Healthy Homemade Margherita Pizza

Ingredients For Healthy Homemade Margherita Pizza

A flat-lay image of fresh ingredients for Margherita pizza, including whole peeled tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, homemade pizza dough, olive oil, and seasonings like dried basil, dried oregano, black pepper, and sea salt.

Pizza Dough: When I am making pizza at home, I almost always use this Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe. But, in a pinch, you can really use whatever dough you like. You can make this Cauliflower Pizza Crust if you're looking for a gluten-free option. I also use this dough on my Chicken Alfredo Pizza, and it's amazing.

Fresh Mozzarella: The higher quality and fresher mozzarella you can find, the better. It's a real game-changer. Fresh mozzarella is great because it gives you that perfect bubbling melt and is super tasty.

Tomatoes: I use Roma tomatoes for this Best Homemade Margherita Pizza recipe, but if you want the sauce to be a little sweeter, you could use San Marzano tomatoes.

Basil: I always use fresh basil when I can. It's super easy to grow and one plant produces plenty for our family - so if you can plant your own basil at home, it's the gift that keeps giving -- you can always make this great Healthy Pesto Sauce if you have too much, too. You can always grab it at the store -- just go for the fresh stuff.

Step By Step Instructions

A food processor with crushed tomatoes and added seasonings, including dried basil, dried oregano, sea salt, black pepper, and olive oil.

Step 1: Drain tomatoes and puree in a food processor this will give it that smooth texture. Add olive oil, oregano dried basil, salt and pepper and pulse to combine.

A round, stretched homemade pizza dough placed on a floured pizza peel, ready for toppings.

Step 2: Evenly roll out the pizza dough, stretch out the dough into an 11 ½ to 12 ½ inch round, maybe ⅛ to ¼ inch thick which you are free to adjust based on your preference.

A round pizza dough covered with an even layer of fresh tomato sauce, ready for additional toppings.

Step 3: Spread sauce over pizza dough, leaving a ½-inch border around the edge for the crust.

pizza dough topped with a layer of tomato sauce and fresh Roma tomato slices, arranged evenly.

Step 4: Lay the sliced Roma tomatoes evenly over the sauce.

An uncooked Margherita pizza on a floured pizza peel, topped with tomato sauce, sliced Roma tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella rounds.

Step 5: Evenly apply the sliced mozzarella over the tomatoes.

A freshly baked Margherita pizza with golden crust, melted mozzarella cheese, and visible tomato slices.

Step 6: Bake pizza for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted and the crust begins to turn golden brown. Remove from oven.

Recipe FAQs

What's The Difference Between A Margherita Pizza And A Regular Cheese Pizza?

A Margherita pizza is quite different from a regular cheese pizza because of the fresh ingredients. A cheese pizza includes cheese over the sauce and nothing else. But with a Margherita pizza, you get fresh and flavorful toppings, like tomatoes, sliced mozzarella, basil, and extra virgin olive oil.

How Do I Store My Healthy Homemade Margherita Pizza?

Pizza is best stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. This keeps it dry - but not too dry - and it won't get soggy. I know some people suggest wrapping the slices up in a bed of foil, but I noticed that it gets too moist. Check out my post on the Ultimate Guide To Meal Prep Containers for my food storage container recommendations.

How To Reheat Homemade Margherita Pizza To Keep It Crunchy

The stovetop reheating method will get your pizza crunchy the next day. Never heard of it? It's actually one of the quickest ways to mimic the hearty benefits of an oven without overdoing it.

Here's what you'll do:

1. Heat the pan over medium heat and add a drizzle of water, to cover it.
2. After a few minutes add the leftover pizza slices and allow it to cook for a bit before you drizzle more water on the side of the pan.
3. Cover the skillet immediately! This traps the steam and heats up your toppings.

This technique will (mostly) recreate the crispiness you get from a freshly baked pizza