Pesto Pizza
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my full disclosure policy.
Loaded with basil pesto, fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, pesto pizza is the ultimate summer pizza.
For me, a good pesto pizza should have bold, front-and-center pesto flavor—I don’t want just a subtle hint of basil, garlic, Parmesan, and olive oil. I want those flavors to really stand out. The trick is to spread a generous layer of pesto before baking and top it with even more when the pizza comes out of the oven. This pesto pizza not only packed with flavor, but also looks gorgeous and feels a bit more special than your typical pizza pie.
I’ve included a recipe for homemade pizza dough, but don’t feel pressured—store-bought works just as well for a weeknight dinner. Same goes for the pesto sauce: homemade is great, but if you’re short on time, store-bought pesto (I love Mama’s pesto from Whole Foods) works perfectly too.
Table of Contents
What You’ll Need To Make Pesto Pizza
For The Pizza Dough
For the Toppings
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the Dough
In a mixer fitted with the dough hook (or a large bowl if you’d like to make it by hand), combine the flour, yeast, salt, olive oil, and water.
Mix until the dough comes together.
Increase the speed and knead for about 5 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Flour your hands if necessary, and transfer the dough to a lightly oiled large bowl.
Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1 to 1-1/2 hours.
When the dough has risen, punch it down.
Place the dough on a lightly floured surface.
Cut it in half and roll each part into a ball.
Cover the dough balls with a damp kitchen towel and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes — the dough will rise a bit.
Lightly dust a work surface with flour, and then pat and stretch the rested dough into two 12×8-inch rectangles. If the dough is sticky, dust it lightly with flour.
Place the two pizza doughs side-by-side on the prepared baking sheet. Then press the dough out again so that it almost touches the edges of the pan.
Step 2: Assemble and Bake the Pizzas
Cut the tomatoes crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices and place on a paper towel-lined plate or cutting board to drain the juices.
Spread 1/3 cup of the pesto evenly over the pizzas, leaving a 1-inch border.
Bake the pizzas on the bottom rack for 4 minutes. (I do this so the crust has time to crisp up; if you add the cheese from the get-go, it gets too brown before the crust is fully cooked.)
Remove the pan from the oven; and then top the pizzas with the mozzarella cheese, followed by the tomato slices, Parmigiano-Reggiano, salt and pepper.
Place the pizzas back in the oven and bake until the crust is crisp and golden, 6 to 8 minutes more.
Transfer the pizzas to a cutting board and drizzle with the with remaining pesto.
Sprinkle with fresh basil, then cut into slices and serve. Enjoy!
You May Also Like
Pesto Pizza with Fresh Tomatoes & Mozzarella
Loaded with basil pesto, fresh tomatoes and mozzarella, pesto pizza is the ultimate summer pizza.
Ingredients
For the Pizza Dough
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2¼ teaspoons (1 packet) instant/rapid-rise yeast (see note)
- 1¾ teaspoons salt
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 teaspoons cornmeal, for dusting the pan
For the Topping
- ½ cup good quality store-bought or homemade pesto, divided
- 8 ounces whole milk mozzarella cheese (not Buffalo mozzarella), thinly sliced or grated
- 2 vine-ripened tomatoes
- ¼ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ cup gently packed fresh basil leaves, torn
Instructions
- Combine the flour, olive oil, yeast, salt and water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix on low speed until the dough comes together. Increase the speed to medium-low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled large bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- When the dough has risen, punch it down and place it on a lightly floured surface. Cut in half and roll each part into a ball. Cover the dough balls with a damp kitchen towel and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes (the dough will rise a bit).
- Meanwhile, set an oven rack in the bottom position and preheat the oven to 500°F. Sprinkle the cornmeal on an 18x13-inch baking sheet; set aside. Cut the tomatoes crosswise into ⅛-inch-thick slices and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain the juices.
- Lightly dust a work surface with flour, and then press and stretch the rested dough into two 12x8-inch rectangles. If the dough is sticky, dust it lightly with flour. Place the two pizza doughs side-by-side on the cornmeal-dusted baking sheet. Press the dough out again so that it almost touches the edges of the pan.
- Spread ⅓ cup of the pesto evenly over the pizzas (2½ tablespoons each), leaving a 1-inch border. Bake on the bottom rack for 4 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven; and then top the pizzas with the mozzarella cheese, followed by the tomato slices and Parmigiano-Reggiano. Season each pizza with an ⅛-teaspoon salt and a few grinds fresh black pepper. Place the pizzas back in the oven and bake until the crust is crisp and golden, 6 to 8 minutes more. Transfer the pizzas to a cutting board. Drizzle the remaining pesto over the pizzas and sprinkle with the fresh basil. Cut into slices and serve immediately.
- Note: Active dry yeast may be used instead of instant/rapid-rise yeast, however, the dough will take longer to rise. To give active dry yeast a boost, you can dissolve it in the warm water and let it sit until frothy, about 10 minutes. After that, add it to the flour, olive oil, and salt, and proceed with the recipe.
- Make Ahead Instructions: Once the dough has completed it's initial rise, and you've cut it in half to form two balls, lightly coat each dough ball with olive oil. Place the dough ball(s) into a freezer bag and seal shut, squeezing out all the air. Refrigerate for 1 to 2 days. When ready to use, let the dough sit out on the countertop for 30 minutes to warm up before stretching.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The dough can be frozen for up to 3 months. When ready to use, defrost in the refrigerator overnight (or for at least 12 hours), and then let it warm up on the countertop for about 30 minutes before stretching.
Pair with
Nutrition Information
Powered by 
- Calories: 950
- Fat: 57g
- Saturated fat: 10g
- Carbohydrates: 80g
- Sugar: 3g
- Fiber: 6g
- Protein: 32g
- Sodium: 1663mg
- Cholesterol: 60mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
See more recipes:
Comments
Add a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I made the homemade dough and the pesto last night for pizza.
I recently read about weighing the flour instead of the cup method. I used 360 gr of mostly all purpose flour and needed to add a small amount of rye flour since I ran out of all purpose.
I was extremely happy with the dough and how it rose.
The dough made a 12 x 18 rectangle for one pizza. I was very happy with that.
The pizza is the best tasting one I’ve made, probably due to the pesto flavor. I sauted my tomatoes, green pepper and baby crimini mushrooms for my topping.
Also, I never made a dough in my kitchen mixer. So easy! Thank you so much!
Excellent recipe. Jenn’s homemade pesto slathered on the pizza and baked for a few minutes, the fresh tomatoes and mozzarella and the sprinkling of the parmigiana – more pesto on the finished pizza was really gilding the lily. I did drizzle on some EVOO and some garlic salt.
I used Jim Lahey’s pizza dough recipe which is a mix it and forget it for 18 hours, no knead dough.
Finally found a pizza that I can make when I’m jonesing for good pizza and don’t want to order take out or go to a pizza joint. It’s actually better than those options.
I did bake it at 475 degrees in a giant cast iron frying pan and so baked it a little longer. Crust was amazing too.
Best pizza I’ve ever had. Going to keep this one.
Made this pizza for friends and it was enjoyed by all, even the crust. I made the dough and froze it as we were taking it on a road trip. It worked perfectly and I wouldn’t hesitate to use the dough recipe. The flavours of the tomatoes with the pesto were delicious.
If I use a round pizza stone, should I use all the dough or just half? I use a whole dough ball when buying store-bought pizza dough for this stone. Thanks!
Hi Katy, I’d use all the dough. Hope you enjoy!
The dough wasn’t very good, I would suggest following your own recipe and using 00 flour. The toppings themselves are fine, and I love the actual pesto recipe, but the dough is a pass.
I made this with Jamie Oliver pizza dough my two friends swore was best pizza they ever had.
H Jenn. This is a delicious recipe that I have made many times successfully. A few times the dough ended up being very sticky. Could this happen when the weather is really humid? I use Heckers unbleached flour. Would King Arthur flour be a better choice for pizza dough? Thank you for your feedback.
Hi Maria, Glad you like it! Yes, humidity can definitely make dough stickier. You can read more about it here. And I’m not familiar with Heckers flour, so I can’t compare to other brands, but I’m definitely partial to King Arthur. Hope that helps!