Best Homemade Pizza Recipes

Food & Wine Test Kitchen Pizza Tips

Chefs' obsession with pizza has led us to great recipes for the home cook. While the toppings vary widely, the crust should be the perfect balance of chewy and crispy. Here, a few tools and techniques for making better pizza.

• The longer you let your dough rise, the more complex it will taste (at least to a point).
• To form the pizza dough into a round, use your fingers to press and stretch a dough ball, working from the center toward the edge. No tossing necessary!
• Use a pizza stone and preheat it well. Some people prefer cement. Others ceramic. Others steel. Regardless of the material, a stone keeps your oven hot when the door is open and helps create a crisp bottom crust.
• If you plan to make pizza often, think about investing in a pizza peel (they're not so expensive). It really is the easiest way to slide a pizza onto a hot stone. Dust the peel with a little flour or semolina so the dough slides easily.
• Often, the best way to get a crisp crust and bubbling top on a pizza is to preheat the oven for at least 30 minutes before sliding the pizza onto the stone. Then, turn on the broiler and cook for about 5 minutes. — Kristin Donnelly

Vegetarian Pizza Recipes

Perfect Pizza Margherita

Grace Parisi tops homemade pizza dough with San Marzano tomatoes, milky buffalo mozzarella and fresh basil. Letting the dough rest in the refrigerator overnight results in a chewy crust with a slight tang.

Photo © Karen Mordechai.

Eggplant, Pesto, and Goat-Cheese Pizza

Tangy goat cheese, sharp Parmesan, tender sautéed eggplant and bold basil pesto cover this mouth-watering pizza.

Portobello-Mushroom and Red-Pepper Pizza

This pizza recipe showcases meaty portobello mushrooms, red bell peppers and basil. If you don't have fresh basil, stir some pesto into the peppers and mushrooms before putting them on the pizza.

Summer Squash Pizza with Goat Cheese and Walnuts

Zucchini and yellow squash can both be mild in flavor, but nothing about this tangy, herby homemade pizza is bland. The summer squash is sliced into slender coins, then roasted in a hot oven until it's lightly caramelized, bringing out its sweetness.

Photo © Tina Rupp.

Chris Bianco’s Pizza Rosa

At Phoenix's Pizzeria Bianco, pizzaiolo Chris Bianco tops his Pizza Rosa with rings of red onions, a sprinkling of chopped pistachios and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Meat Pizza Recipes

Pizza Vesuvio with the Works

This half pizza-half calzone is stuffed with artichoke hearts, creamy ricotta, ham, salami, marinara sauce, mushrooms and olives.

Sweet Potato, Balsamic Onion and Soppressata Pizza

With ribbons of soppressata, mashed sweet potatoes, mozzarella cheese and balsamic-glazed onions, this clever, prebaked-crust pizza is a study in salty-sweet flavors.

Photo © Dana Gallagher.

Roasted Chicken and Leek Pizza

Store-bought rotisserie chicken, with its juicy meat, makes a great quick topping.

Seafood Pizza Recipes

Photo © James Baigrie.

Squid Pizza with Saffron Aioli

Michael Emanuel (an alumnus of Berkeley's Chez Panisse) tops this pizza with an irresistible mix of Provençal flavors: salty-sweet roasted squid, creamy aioli and crushed red pepper.

Shrimp-and-Chorizo Pizza with Escarole and Manchego

Michael Schwartz's seafood pie features shrimp, garlicky escarole, nutty Manchego and spicy chorizo.

Grilled Pizza

Grilled Pizza with Asparagus, Scallions and Fontina

Cut into small squares, this fast vegetarian pizza makes a great spring or summer hors d'oeuvre.

Gorgonzola, Fig and Pancetta Pizza

In this ingenious recipe, sweet fresh figs are perfectly played against creamy, earthy Gorgonzola cheese, milky mozzarella and salty pancetta.

Pizza Recipes from Around the World

Mexican Pizza

Deconstructed nachos were the inspiration behind this fun recipe, made with chili-spiced black-bean puree, tomatoes, olives, shredded lettuce and Jack cheese on a whole-wheat crust.

Alsatian Pizza

With lightly caramelized onions, thick-cut smoky bacon, and a tangy base made from fromage blanc and crème fraîche, this pie resembles the typical Alsatian tarte flambée.

Pizza Dough Recipes

Shea Gallante’s Pizza Dough

Italian chef Shea Gallante lets his dough proof in the refrigerator overnight, resulting in a pleasantly chewy, flavorful crust.

Artisan Pizza Dough

A slow fermentation gives our pizza dough its chewy-crispy texture and depth of flavor. It starts with your choice of sourdough starter (aka levain) or a simple mixture of flour, water, and active dry yeast (poolish) left to ferment for 12 hours. Both options start fermentation and build flavor in the dough overnight.