Quick and Easy Margherita Pizza
Quick and easy margherita pizza on homemade crust is your new weeknight go to. A simple, delicious rapid-rise crust is topped with pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella, Italian seasonings, tomatoes, basil, and the best balsamic glaze!
Servings:4 servings
Ingredients
Crust
- 1 ¾-2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 envelope Fleischmann's® RapidRise® Instant Yeast
- 1 ½ teaspoons sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅔ cup very warm water, (120-130º F)
- 3 tablespoons oil
Toppings
- ½ cup pizza sauce
- 4 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced or torn into 1-inch pieces
- ½ teaspoon Herbs de Provence, or Italian seasoning blend
- 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 2-3 tablespoons balsamic glaze, store-bought OR see below for recipe
- fresh basil
- coarse sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper
Balsamic Glaze
- 1 cup balsamic vinegar
- 4 tablespoons honey
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl whisk together 1 3/4 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar, and salt.
- Add water and oil and mix until ingredients come together in a ball (it will be sticky at this point!).
- Knead on a floured surface, adding more flour periodically as needed, until smooth and elastic (4-5 minutes.) Allow to rest for 10 minutes. (Meanwhile, proceed with next step.)
- While dough is resting, prepare the balsamic glaze by adding balsamic vinegar to a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and boil for 6-10 minutes until reduced to half the original volume. Remove from heat, stir in honey and salt. Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool and thicken.
- Roll or pat dough into a 12-inch circle on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Pinch edges to create a ½-inch crust around the perimeter of the dough.
- Spread sauce over the crust (leave pinched edges uncovered with toppings). Arrange cheese pieces all over the pizza, followed by tomato slices. Sprinkle Herbs de Provence over the top.
- Bake in preheated oven for 12-15 minutes until cheese is bubby and crust is golden-brown.
- Top with fresh basil, coarse sea salt and cracked black pepper, and a hearty drizzle of balsamic glaze. Slice and serve.
Notes
- If you want to make the crust ahead of time, work through step 4. Remove the dough and wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze. Let it thaw/come up to room temperature all the way before rolling out and making this easy pizza crust into something fabulous.
- I also like to bake the basil with the pizza rather than sprinkle on top after baking. It won't be as pretty because the basil will bake and brown but still delicious!
- Other ingredients that go well in this pizza include roasted garlic, kalamata olives, and feta cheese.
- Add a dash of red pepper flakes for a hint of heat before serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 562 kcal, Carbohydrates: 86 g, Protein: 14 g, Fat: 18 g, Saturated Fat: 5 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 9 g, Trans Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 22 mg, Sodium: 941 mg, Potassium: 419 mg, Fiber: 3 g, Sugar: 33 g, Vitamin A: 841 IU, Vitamin C: 11 mg, Calcium: 185 mg, Iron: 4 mg