This nduja pizza recipe is straightforward once you have got the technique down.
Nduja (pronounced en-DOO-ya) is a spreadable, spicy Calabrian sausage paste made from pork and Calabrian chillies. On pizza, it melts into pools of spiced, orange-red oil that perfumes everything around it. It is one of the best pizza toppings available and takes almost no effort to use well.
The Classic: Nduja and Mozzarella
Ingredients (per 12-inch pizza)
- 1 dough ball
- 80ml San Marzano tomato sauce
- 80g fresh mozzarella, torn
- 40g nduja (about 4–5 teaspoons)
- Fresh basil to finish
- Olive oil
Method
Stretch dough, apply sauce, scatter mozzarella. Dot small teaspoon-sized blobs of nduja across the pizza — about 5–6 blobs for a 12-inch pizza. Do not spread it; leave it in blobs so it pools and creates intense spicy pockets as it melts. Cook at 450–480°C for 60–90 seconds. Add fresh basil after cooking. The nduja oil will have melted and pooled across the cheese — this is exactly what you want.
Nduja and Honey
One of the best flavour combinations on pizza. Use the nduja and mozzarella base above, then drizzle with a small amount of good quality honey immediately after it comes out of the oven. The heat activates the honey and the sweet-spicy contrast is exceptional. Wildflower or chestnut honey works better than set honey — you want something that flows easily.
Nduja, Burrata and Rocket
Cook the pizza with nduja and no cheese (just tomato base and the nduja blobs). After cooking, tear a ball of burrata over the hot pizza and pile rocket dressed with lemon juice and olive oil on top. The cold, creamy burrata against the spicy hot pizza is a fantastic contrast. This works particularly well in summer.
How Much Nduja to Use
Less than you think. Nduja is intensely flavoured and very fatty — too much overwhelms everything else and makes the pizza greasy. For a 12-inch pizza, 40–50g (about 5 teaspoons) is plenty. You can always add more next time once you know how spicy you like it. The goal is pockets of intense flavour distributed across the pizza, not a uniform coating.
Why Blobs, Not Spread?
Nduja is very soft and spreads easily, but spreading it evenly across the pizza causes it to release too much fat in a uniform layer, making the base soggy and the topping greasy. Leaving it in small blobs means it melts into concentrated pools — each bite either hits a pocket of spice or doesn’t, creating variation that keeps the pizza interesting. At 450°C+, the blobs will melt and expand significantly anyway.
Where to Buy Nduja
Nduja is now widely available in most large supermarkets — look in the deli counter or with the cured meats. It comes in jars (softer, more spreadable) and in sausage casings (firmer, more intense flavour). Both work well on pizza, though jar nduja is easier to portion with a spoon. Italian delis and online suppliers often stock higher-quality versions if you want something more authentic.
Storing Leftover Nduja
Jar nduja keeps well in the fridge once opened — up to 3–4 weeks if sealed properly. The high fat and salt content acts as a natural preservative. Casing nduja can be sliced, wrapped tightly in cling film, and refrigerated for 2–3 weeks, or frozen for up to 3 months.
For the dough used in this recipe, see our Neapolitan pizza dough recipe. For other flavour-forward pizza topping ideas, see our quattro formaggi pizza recipe and wild mushroom and truffle pizza recipe.Balancing the Heat
Nduja varies considerably in heat level between producers. Some versions are mildly spiced; others are intensely hot. Taste your nduja before adding it to the pizza so you know what you’re working with. If it’s very fiery, reduce the quantity (50g across a 12-inch pizza is plenty) and pair it with ingredients that cool and balance: fresh mozzarella rather than fior di latte (which is saltier and amplifies heat), a drizzle of honey after cooking, or a handful of rocket scattered on top when the pizza comes out of the oven. The honey-nduja combination is particularly good — the sweetness cuts the chilli heat and balances the fat from the pork.
Topping Combinations That Work
Nduja’s intense flavour means it works best with a short topping list — three or four ingredients at most, each chosen to complement rather than compete. Some combinations worth trying:
- Nduja, mozzarella, honey, and rocket — the classic combination. Add honey and rocket after the pizza comes out of the oven.
- Nduja, burrata, and basil — tear the burrata over the hot pizza immediately after cooking so it starts to melt slightly.
- Nduja, red onion, and smoked mozzarella — the smokiness of the cheese echoes the pork flavour.
- Nduja and egg — crack an egg into a well in the centre of the toppings and cook until the white is just set. Works best at slightly lower oven temperatures (350–380°C) to allow the egg time to cook without burning the crust.
Where to Buy Nduja
Good nduja is available from Italian delis, specialist food retailers, and increasingly in larger supermarkets. Look for nduja from Calabria — it’s the regional product and the most widely available authentic version. It comes in sausage casing (scoop out the filling) or in jars already softened. Jarred nduja is slightly more convenient for pizza but tends to be less intensely flavoured than the cased version. Both work. Store opened nduja in the fridge and use within a week. See our Margherita pizza recipe for a base sauce and dough approach that also suits nduja pizza.
