Classic Margherita Pizza

How to Serve

I love serving Margherita Pizza hot, straight from the oven, when the cheese is still beautifully melty and the crust is at its best. It is perfect on its own for an easy lunch or dinner, but I also love serving it with a simple green salad or something fresh like arugula salad on the side to balance the richness. For drinks, you really cannot go wrong with sparkling water, homemade lemonade, or a glass of red wine for the grown-ups. And for pizza night with kids, I usually keep it simple with juice, water, and lots of napkins, always lots of napkins.

Tips for Success

• Preheat the oven really well before baking. A hot oven is one of the biggest secrets to good homemade pizza, so give it proper time to get there. If you are using a pizza stone, let that heat up too.
• Try not to overload the pizza with sauce or cheese. I know it is tempting, but too much of either can make the middle heavy and stop the crust from baking nicely. Margherita is at its best when it stays simple.
• If your mozzarella looks very wet, pat it dry a little before adding it to the pizza. That small step can help stop extra moisture from making the pizza soggy.
• Stretch the dough gently rather than forcing it. Pizza dough always behaves better when you treat it with a bit of patience and not like you are in an argument with it.
• Bake until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling, but keep an eye on it because every oven is a little different. Some are helpful, some are dramatic.
• And finally, add the basil right at the end or just after baking. It keeps the flavour fresh and lovely, and it also makes the pizza look like exactly the kind of meal everyone wants to eat immediately.

Substitutions & Variations

• You can use homemade pizza dough or store-bought dough, depending on how much time and energy you have. I do both, and honestly, sometimes the store-bought shortcut is exactly the right decision.
• If you cannot find San Marzano tomato sauce, use any good-quality pizza sauce or even crushed tomatoes seasoned with a little salt and olive oil. The key is keeping it simple and not too heavy.
• For the cheese, fresh mozzarella is the classic choice, but if it is very wet or hard to find, you can use low-moisture mozzarella instead. It melts beautifully and is often a little easier for everyday pizza nights.
• Fresh basil is what gives Margherita its lovely finish, but if you do not have any, the pizza will still be delicious. It just loses a little of that bright fresh feeling.
• If you want to change it up slightly, add a little grated Parmesan over the top after baking for extra salty richness.
• A few thin slices of tomato can also be lovely if you want the pizza to feel a little more summery and fresh.
• And if you are making pizza for kids or a group, this Margherita is also the perfect base for little add-ons. Some people can keep it classic, while others can add olives, ham, or whatever toppings make their pizza night happy.

Storage & Reheating

If you have leftover Margherita Pizza, let it cool and then store the slices in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. I like to place a piece of baking paper between slices if I am stacking them, just to keep things a little neater.

To reheat, my favourite way is in a hot skillet for a few minutes, sometimes with a lid on for the last minute so the cheese warms through nicely. It brings the crust back to life much better than the microwave. An oven or air fryer works really well too if you are reheating a few slices at once.

The microwave will do the job if you are in a hurry, of course, but the crust will be softer, so it is not my first choice. And if I am honest, cold pizza the next day is also a perfectly acceptable life decision sometimes.