Excellent! This turned out perfect! Thank you, Sally!
This recipe was so easy to follow and the dough turned out fabulous. My homemade dough almost always flops but this recipe is fantastic. We made ours with peppered ham, capicola, prosciutto, salami and provolone. The other half of the dough made a pizza for the kids. Both were delicious! We will for sure make again.
Just made this yesterday. It is amazing. If you’re thinking of trying it, stop thinking and just do it. You won’t regret it! Thank you Sally, once again, for an amazing recipe!!
I make these all the time and they are always delicious but they almost always explode! I don’t overfill so i’m not sure what is happening. I’m going to try the egg wash and tucking in on the ends. Thanks Sally
Delish! I’ve got long (and sad) history with sourdough but this recipe was really easy to follow and I was happy when I saw even I can make it! My husband and I finished both stromboli AND pizza from the second half of the dough in one day and we have no regrets. Thank you so much, Sally 🙂
Absolutely delicious! Very easy recipe to follow and it was a crowd pleaser! I definitely recommend making this. I used mozzarella, provolone, a mix of Italian meats, and even added a layer of sauce inside.
I used half this dough to make one Stromboli and the other half to make four ham & cheese pockets. Delish! We loved them both. What a beautiful dough (made mine in bread machine under the “dough” cycle); great detailed instructions. So far, all your bread recipes have worked out very well for me and I’m planning on working my way through them. Next one will be the rosemary pull apart bread. Thank you for sharing!
I used bread flour and sautéed veggies (to help reduce the liquid when baked) and it was perfect! Even easier than pizza. Thanks sally!
Super super easy and delicious! I have never had Stromboli before. However, I have made homemade dough for pizza several times so it’s just a different way to form a pizza. 🙂 So delicious especially with the garlic butter. Will definitely make it again.
This is a great recipe! The dough is easy to work with and the filling combinations are endless! Can’t wait to make this again with the other dough ball I have in the freezer!
This worked perfectly. We use the pizza dough recipe all the time for Pizza Night, but we all loved the stromboli even more than the pizza!! We made one ham and pineapple (I drained the pineapple REALLY well first) and one pepperoni and salami. The video was really helpful!
DELICIOUS! I made a meat (pepperoni and mushroom) and a veggie (roasted red peppers and mushrooms) both were so good. Most certainly a crowd pleaser. Highly recommended! Thanks for another wonderful recipe, Sally!