Authentic Margherita Pizza Recipe | Easy and Homemade

A simple but delicious Italian pizza topped with fresh crushed tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil with a chewy and crispy crust made from scratch.

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It’s pizza night!  This is a fairly simple recipe full of fresh ingredients and it’s the kind of food that everyone loves.  We love to make this pizza in the summertime with fresh tomato, and basil salad on the side and eat it on the patio with a glass of wine.  But this recipe can really be made any time of year with a certain kind of canned tomatoes.  If you can find San Marzano tomato sauce, you can enjoy the flavors of a simple tomato sauce, with fresh basil and fresh mozzarella.

Ingredients

• Pizza Dough: I always use my homemade pizza dough recipe for this pizza crust!  If you don’t have time to make your own dough, you can buy balls of dough at some grocery stores.  Some pizza shops will even sell you their dough!
• Crushed Tomatoes: When the tomatoes are ripe in the summertime I use fresh tomatoes and crush them myself.  The instructions are below.  If I make this when tomatoes aren’t in season I always use canned San Marzano tomatoes.  I don’t like tons of sauce, so you can always add more if you want! 
• Kosher Salt: Kosher salt is coarser than table salt. This really adds an awesome saltiness to the authentic Margherita pizza sauce (which, like the Italians, is just pure tomatoes!).
• Fresh Mozzarella: For a good margarita pizza, you really want the slices of fresh mozzarella! It can’t be beat!
• Fresh Basil: This is a must! Use fresh basil leaves and not dried basil.
• Good Olive Oil: This adds great flavor and a bit of richness to the pizza.  

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. Preheat the oven and the pizza stone. Place your oven rack in the middle of the oven. Place a pizza stone (round) (or pizza stone (rectangular)) on the middle rack. Preheat the oven to 500ºF. 
2. Roll out the pizza dough. Roll out the pizza dough onto a sheet of parchment. It doesn’t matter what shape you roll it out to, just make sure the shape will fit your pizza stone. You want the dough thin.
3. Make the crushed tomatoes (when tomatoes are in season): If you want to use fresh tomatoes to make the sauce, then you’ll want to boil the tomatoes for 1-2 minutes until the skin comes off (the skin will become wrinkly; you can also make a small cut in the bottom of the tomatoes so you can see the skin peel away and know when they are done about 60-90 seconds). Remove, let cool, then quarter.
   To crush the tomatoes you can pulse them in a blender or food processor until it’s the consistency of a chunky sauce.  Or I just crush them in a bowl with my hands. I like this method because I can control how chunky or smooth the sauce is.
   If you don’t have access to good fresh tomatoes use crushed whole San Marzano tomatoes.
4. Stretch and roll out your pizza crust to the desired shape and place it on your pizza stone or cast iron pan.
5. Top with crushed tomatoes. Spoon the crushed tomatoes over the top of the dough, spreading it to cover the whole pizza except 1 inch along the border. This will act as the crust. Sprinkle the sauce with salt.  Then drizzle with a little olive oil.
6. Top with fresh mozzarella. Place slices of fresh mozzarella on top of the sauce to cover the pizza to your liking. 
7. Transfer to the pizza stone using a pizza peel. Transfer the pizza to the hot pizza stone, grabbing the parchment paper and sliding the pizza onto the stone. Be careful! The oven and stone are HOT! Bake for 11-12 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pizza has lightly golden brown spots. 
8. Remove and top with fresh basil. Remove the pizza from the oven with the pizza peel (or the back of a baking sheet — see Recipe Tips). Transfer to a cutting board and top with chopped basil. Slice and serve immediately. Enjoy! 

Here are a few tips for my Margherita pizza recipe:

I like a thin layer of crushed tomatoes, but if you want more, you can add more. If you roll the dough really thin or if your pizza is quite large, you may need more than 1/4 cup of crushed tomatoes. 

If you want to use fresh tomatoes to make the sauce, then you’ll want to boil the tomatoes until the skin comes off (the skin will become wrinkly; you can also make a small cut in the bottom of the tomatoes so you can see the skin peel away and know when they are done about 60-90 seconds). Remove, let cool, then quarter. Pulse in a blender. 

You can use a store-bought pizza dough ball to make your pizza crust if you don’t want to make it homemade. BUT! Making Pizza Dough really is super easy! 

I find if I roll out my pizza dough on a lightly floured surface, the dough won’t be as soft because you’re adding all that extra flour. Roll it out onto a surface lightly sprayed with cooking spray or with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. 

Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

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Pizza Dough

Quick and Easy Pizza Dough

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Resting Time 1 hour hour

Servings 1 Pizza Crust

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup warm water
• 1 tsp active dry yeast HEAPING TSP
• 1 cup flour plus extra for sprinkling when kneading the dough
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 TBS olive oil plus extra for coating the bowl

Instructions

• Combine the water with the yeast to activate the yeast
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and the salt.
• Once the yeast is foamy add the olive oil and gently mix.
• Add the yeast mixture to the center of the flour mixture and mix slowly with a wooden spoon. Once the mixture forms a shaggy ball and becomes hard to mix, move the dough onto a well-floured counter.
• Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes to develop the gluten.
• Coat the inside of a large bowl with olive oil and place the kneaded dough inside the bowl. Turn the dough over to coat with a thin layer of olive oil.
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a plate, set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.

Baking the Dough

• About 30 minutes before you bake your pizza, put a pizza stone or cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat it to 450 degrees.
• Press the dough into whatever pizza shape you'd like until it is consistently about 1/2 inch thick all around.
• Add toppings and transfer the dough to the pizza stone or cast iron skillet.
• Bake for 10-15 minutes – Until they are golden brown on the bottom.
• Remove the pizza from the oven, slide the pizza onto a large cutting board, and allow it to cool for a couple of minutes. Then cut it into slices and enjoy!

Make Ahead, Storing, and Freezing

Make the dough ahead of time and store it for use later. Just wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and freeze it!

Store any leftover margarita pizza slices in a ziplock bag or airtight container in the fridge. 

Recipe Customizations

• Fresh garlic – Authentic Margherita pizza doesn’t typically include garlic, but other classic Italian pizzas do. You could always add it to this recipe too.
• Red pepper flakes – Not an authentic ingredient either, but if you like a little spice you could sprinkle some on top of your pizza.

Printable Recipe Card

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Authentic Pizza Margherita Recipe | Easy and Homemade

A simple but delicious Italian pizza topped with fresh crushed tomatoes, fresh mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil with a chewy and crispy crust made from scratch.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 Ball Pizza Dough I always use my homemade pizza dough recipe for this pizza crust! If you don't have time to make your own doughyou can buy balls of dough at some grocery stores. Some pizza shops will even sell you their dough!
• 1-2 large ripe tomatoes When the tomatoes are ripe in the summertime I use fresh tomatoes and crush them myself. The instructions are below. If I make this when tomatoes aren't in season I always use canned whole San Marzano tomatoes.
• 1 large pinch Kosher Salt Kosher salt is coarser than table salt. This really adds an awesome saltiness to the authentic Margherita pizza sauce but any salt will work fine!
• 1 Ball Fresh Mozzarella Fresh mozzarella is really important
• 1 large bunch Fresh Basil Use fresh basil leaves and not dried basil.
• 2 Tablespoon Good Olive Oil

Instructions

• Preheat the oven and the pizza stone. Place your oven rack in the middle of the oven. Place a pizza stone or a large cast iron skillet on the middle rack. Preheat the oven to 500ºF.
• Roll out the pizza dough. Roll out the pizza dough onto a sheet of parchment. It doesn’t matter what shape you roll it out to, just make sure the shape will fit your pizza stone. You want the dough thin.
• Make the crushed tomatoes (when tomatoes are in season): If you want to use fresh tomatoes to make the sauce, then you’ll want to boil the tomatoes until the skin comes off (the skin will become wrinkly; you can also make a small cut in the bottom of the tomatoes so you can see the skin peel away and know when they are done about 60-90 seconds). Remove, let cool, then quarter. Pulse in a blender or food processor until it's the consistency of a chunky sauce. Or put the peeled tomatoes in a bowl and crush with your hands until they become a slightly chunky sauce.
• Pull the cast iron skillet or the pizza stone out of the oven. Drizze with a little olive oil. Transfer the pizza dough from the parchment paper to the hot pizza stone. Be careful! The oven and stone are HOT!
• Spoon the crushed tomatoes over the top of the dough, spreading it to cover the whole pizza except 1 inch along the border. This will act as the crust. Sprinkle the sauce with kosher salt. Then drizzle with a little more olive oil.
• Top with fresh mozzarella. Place slices of fresh mozzarella on top of the sauce to cover the pizza to your liking.
• Bake for 11-12 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pizza has lightly golden brown spots.
• Remove and top with fresh basil leaves. Transfer to a cutting board and slice and serve immediately. Enjoy!