Margherita Pizza
Updated
Updated
This homemade classic Margherita Pizza recipe features an easy pizza dough topped with traditional ingredients including marinara sauce, fresh ball mozzarella cheese, Parmesan, beautiful sliced tomatoes, and basil. It is so simple and absolutely delicious!
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Sometimes I like to pile my pizza high with tons of toppings. Other times, I like the simple route, with only a few. And once again, the Italians prove that less is definitely more when it comes to the classic Margherita pizza. And you just can’t beat it.
What is Margherita Pizza?
Pizza Margherita (pronounced mahr-geh-ree-tah) is basically a Neapolitan pizza, typically made with tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, garlic, fresh basil, and extra-virgin olive oil. I think of it as a sophisticated version of your basic cheese pizza and also a wonderful Caprese salad, but with a crust. It’s so easy to make!
Purists, no need to chime in. I don’t claim my recipe to be authentic – I think I read that you’re supposed to mix the olive oil with the garlic and let the flavors infuse for 15 minutes, and only use tomatoes that are in season, and the basil leaves should be kept whole, and blah blah blah… HA. My way keeps traditional flavors intact, but just simplified.
Helpful Tips
- Pizza Dough. This is the base of your pizza, obviously, and where the greatnesses starts. I use my foolproof go-to pizza dough recipe, but you can buy a 1 pound pizza dough at the store, too.
- Homemade Marinara Sauce. Using homemade marinara sauce is my favorite. It’s simple, sweet, and strikes a perfect balance with the other ingredients. But use your favorite.
- Tomatoes. I usually stick with Roma tomatoes, but really any variety work here. I do prefer smaller tomatoes to larger ones, since they contain less water. Garden fresh are the best!
- Fresh Mozzarella Cheese and Parmesan. You want fresh balled mozzarella that you slice, not the shredded packaged kind, and shaved Parmesan off the block.
- Fresh Basil. This is roughly chopped or julienned and gets sprinkled on after the pizza comes out of the oven, not before!
- Resist the urge to pile on the toppings. Too many toppings will just weigh the pizza down. Less is more here.
- Bake in a very hot oven. For the best crispy pizza crust, bake your pizza between 500-550F.
- Use a good, heavy, baking stone or steel if you can. They hold tons of heat energy, releasing it quickly into a pizza as it bakes, giving it a crispier crust.
Easy Margherita Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 pound homemade pizza crust, (½ a recipe of my homemade pizza dough)
- 2½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ cup marinara sauce
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 12 ounces fresh ball mozzarella cheese, sliced into ¼-inch thick pieces
- 3 Roma tomatoes, sliced
- 6-7 large basil leaves, sliced into ribbons
- fresh shaved Parmesan
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Place a pizza stone in the oven. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F, allowing the stone to get hot.
- Roll the pizza dough on a floured surface into a 14-inch round and ¼-inch thick. Transfer it to a pizza peel lined with parchment paper. Reshape if necessary.
- Gently brush the dough with the olive oil, then evenly spread the marinara sauce on, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle the garlic over the top. Top with the mozzarella slices and tomatoes, leaving space in between.
- Slide the parchment with the crust onto the heated stone. Bake for 8-10 minutes until crust is golden and cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove from oven and shave fresh Parmesan on top, sprinkle with the basil, along with 1-2 grinds of fresh black pepper.
- Cut into wedges and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutritional information given is an automatic calculation and can vary based on the exact products you use and any changes you make to the recipe. If these numbers are very important to you, I would recommend calculating them yourself.
Did you make this? Leave a rating below!How To Make Margherita Pizza
Gather your ingredients. You’ll need 1 pound pizza dough, 2½ tablespoons olive oil, ½ cup marinara sauce, 4 cloves minced garlic, 12 ounces fresh sliced mozzarella cheese, 3 sliced Roma tomatoes, 6-7 large basil leaves, sliced into ribbons, shaved parmesan, and freshly ground black pepper.
Place a pizza stone in the oven. Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F, allowing the stone to get hot.
Roll out the dough. Roll out the pizza dough on a floured surface into a 14-16 inch round, ¼-inch thick. Transfer it to a pizza peel lined with parchment paper. Reshape if necessary.
Add toppings. Gently brush the dough with the olive oil, then evenly spread the marinara sauce on, leaving a 1-inch border around the edge. Sprinkle the garlic over the top. Top with the mozzarella slices and tomatoes, leaving space in between.
Bake. Slide the parchment with the crust onto the heated stone. Bake for 8-10 minutes until crust is golden and cheese is melted and bubbly.
Finish with Parmesan and basil. Remove from oven and shave fresh Parmesan over the top and sprinkle with basil, along with 1-2 grinds of fresh black pepper.
Serving Suggestions
Margherita pizza makes a great easy dinner, lunch, or even party appetizer cut into smaller slices. It pairs nicely with a simple salad, like a garden salad or Caesar salad. For a twist, it would go well with something like a cold tomato gazpacho.
Proper Storage
- Storing leftovers. Leftover Margherita pizza can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. I do not recommend freezing it.
- Reheat. For best results, reheat in the oven at 350F until warmed through. Cover loosely with foil to prevent it from drying out. Or air fry individual pieces to crisp back up.
More Pizza Recipes
I hope you love this delicious and easy recipe – be sure to give it a review below! Also don’t forget to follow Belly Full on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube!
Love Margherita Pizza and look forward to trying yours with freshly made pizza dough! Quick question though … wondering if you add basil and pesto sauce as a topping? Nothing mentioned in recipe or notes, just noticed what appears to be pesto sauce in accompanying photos. Thanks in advance for your reply!
Basil is included in the ingredient list. A drizzle of pesto is in the photos, but not a traditional ingredient on a Margherita so it’s totally optional.
Are the cooking instructions still the same if you do not have a pizza stone?
Yes. The crust just won’t be as crisp.
Just made this with kids and it was great!
Simple, fresh, just delicious. We loved it.
This marinara was simple and delightful! Definitely a keeper.
You always did make great pizza, and this looks soooo delicious.
I would give this 6 stars if I could. We all loved it!
This pizza was LEGIT. Simple and perfect, nothing needs to be changed.
This was perfect, thanks.