This epic basil pizza is all about one thing: BASIL. It has a thick layer of flavorful pesto and is topped with lots of fresh leaves!
Are you obsessed with basil? There’s nothing quite like the fresh, peppery flavor of this bright green herb. So get ready to take all the amazing things about basil and eat it as a pizza topping. This is true: All basil pizza! (Got it? Sounds a lot like… like that!) That means thick, homemade garlicky basil pesto spread on a perfect pizza crust, topped with gooey mozzarella and a huge handful of fresh basil leaves. . This is the greenest, tastiest basil pizza you’ve ever made.
do you want a page on this? Try one of our top 10 pizza sides.
How to make basil pesto
The first step to basil pizza is the basil pesto! If it’s summer and you have a tall, bushy basil plant, pesto is the perfect place to use it. If it’s not basil season, you can of course use store-bought basil pesto or fresh basil leaves.
Our favorite pesto, our classic basil pesto: it’s garlicky, bright green, and everything a classic pesto should be! The recipe calls for 2 cups of basil leaves. If you don’t have much, you can make half a recipe. It’s especially useful to have a small blender or hand blender for half a recipe, as the batches will be smaller! Here are the main steps to preparing pesto:
- Place the pine nuts, parmesan and garlic in a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
- Add the fresh basil leaves, lemon juice and salt. Start the food processor and add the olive oil in a steady stream. Voila: it’s pesto!
Variants of pesto
There are so many different variations of basil pesto! Our Basil Cashew Pesto contains cashews, which are easier to find and cheaper than pine nuts. Similarly, our Basil Walnut Pesto is just as good. We also have vegan pesto (although we assume you can eat cheese if you’re making pizza!). No matter what variation you make, it’s really easy to make pesto!
How do you make pizza dough
The other big step with this basil pizza is preparing the pizza dough! You can also use store-bought dough to reduce the time it takes. But for the best basil pizza, our homemade pizza dough is a must. It’s the perfect texture: fluffy and chewy on the inside and crunchy on the outside. Here are a few things to keep in mind when choosing pizza dough:
- Choose your dough recipe. Our favorite is our Easy Pizza Dough, which has the absolute perfect Texture. Another option is our thin crust pizza dough, which is easy to roll out into a thinner, crispier crust.
- The dough will take 45 minutes to rise, so plan ahead. Kneading the dough takes only 8 minutes. So most of the time it takes to make pizza dough is letting it rise! Start doing this about 1 hour before you want to eat your pizza.
- Stretching the dough takes some practice. Pizza dough requires some finesse to shape the dough. Pat the dough in a circle, then drape it over your knuckles to stretch it. If the dough ever becomes translucent, stop immediately and set it aside for a minute. After resuming, the gluten has relaxed and it is possible to stretch. More about this in the video in the recipe!
You also need a few utensils to bake your perfect pizza dough:
- pizza stone: A pizza stone makes the Italian pizza base crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Here’s the best pizza stone we’ve found, along with maintenance tips.
- pizza shovel: What is a pizza shovel? It’s a paddle that’s used to push the pizza onto the hot pizza stone in the oven. We recommend this Standard Pizza Shovel or this Conveyor Pizza Shovel.
Prepare your basil pizza! (Do not cook with the leaves.)
Once you have your basil pesto and pizza dough, this basil pizza is a breeze. Simply spread a layer of pesto on the crust and top with mozzarella and parmesan. We added a sprinkling of dried basil just to be safe, but that’s not necessary for flavor.
How do you keep basil leaves bright green? Put them on the pizza after cook it Baking a pizza with basil leaves gives them a sad black hue. Yes, don’t even think about cooking these tender leaves! In the photo above you can see that part of the basil has already turned black in places due to the heat of the pizza.
How to grow basil
Growing basil yourself is a lot cheaper and easier than buying in the store. You don’t even need garden space for this: just a sunny cornice! Here are some tips on how to grow basil at home and how to store it!
- Plant them in the garden or in a pot on a sunny ledge. Purchase a starter plant at your local farmer’s market or garden store. Then plant it in a pot with plenty of drainage (or in your garden. Be sure to prune it regularly by removing the branches down to the first 2 leaves. Go to How to Grow Basil and How to Harvest Basil, to learn more !
- Store chopped basil in a mason jar with water. Find a tall jar and add some water to the bottom. Then place the basil stems cut side down and cover with a lid. Keep it in the fridge and it will last 4-5 days instead of hours on the counter! See How to Store Fresh Basil.
Did you know you can dry basil at home? Go to dry basil.
This Basil Pizza Recipe is…
Vegetarian.
The description
This epic basil pizza is all about one thing: BASIL. It has a thick layer of flavorful pesto and is topped with lots of fresh leaves!
- Prepare pizza dough: Follow the Best Pizza Dough or Thin Crust Dough recipe to prepare the dough. (It takes about 15 minutes and 45 minutes to rest.)
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (this is the pizza oven we use).
- Preparation of the toppings: Make the Best Basil Pesto (or Cashew Pesto, Walnut Pesto, or Vegan Pesto). Thinly slice the fresh basil (or leave whole if you prefer).
- Bake pizza: When the oven is done, dust a pizza peel with corn or semolina flour. (If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use a rimmed baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. But a pizza peel is worth the investment!) Roll out the dough in a circle; For instructions, see How to stretch pizza dough. Then carefully place the dough on the pizza peel.
- Pour the pesto over the dough and spread it with the back of the spoon. Then top with mozzarella in an even layer, then parmesan. Add a pinch of dried basil and a pinch of kosher salt, if desired. (Most pesto is quite salty, but that depends on your pesto and cheese.)
- Use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 5 to 7 minutes in the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven).
- Garnish with basil leaves. Cut into pieces and serve immediately.
- Category: main course
- Method: Cooked
- Kitchen: Italian
Looking for more pizza recipes?
Aside from this basil pizza recipe, here are some of our favorite pizza recipes:
Last update: February 2020
