These pizza sticks have a crackling bottom crust from semolina dusting, gooey cheese tucked inside, and warm garlic-herb butter brushed on top. They bake hot in about 15 minutes, coming out golden-crispy and loaded with flavor.
This recipe addresses issues of soggy centers, uneven baking, and lack of flavor in traditional pizza sticks, ensuring a crispy, delicious result.
I often sent these to my family, who ended up with soggy centers on busy weeknights. Homemade pizza sticks fix those rubbery middles (and yes, I once fought sticky dough). The warm garlic scent calms me.
With 5 minutes of prep and baking in 12–15 minutes, you get crisp bottoms, gooey centers, and a buttery finish. You can even freeze them ahead, pop them on a sheet from frozen for a 15-minute bake, then serve hot.
If you are serving these sticks at a snack spread, you might also enjoy my Marble Rye Bread on the side.
Table of contents
Dietary Considerations
- This recipe is not gluten-free due to all-purpose flour and semolina.
- This recipe is not vegan due to mozzarella, cheddar, and butter.
- This recipe suits dairy-free diets only when using 1/4 cup olive oil instead of butter and dairy-free cheese instead of mozzarella and cheddar.
- This recipe does not meet keto or low-carb diets due to high carbohydrate content from all-purpose flour.
- This recipe is vegetarian and nut-free.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Crispy semolina crust: The semolina dusting gives pizza sticks a light, crackly base that never turns soggy, which I notice after baking 12–15 minutes at 425°F.
- Double-cheese pull: I love how mozzarella and cheddar stretch out in each bite, creating that gooey core I crave when dunking pizza sticks in homemade sauce.
- Herby garlic boost: Brushing garlic-herb butter before and after baking loads every slice with seasoning, just 3 cloves and 2 teaspoons of Italian seasoning bring real depth.
- Make-ahead ease: I freeze shaped sticks for an hour, then bag them, ready to pop in the oven for quick pizza sticks whenever guests drop by.
Homemade Cheesy Pizza Sticks
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cool Time: 0
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 sticks 1x
- Category: snack
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: vegetarian
Description
Homemade cheesy pizza sticks with a crispy bottom crust and gooey cheese, brushed with warm garlic-herb butter.
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
- 1 cup warm water (110°F)
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup semolina
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
- 1 cup shredded cheddar
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 cup pizza sauce
Instructions
- Combine the warm water, active dry yeast, and sugar in a small bowl. Stir gently to blend, then let it sit for about 5–7 minutes until it becomes foamy. This step ensures that the yeast is active. Be cautious with water temperature—water hotter than 115°F can kill the yeast.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, semolina, and salt. Add the yeast mixture and one tablespoon of olive oil, stirring until a shaggy dough forms. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 6–8 minutes until it’s smooth and elastic. A good test is pressing lightly with your finger; the dough should spring back.
- Lightly oil a clean bowl using the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Place the kneaded dough inside, cover it with plastic wrap, and allow it to rise in a warm environment for about 1 hour, or until it has doubled in size.
- Preheat your oven to 425°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and dust it lightly with semolina. Once the dough has risen, punch it down, and turn it out onto a floured surface. Roll it into a rectangle approximately 12×8 inches. Spread the pizza sauce evenly over the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Evenly distribute the mozzarella and cheddar cheese on top.
- Starting from the long side, roll the dough tightly into a log and pinch the seam to seal. Cut the rolled dough into 12 equal slices. Use a paring knife to make two small slits on top of each stick to let steam escape, which is essential for avoiding a gummy interior.
- In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, paprika, and black pepper. Brush half of this mixture over the pizza sticks before baking them. Arrange the sticks seam-side down on the prepared sheet.
- Place the pizza sticks in the preheated oven and bake for 12–15 minutes, or until they are golden brown and the cheese is just starting to ooze.
- Once baked, remove the pizza sticks from the oven and brush them immediately with the remaining garlic-herb butter. Let them rest for 2 minutes before serving. These pizza sticks are fantastic with a side of warmed pizza sauce for dipping.
Notes
- To prepare the baking sheet, sprinkle semolina on the surface before placing the dough sticks. This will create that signature crispy base and help them release easily.
- For steam vents, take a small sharp knife and make two cuts on top of each stick before baking. This allows excess moisture to escape, preventing a gummy texture.
- Using dual stages of garlic-herb butter helps to infuse deep flavors into the sticks; brush half before baking and the remainder immediately after they come out of the oven.
- If you want to prepare ahead, freeze the sticks after cutting them. Place them on a tray in the freezer for an hour, then transfer them to a zip-top bag. When ready to bake, add a few extra minutes to the baking time for those frozen sticks.
- To spice up your dipping sauce, stir in a bit of Italian seasoning and garlic powder into the pizza sauce before serving; this enhances the flavors of the sticks wonderfully.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 stick
- Calories: 200
- Sugar: 1g
- Sodium: 300mg
- Fat: 10g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 25g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 8g
- Cholesterol: 20mg
Ingredient Notes
- All-Purpose Flour: Choose a brand with ~10–12% protein, fine and pale. Sift lightly to avoid lumps. Sub: gluten-free measure-for-measure flour.
- Semolina: Pick coarse grind with pale yellow hue. Dust baking sheet to crisp bottom and prevent sticking. No sub (texture unique).
- Garlic: Pick firm, unblemished cloves. Mince just before mixing to keep aroma. Sub: jarred minced garlic, stronger heat.
- Mozzarella: Low-moisture, part-skim for stretch without soggy dough. Shred fresh, avoid anti-caking pre-shredded packs. Sub: provolone for milder taste.
- Cheddar: Sharp, aged variety adds bite. Shred yourself to melt evenly. Sub: pepper jack for spice or provolone.
- Italian Seasoning: Choose blend with oregano, basil, rosemary flecks. Stir into butter mix for herb notes. No sub.
- Pizza Sauce: Choose thick sauce with visible herb flecks. Spread evenly on dough. Sub: marinara, drain excess liquid.
Recipe Baking Tips
- For soggy bottom crust, dust 2 tablespoons semolina on parchment 1 minute before baking.
- If interior is gummy, cut two 1/2 inch slits on each stick right after slicing before brushing butter.
- When garlic browns too quickly, brush half of the garlic herb butter 5 minutes into baking and brush remaining butter upon removal.
- If sticks stick to parchment, lightly oil parchment with 1 teaspoon olive oil before arranging sticks.
- For make ahead storage, freeze sliced sticks on tray 1 hour after cutting, then bake from frozen adding 3 minutes.
Serving Suggestions
Serve with tomato cucumber salad, spinach arugula salad, zucchini ribbons, and roasted broccoli salad, drizzled lightly with fresh balsamic vinegar. Pair these sticks with garlic hummus dip, herbed yogurt dip, and tomato wedges on platter served chilled with lemon wedges.
Use these pizza sticks crumbled across spinach feta salad with olives grape tomatoes and red onion for added crunchy flavor. Add sliced pizza sticks into tomato basil soup replacing bread cubes to slowly thicken low sodium broth and boost texture.
Top pizza sticks with roasted garlic aioli and smoky chipotle ketchup placed on platter alongside lemon wedges, fresh parsley sprigs. Garnish these sticks with shaved parmesan and basil leaves and pepper flakes then serve with warmed pizza sauce on side.
Recipe variations
- You can use provolone slices instead of cheddar, layer cheese in the pizza sticks for a twist. I serve them with my Sourdough Pretzel Bites.
- Add 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes to the garlic-herb butter before brushing the pizza sticks for a spicy twist that boosts sharp cheese flavor.
- Either swap mozzarella for fontina for a creamier melt or replace cheddar with pepper jack to introduce a subtle jalapeño heat into your pizza sticks.
- If using double batch freeze 24 sticks after cutting, add 3 minutes to baking time at 425°F, and bake from frozen for quick pizza sticks.
Save This Recipe!
How to Store?
To keep your Ultimate Cheesy Herb Pizza Sticks fresh and delicious, follow these storage tips:
Room Temperature: Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 days. Keep sealed away from any heat.
Refrigeration: Store cooled pizza sticks in an airtight container inside refrigerator up to 3 days. Reheat briefly for 7 minutes.
Freezing: Wrap cooled sticks in plastic wrap, transfer to freezer bag. Freeze up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Other Recipes You’ll Love
- Gluten Free Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
- Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Gluten Free Snickerdoodle Cookies
- Gluten Free Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Pizza Hut cheese sticks contain about 730 calories per six-piece serving.
Make cheese stick to pizza by patting mozzarella/cheddar dry, spreading thin sauce, tearing cheese small, pressing onto crust, then baking at 450°F for 10–12 minutes.
Keep pizza from sticking to peel by dusting peel with semolina or flour, keeping dough bottom dry, sliding pizza swiftly, and shaking peel gently.
Make pizza sticks by mixing yeast, warm water, flour, sugar, salt; rise; shape sticks; brush garlic butter; top cheeses, Italian seasoning; bake 425°F 12 minutes.
If you enjoyed this Homemade Cheesy Pizza Sticks or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a ⭐ star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks for visiting!
