Pesto Pizza with Fresh Mozzarella and Tomatoes
When it’s time to choose a pizza recipe for your next pizza night, look no further than this Pesto Pizza with Fresh Mozzarella and Tomatoes! Simple to make and flavorful, this pizza is loaded with homemade basil pesto, mozzarella and fontina cheese, sliced tomatoes, and fresh basil.
Looking for more pizza ideas? Check out my Classic Veggie Pizza, Mexican Taco Pizza, Cajun Chicken Sausage Deep Dish Pizza, Roasted Garlic and Spinach Parmesan Pizza, Thai-inspired Chicken Pizza, and Cheeseburger Pizza.
I’m typically a meat and cheese kind of guy when it comes to pizza, but this Pesto Pizza with Fresh Mozzarella and Tomatoes has upgraded my pizza palate. Zesty pesto, two types of cheese, and fresh tomatoes — it’s the pizza recipe you didn’t know you needed.
Ingredients you’ll need to make this pizza:
Be sure to check out the full recipe and ingredient list below
- For the pizza crust, store-bought (fresh or pre-baked) works great for this recipe. It saves a lot of time, too!
- You’ll want to make your pesto from scratch if possible. To make homemade basil pesto, you’ll blend fresh basil leaves, pistachios, grated parmesan cheese, garlic cloves, olive oil, black pepper, garlic powder, sea salt, and red pepper flakes. The traditional nut used to make pesto is pine nuts, but I love substituting pistachios and walnuts. However, if you’re short on time, you can buy pesto at your local grocery store.
- For the cheese, I use fresh mozzarella and shredded fontina. Shredding your cheese (as opposed to buying pre-shredded) ensures it melts better and has more flavor. Â
- Fresh tomatoes will be sliced and added as a topping. Feel free to use any variety you like, including heirloom, beefsteak, Roma, or even cherry tomatoes.
- Fresh basil will also be added as a topping, so set some aside.
- Optional: Fresh spinach is a great addition to this pizza.
- Optional: If you prefer a saucier pizza, blend a little tomato sauce with the pesto before adding it to your pizza crust
How to Make Pesto Pizza with Fresh Mozzarella and Tomatoes:
Shape the pizza dough. Spread flour over the kitchen counter to keep the dough from sticking. Place the fresh dough on your floured surface and shape it into a circle. Finish by flattening with a roller.
Par-bake the crust. Bake your pizza crust for 3-5 minutes. This ensures the pizza crust has time to crisp and prevents the cheese from browning too quickly. Remove from the oven.
Make the pesto. While the pizza crust is par-baking, you can make your basil pesto. Remove leaves from the basil stems and place them in a food processor (paid link). (Set a handful aside to use as a topping in a later step.) Add the garlic cloves and pistachios. Pour half of the olive oil into the food processor (paid link)Â and blend the ingredients. Slowly drizzle in the remaining olive oil and blend until the mixture is smooth. Add blended pesto into a bowl and stir in grated parmesan cheese, black pepper, salt, red pepper flakes, and garlic powder.Â
Layer ingredients on pizza crust. Spread the basil pesto evenly over the top of the dough, leaving the edges uncovered. Layer the shredded fontina cheese, fresh basil, sliced tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella.
Bake the pizza. Place the pizza in the oven and bake it for 18 minutes at 400°F.
Tips & Tricks
- Don’t skip the par-baking step! If you want the perfect golden pizza crust, this step is a must. No one wants a soft, soggy pizza crust. 🙂
- Before the final bake, make sure to brush the edge of the pizza crust with melted butter. This will give the pizza crust that extra buttery flavor and will crisp the edges even more.
- Save a few dollops of pesto to top off your pizza at the end. Adding more pesto to every bite is a great idea.
- I enjoy this pesto pizza recipe as-is, but feel free to change it up! Add some fresh spinach, swap out the tomatoes for sun-dried tomatoes, or add roasted garlic for an extra flavor boost.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
You can store any leftover pizza in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. When you’re ready to enjoy it again, place your pizza directly on the rack and reheat the thawed pizza in a preheated oven at 350°F for 7-10 minutes, or until it’s warmed through and bubbly.
Print
Pesto Pizza with Fresh Mozzarella and Tomatoes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 8
Description
Pesto Pizza with Fresh Mozzarella and Tomatoes is loaded with homemade basil pesto, mozzarella and fontina cheese, sliced tomatoes, and fresh basil.
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh pizza dough
- 1 lb fresh moist mozzarella cheese log, sliced
- 1 lb fontina cheese block, shredded
- 2 whole tomatoes, sliced
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
For the basil pesto:Â
- 2Â cups fresh basil leaves, destemmed
- 1/3Â cup pistachios, salted
- 2Â whole garlic cloves
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1/3Â cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Spread the flour over the kitchen counter. Place the fresh pizza dough on the floured surface. Shape the pizza dough into a circle. Finish shaping and flattening with a roller.
- Place the shaped pizza dough on a pizza stone (paid link) or pan and par-bake for 3-5 minutes.Â
- Add the destemmed basil leaves, garlic cloves, and pistachios to a food processor (paid link). Pour half of the olive oil into the food processor (paid link) and blend ingredients. Slowly drizzle in the remaining olive oil and blend until the mixture is smooth. Place the blended pesto into a bowl and stir in grated parmesan cheese, garlic powder, black pepper, salt, and red pepper flakes.
- Spread the basil pesto evenly over the pizza dough.
- Layer the pizza with shredded fontina cheese, fresh basil, sliced tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella slices.
- Bake in the oven at 400°F for 18-20 minutes. Serve immediately.Â
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Oven Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
One Comment