Pesto Pizza
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This easy pesto pizza has a beautiful crispy crust topped with mozzarella, scrumptious basil pesto, and pine nuts. it’s so fresh, amazingly good, and you can make the pizza dough in just 1 bowl.
Published Nov 23, 2022/updated Mar 5, 2024
I’ll never say no to pizza, and I love any sort of vegetarian topping, from this Greek pizza with feta to this veggie pizza or artichoke pizza. They’re so easy to whip up and a million times better and cheaper than regular delivery pizzas.
And this freshly baked pesto pizza with its crispy crust and juicy topping is another amazing pizza recipe to add to your repertoire.
The contrast of textures, the richness of basil pesto and melty-mozzarella glory are perfect to please vegetarians and meat lovers alike!
Make this super easy 1-bowl easy dough, grab some homemade or good-quality store-bought pesto, and make the pesto pizza recipe of your dreams.
Yes, you’re going to love it!
List of the ingredients
- Easy pizza dough: flour, instant or active yeast, salt, olive oil, and water.
- Fresh mozzarella (or firm shredded mozzarella)
- Basil pesto (homemade or jarred)
- Pine nuts (optional)
- Salt & pepper
How to make pesto pizza
(Note: this is a quick description; the full recipe is at the bottom of the page)
- Grab a large bowl and start by making this pizza dough recipe. Easy to make, and minimal prep time.
- You can make your homemade pesto pizza sauce using a food processor (recipe here) or good-quality store-bought pesto. But spinach pesto, arugula pesto, or pesto with kale also make a great twist and work well with pizza.
- Once the dough has doubled in size and fluffy, stretch it into a large rectangular shape (approximately 9×13 inches). I use parchment paper to transfer the pizza onto a hot pizza stone.
- Spread the pesto, scatter with diced mozzarella, pine nuts, salt, pepper.
- Bake until golden and crispy, top with fresh basil leaves, and Enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Pesto pizza ingredients
Homemade pizza dough: I use my fav 1 bowl pizza dough that uses all-purpose flour, yeast, olive oil, water and salt. You can find the full recipe and all the tips to make it here. But you can certainly use your favorite store-bought pizza dough to speed up the process.
Mozzarella cheese: I enjoy using fresh whole-milk mozzarella in our pizzas, but the shredded low-moisture option works well too.
Pesto: The best flavor comes from fresh homemade basil pesto, but you can also rely on good-quality store-bought pesto, preferably fresh. Look for it in the prepared food/refrigerated section.
Pine nuts: I know they are pretty pricey, but only half a tablespoon is needed for a crispy texture and delicious flavor. Optional substitutions include walnuts or shaved almonds but feel free to skip them.
Salt and pepper: Make sure you add salt and freshly ground black pepper before baking. Also, I love some sea salt flakes before serving.
Pesto pizza toppings?
This pizza is amazing and can be easily personalized with some amazing toppings. You can add cherry tomatoes, shaved parmesan cheese, or grilled veggies like peppers, red onions, zucchini, and even a few dollops of ricotta to make it even tastier. And if you’re in the mood for a chicken pesto pizza, shredded chicken would be a great addition!
Tips for success!
Preheat the oven – A super hot oven will help to achieve the perfect crust and ensure that the pizza cooks evenly.
Bake the pizza on the bottom rack – To ensure that the heat is concentrated on the bottom of the pizza, resulting in a deliciously crunchy crust. But every oven is different, so you may need to try different positions to find the sweet spot for your oven.
Stretch the pizza dough with your fingers – Keep the gas bubbles inside to achieve a light, airy crust.
Bake your pizza on a hot pizza stone or pizza steel. That will give you more crispiness than using a pizza pan. Alternatively, you can use a baking tray (see my tips in the recipe card!).
Use parchment paper and a pizza peel (or the back of a baking sheet) to transfer your pizza to the hot stone. This helps if you use a high-hydration dough like my no-knead dough.
Bake only one pizza at a time – Cooking multiple pizzas at once can create too much moisture inside the oven and affect the texture of your pesto pizzas.
More easy pizza recipes?
This collection of 17 veggie pizzas and 25 YUMMY pizza toppings or Focaccia toppings are sensational and perfect to inspire you!
Here are a few of our favorites:
- Mozzarella Pizza
- Olive pizza
- Pizza with eggplants
- Fresh tomato pizza
- Pizza with peppers
- Quick Caprese pizza
- Spinach pizza
- Cream cheese pizza
- Ricotta pizza
- Mushroom pizza
If you make this scrumptious homemade pesto pizza or have a question, let me know by leaving a comment. I would love to hear from you and get your feedback!
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Pesto Pizza
Ingredients
PIzza dough
- 1 easy pizza dough (or your fav dough)
Pesto topping
- 1 (140 gr/5oz) fresh mozzarella ball in water, diced (or ½ cup of shredded mozzarella)
- ¼ cup basil pesto sauce
- ½ tablespoon pine nuts
- ⅛ teaspoon fine salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Pizza dough
- Follow the easy no-knead pizza recipe through step 5, including shaping the pizza and preheating the oven to 450°F/230°C.
Pesto topping
- Shape the dough: When the dough is ready follow step 5, place the dough on a parchment paper sheet and starting from the center, gently press it out with your fingers until you get approx a 9×13 inch pizza. Then gently place the dough onto a pizza peel or onto the back of a rimmed baking sheet.
- Add the topping: Dice the mozzarella and pat it dry using some kitchen towels to reduce the extra moisture. Spread the pesto sauce evenly, top with diced mozzarella, scatter a few pine nuts, sprinkle with some salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Bake the pizza: when the oven is hot, use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone or hot baking sheet. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, approx 15 minutes. Each oven is different, keep an eye on it (e.g. in a forced fan oven it will take about 8 minutes).
- Serve: allow the pizza to cool for a minute or two before serving, but don't add extra olive oil (you'll have enough from the pesto sauce). Slice and serve immediately.
It would be most helpful if you’d recommend the proper baking temperature. It’s missing in your recipe!😎
The first step in the recipe asks to follow the instructions for the pizza dough, including preheating. To avoid confusion, I will add the temperature in the recipe, too.
Thanks, Ross. : )