Margherita Pizza
If I had to choose only one pizza to eat for the rest of my life, it would be this Margherita Pizza. It’s truly restaurant-quality, but so easy to make at home!
The Best Margherita Pizza I’ve Tasted
We make homemade pizza for dinner almost every Friday, and this margherita pizza recipe is the one we keep making week after week! This recipe proves that when it comes to food, simple is often best. As my teenager put it, this margherita pizza tastes so fresh and so so good!
So what is a margherita pizza, anyways? Margherita pizza is topped with a simple tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella and fresh basil leaves. It originated in Naples, Italy. The story has it that pizza margherita was created to celebrate the unification of Italy, with the tomatoes, basil and mozzarella being symbolic of the red, green and white found on the Italian flag. While this classic pizza sounds fancy, it’s actually incredible easy to make.
Margherita Pizza Ingredients
Since this margherita pizza is made with just a handful of ingredients, the quality of each ingredient is important. Quality San Marzano canned tomatoes, a great-tasting extra virgin olive oil, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella rather than part-skim will combine to make the best margherita pizza!
Perfect Homemade Pizza Crust
You’ll need one ball of homemade pizza dough or whole wheat pizza dough, or 1 pound of store-bought pizza dough. If making homemade dough, using pizza flour will give you the best flavor and a crust with a chewier texture, like you would get at a pizzeria. Bread flour or all-purpose flour will also work, for a less chewy crust.
This Pizza Sauce is Fresh and Flavorful
While I love my homemade pizza sauce recipe for most pizzas, this margherita pizza requires a special sauce. The sauce is so simple but has amazing fresh flavor thanks to the olive oil, San Marzano tomatoes, and garlic.
- Crushed San Marzano Tomatoes: Their sweet, rich flavor really shines in this pizza.
- Olive Oil: Adds richness and a fresh, fruity flavor to the sauce, especially if you use a good quality extra virgin olive oil.
- Fresh Garlic: For flavor.
- Salt and Pepper: To season the sauce.
- Red Pepper Flakes: For a touch of heat. The crushed red pepper flakes are optional, but I just love the little bit of spice that they bring to the sauce.
Use Fresh Mozzarella Cheese
Fresh mozzarella is softer and more flavorful than low moisture mozzarella (the kind you’d typically buy for grating and that’s usually used on pizza). It’s what’s used in a Caprese Salad, what I add to my favorite Caprese Sandwich, and what’s best for margherita pizza.
I usually buy a ball of fresh mozzarella and cube it. You can also use small balls of fresh mozzarella (called bocconcini). Pat the mozzarella dry to remove any moisture.
Recipe Tips
- Drain the crushed tomatoes in a fine mesh strainer to remove excess juices. This ensures that the sauce isn’t too watery. The first time I tested this recipe, I didn’t drain the tomatoes and the crust was a bit soggy. The next time, I tried draining the tomatoes first and that did the trick! Fresh tomato flavor without the soggy bottom crust.
- One 15-ounce can of crushed tomatoes makes a little too much sauce for one pizza, but not quite enough for two. You can warm the extra sauce and dip your pizza crust or some Focaccia Bread in it.
- Brush the edge of crust with olive oil for flavor and a golden brown color.
- If you’re making homemade pizza dough, adding 1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder to the dough gives the crust great flavor.
- Add the fresh basil after baking the pizza, and let the pizza cool for a few minutes before sprinkling on the basil. Otherwise the hot pizza may make the basil turn dark.
How to Make Margherita Pizza
Prepare the oven and pizza pan. Preheat oven to 500° F with an oven rack one space above the bottom rack position. Oil a pizza steel or baking sheet with a high temperature cooking spray or vegetable oil.
Make the pizza sauce. Drain the crushed tomatoes. Then stir together the drained tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes.
Shape pizza dough. Stretch or roll the pizza dough into a 14-inch diameter circle and put it on the prepared pan.
Assemble pizza. Spread the sauce over the pizza, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Add the cubed mozzarella. Then brush the edges of the crust with olive oil.
Bake, then add fresh basil. Bake pizza for 8-12 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned and the cheese is fully melted. Let the pizza cool for 3-4 minutes, then scatter the fresh basil over the top.
Then slice, serve and enjoy! If you need a great salad to serve with it, I recommend my Green Salad Recipe or this zesty Italian Salad.
Margherita Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 ball homemade pizza dough, or 1 pound store bought pizza dough
- 15 ounce can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for brushing the crust
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1-2 pinches crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 6 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
- fresh basil, leave small leaves whole, thinly slice or gently tear large leaves into smaller pieces
Instructions
Prepare Oven and Pizza Pan
- Preheat oven to 500° F and place an oven rack one space above the bottom rack position. Oil a pizza steel or baking sheet with a high temperature cooking spray or vegetable oil.
Make Pizza Sauce
- Pour the crushed tomatoes into a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl and allow to drain for about 5 minutes. Discard the liquid or save for another use.
- In a medium bowl, stir together the drained crushed tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes, if using (I like to finely chop the red pepper flakes with a sharp chef's knife to more evenly distribute the spice).
Shape Pizza Dough
- On a lightly floured work surface, stretch or roll the pizza dough out into a 14-inch diameter circle. Place the pizza dough onto the prepared pizza pan. If the edges are larger than the pizza pan, fold them over a bit (towards the pizza) to form a nice thick crust.
Assemble Pizza
- Spread sauce over the pizza, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge for the crust. (You probably won't use all of the sauce.)
- Pat the fresh mozzarella dry with paper towels and cut into ½-inch cubes; distribute cheese evenly over the pizza on top of the sauce.
- Brush the crust around the edge of the pizza with olive oil.
Bake Pizza
- Bake pizza for 8-12 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned and cheese is fully melted. Let pizza rest for 3-4 minutes, then scatter the fresh basil over the top. Slice and serve.
Notes
- One 15-ounce can of crushed tomatoes makes a little too much sauce for one pizza, but not quite enough for two. You can warm the extra sauce and dip your pizza crust or Focaccia Bread in it.
This was an excellent recipe!! Very tasty!!
This was so simple & delicious!! We will be making this a regular meal!