White Pizza with Tomato and Basil Leaves

White Pizza with Tomato and Basil makes a quick and simple delicious lunch or dinner that never disappoints. With only a few fresh ingredients, this pizza recipe is ready in less than 20 minutes and is perfect for an easy meal on a laid back day.

white pizza sliced on a pizza stone on a grey background

Table Of Contents

Ingredients
Step-By-Step Directions
Storing
Variations
Recipe
Related Recipes
Recipe Reviews

This White Pizza with Tomato and Basil is one of my go-to quick, easy, and delicious lunches. It's also my go-to when I am making lunch for visitors, and I always make sure that it's fresh out of the oven for hungry family members when they arrive after traveling to see us.

It's technically a "sauce-less" pizza, with a topping comprised of just mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and basil. There are no fancy fixings needed: the warm roasted tomatoes and basil give this white pizza with tomato and basil a fresh, robust and summery flair. But if you're in the mood for a fancier pizza, check out this Mediterranean pizza or spinach and feta flatbread pizza.

white pizza and tomatoes close up of 4 slices

Ingredients

White pizza with tomato and basil is made with simple fresh ingredient:

pizza dough: a thin crust is great, as is a traditional NY style crust.
mozzarella cheese
tomatoes
basil leaves: fresh are best
garlic powder
black pepper

What kind of tomatoes are the best to use for pizza?

I love a juicy garden tomato on pizza, and on most things! Not only do garden tomatoes smell amazing, they have a sweet and powerful flavor that is released even more when they are cooked.
My second favorite tomato to use on white pizza is a plum tomato. They aren't as juicy and pulpy as garden tomatoes, so they require less time to soak off the juice than the garden tomatoes.

Make sure that you press the sliced tomatoes between 2 paper towels before putting on the pizza. If you don't, they will release too much juice into the cheese and you'll get a soggy pizza and watery cheese.

Step-By-Step Directions

White pizza with tomato and basil is made in only a few easy steps.

homemade pizza dough spread on a parchment paper and pizza stone

pizza dough on a pizza pan topped with mozzarella cheese and tomatoes

Preheat the oven to the temperature on your pizza dough instructions (or 500 Fahrenheit for homemade pizza dough).
Roll the dough onto a baking sheet. Prebake before topping if that is what the package indicates. While dough pre-bakes, slice the tomatoes thinly and press between paper towels for 5 minutes.
Sprinkle the pepper and garlic powder onto the dough. Then layer with all but ½ cup of the cheese. Evenly place tomatoes over the cheese then top with remaining cheese.
Bake for 10-15 minutes, until crust begins to brown and cheese is melted.
Remove from the oven and sprinkle with torn basil leaves.

white pizza topped with tomatoes sliced on parchment paper

Then cool, cut, and enjoy your white pizza with tomato and basil!

Storing

This pizza tastes great the next day. Store leftovers in the fridge and warm in a toaster for a few minutes when ready to eat. It can be frozen using freezer-safe storage bags for up to 3 months.

Variations

If you want to play around with the ingredients in my white pizza with tomato and basil recipe, you can try these substitutions or additions:

add dollops of ricotta on top of the mozzarella
top with parmesan cheese
spread ricotta on the dough as the first layer for a more "saucey" pizza
add fresh basil leaves prior to cooking

white pizza topped with tomatoes and basil on a grey background

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Recipe