Cheese Pizza Recipe
Posted Apr 14, 2024, Updated Sep 30, 2024
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This is the best cheese pizza recipe! Homemade Pizza sauce is slathered onto an easy homemade pizza dough, then topped with lots of mozzarella cheese! Learn how to make cheese pizza at home better than your favorite restaurant!
Growing up in Chicago (and working at a local pizza restaurant starting at age 14), made me extremely passionate about good pizza.
However, there aren’t any noteworthy pizza restaurants where we live now (not in Chicago anymore) – so we always choose to make our own pizza at home – like this cheese pizza.
I perfected this cheese pizza recipe (using my homemade pizza dough and homemade pizza sauce). It’s loaded with mozzarella cheese making a delicious pie that will become a favorite for years to come.
Cheese Pizza Recipe: Ingredients & Substitutions
- Pizza dough. I suggest this homemade pizza dough, but store-bought works well too.
- Pizza Sauce. this is the best homemade pizza sauce! You can use store-bought, if desired.
- Mozzarella cheese. I suggest a shredded, organic mozzarella for best results. Or, you can use a “pizza blend” which you can find at most grocery stores.
Cheese Pizza Recipe Equipment
We have made homemade pizza once a week for as long as I can remember. Here are a few handy kitchen tools that aid in making the best cheese pizza ever.
- Pizza stone. Once we started baking our pies on pizza stones we never looked back. Set it in the oven while it’s preheating.
- Pizza peel. You can use a flat-rimmed baking sheet in a pinch, but a pizza peel makes it really easy to transport the cheese pizza into and out of the oven.
- Parchment paper. Assembling the pizza on parchment paper makes it easy to transport and prevents the pizza from sticking.
- Pizza Scissors. pizza-cutting game changer. You can cut the pizza right on the cooling rack with scissors! And they make it easy to cut a piece into smaller pieces for little ones.
- Wire Cooling Rack. a large, round cooling rack is perfect for pizzas.
- Rolling Pin. I suggest a marble rolling pin for easy pizza dough rolling.
How to Make Cheese Pizza
Follow along as I show you how to make the best cheese pizza ever! And don’t forget to watch the video.
Begin by putting a pizza stone in the oven and preheating the oven to 500 degrees F.
Then, make the homemade pizza dough & homemade pizza sauce (or use store bought).
Next, roll out the pizza dough to a 14” circle on a piece of parchment paper (for easy transfer to the pizza stone).
Then, spread the pizza sauce evenly over the dough.
Next, sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly over the sauce.
Use a pizza peel to transfer the cheese pizza on the parchment paper onto the baking stone in the oven.
Bake the homemade cheese pizza in the preheated oven for 10-14 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted.
Remove the pizza from the oven (using the pizza peel) and transfer it to a wire rack.
Let the cheese pizza cool on the wire cooling rack for at 10 minutes before serving.
Serve
Cut with pizza scissors or transfer to a large cutting board and use a pizza cutter, and serve.
I suggest serving this pizza with a salad like burrata salad or kale salad!
Store/Freeze
Let the cheese pizza cool completely before storing in a single layer in an airtight container. It will last up to 1 week in the refrigerator. You can also freeze it for up to 1 month.
Reheat in the microwave or in the oven set to warm.
Cheese Pizza Recipe FAQS
This pizza has just sauce and cheese as the topping, however you can add parmesan cheese, crushed red pepper flakes, salt & pepper, etc. You can also add onion, green peppers, olives, etc. before baking. If you’ want to make a different pizza, try pepperoni pizza, sausage pizza or BBQ chicken pizza.
Mozzarella – always and forever. Some stores sell a “pizza blend” or you can add some shredded cheddar, provolone, etc. mixed in with the mozzarella.
Again, mozzarella – only, always and forever. When I worked at the best Chicago pizza place we only used mozzarella.
If you make and love our recipes, it would mean so much to me if you would leave a comment and rating! And don’t forget to follow along with us on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, and Youtube – be sure to tag @joyfoodsunshine and use the hashtag #joyfoodsunshine so we can see your creations!
Cheese Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
- Homemade pizza dough
- 1 cup homemade pizza sauce
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese (16 ounces)
Instructions
- Put a pizza stone in the oven and preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
- Roll out the pizza dough to a 14” circle on a piece of parchment paper (for easy transfer to the pizza stone).
- Spread pizza sauce evenly over the dough.
- Sprinkle mozzarella cheese evenly over the sauce.
- Use a pizza peel to transfer the pizza on the parchment paper onto the baking stone in the oven.
- Bake the pizza in the preheated oven for 10-14 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted.
- Remove the pizza from the oven (using the pizza peel) and transfer it to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
- Cut with pizza scissors or transfer to a large cutting board and use a pizza cutter and serve.
Video
Notes
- Pizza dough. I suggest this homemade pizza dough, but store-bought works well too.
- Pizza Sauce. this is the best homemade pizza sauce! You can use store-bought, if desired.
- Mozzarella cheese. I suggest a shredded, organic mozzarella for best results. Or, you can use a “pizza blend” which you can find at most grocery stores.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Question regarding your dough recipe. I’m still fairly new to the make-your-own game and was curious on two things regarding your recipe.
1. Why wouldn’t you want to let the dough rise until doubled? It seems it would make the crust lighter right? More time for the yeast to produce those air bubbles?
2. Why do you suggest rolling out the dough? I’ve heard many places say this is a no-no and leads to a tougher crust because you lose more air bubbles again.
Just curious your experience that hopefully can save me from having to experiment as much on my own.
1. You can let the dough rise – it does produce a lighter, thicker crust. But the dough also tastes great without rising. 2) You can toss the dough if you like – I’m not good at it and I prefer rolling!