Pizza Rustica: Italian Easter Pie
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Pizza Rustica, also known as Italian Easter Pie, is a traditional savory dish enjoyed during the Easter season. This double-crusted pie is packed with a rich, cheesy filling that includes cured meats and spring greens. It's impressive, utterly delicious, and surprisingly simple to make.
If you love Italian food - pizza in particular - along with cured meats and Mediterranean flavors (much like a Mediterranean charcuterie board), Pizza Rustica is a dish you'll truly enjoy making and serving.
Jump to:
- What is Pizza Rustica?
- Recipe Overview
- What I Love About This Recipe
- Pizza Rustica Ingredients
- How to Make Pizza Rustica
- Variations
- Serving Suggestions
- Storing Rustica
- Tips for Success
- Recipe FAQs
- What Part of Italy is Pizza Rustica From?
- Origins of Pizza Rustica
- More Recipes You May Also Enjoy
- Pizza Rustica Recipe
- 💬 Comments
What is Pizza Rustica?
Pizza Rustica is a traditional Italian Easter pie with a filling similar to a rich, savory quiche. It's commonly enjoyed during the Easter season in Italy and in Italian-American households.
The pie is double-crusted and filled with a creamy egg-and-cheese mixture, often layered with cured meats such as prosciutto, pancetta, and salami. Traditional cheeses may include basket cheese, provolone, or other Mediterranean varieties.
Despite the name, Pizza Rustica isn't much like the everyday pizza we know. It's more similar to a savory torte - rich, hearty, and sliceable - sometimes including leafy greens like spinach, as I've done here.
Recipe Overview
Pizza Rustica is a classic Italian Easter pie made with a flaky double crust and a rich filling of eggs, cheeses, cured meats, and greens. It's hearty, celebratory, and ideal for make-ahead holiday meals, whether served warm or at room temperature.
What I Love About This Recipe
One of the things I love most about this recipe is its adaptability. Ingredients can easily be mixed and matched based on preference, availability, or family tradition, making it a wonderful Easter dish to return to year after year.
- Deeply traditional, yet flexible
- Perfect for Easter brunch or dinner
- Make-ahead friendly and ideal for entertaining
- Uses simple ingredients in a truly special way
Pizza Rustica Ingredients
Pizza Rustica relies on simple, familiar ingredients - the magic comes from how they're layered together.
- Flaky double pie crust: I prefer a homemade pie crust in this recipe, but a good store-bought crust works too
- Large egg yolks plus one egg for brushing the pastry
- Cheeses: Ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, provolone, or your favorites
- Italian cured meats: Prosciutto, smoked ham, salami, or pancetta
- Italian sausage: Casings removed and cooked (sweet or mild works beautifully)
- Spinach: Frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well-squeezed, is easiest and works very well
How to Make Pizza Rustica
Step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.
Begin by preparing a simple pastry crust using a food processor, pastry cutter, or your fingers to cut cold butter into flour. Divide the dough and chill while you prepare the filling.
While the pastry chills, prepare the filling and assemble the pie:
- Cook and drain the sausage.
- In a large bowl, combine beaten egg yolks, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, sausage, cured meats, and spinach.
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease a 9-inch springform pan.
- Roll out both portions of dough on a lightly floured surface.
- Line the pan with the larger piece of dough, add the filling, and top with the remaining dough. Crimp the edges and brush with beaten egg.
- Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the crust is golden.
- Let cool in the pan for about 15 minutes before releasing the sides.
Variations
Pizza Rustica varies by region, family, and tradition - and that flexibility is part of its charm.
- Cheese substitutions: Basket cheese is traditional, but mozzarella, ricotta, provolone, Swiss, feta, goat cheese, or even cream cheese work well
- Meat variations: Use any combination of Italian sausage, prosciutto, ham, pancetta, or salami
- Greens: Spinach is classic, but escarole or Swiss chard are also traditional options
- Lighter version: Reduce the meats slightly and lean more on cheeses and greens
Serving Suggestions
- Serve warm, at room temperature, or chilled
- Slice into wedges for Easter brunch
- Pair with a simple green salad or roasted vegetables
- Serve as part of an antipasto-style spread
Storing Rustica
To store, let the Easter pie cool completely, then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and chill it for up to 5 days. Reheat gently to serve.
It can also be frozen. Let the baked pie cool, then wrap it tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap and aluminum foil, and, if possible, store it in an airtight freezer container for up to a month. You can also freeze it in its pan. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Tips for Success
- Let the pie rest before slicing for cleaner cuts
- Be sure spinach is very well-drained to avoid excess moisture
- Don't overfill the crust - the filling will puff slightly as it bakes
- A springform pan makes slicing and serving especially easy
Recipe FAQs
Pizza Rustica is a traditional Italian Easter pie filled with meats, cheeses, and eggs. It's often served to mark the end of Lent and has become a beloved Easter tradition in many Italian-American families.
Yes. Pizza Rustica is ideal for making ahead. It can be baked a day in advance, refrigerated, and served at room temperature or gently reheated before serving.
It can be served warm, at room temperature, or cold. It's commonly sliced and served as part of Easter brunch or alongside simple sides.
Traditional versions of Pizza Rustica use Italian cured meats and a combination of soft and firm basket cheeses. This recipe is flexible - use what you love or have on hand.
Stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator, it will keep well for 3-4 days.
Yes. Once baked and cooled, wrap tightly and freeze for up to one month. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently.
Not exactly. Despite the name, Pizza Rustica is more like a savory pie or torte than a traditional pizza.
What Part of Italy is Pizza Rustica From?
Originating from the southern regions of Italy, specifically Calabria, Campania, and Abruzzo, this dish has been prepared in various ways depending on the region, town, and family. However, the common element in all versions is a double-crusted pie filled with a cheesy, egg-based mixture.
If you enjoy Northern Italian dishes, try this classic Milanese Osso Buco recipe or make a quick 30-minute Skillet Osso Buco for weeknight dinners.
Origins of Pizza Rustica
Pizza Rustica, often called Italian Easter Pie, dates back to at least the 17th century in southern Italy. In Naples and surrounding areas, it is known as pizza ripiena, meaning "stuffed pizza." Italian immigrants brought the dish to the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, where it became a cherished Easter tradition in many Italian-American households.
More Recipes You May Also Enjoy
- Easy Lent Recipes for the Lenten Season
- Make Ahead Breakfast Casserole
- Easy Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Green Beans Almondine Recipe
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Pizza Rustica Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Pastry Crust:
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter cold and cubed
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 4 tablespoons cold water or more as needed
For the Filling:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 8 ounces Italian sausage casings removed
- 10 ounce frozen chopped spinach thawed and drained
- 1 (15-oz) container ricotta cheese
- 12 ounces low-moisture mozzarella cheese cubed
- ⅓ cup Pecorino Romano cheese grated (or Parmesan)
- 4 ounces prosciutto coarsely chopped
- 4 large egg yolks beaten
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 large egg beaten for brushing the top pastry before baking
Instructions
Make the Pastry Crust
- Combine flour, salt, butter, and olive oil in a large bowl or the bowl of a food processor. Pulse or cut the butter into the flour until it resembles coarse meal.
- Make a well in the center of the flour-butter mixture and add the eggs. Mix or pulse with a food processor until combined. Add cold water and mix briefly until it forms a ball. If it seems dry, sprinkle in more water, 1 teaspoon at a time until it comes together.
- Divide the dough in half with one portion a little larger than the other. The larger portion will be used for the bottom crust, and the smaller for the top. Wrap and chill for about 30 minutes.
For the Filling
- While the dough is chilling, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add sausage and saute until golden, breaking it into pieces as it cooks; about 5 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl to cool.
- In a large bowl, add egg yolks and beat lightly. Then stir in the ricotta, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese. Stir in cooled sausage, prosciutto. and thawed and squeeze spinach. Stir to combine.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Rub a 9-inch springform pan and grease.
Assembling the Rustica
- Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll the larger piece into a 17-inch round. Transfer the dough to the prepared springform pan and trim the overhand to 1 inch.
- Spoon the filling into the dough-lined springform pan.
- Roll out the remaining dough into a 12-inch round and place it over the filling. Pinch the edges to seal and then crimp to form a nice edge.
- Brush the dough with the remaining beaten egg and bake until the crust is golden; about 1 hour.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes before releasing the sides of the pan and transferring the pizza to a serving platter. Cut into wedges and serve.
Video
Notes
- Cheeses: Use a combination of cheeses like Ricotta, Mozzarella, Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, Provolone, or your favorite. Basket cheeses are also commonly used. These include mozzarella, Swiss cheese, ricotta, Greek feta, goat cheese, and even cream cheese.
- Egg Wash: Combine 1 large egg with 1 teaspoon of water. Brush the top of the pastry before baking.
- Storing: Allow the Easter pie to cool completely before wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap and chilling it for up to 5 days. Reheat gently to serve.
- Freezing: Let the baked pie cool before tightly wrapping it in a double layer of plastic wrap and aluminum foil. If possible, store it in an airtight freezer container for up to a month. You can also freeze it in its pan. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
I tried this with store bought crusts but my bottom crust shrank. What did I do wrong?
I'm so sorry! Store bought crusts can be tricky and do like to shrink. The best trick to keep prepared crust from shrinking is to keep it cold. Blind baking also helps but I've not tried this recipe by blind baking the crust. The other alternative to prepared pie crust is prepared pizza dough or even crescent dough. You would need about 3 tubes and follow the directions as written for the homemade crust. Two-thirds would fit the sides and bottom of the springform pan and the remaining tube would be used for the top. You might also want to cut a few ventilation holes (2-3) in the top pastry. Hope this helps!
Love this! We had never tried this recipe, and now have a new favorite. Our guys loved the flavors and the hearty texture. This will be a new tradition for us!
So glad you enjoyed it, Lee! We love it too.
Your recipe omitted the prosciutto.
Thank you, Bernadette... fixed!