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    Home » Family Style Dinners

    Beer Pizza Dough

    Published: Aug 12, 2020 » Modified: Jun 21, 2023 » By: Kylie » This post may contain affiliate links. » 25 Comments

    7.2K shares
    Jump to Recipe

    This Beer Pizza Dough is the perfect option when you have no yeast on hand, but want a homemade pizza with crisp, yet chewy crust! The beer replaces the yeast and helps the dough to rise while imparting the very slightest hint of beer flavor. And don't worry, the alcohol cooks off while it bakes so it's a totally family-friendly meal!

    Overhead shot of sliced cheese pizza on a pan with a small hand grabbing a slice
    Table of Contents show
    1 You'll Love This
    2 Instructions
    3 What Kind of Beer
    4 Tips
    5 Family Favorite Pizzas
    6 Recipe
    7 Beer Pizza Dough

    You'll Love This

    • It's made with beer, friends. Need I say more?! Well, I will! This pizza dough uses your favorite beer - in our house, that's a hoppy IPA - and combines in with classic, simple pizza dough ingredients, just minus the yeast!
    • That's right, it requires no yeast! While we sometimes have yeast on hand, we ALWAYS have beer in our fridge. My husband is a fan of super hoppy IPAs so I always try to order a new one each time we get groceries. The beer takes the place of the yeast in this recipe and not only adds flavor but also helps the dough to rise and get that perfect chewy texture.
    • It's unexpected! This recipe is a welcomed departure from your traditional pizza dough recipes. It bakes up perfectly crispy on the outside, but chewy on the inside - which is my personal favorite - with just a hint of beer flavor in the finished product.
    Slices of cheese pizza on two white plates on a white marble counter top

    Instructions

    Add flour, salt, and baking powder to a large bowl. Stir to combine.

    Large white bowl filled with flour salt and baking powder

    Add beer.

    Large white bowl filled with flour salt baking powder and beer

    Stir with a fork until it cleans the sides of the bowl.

    Large white bowl with homemade beer pizza dough

    Transfer to a lightly floured work surface. 

    Marble counter top with loose homemade beer pizza dough

    Form into a ball.

    Marble counter top with a ball of homemade beer pizza dough

    Knead the dough for 5 minutes. 

    Marble counter top with a ball of kneaded beer pizza dough

    Transfer back to the bowl. Oil dough ball on all sides.

    Beer pizza dough in a large white bowl with oil

    Cover and let rest for 1 hour. 

    Large white bowl with homemade beer pizza dough

    Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and divide dough evenly in half. Gently work it into two round crusts. Place crusts on pizza pans and brush with olive oil. Poke all over with a fork.

    Par-bake crusts for 3-5 minutes.

    Pizza dough spread across a large pizza pan

    Top as desired and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!

    Overhead shot of a homemade cheese pizza on a pizza pan

    What Kind of Beer

    • Use whatever kind of beer you enjoy drinking. If you're not a beer drinker, I'd recommend a lager, pale ale, or wheat beer as those have a more mild flavor. My husband likes super hoppy IPAs, so that is what we've used for most of our recipe tests and they've all turned out great!
    • Depending on what kind of beer you use, you may not taste the beer in the cooked pizza at all. Lighter tasting beers (like lagers, pale ales, or wheat beers) are going to give you a lighter flavor and more flavorful beers (like IPAs or stouts) are going to give you more of beer flavor.
    • This article describes the different types of beers and their flavors if you're having trouble deciding.
    A hand grabbing a slice of cheese pizza off a pizza pan

    Tips

    • This beer pizza dough recipe makes about 2 pounds of pizza dough. For our family, we use this to make two 12-14" pizzas.
    • You can use cold or room temperature beer for this recipe and your results will be quite similar. We've tested both and didn't notice much of a difference between them.
    • Don't worry - this is still kid-friendly. The alcohol in the crust will cook off as the dough bakes in the oven. Which means it's totally safe for kids to eat!
    • The dough isn't going to rise quite as much as a regular dough made with yeast. However, the baking powder will help to puff it up a bit and make it a bit lighter than if you made it without.
    • If you need some pointers for rolling out the pizza dough, this video is super helpful. Basically, you want to be as gentle as possible as you're shaping the dough, and touch it as little as possible.
    • This dough freezes like a dream too! It will stay good in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just let it thaw in the fridge overnight before baking, then bake according to recipe card directions!
    Close up shot of two slices of pizza on a white plate

    Family Favorite Pizzas

    • Easy Sheet Pan Pizza
    • Cast Iron Skillet Pizza
    • BBQ Chickpea Pizza
    • Loaded Baked Potato Pizza
    • Tomato, Spinach & Feta Pizza
    Print

    Recipe

    Beer Pizza Dough

    Print Recipe
    Pin Recipe

    ★★★★★

    5 from 7 reviews

    This Beer Pizza Dough is the perfect option when you have no yeast on hand, but want a homemade pizza with crisp, yet chewy crust! The beer replaces the yeast and helps the dough to rise while imparting the very slightest hint of beer flavor. And don't worry, the alcohol cooks off while it bakes so it's a totally family-friendly meal!

    • Author: Kylie
    • Prep Time: 70 minutes
    • Cook Time: 15 minutes
    • Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
    • Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
    • Category: Main Dish
    • Method: Oven
    • Cuisine: Italian

    Ingredients

    Units Scale
    • 4 cups all purpse flour
    • 2 teaspoons Kosher salt
    • 1 teaspoon baking powder
    • 12 oz. cold beer
    • oil for greasing the bowl

    Instructions

    1. Add flour, salt, and baking powder to a large bowl. Stir to combine.
    2. Add beer and stir with a fork until it cleans the sides of the bowl.
    3.  Transfer to a lightly floured work surface. 
    4. Knead the dough for 5 minutes. 
    5. Transfer back to the bowl. Oil dough ball on all sides.
    6. Cover and let rest for 1 hour. 
    7. Preheat oven to 500 degrees. 
    8. Transfer to a lightly floured surface and divide dough evenly in half. 
    9. Gently work it into two round crusts. 
    10. Place crusts on pizza pans and brush with olive oil. Poke crusts all over with a fork. 
    11. Par-bake crusts for 3-5 minutes.
    12. Top as desired and bake for another 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!

    Equipment

    Image of pizza pan

    pizza pan

    Buy Now →

    Notes

    This recipe makes about 2 pounds of pizza dough. For our family, we use this to make two 12-14" pizzas.

    You can use cold or room temperature beer for this recipe and your results will be quite similar. We've tested both and didn't notice much of a difference between them.

    Don't worry - this is still kid-friendly. The alcohol in the crust will cook off as the dough bakes in the oven. Which means it's totally safe for kids to eat!

    The dough isn't going to rise quite as much as a regular dough made with yeast. However, the baking powder will help to puff it up a bit and make it a bit lighter than if you made it without.

    If you need some pointers for rolling out the pizza dough, this video is super helpful. Basically, you want to be as gentle as possible as you're shaping the dough, and touch it as little as possible.

    This dough freezes like a dream too! It will stay good in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just let it thaw in the fridge overnight before baking, then bake according to recipe card directions!

    Nutrition

    • Serving Size:
    • Calories: 200
    • Sugar: 3 g
    • Sodium: 254.5 mg
    • Fat: 1 g
    • Saturated Fat: 0.2 g
    • Carbohydrates: 41.5 g
    • Fiber: 1.4 g
    • Protein: 5.2 g
    • Cholesterol: 0 mg

    Keywords: no yeast pizza dough, homemade pizza dough without yeast, pizza crust no yeast

    « Sheet Pan Pizza
    Bruschetta Chicken Pasta »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Bri

      November 30, 2022 at 9:45 am

      Does type of beer make a difference in the taste?

      Reply
      • Kylie

        November 30, 2022 at 11:09 am

        Yes! Choose a beer that you enjoy drinking so that you enjoy the flavor it adds to the dough!

        Reply
    2. Jen

      November 14, 2022 at 9:54 am

      Hi there, do you have any suggestions for this dough for Stromboli?What temp & how long?

      Reply
      • Kylie

        November 14, 2022 at 10:34 am

        Great question, Jen! This dough would be great for a Stromboli. I'd recommend baking it at degrees for 25ish minutes depending on what you fill it with. Can't wait to hear how it turns out if you try it!

        Reply
        • Karen

          June 21, 2023 at 7:37 pm

          Does this work in an iron skillet?

        • Kylie

          June 21, 2023 at 8:45 pm

          I think this would definitely work in a cast iron skillet! Great question! I do have a cast iron skillet pizza recipe if you want to use it as a guide: https://midwestfoodieblog.com/cast-iron-skillet-pizza/

    3. Dan

      November 04, 2022 at 11:28 pm

      Sounds like good recipe def going to try it thanks for sharing 😀

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    4. Kaitlin

      October 16, 2022 at 7:24 am

      Loved how easy this is! When bringing out to thaw in the fridge - how long can it sit?

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Kylie

        October 16, 2022 at 11:50 am

        I'd let it sit for at least an hour or two. I wouldn't let it sit out for longer than 5-6 hours.

        Reply
        • Hal

          January 07, 2023 at 2:33 pm

          Sounds so tasty. But to be clear the beer is replacing the yeast for taste and it's baking powder that produces the rise. Most beer, at least in the USA is pasteurized which inactivates the fermentation yeast, which, if were still active and not filtered out, would be great for innoculating a sourdough starter. The carbonation yeast is usually filtered out.

          But I think it's possible an unfiltered beer, not uncommon in IPAs which your husband likes, for the carbonation yeast to give a baking powder type leavening as opposed to a baker's yeast type leavening from fermentation.

    5. K

      August 06, 2022 at 11:48 am

      Absolutely wonderful! Thanks for sharing!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Kylie

        August 07, 2022 at 6:29 pm

        I'm so glad you enjoyed this recipe, K! Thank you for leaving a review, I appreciate it 🙂

        Reply
    6. Ernie Y

      March 27, 2022 at 2:14 pm

      Great pizza. I made it for the first time two weeks ago. I’m making it again today. I used all of the dough in a large (12 inch) cast iron skillet . It made a perfect deep dish pizza! Between the dough and the cast iron skillet, it was a crispy outer crust, and deliciously chewy interior.
      Absolutely wonderful.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Kylie

        March 27, 2022 at 2:30 pm

        YUM! This dough would be perfect in a cast iron skillet - great idea, Ernie! Thanks for leaving a review!

        Reply
    7. Linda Dempsey

      February 20, 2022 at 5:03 am

      I can’t wait to try this! Have you ever subbed self rising flour and if so how much?

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Kylie

        February 20, 2022 at 8:27 am

        I have not tried it with self-rising flour but I'd love to hear how it turns out if you do!

        Reply
    8. Tina

      December 02, 2021 at 6:23 pm

      My husbands new favorite crust! So easy I love it!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    9. terry fraser

      September 21, 2021 at 11:11 am

      Question .. can this dough be left to rise for longer
      than one hour ?

      Reply
      • Kylie

        September 21, 2021 at 11:16 am

        Yes! That shouldn't be a problem at all to let it rise for longer than an hour. Great question, Terry!

        Reply
      • Jennie

        September 28, 2021 at 2:04 pm

        Can you use this to make breadsticks as well?

        Reply
        • Kylie

          September 29, 2021 at 8:09 am

          I don't see why not! I think this beer pizza dough would work great for breadsticks! Good question, Jennie!

    10. Kelly

      December 19, 2020 at 1:34 pm

      I made this last night and we loved it. It was the first time in years I’ve made a pizza crust but it was so easy to fall back into. We had pizza in Manchester, MA (and went back several times) that had a beer crust and we remembered it so fondly. This fit that taste memory perfectly so it was a double bonus, fond memory and flavorful recipe to add to our weekly pizza night.

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Kylie Lato

        December 20, 2020 at 10:16 am

        I LOVE THIS! Isn't it crazy how food can take you right back to a certain time or place?! I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed this pizza dough recipe! And thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it 🙂

        Reply
    11. Janet

      September 18, 2020 at 11:28 am

      Made this a couple of weeks ago and the family said it was the BEST pizza crust I've made. I love that it's so easy. It's still summerlike weather, so we pop ours on the grill rather than heating up the oven

      Reply
      • Kylie Lato

        September 20, 2020 at 10:52 am

        Grilled pizza is THE BEST. I am so glad your family enjoyed this recipe, Janet. Thank you for leaving a review - I really appreciate it 🙂

        Reply

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    HELLO FROM THE MIDWEST - I'm Kylie and as a mom and blogger, I understand how hard it can be to get a wholesome dinner on the table at the end of a long day. Here at Midwest Foodie, I focus on sharing simple recipes that make it easy to feed your family real food.

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