Hot Honey Pizza Dip with Venison Sausage and Pepperoni
This wild game pizza dip is loaded with venison sausage, pepperoni, gooey cheese, and topped with hot honey. The perfect wild game appetizer for game day, parties, or your next cookout!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 pound ground Italian Venison Sausage (or use quick venison sausage recipe below)
- 1 cup Pizza Sauce
- 8 ounces Plain Cream cheese, Softened
- ½ cup plain Greek Yogurt
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- ½ teaspoon Dried Oregano, plus more to garnish
- 1 cup shredded Mozzarella
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan Cheese
- 18–20 Pepperoni Slices
Quick Venison Sausage:
- 1 pound Ground venison
- 1 tsp Fennel Seeds
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1 tsp Onion Powder
- 1 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Black Pepper
- 1/2 tsp crushed Red Pepper Flakes
- 1/2 tsp dried Oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried Basil
For Serving
- 1 French Baguette, Sliced into ½ inch Slices
- 1–2 tablespoons Olive Oil or Melted Butter
- ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
- 6 Basil Leaves, Cut Into Ribbons
- Hot Honey, For Drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat your oven or pellet grill to 375 degrees.
- In a large skillet over medium heat, brown venison until browned (i prefer to cook until browned but still slightly pink to avoid overcooking). If using unseasoned ground venison, brown it first, then drain and mix in seasonings. Add in pizza sauce and mix well. Remove from heat and set aside.
- To a 9 inch cast iron skillet or 8×8 inch lightly greased pan, add in venison meat sauce layer..
- In a medium sized bowl, mix together cream cheese, Greek yogurt, salt, garlic powder and dried oregano until smooth and creamy. Add the cream cheese mixture on top of the venison mixture. You can add it in dollops and gently spread it for an even layer or leave it in dollops for a rustic look.
- Top the cream cheese layer with the meat sauce layer. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese then top with pepperoni slices.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly.
- While the dip bakes, brush the baguette slices with melted butter or olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder. Toast for 5-7 minutes on the grill or in the oven until golden and crispy.
- Once the dip is finished, remove the dip from the grill and sprinkle with dried oregano and basil leaves and drizzle all over with hot honey. Serve with toasted baguette slices for dipping.