The Margherita pizza recipe is the one every home pizza maker should master before anything else. It has three toppings: San Marzano tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and basil. There is nowhere to hide. If the dough is good, the sauce is good, and the cheese is right, a Margherita is one of the finest things you can eat. If any of those components are wrong, you will know immediately.
I have made more Margherita pizzas than I can count — in professional kitchens, in my backyard on an Ooni, and in a home oven on a baking steel. The recipe below reflects everything I have learned about getting each component right.
What Is a Margherita Pizza?
A Margherita is a Neapolitan pizza topped with crushed or pureed San Marzano tomatoes, fresh fior di latte mozzarella (or buffalo mozzarella), fresh basil, and a drizzle of olive oil. According to the AVPN (Verace Pizza Napoletana association), the diameter must not exceed 35cm, the crust must be soft and elastic, and the center should be no thicker than 3mm.
The colors represent the Italian flag: red (tomato), white (mozzarella), green (basil).
Equipment
Before ingredients: your baking surface and oven setup matter more than most people realize.
- Outdoor pizza oven (Ooni Koda 16, Gozney Dome): Best results. 850–950°F, 60–90 second bake. See our Ooni Koda 16 review for setup.
- Home oven with baking steel or stone: Preheat on the top rack under the broiler for 45–60 minutes. Bake at 500–550°F for 5–8 minutes.
- Pizza peel: Essential for launching. A wooden peel for building the pizza, an aluminum peel for the oven.
For a comparison of baking surfaces, see Pizza Stone vs Pizza Steel: Which Is Better?
Ingredients (Makes 2 pizzas)
Dough
2 dough balls from our Authentic Neapolitan Pizza Dough Recipe (approximately 270g each), tempered at room temperature for 2–3 hours.
Do not use store-bought pizza dough for this. The fermentation character in a 48-hour cold-fermented dough is what makes a Margherita worth eating.
Tomato Sauce
- 1 can (400g) whole San Marzano tomatoes — DOP certified if possible
- 1/2 tsp fine sea salt
- 1 small garlic clove (optional — some Neapolitan traditions skip garlic in the sauce)
- Pinch of dried oregano (optional)
Do not cook the sauce. Crush the tomatoes by hand or blend briefly with an immersion blender. Season with salt. That is it. Cooking introduces caramelization and reduces brightness — for a Margherita, raw crushed tomato is correct.
Cheese
- 200g fresh fior di latte mozzarella (cow’s milk) or buffalo mozzarella
- The drier the better — wet mozzarella steams rather than melts and makes the pizza soggy
How to dry the mozzarella: Slice it 24 hours before and let it rest uncovered in the refrigerator on a paper towel. If you did not plan ahead, slice it and blot firmly with paper towels.
Finishing
- 10–12 fresh basil leaves per pizza
- Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
- Flaky sea salt (optional)
Method
Preheat
For outdoor pizza oven: preheat to 850–950°F. Measure stone temperature with an infrared thermometer before launching. Allow 20–25 minutes of preheat minimum.
For home oven with steel or stone: position the rack in the upper third, under the broiler. Preheat at maximum temperature (500–550°F) for 45–60 minutes.
Stretch the dough
Dust your work surface lightly with flour. Take one dough ball and press your fingertips into the center, working outward in concentric circles. Leave the outer inch untouched — this becomes the cornicione.
Drape the dough over your knuckles and rotate, letting gravity and gentle stretching do the work. Target 10–12 inches for home oven, 10 inches for a high-heat outdoor oven. The center should be nearly translucent.
Transfer the stretched dough to a well-floured wooden peel. Work quickly from here — dough on a peel sticks fast.
Top the pizza
-
Sauce: Spoon 3–4 tablespoons of tomato sauce onto the center and spread in a spiral motion using the back of the spoon. Leave the cornicione bare. Use less sauce than you think — a Margherita should not be wet.
-
Mozzarella: Tear or slice the mozzarella and distribute evenly. Gaps are fine; the cheese will spread during baking. Do not overlap.
-
No basil yet. Basil goes on after baking (or in the last 15 seconds of a home oven bake). High heat makes basil turn black.
Launch
Give the peel a small shake to confirm the dough is moving freely. If it sticks, gently lift the edge and add more flour underneath.
Slide the pizza onto the hot stone or steel with a quick forward-and-back motion. Do not hesitate.
Bake
Outdoor pizza oven: Bake 60–90 seconds, rotating every 20–30 seconds with a small turning peel. Watch the cornicione — you want leopard spotting (irregular charring), not a uniform ring of black.
Home oven: Bake 5–7 minutes until the cornicione is puffed and browned and the cheese is bubbling. Switch to broil for the final 1–2 minutes to get color on top.
Finish
Remove the pizza from the oven. Immediately:
- Scatter fresh basil leaves across the pizza (the heat from the pizza gently wilts them)
- Drizzle with a thin stream of extra-virgin olive oil
- Add a few flakes of sea salt if you like
Let the pizza rest for 60–90 seconds before cutting. This allows the cheese to set slightly so it does not slide off when sliced.
Variations
Margherita Extra: Add a few slices of buffalo mozzarella on top of the fior di latte before baking. Richer, creamier, more expensive.
Marinara (simpler version): Tomato sauce, garlic, oregano, olive oil — no cheese. Underrated.
Add heat: A few torn red chili flakes scattered before baking adds contrast against the sweetness of the tomato.
Why This Recipe Works
A Margherita only works when every component is in balance. The tomato should be bright and slightly acidic. The mozzarella should melt cleanly without releasing too much water. The basil should be fresh, not cooked. The crust should be charred at the edges and soft in the center.
The most common mistakes:
– Too much sauce (makes the center wet)
– Wet mozzarella (steams the pizza instead of melting)
– Not preheating the stone or steel long enough (results in pale, soft bottom crust)
– Basil added before baking (turns black and bitter)
Fix those four things and your Margherita will be outstanding.
Julius is the founder and lead reviewer at Insider Pizza. He has made Neapolitan pizza in professional kitchens and in backyard setups across multiple oven types. His recipes are tested repeatedly before publication.
Recommended Gear
- Pizza Stone for Home Oven
- Pizza Peel (for launching)
- San Marzano Tomatoes (DOP)
- Fresh Mozzarella for Pizza
- 00 Flour for Pizza Dough
As an Amazon Associate, insiderpizza.com earns from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you.
Discover more from Insider Pizza
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.