Our family is expecting an exciting new year. A growing family means big changes (times three) for us this year, and I know my cooking will need a make-over. I’m desperate for new, creative recipes that I can make in a flash. I cook with pasta and diced tomatoes frequently, but my husband and daughter can only handle so much spaghetti in a short period of time. My husband has also renewed his healthy eating habits for the New Year, so I’m also on the hunt for recipes that are nutritious, too.
I can count the number of times that I’ve made homemade pizza, but when I came across this Pizza Margherita recipe I couldn’t resist trying it out. The recipe looked easy and quick, and I love that pizza is a stand-alone meal by iteslf, so I was able to save time in the kitchen. The recipe’s rock star ingredient is Classico Whole Peeled Pear Tomatoes with Fresh Basil. Even though I cook frequently with canned tomatoes, I had never tried Classico tomatoes before, so I headed to my local Walmart to purchase these tomatoes.
My local Walmart had the Classico Whole Peeled Pear Tomatoes with Fresh Basil in stock. A few of the other varieties of Classico tomatoes appeared to be out of stock- they must be pretty popular!
I picked up my other ingredients, as well, and headed home to make a yummy pizza for my family for lunch.
Ingredients:
- 1 (16 oz.) pizza dough
- 2 cups fresh mozzarella cheese, sliced, about 8 oz- I used pre-sliced cheese.
- 1 can (28 oz.) Classico™ Whole Peeled Pear Tomatoes with Fresh Basil
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, whole
Directions, according to Classico, along with my recipe adaptions:
- Thaw pizza dough according to package directions.
- Preheat oven 450°F.
- Roll dough to about 18″ across. {My adaption: I did not have a 18″ cookie sheet or pizza stone. My largest one is 13″ across. I rolled rolled my dough to 13″. I was also not comfortable loading my pizza prior to placing it on the cookie sheet/pizza stone, so I went ahead and placed it on a pizza stone after this step.}
- Crush tomatoes with your hands and spread evenly over the dough. {My adaption: Although the recipe states nothing about draining the tomatoes, I found that they retained too much liquid when pulled and crushed right out of the can. I would recommend draining them before crushing.}
- Arrange cheese and basil leaves evenly on the tomatoes. {My adaption: My family is a huge fan of oregano, so we added fresh oregano, as well.}
- Place pizza on a cookie sheet and bake about 10 minutes or until cheese bubbles.
My pizza dough box instructions recommended baking the pizza dough for 20 minutes, while the recipe stated 10 minutes. I baked my pizza on the center rack for 15 minutes. The middle of the crust wasn’t quite as crunchy as I like mine typically, but a few more minutes in the oven would have fixed this.
I served this pizza to my family for lunch. I was surprised by how professional my pizza looked. I actually impressed myself. The flavors of the pizza were delicious. The Classico™ Whole Peeled Pear Tomatoes with Fresh Basil had a fresh taste that I haven’t experienced with other canned tomatoes that I have used in the past. Classico canned tomatoes are 100% all-natural,and are always packed fresh with no preservatives, and the flavor proved that. I’m always excited to serve all-natural products to my family! Using fresh cheese and herbs complimented the tomatoes and made the pizza extra tasty.
This recipe is a keeper in our family. It was truly easy to make, and I can see myself throwing this together in the middle of taking care of babies. I plan on scouring the Classico tomatoes website for other fresh, healthy recipes, too! Their site also has a full product listing and fresh recipes that go with each product!
Have you ever tried Classico tomatoes in a dish?
“I am a member of the Collective Bias® Social Fabric® Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study forCollective Bias® and Classico #cbias #SocialFabric #CookClassico. As always, all opinions are my own.”
I have never made my own pizza! This looks wonderful! I’m totally going to have to give it a try.:)
My favorite pizza!
This looks so yummy! I seldom eat pizza, but next time I make it I’m giving this recipe a try. Thanks for sharing.
this looks delicious!!!
Natasha @ http://www.serenityyou.com
I loooove making pizza’s with my kids for lunch. This looks fantastic!
We love homemade pizza! I’ve never tried Pizza Margherita before but I know my family will love it!
Comfort food at it’s finest! I got to make Pizza Margherita at King Arthur Flour, last summer. We baked it in their brick fire oven and it was extraordinary! Your recipe looks delish!
Wow, this looks so delicious!!! Your pics and post are great!!!
Ooh, it looks delicious!! We have never made pizza at home but I’d sure like to try it!
This looks so yummy. I will have to try this.
That pizza looks absolutely delicious! I love making homemade pizza with my family. It tastes so much better than ordering out- YUM.
Now I have a craving for some Margherita Pizza. Yours looks yummy!
Yummy. That looks so good. I love making homemade pizza for dinner!
wow looks good. i want to make homemade pizza too 😀
Looks delish! Now I want to make my fam some homemade pizza tonight. Thanks for sharing Melanie!
Looks so yummy!
Oh my goodness! You have me wanting to make homemade pizza! I love making pizza this looks amazingly good! Visiting from DearCreatives.com & now following you.
We love homemade pizza at our house! We’ll have to give these tomatoes a try!
This looks so delicious! Thanks for sharing! Have a great week :),
-Kayla
This looks amazing!
Just saw your link over at Lady Bird Lane and thought I’d come check out this link. This pizza looks so yummy! Definitely going to try it 🙂
Shauna {The Best Blog Recipes}
http://thebestblogrecipes.blogspot.com/
This is so great! My husband loves this pizza. This would be a great V-day meal for him. Thanks so much for posting!
XOXO
Dee
So yummy Melanie! Margherita pizza is one of my faves, although i have not made it from scratch before (i really like trader joe’s). 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
I love margherita pizza. It’s so simple but yummy.
Yum, looks delicious! Homemade pizza is the best way to go!