Homemade Pizza Recipes

I love this Easy Homemade Pizza Recipe! I have been perfecting this recipe for years. It is quick to put together and so versatile. I’ll give you lots of tips, tricks, and ideas to get the best homemade pizza to ever come out of your wimpy, not-wood-fired oven!

Yesterday my 18-month-old son Edison was snuggling with me after waking from his nap. He saw a large freckle I have on my arm. Reached out his finger to touch it. Then dove in and tried to take a bite out of it.

Have you guys heard of that Japanese game show where they lock people in a room and whoever finds the piece of furniture made of chocolate first, wins? For real. Contestants have to go around biting chairs and door handles.

I’m sure they’d never let toddlers onto the show, but if they did I’d be willing to bet a lot of money that Edison would destroy all contenders. I have the bite marks to prove it!! Little monster!

Are you a pizza person? (Is there a person who is not a pizza person?) We do pizza every Friday at our house! We usually make it right here at home. (not always. Sometimes you just need to order pizza, amiright?) I’ve been making homemade pizza for years and years, and have lots of tips and tricks to share.

Today’s post is part of a 3-part series! First I shared my recipe for Easy Homemade Pizza Sauce. Then I posted about Pizza Dough and everything you need to know to get the perfect crust. Today we are putting it all together to make the best homemade pizza! Way more tasty than eating (chocolate?) freckles.

Homemade Pizza Recipe

I love this Easy Homemade Pizza Recipe! I have been perfecting this recipe for years. It is quick to put together and so versatile. I’ll give you lots of tips, tricks, and ideas to get the best homemade pizza to ever come out of your wimpy, not-wood-fired oven!

Prep: 15min

Total: 55min

Yield: 4

Serving Size: 1 slice

Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 slice, calories 315 kcal, Carbohydrate 5 g, Protein 18 g, Fat 25 g, Saturated Fat 11 g, Trans Fat 1 g, Cholesterol 66 mg, Sodium 1029 mg, Fiber 1 g, Sugar 3 g, unSaturated Fat 11 g

Ingredients:

• 1 16 ounce ball of pizza dough (12 to 16 ounces is fine)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (for rubbing dough)
• 1 cup pizza sauce
• 3 ounces thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
• 5 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese (about 1 and 1/4 cups)
• 2.5 ounces pepperoni (about half a 5 oz package )
• 2 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese

Instruction:

1. NOTE: The ingredient list has the amount of toppings you need to make one 12-inch pizza. If you followed my pizza dough recipe, you will have 2 balls of dough. If you want to make them both right away, be sure to double the topping ingredients shown here. Place a pizza stone in the bottom third of your oven. (place a rimmed baking sheet or a pizza pan in the oven if you don’t have a stone.)
2. Preheat your oven to 550 degrees F, or as high as it will go (at least 475.) Let the stone preheat for 30 minutes. I don’t care when your oven beeps to tell you it’s at temperature. Set a timer, 30 minutes at least!
3. Prepare a work surface. I prefer to rub my counter with oil, but you can lightly dust it with flour if you have a very sticky dough. (Too much flour can turn your dough tough.)
4. Roll out the dough. Place your ball of pizza dough in the center of your prepared work surface and use your hands to press it down, starting from the center. Keep gently patting out the dough, moving the dough outward from the center. I usually use my hands for pizza dough, gently patting and stretching (and yes, picking it up and maybe even tossing!), but you can also use a rolling pin. Make sure to keep rotating the pin so that you get a roughly circular shape. It doesn’t have to be perfect! Even if you have used a rolling pin, I like to use my fingers afterward to shape the edges into a thicker crust. See photos. Continue patting and stretching the dough gently with your hands until it is about 12 inches across.
5. Transfer the dough to a square of parchment paper. I highly recommend using parchment paper because it’s SO much easier transferring your pizza into the oven. You can pick it up carefully with your hands and rearrange it on the paper, or wrap it around your rolling pin to help transfer. (I’ve tried rolling the dough out directly onto parchment paper. It doesn’t work well.) Make sure you stretch out the dough so that it is about 12 inches.Drizzle about a tablespoon of olive oil over the top of your dough. Use your hands or a pastry brush to rub the oil all over the top of the dough, especially the edges of the crust. This layer of oil helps provide a barrier between the toppings and the dough, helping it cook more evenly.If you love a thicker crust pizza, let the rolled-out dough rest for 10 minutes. You can skip this rest no problem.
6. Par bake. Once the oven is up to temperature, we are going to do a 1 to 2 minute par bake. This step is technically not necessary, but I never skip it. It guarantees not only a thoroughly cooked crust, but a nice and crispy one. Nobody wants a doughy pizza, yuck. (If you want to skip it, you can proceed with topping your pizza). Pulling on the edge of the parchment paper, slide your pizza dough onto your pizza peel or flat baking sheet. Open the oven and pull on the parchment paper again to slide the pizza dough and the parchment paper onto the hot hot pizza stone (or pizza pan). Your whole body is basically inside the oven during this procedure so please be careful and make sure there are no toddlers running around who could climb right in and burn to death (these are the thoughts that keep me up at night).Shut the oven door and par bake for 1-2 minutes, until the dough is slightly puffed. Set a timer, don’t walk away!Pull on the parchment paper again to transfer the half-baked dough back onto your pizza peel. Keep the oven door shut as much as possible so you don’t lose heat. Poke down any large bubbles on your crust.
7. Top your pizza. Leave the crust on the peel while you add your toppings. Add 1 cup of pizza sauce (I like to spread it around with a ladle). Add 3 ounces thinly sliced mozzarella, and then top with 5 ounces of shredded mozzarella. I like a lot of cheese and this is about the max amount you can add without weighing down your pizza so much that it doesn’t cook all the way through. This isn’t the Bible, you can eyeball the amounts on cheese, just keep in mind there is a limit if you want a properly cooked pizza. Add about a half package of pepperoni (or olives, mushrooms, ham and pineapple, sausage, red onions, or literally any toppings you want. See post for ideas.) Sprinkle 2 tablespoons shredded parmesan cheese over your toppings.
8. Bake the pizza. (See note if you don’t have a pizza stone*) Transfer the pizza back onto the pizza stone (or pan), this time without the parchment paper. You want the pizza to do its final bake directly on the stone. (The stone is porous and absorbs moisture, giving you a crispier crust.) Your crust is sturdy enough after the 1-2 minute par bake that it shouldn’t be too hard to push the pizza onto the stone without the paper. Bake the pizza for about 8-12 minutes. This is going to depend on how hot your oven is, and how thick your pizza is. The edges of the crust should be golden brown, and the cheese should be bubbly and also starting to lightly brown. If you don’t have a pizza stone, use a spatula to lift the edge of your pizza to make sure that it is browning all across the center on bottom. If the bottom is still white, you are looking at a doughy pizza. No thanks. Leave it in longer.If the top of your pizza is browning too quickly but the bottom crust isn’t done, tent the top of the pizza with foil to slow browning.
9. Remove your pizza from the oven using the pizza peel. Slide it directly onto a cooling rack to help keep that bottom crust from getting soggy. Let cool a couple minutes, then transfer to a cutting board. Slice into 8 pieces and devour!

Best Pizza Recipe

Here’s how to make a classic Italian homemade pizza recipe, with a tangy pizza sauce, gooey mozzarella, and a perfect chewy pizza crust.

Prep: 1h

Total: 1h7min

Yield: 8

Serving Size: 1 slice

Nutrition Facts: servingSize 1 slice, calories 100 calories, Sugar 0.6 g, Sodium 128.2 mg, Fat 1 g, Saturated Fat 0.2 g, Trans Fat 0 g, Carbohydrate 16.6 g, Fiber 0.8 g, Protein 5.9 g, Cholesterol 2.4 mg

Ingredients:

• 1 ball Pizza Dough Master Recipe (or Food Processor Dough or Thin Crust Dough)
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup Easy Pizza Sauce
• 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese or 2 to 3 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese, for garnish
• 1 handful fresh basil leaves
• Semolina flour or cornmeal, for dusting the pizza peel

Instruction:

1. Follow the Pizza Dough Master Recipe to prepare the dough. (This takes about 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes to rest.)
2. Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (here’s the pizza oven we use).
3. Make the Easy Pizza Sauce.
4. If using fresh mozzarella cheese, slice it into 1/4 inch thick pieces (see the photos of the pre-baked pizza above). If it’s incredibly watery fresh mozzarella (all brands vary), you may want to let it sit on a paper towel to remove moisture for about 15 minutes then dab the mozzarella with the paper towel to remove any additional moisture.
5. When the oven is ready, dust a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use a rimless baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. But a pizza peel is well worth the investment!) Stretch the dough into a circle; see this video for instructions. Then gently place the dough onto the pizza peel.
6. Spread a thin layer of the pizza sauce over the dough, using about 1/4 to 1/3 cup. Add the mozzarella cheese. Top with a thin layer of fresh grated Parmesan cheese and a few pinches of kosher salt.
7. Use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, about 5 to 7 minutes in the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven).
8. Allow the pizza to cool for a minute or two before adding the basil on top (whole leaves, lightly torn, or thinly sliced). Slice into pieces and serve immediately.

The Best Homemade Pizza You’ll Ever Eat