Best Homemade Margherita Pizza | Healthy Ingredients

Tomatoes, fresh basil with mozzarella cheese…the Margherita pizza is in a class of its own! This post will show you how to create the healthiest, tastiest, BEST homemade Margherita pizza.

For best results, make your own homemade pizza dough (this one is simple, with 5 ingredients and no yeast!) You can use this dough with any pizza you want including this chicken marinara pizza, this chicken alfredo pizza, or this bbq chicken pizza.

this RECIPE

Have you ever wondered why it's called a Margherita Pizza? The other night, my mother-in-law and I decided to look it up.

Here's what we discovered:

In the 19th century, the King of Italy, and his wife, Queen Margherita di Savoia, noticed peasants in Naples eating a large flat bread covered with tomato paste and tomatoes.

The curious queen called for Chef Rafaelle, the most popular of the pizza chefs in Naples, and ordered him to prepare his specialties...

Her favorite? The one with mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes. Yup, the Margherita Pizza is named after a queen!

Reasons You'll Love It

• Cheaper than eating out & fun to make your own pizza.
• Delicious fresh Ingredients.
• Best Margherita Pizza.
• Simple pizza with a lot flavor.

Ingredient Notes

Pizza Dough: When I am making pizza at home, I almost always use this pizza dough recipe. But, in a pinch, you can really use whatever dough you like.

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 it's also super tasty.

Tomatoes: I use Roma tomatoes for this, 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 grab it at the store -- just go for the fresh stuff.

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.

Read on for how to make this extra tasty homemade pizza recipe, paired wonderfully with your favorite salad. And don't worry, no baking stone is no big deal. An upside down sheet pan works just great as a pizza pan.

How To Make A Margherita Pizza

Step 1: Heat oven to 450 degrees F.

Step 2: 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 simple tomato sauce makes for the best Margherita pizza (I've experimented quite a bit to find the perfect flavor and texture).

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

Step 4: Bake pizza for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted and the crust begins to turn golden brown. Remove from oven.

Step 5: Toss fresh basil over cooked pizza and let sit for 3-5 minutes. Slice and serve.

How Do I Store My 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.

How To Reheat The 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:

• Heat the pan over medium heat and add a drizzle of water, to cover it.
• 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.
• 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.

More Healthy Pizza Recipes

If you would like to add more pizza options to your repertoire, here are some you'll surely enjoy. Grab your pizza stone and try one!

This post contains affiliate links for products I use regularly and highly recommend.

Pizza Margherita

Lacey Baier of A Sweet Pea Chef

Tomatoes, fresh basil with mozzarella cheese...the Margherita pizza is in a class of its own. This post will show you how to create the healthiest, tastiest, BEST homemade Margherita pizza!

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine Italian

Servings 8

Calories 345 kcal

Equipment

• 1 Pizza Stone Can also use sheet pan
• Food Processor

*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ pizza crust/dough see recipe here
• ▢ 1 14-oz can can whole peeled tomatoes not including juices
• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ▢ 1 teaspoon dried basil
• ▢ ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ▢ 2-3 Roma tomatoes thinly sliced
• ▢ 7-8 oz fresh mozzarella thinly sliced
• ▢ 1 oz fresh basil leaves torn into pieces

Instructions

 

• Heat oven to 450 degrees F.
• Drain tomatoes and puree in a food processor (or blender). Add olive oil, oregano dried basil, salt and pepper and pulse to combine.
• Spread sauce over pizza dough, leaving a ½-inch border around the edge for the crust. Create a layer of the thinly sliced tomatoes over the sauce. Line the sliced mozzarella over the tomatoes.
• Bake pizza for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted and the crust begins to turn golden brown. Remove from oven.
• Toss fresh basil over cooked pizza and let sit for 3-5 minutes. Slice and serve.

Recipes Notes:

• I used a pizza paddle and pizza stone to make the pizza. If you plan to use one make sure that you add corn meal to the bottom of the paddle to allow it to move freely. If you don't have a paddle no worries, you can flip your baking sheet the other way around instead.
• I stretched 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.

Nutrition

Serving: 2 slicesCalories: 345 kcalCarbohydrates: 42.3 gProtein: 12.8 gFat: 13.7 gSaturated Fat: 4.6 gCholesterol: 21 mgSodium: 439.6 mgFiber: 2.6 gSugar: 3.8 gVitamin A: 400 IUVitamin C: 13.2 mgCalcium: 170 mgIron: 3.1 mg

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Is a Margherita Pizza Vegan?

If you make a Margherita pizza at home, you can easily make it vegan! Simply replace your cheese with a non-dairy substitute. There are so many vegan cheese options in the market now compared to several years ago. I personally like mozzarella cashew, but don't hesitate to explore.