Chocolate Chip Dessert Pizza is, in my humble opinion, the best kind of pizza ever made. With a simple thin crust, a cream cheese based “white pizza sauce”, lots of chocolate, and a crumbly streusel topping, I think you can see why this is such a favorite of mine!
So there’s this pizza place where Zach and I used to eat lunch together during college.
It wasn’t the best pizza place, but it was an all-you-can-eat deal where you paid about 5 bucks for unlimited pizza and soda and a mostly-wilted salad bar, and it was a college student’s dream. We ate so. much. pizza., but the best thing about this place was their variety of dessert pizzas.
They had a few varieties, cherry, apple, and other fruits, but I bypassed all of them for the Chocolate Chip Dessert pizza, and Zach and I piled our plates with as many slices as we could respectfully carry every single time.
Naturally, I wanted the recipe, but despite politely harassing at least three employees, nobody seemed to be able to tell me what was actually in this magical dessert pizza. Only that it was “Mostly dairy. I think.” Thank you, pizza-place guys.
Much, much taste-testing research ensued. I must have eaten a whole dessert pizza in a single sitting (for science, of course). Testing continued at home, and after many tasty, but not just quite right attempts, I finally got the recipe down. In fact, this dessert pizza was one of the first recipes I shared on the blog years ago (this was 4 years ago, even before the blog’s official “unbirthday”), and it has remained one of my most popular recipes ever since then.
The crust for this recipe is a very, very simple one (please don’t be intimidated by the yeast!). It’s thin and chewy and needs to bake only briefly, just long enough for the toppings to melt.
What Toppings Do You Put On A Dessert Pizza
For this dessert pizza, the only option here is chocolate. We first start by layering our base with a cream cheese “sauce”. this will help to hold the toppings in place and give the pizza a great creamy texture.
Next, we’ll add a cup of mini chocolate chips and press them into the sauce before topping everything off with a simple, crumbly, slightly crisp streusel topping.
And that’s it. Enjoy!
How to Make Dessert Pizza
Chocolate Chip Dessert Pizza
Print Pin RateIngredients
Crust
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (185g)
- ½ teaspoon instant yeast
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup warm water (155ml)
“Sauce”
- 8 oz cream cheese (225g)
- ¼ cup sugar (50g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips (175g)
Streusel
- 3 Tablespoons butter melted
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup + 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour (50g)
- ⅓ cup sugar (66g)
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar tightly packed
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 500F (260C) and line a pizza pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, and salt and stir well.
- Add water and stir until ingredients are mostly combined. Use your hands to continue to combine until the dough is cohesive enough to form a ball.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5 minutes (until elastic). If needed, add additional flour 1 Tablespoon at a time if dough is too sticky and sticks stubbornly to your hands.
- Roll dough out into a 12” circle and transfer to prepared pizza pan. Pinch edges or gently fold over to form a crust.
- Prepare your cream cheese “sauce” by cutting your cream cheese into 8 pieces and place in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 10 second intervals, stirring between each, until cream cheese is easy to stir.
- Add sugar and vanilla extract, stir well.
- Spread cream cheese “sauce” evenly over pizza dough.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly overtop and press/spread into the “sauce”. Prepare your streusel.
Streusel
- Add vanilla extract to melted butter, stir, and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, use a fork to mix together flour and sugars.
- Add butter mixture and use a fork to combine until mixture resembles coarse crumbles.
- Sprinkle evenly over pizza
- Bake pizza in 500F (260C) oven for 7 minutes or until streusel turns a golden brown.
- Remove from oven, allow to cool for several minutes, then slice and serve.
Nutrition
This chocolate chip dessert recipe was originally published 04/29/2014. Photos and text have been updated on 04/16/2018, and recipe has been updated for clarity and to include metric measurements
Original Photo
Kim says
April 6, 2019 at 2:21 pmThis looks delicious, but I want to make sure I’m not missing something. Is there really no rise time for the dough?
Sam says
April 6, 2019 at 6:14 pmHi Kim! There is a brief rise time while preparing your sauce and that is sufficient for this recipe. 🙂
Tiffany Sternala says
March 16, 2019 at 10:23 amI haven’t made the dessert yet, but planning on making it for tonight. We have a few family members with celiac disease and will be making this on a gluten free crust. Has anyone tried this? I believe it will taste as awesome as it sounds as well!
Natasha says
March 14, 2019 at 10:46 amAbsolutely delicious
Sam says
March 14, 2019 at 10:07 pmI am so glad you enjoyed the pizza, Natasha! 🙂
Heather says
February 28, 2019 at 11:12 amI don’t have a pizza pan, can I bake this in a 9X13 pan and just cut into squares? Thanks!
Sam says
February 28, 2019 at 2:10 pmHi, Heather! The dough is a little thicker and would need more time in the oven. If you have a cookie sheet I would use that instead. 🙂
Heather says
March 1, 2019 at 11:39 amThank you! I’ll use a cookie sheet. We are having pizza night with friends tonight and this is the perfect dessert to bring.
Gil Renaud says
February 16, 2019 at 3:21 amI tried tried this for a pizza party. I used a thin crust pizza and added a broken brownie on top of cheese sauce. It was a 5star success.
Sam says
February 16, 2019 at 5:35 pmI am so glad you enjoyed it Gil! 😊
Kaitlyn says
February 2, 2019 at 5:19 pmThis recipe was amazing! Been looking for a copycat recipe like this. Here in Tennessee we have a pizza chain called pizza inn and they have a very similar pizza! Perfect for the super bowl tomorrow. Thanks for sharing!
Sam says
February 2, 2019 at 8:58 pmI am so glad you enjoyed it! I’m going to put the Pizza Inn on my list of places to go because anything with chocolate chip dessert pizza is AWESOME!
Blakel says
August 10, 2018 at 10:02 pmOmg I know the exact restaurant. My 8& 10 year old live for the chocolate chip pizza
Thanks so much for sharing
Sam says
August 13, 2018 at 9:51 pmHaha isn’t it soooooo good!? Thank you for commenting 🙂
Amanda says
May 6, 2018 at 6:04 pmI am excited to try this recipe soon! Do you think that I can make this ahead of time? It was requested by a coworker, but I won’t have time to make it.
Sam says
May 6, 2018 at 7:34 pmYes, you can make it ahead! I’d say up to 2-3 days in advance. I hope you love it, this is one of my family’s favorites!
Amanda says
May 8, 2018 at 8:23 pmHow would you recommend storing it?
Sam says
May 8, 2018 at 8:29 pmOnce it’s baked I usually just slice it up and then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Some of my family members like eating it cold, but I always prefer heating it up before enjoying!
Sam says
May 8, 2018 at 8:46 pmIf you don’t have an airtight container that’s large enough, allow it to cool and then wrap the slices in plastic wrap or foil, that also works!
Sam says
May 8, 2018 at 9:27 pmSorry, I’m just now realizing you’re probably asking how to store BEFORE baking. I would place it on the pizza pan and wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap and then refrigerate. Yes it will take up a fair bit of space in your fridge but that’s how I would do it.
Tonya S. says
April 23, 2018 at 7:47 pmThis is amazing!! Will always be making this on pizza night!
palak bhatti says
February 16, 2017 at 7:40 amwow looks yummy thanks for sharing i love your all recipes
Deborah says
October 31, 2016 at 9:10 pmI would never have thought to make something like this, but it looks so incredible I think I may *have to* make it tonight. You are a genius–thank you for the inspiration (and recipe)!
Sam says
November 1, 2016 at 1:13 pmI hope you love it, Deborah! One of my favorite desserts!
Heidi Eckert says
September 10, 2016 at 12:22 amWow, you absolutely nailed it! It’s been 10 years since I have had my favorite dessert pizza and I’ve been craving forever. I am so glad I found your recipe. I was a little lazy and used a Pilsbury crust and it still tasted wonderful. You got the toppings just right! The pizza place I went to in Louisiana called Sicily’s had a cherry and blueberry variety that I want to experiment with next. Thank you so much for the recipe!!
Sam says
September 12, 2016 at 2:16 pmThat’s awesome to hear! This place also has a cherry and blueberry (and apple), I’m sure it wouldn’t be too difficult to do fruit variations. Thanks for commenting, Heidi! 🙂
Sommer Paul says
June 4, 2017 at 4:52 pmOmg!! That’s the recipe I was hoping this was!! Have you tried to make with blueberries or cherries? The blueberry is my favorite!! I’ve gotta try it out!! How crazy!!! Thanks so much for sharing this with us!!
Sam says
June 5, 2017 at 10:46 pmI’m so glad you like it! I haven’t tried it with blueberries or cherries yet, but definitely something to try in the future! Thanks for commenting!
Mishelle Herrmann. says
September 8, 2016 at 12:43 pmHey! Is this pizza place in Tyler Texas? I’ve been looking for this recipe for years, my home town of Tyler is the only ace I can find it!
Sam says
September 8, 2016 at 12:45 pmIt’s actually based off a place called Infinitos in PA, but it seems that a lot of these pizza places have the same chocolate chip dessert pizza. 🙂
Melissa says
June 11, 2016 at 9:36 amI can’t believe I have FINALLY found a recipe for this dessert pizza! I LOVED going to Sicily’s pizza and this dessert pizza was ALWAYS my favorite. Thank you for posting this. I can’t wait to try it!
Sam says
June 11, 2016 at 9:53 amI really hope you love it as much as my family and I love it, Melissa!! 🙂
Melody says
January 28, 2016 at 4:41 pmHow would you change the recipe if I used a pre-cooked pizza crust?
Sam says
January 28, 2016 at 5:27 pmHi Melody,
I haven’t tried it with a pre-cooked crust so I can’t be certain, but since the crust is already baked your primary concern will be making sure that the “sauce” and chocolate chips reach that ideal melt-y stage (you can’t judge the chocolate chips by looking at them — they will retain their shape) and the streusel topping is browned just enough to be slightly crisped (as in the pictures).
I think that 5-7 minutes is a brief enough time that it *shouldn’t* burn the crust but should do the trick of getting the toppings just right, just make sure you keep an eye on the crust!
I hope this helps!!
Melody says
January 28, 2016 at 5:31 pmI’ll give it a try. Thank you!
Sam says
January 28, 2016 at 5:33 pmNo problem! 🙂