Margherita Pizza
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Welcome back to another Pizza Friday. This week we got the best Homemade Margherita Pizza!!! It’s so good, easy, and 100% delicious! You only need 4 ingredients, and it’s ready in about 15 minutes or less!
Ingredients
- Pizza dough – homemade or store-bought
- Pizza marinara – homemade or store-bought. If I had to choose, I would make a homemade marinara sauce because it’s crazy easy! Our homemade pizza marinara is ready in 10 minutes! Our go-to store-bought is Rao’s Marinara Sauce.
- Mozzarella Cheese – We like to use both regular and smoked mozzarella because they add great flavor!
- Fresh chopped basil because what’s a Margherita pizza without basil?
What is the best mozzarella cheese for Margherita Pizza?
Fresh mozzarella cheese is the best! Preferably good-quality cheese and not grated cheese. Try to avoid these cheeses when making homemade pizza. They are filled with an anti-caking agent, and it keeps the cheese from reaching its fully gooey potential! Plus, shredding cheese directly from the block is really easy and more affordable. The texture of freshly grated cheese is noticeable when it melts.
Our go-to mozzarella cheese is Belgioioso Fresh Mozzarella Cheese. It’s fresh, and when melted, it has a nice texture and flavor. Occasionally we will also add freshly grated smoked mozzarella cheese for additional flavor. If you haven’t tried this combo yet, get on it! You will be hooked and will always add both regular and smoked mozzarella cheese to your homemade pizzas!
Wine Pairings Ideas:
We selected a Pinot Noir to pair with this Margherita Pizza. The light-bodied and fruit-forward of the Pinot complement the tomatoes and mozzarella perfectly. Every sip after each bite enhances the flavor more and more, making it a perfect match.
The wine we selected is from Silver Crest Cellars, located within the Grand River Valley Wine Region in Ohio. Any Pinot Noir would pair nicely with this pizza.
Don’t forget to make the best overnight pizza dough to go with your pizza Fridays! We hope you love this pizza! Enjoy!
Margherita Pizza
- 1 lb Pizza dough homemade or store-bought
- ⅓ cup Marinara Sauce homemade or store-bought
- ½ cup Mozzarella Cheese We like to use both regular and smoked mozzarella
- 1 tbsp Fresh chopped basil
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 550 degrees F or as high as it can get. You want your oven as hot as possible.
- Prepare pizza dough. Flour the surface and flour a rolling pin to roll the dough from the center to the edges until the circle is about half an inch thick. Once fully rolled out, place parchment paper on your pizza peel, gently pick up the dough, and lay it on top.
- Add about 1/3 cup of marinara and spread it evenly on the dough with the back of a spoon.
- Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly on top.
- Gently slide pizza onto the pizza stone and bake for about 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown. If needed, turn on the broiler on high to make the cheese extra brown on top. Be careful not to burn the pizza, as this process goes quickly.
- Remove pizza from the oven and add fresh chopped basil on top.
- Cut into slices and serve immediately.
Love our pizza recipes? Be sure to check out some of our other favorites: the best homemade meatball pizza, roasted butternut squash, chicken and caramelized onion pizza, or everything bagel Margherita pizza.
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