The Best Tomato Basil Pizza Recipe
Discover the ultimate tomato basil pizza recipe featuring a crispy, homemade dough that brings fresh, vibrant flavors from the garden, straight into your kitchen. Perfect for pizza lovers craving a simple yet delicious homemade treat!
Why I love this Tomato Basil Pizza Recipe
When I first got my outdoor electric pizza oven, I played it safe. Pepperoni? Absolutely! It’s practically the official training pizza for every new pizza oven owner, right?
But once I got the hang of tossing dough without launching it into the neighbor’s yard, I started experimenting with different flavor combinations. Lucky for me, my garden was bursting with sweet cherry tomatoes and fragrant fresh basil. It had all the makings of a classic Margherita pizza…but why stop there?
If you’ve been around my Nest for any length of time, you know I can rarely leave “classic” alone! I whipped up a batch of my homemade basil pesto for a flavorful drizzle, then sautéed those garden-fresh tomatoes with garlic, fresh basil, and buttery toasted pine nuts. Talk about taking fresh flavors to the next level!
The result? This Fresh Tomato Basil Pizza…a recipe that’s earned a permanent spot in our pizza night rotation. Every bite is loaded with bright, garden-fresh flavor, gooey melted cheese, and just enough pesto to make you wonder why you haven’t been putting it on pizza all along. It’s simple, fresh, and proof that sometimes the best pizzas don’t need a pile of toppings—they just need the right ones.
Ingredients For The Tomato Basil Pizza
- Homemade Pizza Dough for a 12-inch pizza crust, or one 12-inch pizza crust
- 1 cup fresh cherry tomatoes, whole or sliced in half.
- 1 Tablespoon fresh basil, sliced
- ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary, or ½ teaspoon fresh chopped rosemary
- 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons pine nuts (optional)
- 2 Tablespoons Prepared Pesto Sauce, fresh or store-bought
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil, divided into 1 tablespoon and 2 tablespoons.
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese, Shredded
- 1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded (optional)
- 10-15 small pearl mozzarella balls
How to Make Tomato Basil Pizza
This recipe is best when made with my Easy Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe. However, you can use a pre-made crust if that’s easier, or a loaf of french bread or Focaccia.
Gather all your ingredients and preheat your pizza oven to 700°(F), or whatever the preset setting is, or your kitchen oven to 475-500°(F).
Preparing The Tomato Basil Topping
In a small skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute, stirring constantly.
Add the cherry tomatoes. I like to cut the tomatoes in half. However, you can leave them whole.
Sauté the tomatoes until the skin begins to “blister. Add the rosemary. I generally prefer fresh rosemary, but I didn’t have any the day I photographed this recipe…so I used dried. Both work, you will just have a more intense flavor with fresh.
Add the fresh sliced basil and toasted or raw pine nuts. Sauté for one minute. Aren’t the colors amazing?!
Norine’s Kitchen TIP: For the prettiest basil, stack the leaves, roll them into a little cigar shape, and slice them into thin ribbons (called a chiffonade). Use a sharp knife, or kitchen shears, rather than chopping with a dull one, this helps prevent the basil from bruising and turning dark.
Add pesto sauce to the tomato and pine nut mixture. Give everything a good stir for about 1 minute, turn the heat off and set the tomato basil mixture aside while you prepare the other elements of this pizza!
I realize that the pesto sauce has many of the other ingredients already added to this dish…but it gives an extra burst of flavor! This pizza is heavy on pesto…so if you’re not a pesto lover…you may not love this recipe.
Assembling The Pizza
Now it’s time to bring all the elements of this fresh and flavorful pizza together. Let’s begin with the crust.
Preparing The Pizza Crust
If you’re using fresh pizza dough, roll the dough into a 12-inch circle pizza crust. However, if you’re baking in a pizza oven, slide your pizza paddle under the crust. If using a pre-made crust or Italian bread, jump down to the next section.
Toppings For Tomato Basil Pizza
This pizza varies from a traditional margarita pizza in that it doesn’t have a crushed tomato base. We can’t have a “dry” pizza crust, so I went with an olive oil and pesto base! It’s perfect with this pizza combination.
Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Using a pastry brush, brush the olive oil evenly over the top of the crust.
Now for the pesto sauce! Add 2–3 tablespoons of pesto sauce on top of the olive oil. Using the same pastry brush, spread it evenly over the top of the crust about ¼ inch from the edge.
I’m in love with the vibrant colors on this pizza! It screams “Fresh Flavor”.
Top with shredded mozzarella and Parmesan Cheese. Note this is just a light sprinkling of cheese. It doesn’t need a ton, and you still have the mini mozzarella balls to add!
Norine’s Kitchen Tips: Keeping the toppings light helps with bake times and prevents a soggy pizza.
Time to grab that tomato basil mixture. Using a large spoon, sprinkle the tomato, pine nut, and basil mixture over the top of the pizza. It doesn’t have to be perfect. I love the addition of the pine nuts to this pizza, but they are optional.
Next, add the pearl mozzarella balls. Note they are sprinkled in-between the tomatoes. With the cheese balls added…we’re ready to bake this beautiful pizza!
Baking Tips For A Crispy Crust
For the crispiest crust, bake your pizza on a fully preheated pizza stone or steel. Give it at least 30 minutes to heat up, so the crust starts cooking the second it hits the surface.
A screaming-hot surface gives you that bakery-style crust that’s crisp on the outside and perfectly chewy inside. My ninja pizza oven cooks a pizza in 3 minutes. If using a pizza stone in your oven, bake for 5–10 minutes until the desired consistency is reached. As always, BE CAREFUL when baking in hot pizza ovens.
A little “char” on this pizza adds flavor and color, but you do you! Look at those beautiful tomatoes and the pools of melted cheese, roasted pine nuts…YUM.
Recipe Wrap-Up
If you’re looking for a pizza that lets fresh, simple ingredients shine, this Fresh Tomato Basil Pizza is calling your name! Between the sweet sautéed tomatoes, creamy mozzarella, vibrant basil pesto, and crispy, golden crust, every bite tastes like summer straight from the garden.
Favorite Family Italian Recipes
- Easy and Delicious Homemade Pesto Sauce Recipe
- Easy Stove-Top Skillet Ground Beef Lasagna
- Easy Lobster Bisque Pasta Recipe
- Fresh Tomato and Basil Pasta
- Easy Chicken Parmesan Recipe
- Tender Italian Baked Chicken Recipe from All-recipes.com
Whether you’re firing up your pizza oven for family pizza night…or baking this beauty in your kitchen oven, I think you’ll fall in love with this recipe just like we did. It’s proof that you don’t need a mountain of toppings to make an unforgettable pizza…just a handful of fresh ingredients and a little love.
If you give this recipe a try, I’d love to hear what you think! Leave a comment below and let me know how it turned out, or tell me your favorite pizza topping combination.
Thanks for stopping by my Nest today!
Printable Recipe Card
The Best Tomato Basil Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 12-inch Pizza crust Homemade or store-bought
- 1 cup Cherry tomatoes Cut in half
- 1 Tablespoon Basil Fresh, sliced
- ¼ teaspoon Rosemary Dried; or ½ teaspoon fresh rosemary chopped.
- 1 teaspoon Garlic minced
- 2 Tablespoons Pine nuts Toasted or raw
- 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil Divided: 2 Tablespoon and 1 Tablespoon
- 2 Tablespoons Prepared Pesto Sauce
- ½ cup Parmesan Cheese Shredded
- 1 cup Shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¾ cup Pearl fresh mozzarella cheese balls About 10–15 balls
Instructions
- Gather all your ingredients and preheat your oven, with a pizza stone or steel pizza pan to 475° – 500°(F) or to your pizza oven setting.
- In a small skillet over medium-high heat, add 1 tablespoon of Olive Oil and minced garlic. Sauté for one minute. Add cherry tomatoes and sauté until tomato skin begins to blister.
- Add rosemary and basil. Stir for one minute. Add pine nuts. Stir. Add pesto sauce. Stir until all the ingredients are combined, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat and set aside while you prepare the crust.
- Roll your crust into a 12-inch circle. Drizzle the crust with olive oil and brush to evenly distribute about ¼ inch from the edge of the crust. Add 2–3 tablespoons of the prepared pesto sauce, using a pastry brush, spread the pesto sauce evenly on top of the olive oil. Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and Parmesan cheese.
- Spoon the tomato, basil and pine nut mixture over the top of the cheese. Sprinkle the mozzarella balls in-between the tomato mixture.
- Place the pizza in the preheated oven for 8–12 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted.
Nutrition
Meet the Author
Hi! I’m Norine, the cook, baker, and recipe creator behind Norine’s Nest. I love sharing and creating recipes that invite family, friends, and neighbors to gather around the dinner table. Sharing good food and creating memories with those we love brings me happiness. Thanks for stopping by my Nest!
