Everyone loves pizza night especially when you’re making the pizzas from scratch! Rolling out the pizza dough and choosing your favorite toppings is so much fun.
When it comes to toppings the list is endless you can go all fancy with a seasonal fig pizza with goats cheese (so delicious), try something new like our potato pizza or stick to a classic cheese and tomato.
This tomato pizza is perfect for those that love simple and classic pizza flavors but want to take it up a notch. It has so much flavor from fresh tomatoes and basil it’s truly the best!
What you need to make this recipe
Pizza sauce – use your favorite pizza sauce, I like to make sure my pizza sauce is flavored with herbs and garlic for extra flavor!
Tomatoes – I used different colored cherry tomatoes because not only are they sweet and delicious but they look super pretty too. You can use any fresh tomatoes you like.
Mozzarella – I like to use thick slices of fresh mozzarella, make sure to pat it dry with kitchen paper to avoid any excess moisture on your pizza when baking.
Basil – There’s nothing quite like fresh basil especially when paired with juicy tomatoes. I don’t recommend using dried basil as a substitute it just won’t give the same results.
How to make Tomato Pizza
First, you need to make our homemade pizza dough! It’s super easy and we have a full step by step tutorial on making the best homemade dough using a stand mixer.
1.Stretch the pizza dough using your hands or a rolling pin to fit your baking tray, pizza stone or simply use parchment paper. Brush the pizza crust with olive oil.
2. Next, spread on the pizza sauce.
3. Top with mozzarella slices.
4. Finally top with tomatoes and bake until golden, crispy and the cheese has melted. Once cooked sprinkle with fresh basil.
Tips and ideas for making this recipe
- Check out our step by step guide for making homemade pizza dough.
- Use a pizza stone if you have one, get one if you can! Just place it in the oven before setting the heat and let it sit there for at least 30 minutes. Your crust will thank you!
- Looking for a dip for your pizza crusts? I love to use basil pesto, balsamic vinegar, or a garlic sour cream.
- If you want to make this as a white pizza, use about 1/2 cup olive oil, 4 cloves of minced garlic, and a few sprigs of fresh thyme. Cook everything in a saucepan to simmer over low heat for 10 minutes. Use this to brush on the crust instead of pizza sauce then follow with the remaining toppings.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the best tomatoes to use?
You can pretty much use any kind of tomatoes you like. For this pizza I’ve used double tomato for extra flavor, pizza sauce (get one flavored with herbs and garlic if possible), and fresh cherry tomatoes. You can use any kind of fresh tomatoes you like for the toppings.
How do I stop tomatoes making my pizza soggy?
A great tip to prevent a soggy pizza is to brush oil on the base before the tomatoes, this creates a barrier and nice crispy base. Also make sure to not overfill your pizza, too many toppings will weigh down your pizza and stop it turning crispy also the more wet ingredients you add the higher chance you have of a soggy base, less is more!
Can I freeze this pizza?
Absolutely, pizza freezes really well and this tomato pizza is no exception. You can freeze your pizza either raw or cooked although if freezing it raw you’ll need to freeze it on a baking tray first to keep it’s shape then wrap tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil.
Thaw completely before baking.
If you love this recipe try these out!
If you’ve tried this Tomato Pizza then don’t forget to rate the recipe and let me know how you got on in the comments below, I love hearing from you!
Tomato Pizza
Video
Ingredients
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 1 1/2 cups water 360ml, warm (100F - 110F)
- 4 cups all-purpose flour 480g, plus extra for kneading
- 2 packages dry yeast 14g
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 pinch kosher salt
- 1 tsp olive oil plus more for the bowl
- 2 tsp rosemary crushed, dried
For the Toppings:
- 1/3 cup pizza sauce 80ml
- 3 cups cherry tomatoes halved
- 1 1/2 cups fresh mozzarella sliced into disks
- 1 pinch sea salt
Instructions
For the Dough:
- In a warm mixing bowl, add warm water (about 100F), yeast and sugar. Wait about 7 minutes or until you see bubbles forming in the mixture.
- Pour in salt, rosemary and olive oil. Mix until combined.
- Attach a dough hook to a standing mixer. Add the flour.
- Mix on low for about 1 minute. Increase to medium speed until the dough comes together in a ball
- Use olive oil to coat the dough ball. Place it in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap or a fabric bonnet and place in a draft-less place to rise for about an hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
- Preheat the oven to 450F degrees. When the dough has doubled, punch it down with your fists. Flour a work surface and knead for about 5 minutes.
- Cut the dough into 4 parts.
- Work each dough ball into a stretched circle.
- On piece of parchment paper, prepare each pizza crust by pressing the dough down to create a collar. You can also use a pizza stone or baking tray.
For the Topping:
- Brush the dough with oil and distribute the pizza sauce. Add mozzarella slices and tomatoes. Sprinkle with sea salt.
- Bake for about 10 minutes, crust should be golden brown and tomatoes will have softened.
- Sprinkle with fresh basil leaves just before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
can i leave the dough to rise longer?? if i want to make it for dinner but i have all afternoon
Yes!
Hello,
Excuse me , you didn’t write olive oil in the ingredients, but in the video you used it, you just write 1tsp olive oil for bowl
Thank you .
HI John, love all your videos. Please how do I make the pizza sauce. Thank you.
Hi Josephine,
I did not make my own pizza sauce in this recipe. I used store bought pizza sauce this time!
Best,
John
Hello!! How many people would you say this would feed?
HEllO! I think you could make 3-4 medium pizzas from this recipe so maybe 6 people?
I’m making it right now! One question. You say bake it for 10 minutes, then bake for another 15 to 20? That part is a little confusing to me.
Hello Beth,
I apologize! The extra 15-20 was a mistake that I went ahead and corrected. I hope I didn’t ruin your pizza!
Best,
John
It was done in 10 minutes and was delicious!
Hey Beth,
That is so nice to hear! I’m glad you enjoyed it. What will you try next?
Best,
John
Such a quick reply , thank you so much!
I’ ve halved the dose of yeast and the dough has risen well.
Such a quick reply ,thank you !
I’ ve tried , it works well .
Hi John.Can I reduce the amount of yeast in the recipe?
Sara,
I haven’t reduced the yeast in this recipe, but if you do, let me know how it works!
John
Such a quick reply ,thank you !
I’ ve tried , it works well .
Such a quick reply , thank you !
I’ ve halved the dose of yeast and the dough has risen well .
This was a great recipe!
Thanks John!
Yumm!!! Looks so good!