Easy Caprese Pizza

This Easy Caprese Pizza is the perfect summer patio dinner. It’s full of fresh flavors and you can use goodies from your garden!

Take Your Favorite Refreshing Summer Salad and Slap It on a Pizza!

Caprese salad is the ideal summer side when indulging in some good ol’ Italian food. But we took it to the next level and scattered it over homemade pizza—because, well, why wouldn’t we? This pie is basically the illegitimate love child of the classic Margherita Pizza and our Bruschetta Pizza. And it’s a WIN. Sometimes we just need a break from the usual pepperoni with mushrooms. And when we do, this is a top contender.

What Is a Caprese Pizza?

Picture a Caprese salad baked onto a pizza crust and there you have it—Caprese pizza! Pillow-y mozzarella, thinly sliced tomatoes, and torn fresh basil leaves, all finished with a drizzle of sweet and tangy balsamic glaze. The glaze is what really sets this pizza apart from the Margherita or Neapolitan pizzas. All three have similar flavors and ingredients, but the balsamic glaze makes the Caprese.

A Short List of Ingredients: Just How We Like It!

Nothing complicated here! And the best part is if you garden, you can use your very own juicy tomatoes and fresh basil. Here’s exactly what you’ll need:

• Pizza dough, or a premade pizza shell if you need to keep things super simple
• Marinara sauce (homemade or store bought are fine)
• Fresh mozzarella
• Fresh basil
• Roma tomatoes
• Balsamic glaze

Balsamic Glaze vs Balsamic Vinegar.

A balsamic glaze is balsamic vinegar that’s been reduced to a thicker, stickier, and sweeter liquid. You  can purchase balsamic glaze at most grocers, but if you can’t find it, it’s easy to make. Simply bring 1 cup of balsamic vinegar to a boil over the stovetop and let it simmer until the mixture has reduced to about 1/4 cup. The liquid will become much thicker, stickier, and sweeter—perfect for drizzling!

How to Make This Easy Caprese Pizza.

1. If you’re making your dough, preheat the oven as per your recipes instructions. If you’re using store-bought, preheat the oven as per the directions on the packaging.
2. Lightly oil a pizza pan and carefully work your dough to form your pizza onto it. If you’re using a pizza stone, skip the oil and toss some cornmeal over the surface; this will prevent the dough from sticking. Once you’ve got a nicely formed circle, spoon about 1 cup of marinara sauce over it, spreading it out evenly. Leave about 1/2 – 1 inch of space at the edges for your crust.
3. Place the slices of mozzarella over the sauce leaving enough space in between for the tomato slices. Add the tomato slices in between mozzarella slices. Take half of the basil leaves, tear them in halves, and sprinkle them over the pizza.
4. Pop the pizza into the oven and bake according to your dough recipe instructions or, if using store-bought, use the package’s instructions. With fresh dough, you typically want to bake the pizza at 425° F for 15-20 minutes, or until the dough has crisped and turned golden in color.
5. Once the pizza is ready, remove it from the oven and set it on the counter to cool for about 5-10 minutes before cutting into it.
6. Before cutting into the pizza, drizzle it with balsamic glaze and garnish it with the rest of the fresh basil leaves. You could also drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil over the pizza, and add freshly cracked black pepper

Equipment You’ll Need:

• Sharp knife
• Cutting Board
• Pizza pan or pizza stone
• Pizza cutter or pizza scissors (highly recommend the scissors!)

Recipe Tips + Tricks.

1. If you can’t find balsamic glaze at your grocer, you can make a reduction with balsamic vinegar. Bring 1 cup of balsamic vinegar to a boil on the stovetop and let it simmer until reduced to about 1/4 cup. The vinegar at this point will have turned into a thick, sticky, and sweet glaze. Don’t drizzle the pizza with straight up balsamic vinegar.
2. You can jazz up your crust by brushing it with some olive oil and sprinkling it with garlic salt and Italian herbs.

If You Like This Recipe, You’ll Love These:

• Easy Bruschetta Pizza
• Summer Caprese Burgers with Pesto Mayo
• Simple Caprese Salad with Toasted Walnuts

Have You Made This Recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a STAR rating & commenting below with feedback!

You can also show off your creations on Instagram by tagging @killing__thyme

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5 from 21 votes

Easy Caprese Pizza

By: Dana Sandonato

This Easy Caprese Pizza is the perfect summer patio dinner. It's full of fresh flavors and you can use goodies from your garden!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 4 people

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 16 oz ball of fresh pizza dough, homemade or store-bought
• ▢ 1 cup marinara sauce
• ▢ 8 oz fresh mozzarella, drained (if in water) and pat dry, then thinly sliced
• ▢ 1-2 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
• ▢ 1 cup fresh basil leaves
• ▢ 1/4 cup balsamic glaze, *See notes

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Instructions 

• If you're using your own from-scratch dough, preheat the oven as per your recipes instructions. If store-bought, preheat the oven as per the directions on the packaging.
• On a lightly oiled pizza pan, work your dough out and form your pizza. If you're using a pizza stone, skip the oil and sprinkle cornmeal over the surface to keep the dough from sticking. Once you've got a nice round pizza dough going, spoon and evenly spread 1 cup of marinara sauce over it, leaving about 1/2 - 1 inch of space at the edges for your crust.
• Place the slices of mozzarella cheese over the sauce leaving enough space in between for the tomato slices, then proceed by placing the tomato slices in between mozzarella slices. (You'll likely be left with some extra mozzarella; save it, or do as we do and just eat it.) Take half of the basil leaves, tear them in halves, and evenly distribute them over the pizza.
• Place in the oven and bake according to your recipes instructions or, if using store-bought, use the package's instructions. With fresh dough, you typically want to bake it at 425° F for 15-20 minutes, or until the dough has crisped and turned golden in color (time will vary by oven). Always double check with the dough recipe/package you're using, though. When done, let the pizza sit to cool off for about 5-10 minutes before cutting into it. Right before cutting into it, drizzle it with a nice and thick balsamic glaze, and garnish with the rest of the fresh basil leaves. You could also drizzle a bit of extra virgin olive oil over the pizza, and add freshly cracked black pepper.

Notes

Making your own balsamic glaze. Bring 1 cup of balsamic vinegar to a boil over the stovetop and let it simmer until the mixture has reduced to about 1/4 cup. The liquid will become much thicker, stickier, and sweeter

Want to jazz up your crust? Brush some olive oil or melted butter over the edges of the dough you left naked for a crust to form. Sprinkle with some garlic salt and/or Italian herbs.

Nutrition

Calories: 226kcal | Carbohydrates: 27g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 9g | Fiber: 1g

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