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Pesto Pizza Recipe

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5 from 3 reviews

This pesto pizza recipe is better than take out and comes together in less than 20 minutes! Use refrigerated pizza dough from the store or my quick and easy pizza dough recipe along with all those ripe tomatoes and overgrown basil from the garden!

Ingredients

Units Scale

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 550 degrees.
  2. Gently press dough into a circle and slap it back and forth between your hands to create a 12-14 inch crust. Transfer to a pizza pan. Poke crust all over with a fork. 
  3. Brush entire crust with olive oil
  4. Par-bake crust for 3-5 minutes. 
  5. Remove from oven and spread pesto across crust, leaving about an inch around the perimeter.
  6. Spread cheese evenly across the pizza.
  7. Place tomatoes on top of the cheese.
  8. Sprinkle oregano across the pizza as well as a large pinch of Kosher salt.
  9. Brush crust with more olive oil
  10. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the crust is dark golden brown.

Equipment

Notes

Don’t skip the par-baking! It may seem like an unnecessary extra step, but you have to partially bake the crust in order to get that perfectly crisp, golden brown crust. Trust me, it’s worth the extra 3 minutes!

For a really extra crispy crust make sure you brush it with oil before par-baking and then also brush the edges before the final bake. This will give the crust the most buttery, rich flavor and just the right amount of crunch!

Less is more when it comes to toppings. When making a 12 inch pie, make sure you stick to about a 1/2 cup of sauce and 1 cup of cheese plus a handful of veggies or meats. This will ensure that the crust cooks evenly and thoroughly and you’re not left with a soggy mess!