This Four Cheese Margherita Pizza recipe is so easy and so delicious! Actually, this is our favorite. We pretty much only eat margherita lately and while we love a classic margherita, this one is packed with so much flavor it’s hard to not make it.
There’s something especially wonderful about how the cheeses work together. The first time we made the pizza and I threw that feta on top I thought, this could be pushing it, that may be too much cheese.
But is there ever too much cheese?
Or bread?
Or pizza? I mean, come on.
The dough is a Neopolitan crust which means super thin. We prefer thin, crispy and chewy crust. And we loooove the marinated tomatoes. It makes the pizza even more awesome! They only take a quick soak, and if you leave them too long they will start to break down too much, but trust me, they are totally awesome.
In the end it’s a dang good four cheese margherita pizza so what more can I say other than, just trust me on this one and make it for your family asap!
Ingredients for 4 Cheese Margherita Pizza Recipe
Can you guess which 4 cheeses go into this cheese quadfecta? Yes, that is a word…I just looked it up! Here is the list of the ingredients you will need ending with the quadfecta…
Thin Crust
- Flour (baker’s flour or 00 flour), Water, Sea Salt, Sugar, Instant Yeast
Topping
- Olive Oil – classic on a marg pizza and marinates the tomatoes
- Garlic – adds flavor to the tomatoes
- Sea Salt – flavor
- Roma Tomatoes – sliced thin
- Mozzarella Cheese – you can use shredded or fresh
- Fontina Cheese – shredded
- Basil – fresh is best with a nice chiffonade, you could also put whole leaves on top instead
- Parmesan Cheese – freshly grated is preferred
- Feta Cheese – buying a block of feta and crumbling it yourself is far cheaper than buying the pre-crumbled
The full recipe with the measurements and detailed instructions can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.
What is a Margherita Pizza?
Margherita pizza is pizza in its simplest and purest form imho…and it’s the best. It is usually made with a San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, fresh basil, salt and extra-virgin olive oil. We are going to jazz this one up with a few more cheeses.
What is a San Marzano Tomato?
San Marzano tomatoes are a variety of plum tomatoes. Plum tomatoes are a type of tomato used for making sauce.
They are generally oval or cylindrical in shape, and generally higher solid content, with less juice. You can find them crushed, diced and whole in the canned tomato aisle, and they are usually a little more expensive than the other tomatoes but it is worth every penny.
Are Roma Tomatoes the Same as Plum Tomatoes?
Roma tomatoes are also known as Italian tomatoes or Italian plum tomatoes. We love the flavor of Roma tomatoes and how they soak up the flavor of the marinade.
The Cheese Quadfecta
The blend of all these flavors is like actual heaven, but you can omit one or two if you want. It’s totally versatile, but I’m telling you…the quadfecta is magic!
- Mozzarella: the classic pizza cheese, it’s creamy and mild in flavor, and it gets super gooey when it’s melted
- Fontina: rich and creamy with a pungent flavor and mild nuttiness and butter tones
- Parmesan: a hard cheese that is strong in flavor
- Feta: a crumbly cheese that is sharp, tangy and salty
Each one has its role and purpose, and I love the combo of all four!
How to Reheat Pizza?
Heat a heavy skillet to medium and add a drop of oil. Place the pizza in the skillet, and cook for 2 minutes, until the bottom is crisp.
Turn the heat to low and add 2 drops of water along the edge of the skillet, not next to the pizza. Cover with a lid for 1 minute, until the cheese is melted.
Of course if you’re in a hurry and don’t want to go to the effort, just zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds.
How Long Does Margherita Pizza Keep?
Store in an airtight ziploc bag and this pizza will keep for 4-5 days in the fridge. It also freezes really well. Let it cool completely and then place on a baking dish in a single layer and freeze for an hour or so. Then place all the pieces in a ziploc bag. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Is it possible to have too much cheese?? No, I say! A margherita pizza is simple, but add some extra cheeses and you have a margherita pizza recipe that has leveled up. You’re going to absolutely love it!
Four Cheese Margherita Pizza Video
More PIZZA RECIPES You Must Try:
- Classic Margherita Pizza
- Pesto Pepperoni and Sausage Grilled Pizza
- Elote Mexican Corn Grilled Pizza
- Pepperoni Pizza Stuffed Crescent Rolls
- Pepperoni Pizza Dip
- Homemade Pizza Sauce
- Zucchini Pizza Crust
- Pulled Pork Pizza
- Grilled Garlic Naan Pizza
- All our Pizza recipes!
Four Cheese Margherita Pizza
Ingredients
Thin Crust
- 1 batch Homemade Pizza Crust
Topping
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 4 tomatoes, Roma, sliced
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 4 ounces fontina cheese, shredded
- 1/4 cup basil leaves, fresh, chopped
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
- 1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled
Instructions
Pizza Dough
- Make one batch of our favorite homemade pizza dough per the instructions in that post.
To make the Pizza
- Stir together olive oil, garlic, and sea salt; toss with tomatoes, and let marinate for 15 minutes, but no more than 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Brush each pizza crust with some of the tomato marinade.
- Sprinkle the pizzas evenly with Mozzarella and Fontina cheeses.
- Place tomatoes on top of cheese, then sprinkle with shredded basil, Parmesan, and feta cheese.
- Place baking stone in 6 min before and then remove and place pizza on stone and into the oven.
- Bake 10-12 min or until slightly golden and bubbly!
Jody
Hi please explain the tomatoe marinade thanks is it just garlic and eco and salt and how long to marinate it
Sweet Basil
Hi Jody! Yes, you just place the sliced tomatoes in a container and pour the marinade ingredients over the top (olive oil, salt and garlic). Let them sit for 15-20 minutes and then place the slices on top of pizza before baking.
Amol Singh
Nice Article
Jason Calendar
What did i just see? This makes me cheat on my diet. Damm, it looks so delicious. Now I am gonna try this.
Sweet Basil
Hahahha…sorry! At least margherita pizza is a healthier pizza option! Enjoy!
Vikas Singh
I’ve used two quarters of dough instead of one for each crust to make it less thin.
Sweet Basil
That’s perfect if you love a good thin crust!
february
Delish—i used refrigerated basil from a jar and it was a perfect addition. I will be making this one again not only for dinner with soup or salad but a perfect party appetizer.
Sweet Basil
Love to hear that! Thank you!
Kay Spencer
I have to say that this is one of the best pizza recipes that I’ve ever made. I’ve made many of your recipes and have never been disappointed, but this one was awesome. As another person commented, you don’t miss the pizza sauce because of the marinated tomatoes. As an aside…I chopped my tomatoes up really small for the marinade and spread a good amount of them on the crust before adding the cheeses, and it made up for the lack of sauce. Thanks again for a great recipe!
Sweet Basil
Thank you so much Kay! And I love the idea of chopping them of really small. Totally trying that next time!
Rachel
Is the all purpose flour called for bleached or unbleached?
Sweet Basil
We use unbleached but either is fine. 🙂
Lisa
This is absolutely delicious! We had pizza weekend with this recipe because my husband, who is pizza eater, wanted more.We used your crust recipe on another pizza recipe in which, to me, the crust makes or breaks a pizza. Loved using my baking stone for this! Give us more pizza recipes! Thank you for sharing!
Sweet Basil
Well we can easily make that happen! We love pizza and thank you for the sweet comment!
Michelle
Oh wow oh wow! This is actually my recipe, with a recipe for the crust added. I am just thrilled to see it shared on your site and am glad so many people love it as much as my family does! Thanks for the great compliment!
Sweet Basil
Hi Michelle,
Is it just really close? We got a similar recipe from a friend (olive oil instead of with garlic in the tomatoes, no feta or salt) and we adjusted it because we needed to use the feta. Dang, I thought I was being so original 🙁 At least great minds think alike!! I’d love to see your recipe sometime, it must be delicious haha!
Stephanie
I made his pizza tonight and have been making it for years, also just without the homemade crust. I found this site bc I was searching for the recipe to pin, but yes, this exact recipe (minus crust) is on allrecipes with 400+ reviews, so def not original just FYI ? I don’t care one by as it is divine pizza and tha is all that counts, just saying since I saw the above comments on the originality. Will have to look around your site, I am sure we have similar tastes ?
Sweet Basil
Well dang! Now I’m googling it! We had changed our friend’s recipe which didn’t use parm or feta so I bet she had changed her’s removing those two! 🙁 Now we feel so lame!
Sweet Basil
In fact, shoot us the link if you get a chance and we will add credit 🙂
Leanne
I really want to make this recipe, it looks so good! I just am a little confused – are the toppings listed supposed to be divided among 4 pizzas, or are the toppings for one pizza?
Sweet Basil
It’s for one pizza. 🙂
Deanna Jones
This four cheese margarita pizza looks superb. I like that you added shredded basil leaves to add flavor and to use it as a decorative topping. It looks really nice with the pepperoni, and it makes it look like more than a typical pepperoni pizza. Tonight is pizza night in my house, so I’m very excited to try this out. Thanks for posting this recipe!
JLS
I must try this next time I’m home cooking!
Sweet Basil
You’ll love it.
Gordon
OK…! I’ve TRIED this pizza!
I have to say, I was a little skeptical on reading the recipe, because the recipe has no TOMATO SAUCE in it! Just the fresh (albeit marinated) tomatoes. I’d always thought that the tomato sauce was an integral – not to say VITAL -part of a pizza. But tonight I decided to throw caution to the wind and follow this recipe! You only live once! 😉
Er… FABULOUS!
Let me say… this is a delicious pizza recipe. I love it. It has the air of one of those “rustic” or “high-end” pizzas that you can get in the pizzerias – not your standard “American Hot” or “Meat Feast” pizzas, that (to my mind at least) give pizzas a bad name. This is tasty, rustic, yummy pizza that I am DEFINITELY adding to my list of favourite recipes!
The lack of tomato sauce is really not an issue. You get all the “tomato twang” you need from a pizza in the marinated tomatoes that go on the top. This is a real classic that will appeal to discerning pizza enthusiasts who can step out of the “Pizza Hut” fayre and go for something a little bit rustic and which has more character. Very, very nice.
Two points though…
1. You don’t mention whether the dough should be rolled out with a rolling pin or stretched by hand. I actually stretched it by hand because that’s the way I always do my pizze.
2. Any ideas as to what I can do with the left-over marinade? Make a salad dressing perhaps? Marinade some MORE tomatoes? Spread it on a taco?
Ta for yums!
Sweet Basil
Gordon, thank you for your awesome comment! We loved reading it. Yes, we stretch our dough as well and we’ve been using the leftover marinade for everything. I store it in a jar for a week and whenever I need oil I just use the garlic oil. It’s awesome to brush on bread for paninis, or I’ll start a sauce with it instead of butter. 🙂
Katherine
We made this tonight… it was awesome!! I wish the crust did not take so long but we will be making this again. Thanks
Al
Amy, The Blond Cook, posted this and I had to try it. Thanks for sharing! So easy to make and what a great party pizza!
Sweet Basil
No, way! That’s so fun. I’ll have to go check it out and I totally just had the last slice for lunch so perfect timing 😉
Amy @ The Blond Cook
Pizza is my ultimate weakness! Margherita is one of my faves… yours looks incredible (love the 4 cheeses!) and I’m making it soon. Just pinned & shared! 🙂
Sweet Basil
thank you!!!
Aggie
Oh I love homemade pizza! And margarita is my favorite! Am bookmarking this recipe! Looks delish!