In English, pepperoni refers to a spicy Italian-American variety of dry salami made of pork and beef. Pepperoni is a descendant of the spicy salamis of Italy, such as salsiccia Napoletana piccante, a spicy dry pork sausage from Naples. Pepperoni is frequently used as a pizza topping in American-style pizzerias. It is the most popular pizza topping in North America, present on at least 30% of all pizzas.

Pepperoni is a corruption of peperoni, the Italian plural of peperone, refering to the fruit of the capsicum. Ordering "peperoni" pizza in Italy is often an unwelcome surprise for North American tourists since throughout continental Europe, peperoni is the common word for the bell pepper. Unlike in Europe, the English word is used as a singular non-count noun.

It is also a popular flavor of potato chips.