Pesto, Fresh Mozzarella & Basil

Some pies are about complexity. This one is about doing a small number of things well.

Pesto made the day you use it. Fresh mozzarella torn by hand, not shredded. Basil that goes on after the stone, not before, so it stays green and alive. The crust does most of the work — pesto is already rich, already seasoned, and if the dough underneath is good, you don’t need to pile anything on top.

We make this one more than any other in June and July, when basil is cheap and the backyard smells like it. It’s the fastest pie in our rotation, start to finish, and the one guests ask about most.

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Ingredients

For the pesto (makes enough for 2 pizzas):

• 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
• 2 cloves garlic
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts, lightly toasted (or walnuts in a pinch)
• ½ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano, finely grated
• ½ cup good olive oil
• ½ teaspoon Baleine fine sea salt
• Juice of ¼ lemon

For the pizza:

• 1 dough ball (about 250g), stretched to 10–12 inches
• 4–5 tablespoons fresh pesto (above)
• 6 oz fresh mozzarella, torn into rough pieces — not shredded, not low-moisture
• Flaky salt
• 1 tablespoon olive oil for finishing
• 10–12 fresh basil leaves, for after the bake

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Instructions

1. Make the pesto

Combine basil, garlic, and pine nuts in a food processor. Pulse until roughly chopped. Add the Parmigiano and pulse again. With the machine running, stream in the olive oil. Season with salt and lemon juice. Taste — it should be bright, garlicky, and salty enough to season the whole pie.

If making ahead, press plastic wrap directly against the surface to prevent browning. It’ll hold for a day in the fridge, but fresh is noticeably better.

2. Build on the peel

Stretch your dough ball and lay it on a well-floured peel. Work quickly.

Spread pesto across the surface, leaving a ¾-inch border. Don’t overthink this — 4–5 tablespoons is about right. Too much and the pie gets heavy and soggy; too little and the crust is dry.

Distribute the torn mozzarella pieces evenly. Leave some gaps — the mozzarella will spread as it melts, and you want it to pool slightly in places rather than form a solid layer. Season with a small pinch of flaky salt and a light drizzle of olive oil over the cheese.

3. Launch and bake

Ninja Woodfire: Pizza mode, stone at 620–650°F surface temperature. Launch and bake 3–4 minutes, rotating once at the 2-minute mark. You’re looking for a blistered, golden crust and mozzarella that’s fully melted with some color at the edges. Don’t walk it past this — pesto can turn bitter if it sits on a screaming-hot stone too long.

Ooni: Preheat fully, at least 20 minutes. Launch and bake 60–75 seconds, rotate, another 60 seconds. Watch it — pesto browns faster than tomato sauce.

4. Finish

Slide off the peel and let sit 60 seconds — fresh mozzarella is essentially liquid at this point and needs a moment.

Lay the fresh basil leaves across the surface. A thread of good olive oil. Nothing else. Cut and serve immediately.

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Notes

On the mozzarella: Fresh mozzarella matters here. Low-moisture mozzarella will work on a tomato sauce pie but on pesto it’s too rubbery and contributes nothing. Look for it in water at a deli counter, or the fresh-packed balls at a decent grocery store. Dry it on a paper towel for 10 minutes before tearing — excess moisture is the enemy of a crisp crust.

On the basil timing: Basil goes on after the bake, always. On a hot stone it turns black in under a minute. The contrast between the hot melted cheese and the bright cold basil laid on top is half of what makes this pie taste right.

On pesto from a jar: It will work. The pie won’t be the same. Fresh pesto has a brightness that oxidized, pasteurized jar pesto can’t match. If you’re going to make pesto pizza, make the pesto.

On the crust: The 72-hour cold-ferment dough is the right call here — the long ferment gives you a slightly sour note that cuts the richness of the pesto and cheese. A same-day dough will work but the flavor balance shifts.

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Related

• The 72-hour cold-ferment dough
• 9 Pizza Recipes Beyond Margherita