Recipes from Cooking Light, Southern Living, Sunset, Coastal Living, All You, Real Simple, and Health
What is the Test Kitchen Guarantee?

Quick Pizza Margherita

Cooking Light
Quick Pizza Margherita
Randy Mayor; Katie Stoddard
Edit Note

My Notes

(Only you will be able to view, print, and edit this Note)

Worthy of a Special Occasion

From prebaking the dough for crispness to drizzling the finished pie with balsamic vinegar, this 30-minute recipe is full of flavorful tricks that have made it one of our most popular pizzas.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 2 pieces)

Ingredients

  • 1  (10-ounce) can refrigerated pizza crust dough
  • Cooking spray
  • 1  teaspoon  extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1  garlic clove, halved
  • 5  plum tomatoes, thinly sliced (about 3/4 pound)
  • 1  cup  (4 ounces) shredded fresh mozzarella cheese
  • 1  teaspoon  balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2  cup  thinly sliced fresh basil
  • 1/8  teaspoon  salt
  • 1/8  teaspoon  black pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 400°.

Unroll crust dough onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray; pat into a 13 x 11-inch rectangle. Bake at 400° for 8 minutes. Remove crust from oven, and brush with 1/2 teaspoon oil. Rub crust with cut sides of garlic.

Arrange tomato slices on crust, leaving a 1/2-inch border; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until cheese melts and crust is golden.

Combine 1/2 teaspoon oil and vinegar, stirring with a whisk.

Sprinkle pizza evenly with sliced basil, salt, and pepper. Drizzle the vinegar mixture evenly over the pizza. Cut pizza into 8 pieces.

Nutritional Information

Calories:
298 (30% from fat)
Fat:
10g (sat 4.6g,mono 3.5g,poly 1.4g)
Protein:
12.2g
Carbohydrate:
38.6g
Fiber:
2.1g
Cholesterol:
22mg
Iron:
2.6mg
Sodium:
595mg
Calcium:
175mg
Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2002

Member Ratings and Reviews

5 stars
Kara
This recipe was easy and delicious! Great for a casual weeknight meal.02/01/10

5 stars

Wow! Great recipe. Fresh ingredients are best but using what’s on hand is almost as good, and in my house, more likely to happen. Here’s an even quicker and lighter version, which is easily made for just one person as follows: I used Flatout Light Italian Herb flatbread as mentioned by another member. (Thanks for that great suggestion) I also substituted, where appropriate, using ½ a large tomato, pinch of garlic powder, a shot of spray-on olive oil, pre-shredded cheese, and 2 or 3 sprays of Wishbone’s Salad Spritzers Balsamic Breeze for a quick finish. This makes a great lunch in minutes and clean up is next to nothing, especially if you use a sheet of parchment paper on your cookie sheet. With theses substitutions, one serving: Cal 169, fat 7g, Chol 15mg, Sod 503mg, Carbs 18mg, Fib 10g, Protein 15g, WW Points 3.09/11/09