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.
