This margherita pizza recipe is a party of straightforward, contemporary elements! Juicy tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella cheese best a crisp, chewy crust.
I bring to mind margherita pizza because the heartier cousin of Caprese salad, with a crisp, chewy crust supporting the scrumptious trio of tomatoes, basil, and contemporary mozzarella. You’ll in finding this vintage pizza at the menu of any Neapolitan pizza joint, however you’ll be able to additionally make a actually nice selfmade model. This margherita pizza recipe is right here to turn out it!
What’s Margherita Pizza?
Margherita pizza hails from Naples, Italy. It options 3 iconic toppings:
- San Marzano tomatoes
- Contemporary mozzarella cheese
- Basil leaves
In keeping with Marcella Hazan’s cookbook Necessities of Vintage Italian Cooking, the pizza was once first made for Italy’s Queen Margherita when she visited Naples within the past due 19th century. The crimson, white, and inexperienced toppings have been patriotic, as they embellished the pizza with the colours of the Italian flag.
Margherita Pizza Components
My largest tip for making margherita pizza is to use the most efficient elements you’ll be able to in finding.
As a result of this vintage dish is so easy, the standard of each and every element counts.
Right here’s what you’ll want:
- Pizza dough, after all! We make our personal with this pizza dough recipe. It’s simple to make with elements like flour, water, and yeast, and it yields a chewy, scrumptious pizza crust. In fact, store-bought contemporary pizza dough works right here too.
- Canned complete tomatoes – You don’t want contemporary tomatoes to make a really perfect margherita pizza. As an alternative, you’ll pulse good-quality canned tomatoes right into a no-cook selfmade pizza sauce with olive oil, garlic, and salt. San Marzano tomatoes, a candy number of Italian plum tomatoes, are conventional right here. Use them if you’ll be able to!
- Contemporary mozzarella cheese – The very best wealthy counterpart to the tomatoes and basil. Reduce it into skinny slices or tear it ahead of topping the pizza.
- Contemporary basil – Its contemporary taste takes this pizza excessive! You’ll sprinkle it over the pizza after baking in order that it doesn’t wilt within the oven.
- Purple pepper flakes – They upload a kick of warmth.
- And further-virgin olive oil – For wealthy, fruity taste.
To find all the recipe with measurements underneath.
How one can Make Margherita Pizza
Step one on this margherita pizza recipe is getting ready the tomato sauce.
Position the canned tomatoes and their juices, olive oil, garlic, and salt in a meals processor. Mix till clean.
Subsequent, stretch the dough. Don’t fear in the event you don’t have any fancy pizza-making apparatus like a pizza peel or pizza stone. A baking sheet works completely for this recipe!
Mud it with cornmeal and stretch the dough into a big oval.
Then, upload the toppings. Unfold a heaping 1/2 cup of the tomato sauce over the pizza dough, leaving a 1-inch border across the edges.
This recipe makes additional pizza sauce! Retailer leftover sauce in an hermetic container within the refrigerator for as much as every week, or freeze it for as much as 3 months.
- Tip: I love to freeze small parts of the sauce in order that I will be able to simply thaw sufficient for one pizza at a time.
Best with the mozzarella…
…and bake! Switch the pizza to a 500°F oven and bake for 10 to twelve mins, or till the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown.
Take away the pizza from the oven and best it with the contemporary basil leaves, crimson pepper flakes, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Slice and serve. That’s it!
Serving Ideas
My favourite strategy to serve a margherita pizza is with a salad at the aspect. It is going well with any of those recipes:
Experience!
Extra Home made Pizza Recipes
For those who love this recipe, check out any such selfmade pizzas subsequent:
Yearning extra Italian classics? Do that eggplant caponata, eggplant Parmesan, or spaghetti aglio e olio recipe.

Margherita Pizza
Serves 3 to 4
This selfmade margherita pizza is very easy and scrumptious! My largest tip for this recipe is to make use of good-quality elements like contemporary basil and sauce made with San Marzano tomatoes. Since the recipe is so easy, you can actually style the variation.
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Preheat the oven to 500°F.
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In a meals processor, position the tomatoes and their juices, olive oil, garlic, and salt. Procedure till clean.
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Mud a baking sheet with cornmeal. Position the pizza dough at the baking sheet and stretch it into a big oval.
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Unfold a heaping ½ cup of the tomato sauce* lightly over the pizza dough, leaving a 1-inch border across the edges.
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Best with the mozzarella and switch to the recent oven. Bake for 10 to twelve mins, or till the crust is browned.
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Take away from the oven and best with contemporary basil and pinches of crimson pepper flakes. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.
*Retailer leftover pizza sauce in an hermetic container within the refrigerator for as much as every week, or freeze it for as much as 3 months.