Margherita Pizza
from kristineskitchenblog.comWith this Margherita Pizza recipe, you can make a restaurant-quality margherita pizza at home! 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!
Servings: 1 14-inch pizza
Calories: 436kcal
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.
Video
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.
Nutrition
Serving: 1/4 pizza | Calories: 436kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 19g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 34mg | Sodium: 1260mg | Potassium: 352mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 524IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 254mg | Iron: 4mg
