12 of the Best Pizza Recipes to Make at Home

The key to the best homemade pizza is proper dough preparation and cooking conditions. Follow the below tips the next time you plan a pizza night:

1. 1. Use the right flour. Flour is the key ingredient in pizza dough, and different types of flour result in distinct crust textures and densities. Use a high-protein flour for a fluffy crust with air bubbles. When making a thin-crust pizza, on the other hand, reach for bread flour or whole wheat flour. Another popular type of flour for pizza making is 00 flour: a soft, fine-grade flour ideal for high-temperature cooking. All-purpose flour works in a pinch, but since it creates dough that doesn’t easily stretch, it can be difficult to shape.
2. 2. Avoid over-kneading homemade pizza dough. Different pizza dough recipes recommend varying knead times; however, as a general guideline, knead your dough for about two to three minutes on a floured surface. Over-kneading the dough causes the mixture of ingredients to turn into a hard dough ball, which makes stretching the dough flat more challenging.
3. 3. Undercook protein toppings. Protein toppings, such as pepperoni, chicken, bacon, and ground beef, can elevate your homemade pizza recipe. To avoid dry or burnt toppings, partially cook your proteins before adding them to your pizza; the protein toppings will finish cooking through with the rest of the pizza.
4. 4. Add cornmeal or parchment paper to your pizza peel. Cooking your pizza directly on your pizza pan, pizza stone, or peel can help evenly distribute the heat throughout the dough—but it can also make removing your pizza from the pan difficult. Sprinkling cornmeal onto the pan or adding a sheet of parchment paper prevents the dough from sticking, making the pizza easy to slide off the pan.
5. 5. Cook on high heat. The hotter your oven, the better your dough will cook. Hot temperatures cause the air bubbles in the dough to expand, resulting in a pizza crust that is crispy and full of air pockets. Set your oven to a minimum of 550 degrees Fahrenheit, and allow it to preheat for thirty minutes to ensure it’s nice and hot for the entire cook time. For the perfect pizza crust, bake pizza on high heat to turn your dough golden brown with smoky charred spots.
6. 6. Add fresh toppings to your cooked pizza. After you pull your hot pizza out of the oven, consider adding another layer of your favorite toppings. Sprinkling parmesan cheese or red pepper flakes onto your pizza adds a burst of flavor and garnish for presentation. For a simple cheese pizza, an extra layer of grated cheese or a pinch of salt elevates the overall dish. Toppings that are better fresh than charred—such as prosciutto, arugula, and spinach—should also go on the pizza after it’s done cooking.

While you can accent your pizza with a nearly infinite array of toppings, you’ll need these ingredients to create a base for your pie:

1. 1. Pizza dough: Pizza dough is a leavened, wheat-based dough rolled out thin and shaped into a disc or rectangle, and good pizza dough is the basis for delicious pizza. Depending on the ingredients and cooking method you use, your pizza dough can come out thick and fluffy or thin and crispy.
2. 2. Pizza sauce: Not all tomato-based sauces are created equal. Marinara is an Italian sauce that contains oregano, garlic cloves, fresh basil leaves, olive oil, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, and tomato paste. It has a thick consistency that’s good for pastas and thick-crust pizzas. Pizza sauce is looser and better suited for thin, crispy crusts. You can also get creative with your sauce, replacing these conventional tomato sauces with a smoky barbecue sauce for a chicken pizza or a simple pesto sauce for a nutty taste.
3. 3. Cheese: Shredded mozzarella cheese is the typical choice for pizza since it melts well enough to bind the toppings and creates the signature stretch when pulling a slice from the rest of the pie. Experiment with grated parmesan, slices of fresh mozzarella, dollops of ricotta, or even crumbled blue cheese to see which cheesy option pairs best with your chosen crust and toppings.

Like any other dish, pizza is a reflection of its origins. These five types of pizza have different flavor profiles and textures, based on the geographic regions where they first emerged:

1. 1. Grandma pizza: Created in Long Island, New York, in the early twentieth century, grandma-style pizza traditionally includes a layer of fresh mozzarella cheese and dollops of tomato sauce or sliced tomatoes. Grandma pizza bakes on a rimmed baking sheet coated in olive oil to create crispy-bottomed square slices of pizza. Next time you’re craving comfort food, try this grandma pizza recipe.
2. 2. Neapolitan pizza: Neapolitan pizza hails from Naples, Italy, and has a distinctive round, paper-thin crust. Pizzerias typically serve one whole pizza napoletana per person with a knife and fork. Channel your inner minimalist when choosing toppings for your Neapolitan pizza.
3. 3. New York–style pizza: An offshoot of Neapolitan-style dough, New York–style pizza incorporates oil and sugar into the dough before pizza makers stretch it into a thick and sturdy crust. The oil lowers the amount of gluten formed and creates a tender, chewy pizza slice.
4. 4. Roman-style pizza: Originally from Rome, Italy, this pizza bakes in a rectangular shape and has a crispy, airy crust. Known as “pizza al taglio” (pizza by the cut), Roman-style pizza appears in bakeries throughout Rome, where the pizza slices sell by weight. Weighing each slice isn’t necessary when you make Roman-style pizza at home.
5. 5. Sicilian-style pizza: Sicilian-style pizza, also called sfincione, has a thick, fluffy crust and rectangular shape. The cooking process for Sicilian-style pizza is similar to making focaccia, an Italian flatbread. Like focaccia, this dough requires a final rise in the sheet pan before adding the toppings. This step fills the dough with air bubbles that won’t collapse under the weight of the toppings. Follow this recipe to make Sicilian-style pizza at home.

From the classic Margherita to a veggie-forward asparagus pie, these different pizza recipes are a great option for lunch or dinner:

1. 1. Artichoke pizza: Top a New York–style pizza crust with white cream sauce, spinach, artichokes, mozzarella cheese, and pecorino romano for an appetizer reminiscent of spinach artichoke dip. Cut the artichoke pizza into thin strips for your guests to enjoy.
2. 2. Asparagus pizza: You can add whole asparagus spears onto your pizza dough or shave the vegetable into thin, elegant ribbons. For a white pizza with a spicy kick, use ricotta cheese, white asparagus, and jalapeños as your pizza toppings, and season the dough with a drizzle of olive oil and fresh rosemary. Check out the full asparagus pizza recipe.
3. 3. Chickpea flour crust pizza: For an easy pizza dough that’s also gluten-free, consider using chickpea flour as a substitute for traditional flours. With a slightly nutty taste, chickpea flour pairs well with vegetable and Mediterranean-style pizzas that use dried tomatoes, bell peppers, and olives as toppings. Have a go at this chickpea flour crust recipe.
4. 4. Margherita pizza: This classic Italian pizza includes four traditional ingredients: a simple tomato sauce, chewy mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, and extra virgin olive oil. When making this Neapolitan specialty, create a crispy crust by preheating a pizza stone or pizza steel to better remove excess moisture from the dough. Turn your kitchen into a pizzeria when you fire up the oven for this Margherita pizza recipe.
5. 5. Mushroom pizza: You can use several types of mushrooms for pizzas, including button mushrooms, portobello mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, maitake mushrooms, and porcini mushrooms. Wash, dry, slice, and precook your mushrooms before adding them to your pizza dough, as this will prevent your pizza from becoming soggy. For extra flavor, consider adding cherry tomatoes or fennel to this mushroom pizza recipe.
6. 6. Pizza without yeast: Yeast-free pizza dough is pizza dough leavened with an agent other than active dry yeast—or not leavened at all. A pizza dough with no leavening agent results in a crispy, cracker-type crust. Yeast-free pizza dough has a denser texture than yeasted pizza dough and requires less prep time and total time in the kitchen as the dough doesn’t have to rise or bloom in warm water. Produce a crunchy crust with when you use this recipe to make pizza dough without yeast.
7. 7. Smoked salmon pizza: Bold flavors of chili and garlic oil, fresh dill crème fraîche, and caviar come together in this decadent dish. The now-famous Wolfgang Puck pizza recipe allegedly came about one night when Joan Collins ordered smoked salmon with brioche; Puck improvised a pizza twist on the classic bagel and cream cheese, complete with red onions and fresh dill, to make up for the fact that he was out of bread. Explore Wolfgang Puck’s complete recipe for smoked salmon pizza.

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