Homemade Neapolitan pizza

Tired of ordering take-out or using frozen store bought pizza? Make your own classic Neapolitan pizza with the best homemade ingredients right in your own kitchen! Our easy to follow recipe turns you into a pro pizzaiolo, while also saving you money and time. This classic Italian favorite is made with fresh dough and homemade pizza sauce, topped off with a generous helping of mozzarella cheese.

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Anywhere you go in the world you can order a cheese pizza, mushroom pizza, or pineapple pizza, but one of the best pizzas I’ve tried was just outside of Naples – the Neapolitan pizza!

Why you’ll love this Neapolitan style pizza

• They are far more cost efficient than buying take outs.
• You can batch make and freeze Neapolitan pizzas so you always have them when you have a pizza craving!
• Perfect easy food for outdoor cooking, pizza nights, and game days.
• All the ingredients are 100% vegetarian.

Ingredients you’ll need

You’ll need all the ingredients shown in the photograph below.

How to make Neapolitan pizza with step by step instructions

A full printable recipe and the measurements in both US customary and metric are available in the recipe card below.

If you are making Neapolitan pizza dough (optional)

Using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or paddle attachment, or, if you don’t have a stand mixer, a bowl and a rubber spatula, add active dry yeast and granulated sugar to a bowl of warm water and whisk together.

Tip your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface, lightly flour your hands, and knead the dough for four minutes.

When you’ve finished kneading, press the dough with your fingers and if it bounces back, it’s ready to start rising, if it doesn’t knead a little longer until it does.

Now, grease a large bowl with olive oil and place the dough in it and either use a linen kitchen towel or plastic wrap to cover the dough.

Leave the dough in a warm place to rise, it should double in size, and it’ll take between 90 minutes and two hours, don’t be afraid to give it time.

When your dough has risen, remove the covering and punch down on it, punching it will release any of the air bubbles.

Place the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface and divide the dough in two, we use a pizza dough scraper for this as it’s large and cuts really well.

Roll the two halves into pizza dough balls and then gently flatten the dough balls until they become a disc shape.

Using a floured rolling pin, roll them into 12 inch disc shapes, approximately ½ inch thick.

If you are using an Ooni pizza oven

Preheat your pizza oven to 850°F/450°C.

Lightly dust your pizza peel with flour and place your pizza dough on it.

Spread pizza sauce evenly on the dough, leaving a ½ inch border. Scatter fresh mozzarella cheese slices, torn fresh basil leaves, and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Place your pizza in the oven and cook until the crust is charred and the pizza toppings are evenly cooked, using a pizza turning peel to rotate the pizza every 20 seconds to ensure an even cook.

Remove from the oven, serve immediately and enjoy your Neapolitan pizza!

If you are using a kitchen oven

Preheat your pizza oven to 500°F/260°C, if you are using a pizza stone or pizza steel, place it in the oven.

Lightly dust your pizza pan or work surface with flour and place your pizza dough on it.

Spread pizza sauce evenly on the dough, leaving a ½ inch border. Scatter fresh buffalo mozzarella cheese slices, torn fresh basil leaves, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Place your pizza in the oven and cook until the crust is golden brown, and the pizza toppings are evenly cooked, turn halfway through to ensure an even cook..

Remove from the oven, serve immediately and enjoy your Neapolitan pizza!

Recipe notes and expert tips

• Make ahead
  Make the pizza sauce and the pizza dough up to a couple of days ahead and store them in the fridge.
• Use Tipi 00 flour
  This type of flour gives the best results for light, fluffy, and crispy pizza dough.
• Storage
  Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days and freeze for up to 3 months.

What is an authentic Neapolitan pizza recipe?

A Neapolitan pizza recipe, which is authenticated by Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana is an Italian classic. It hails from Naples, Italy, and has been a staple in Italian cuisine since the 18th century.

The true taste of a Neapolitan pizza relies on the use of specific ingredients and authentic preparation techniques.

This original style of pizza-making involves more than just throwing dough, tomatoes, and cheese together!

The true Neapolitan pizza dough recipe calls for using either Tipo 00 flour or durum wheat flour as the base ingredient for creating soft and foldable dough and is used by many Italian pizzerias.

Once that’s ready, San Marzano tomatoes are then added to form the sauce, followed by mozzarella cheese and fresh basil leaves to give it flavor, and cooked in a wood fired oven.

Can I use store bought dough?

Yes, you can. You don’t always have the time to make homemade pizza dough, so go ahead and buy it if that works better for you.

Do I need a pizza oven to cook a Neapolitan pizza?

No, you don’t but it does make a much better pizza if you use a pizza oven. we love ours and couldn’t be without it.

We love our pizza oven, it heats up to an incredibly high heat and you can cook a Neapolitan pizza in just 90 seconds, with that delicious charred crispy crust.

If you don’t have a pizza oven, the next best thing is a pizza stone or pizza steel, which you place in your kitchen oven and this helps get a crispy crust.

Our final recommendation is a pizza pan, this has holes in it allowing some of the heat to circulate and will give a better pizza than if you used a baking sheet.

How to store leftover pizza Napoletana

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, either eat cold or you can reheat pizza in an air fryer.

Freeze for up to 3 months.

What’s the best pizza sauce?

The best pizza sauce is made with fresh San Marzano tomatoes, grown in the volcanic soil on the Amalfi coast of Italy.

You can buy canned San Marzano tomatoes, they are sweeter than most and make a big flavor difference on a homemade Neapolitan pizza.

More easy pizza recipes for you to try at home

If like us, you love pizzas, then you should give these a try!

• Veggie pizza
• Marinara pizza
• Pesto pizza
• Greek pizza
• Caprese pizza
• Margherita pizza
• Artichoke pizza

Follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, and Instagram, for more tasty inspiration!

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