Margherita Pizza

Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Margherita Pizza
Ingredients For Margherita Pizza
How to Make Margherita Pizza
How to Store Pizza
Serving Suggestions

Margherita pizza is a simple traditional pizza made with pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil. Store-bought pizza dough makes it quick, but if you’ve got time, homemade pizza dough is delicious and pretty easy to make.

As much as we love a fully loaded Supreme Pizza or fun twists like Buffalo Chicken Pizza, there really is nothing like a classic Margherita Pizza. Simple perfection.

Sliced Margherita pizza with fresh basil

Holly’s Recipe Highlights: Margherita Pizza

The amount of pizza I consumed on a recent visit to Italy is unrivaled. When I got home, I knew I had to create versions of some of my favorite pizzas (see pic below). Margherita Pizza is such a classic; it’s the best place to start.

Toppings: Margherita pizza has a fresh, bright flavor with mozzarella, garlic, and fresh basil. This is a very simple pizza.
Skill Level: Easy, especially with prepared dough and sauce.
Recommended Tools: A pizza stone helps create a crisp, chewy crust.
Serving Suggestions: Tastes great with a green salad, caprese-style sides, or a macaroni salad.
Yield: Makes 1 12-inch pizza, about 4 meal slices or 6 appetizer slices. This recipe can be doubled.

Total time:

Ingredients For Margherita Pizza

Margherita Pizza Ingredients on a counter

Pizza Dough: Use either store-bought pizza crust, my easy pizza dough recipe, or try sourdough pizza crust. Let the refrigerated dough rest so it stretches without springing back.
Pizza Sauce: You can use this pizza sauce recipe or a jarred sauce. Since this recipe uses few ingredients, I’d recommend a quality sauce. My two favorites are this one or this one, which was recommended to me at our local Italian market.
Fresh Mozzarella: Margherita pizza is made with fresh mozzarella, which is typically sold in a round ball rather than a block. It is a soft cow’s milk cheese that melts beautifully. You can use shredded block mozzarella in place, but it’s not quite as creamy.
Fresh Basil: Add after baking for the freshest color and flavor.
Optional Finishing Touches: A pinch of red pepper flakes, a sprinkle of fresh Parmesan, or a drizzle of balsamic glaze and extra-virgin olive oil can add extra flavor.

How to Make Margherita Pizza

brushing oil over pizza dough to make Margherita Pizza

Stretch the dough into a 12-inch circle.

adding pizza sauce to pizza crust to make Margherita Pizza

Brush with pizza Sauce

adding mozzarella slices to pizza to make Margherita Pizza

Add fresh mozzarella cheese and bake.

Let rest a few minutes and top with basil.

Go light on the sauce since too much can make the crust heavy or soggy.
Preheat your pan or pizza stone while the oven heats for crisp edges and bottom.
Use parchment paper for an easy transfer, especially with softer dough.
Add basil after baking, so it stays bright and fresh.
For make-ahead prep, portion the sauce, slice the cheese, and let the dough rest so assembly is quick and easy.

How to Store Pizza

Store leftover margherita pizza in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Reheat slices in a skillet, air fryer, or hot oven to bring back that crisp and chewy crust.

For freezing, wrap baked slices well and freeze for up to 2 months. Add fresh basil after reheating for the best flavor. Pizza dough and sauce freeze well separately for easy make-ahead prep.

Serving Suggestions

Try a crisp salad with Italian Dressing or my favorite Italian Salad. A quick Caesar salad dressing tossed with romaine and parmesan or an arugula salad.

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image of Everyday Comfort cookbook by Holly Nilsson of Spend With Pennies plus text

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Rising Time 30 minutes

Total Time 40 minutes

Place a baking sheet or pizza stone in the oven. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Stretch or roll out the pizza dough into a 12-inch wide circle on a lightly floured surface. Transfer to a piece of parchment paper. Brush the whole crust with olive oil.
Stir minced garlic into your pizza sauce and evenly spread the sauce over the pizza, leaving a half-inch border around the edges.
Evenly place slices of mozzarella cheese over the sauce.
Transfer the pizza (with the parchment paper) to the preheated baking sheet or pizza stone and bake for 14 to 18 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly.
Let rest for a few minutes and then slice. Top with fresh basil before serving.

Use a light layer of sauce so the crust stays crisp.
Preheat the pan or stone for a golden bottom. Use parchment for easy transfer.
Add sliced tomatoes before baking, for a special touch.
Basil should be added after baking to keep it fresh.

Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.

Course Dinner

Cuisine Italian

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