Margherita Pizza is a simple, sauceless pizza of fresh mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced garden tomatoes, and fresh basil. It’s light, bright, fresh and delicious. It’s also super-easy to make. Here’s how.
Pizza Margherita Recipe
Pizza Margherita
Equipment
- cutting board
- kitchen knife
- floured surface – for rolling dough
- Rolling Pin
- silicone sauce brush
- Pizza stone
- Pizza Peel
- pizza knife
- pizza spatula
Ingredients
- 1 boule pizza dough – made in advance
- 1 tbsp olive oil – extra virgin
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 4 garden tomatoes – different colors, thinly sliced
- 6 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ¼ cup fresh basil leaves
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes – optional
Instructions
- Put a pizza stone in the oven, and preheat to 500℉. Roll out the pizza dough on a floured surface. Brush with olive oil, then sprinkle with garlic powder.1 boule pizza dough, 1 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp garlic powder
- Top with thinly sliced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese, then pinch the edges of the dough to form the crust.4 garden tomatoes, 6 oz fresh mozzarella cheese
- Add more slices of tomatoes on top. Use different colored tomatoes if you can. Sprinkle salt over the sliced tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.1 tsp kosher salt
- Bake the pizza for 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown, the cheese is melted, and the tomatoes are slightly curled. Top with fresh basil leaves.1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
- Cut into wedges, and serve. Optionally add red pepper flakes.1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
PRIVATE NOTES
Nutrition
More Information
Margherita or Margarita?
The Margherita Pizza was named after Queen Margherita of Savoy, the young Queen of Italy between 1868 and 1900. The queen ordered a pizza from Chef Raffaelle Esposito, a renowned Italian chef and tavern owner in Naples, Italy. He made a simple pizza with red San Marzano tomatoes, white mozzarella, and green basil to represent the colors of the Italian flag.
A Margarita is an alcoholic beverage made with tequila, orange liqueur, and lime juice.
Check out my Beverages section for several margarita recipe options, any of which would go great with Margherita Pizza.
Pizza Dough
Make the pizza dough in advance. When DaLynn makes Pizza Dough, there is enough to make two pizzas. She will add one half of the dough to a labelled ziplock bag, then freeze it for later. When we want to make pizza, she will thaw it in a bowl for a few hours until we are ready to bake.
Garden Tomatoes and Basil
Garden tomatoes are the best! Especially in Pizza Margherita. They have so much more flavor than store-bought tomatoes. The colors are bright and interesting. Fresh garden basil has an intense aroma and bright green color. Combining the white mozzarella cheese, with red tomatoes and green basil is reminiscent of the Italian flag. It’s a beautiful and appetizingly delightful pizza.
If you need to use grocery store tomatoes, use Roma tomatoes. They have more pulp and less water than other types of tomatoes, so they will produce a better pizza.
Slice Tomatoes Thin
It is important to slice the tomatoes very thin. Especially if using juicy tomato varieties. When the pizza cooks, the water will come out of the tomatoes. If the slices are thin, there won’t be as much water. If you do find there to be excess water on the pizza when it is done baking, here is a simple trick:
Wick Away the Water
Take a sheet of paper towel, fold it in half, then roll it up into a tight cylinder. Touch the edge of the cylinder to the little pools of tomato water that may have collected. The paper towels will wick away the water without disturbing the cheese or other toppings. This trick works when wicking up pepperoni grease too.
Know Your Oven
All ovens seem a bit different. None of them seem to be well calibrated. You will need to keep an eye on the pizza toward the end of its bake to make sure you don’t go too far. My oven takes about 10-12 minutes at 500 degrees Fahrenheit to make a perfect crusty pizza.
Related Recipes
Cheesy Breadsticks
Chicago-style Deep Dish Pizza
Italian Meatballs
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