This burrata pizza is full of cheesy goodness and authentic Italian flavor! This rich and creamy cheese is the ultimate pizza topping.
Are you ready for this? Rich and creamy burrata cheese is one of life’s greatest pleasures. (At least, in our opinion!) So why not put it on a pizza? Here’s the ultimate burrata pizza recipe: a traditional Margherita pizza with gooey burrata cheese on top. It tastes like the best pizza you’ve had: but at least 10 times better. Alex and I have been perfecting the art of the artisan Naples-style pizza for over ten years, and this one is a new favorite. Here are a few tricks for how to make the best burrata pizza!
What is burrata, exactly?
Burrata is an Italian fresh mozzarella cheese with a surprise inside: the center is filled with cream! The creamy interior also contains cheese shreds, called straciatella. Cut into the ball and the creamy cheese comes spilling out. This cheese originated in Southern Italy; now it’s served all over the country and world. Alex and I first tried it on our honeymoon in Italy and have been huge fans ever since.
Burrata is higher in fat content than normal mozzarella and most other cheeses because of its creamy center. In fact, the word burrata comes from the Italian word burro, which means butter: referring to the buttery texture of this fancy cheese.
The tricks to how to make burrata pizza
Here’s the thing. Burrata has a lot of liquid inside. When you add burrata cheese to a pizza, you run the risk of it turning into a watery mess. There are a few different methods people use for adding burrata to pizza: some put it in dollops right onto the crust. Others place the whole ball of burrata on top of the pizza after baking, and cutting it distributes the cheese all over the pizza. Here’s the trick to how to make this burrata pizza (which we think is pretty perfect):
- Cook the pizza with shredded mozzarella cheese first. This gets the crust browned and a base layer of cheese melted. If you put the burrata on in the beginning, it would become too watery by the end of the cook time.
- Add torn pieces of burrata in the last 3 minutes. Yes, you’ll actually pull the pizza out of the oven, add the burrata chunks, and then bake it again. You’ll pull it out just when the burrata melts into a gooey uniform layer!
A 5 minute pizza sauce that tastes like Italy
The best way to make this burrata pizza taste like Italy: make our Easy Pizza Sauce and Pizza Dough! This pizza sauce is one of our favorite recipes on this website. Every time we make it, it amazes us. Here are the secrets to this sauce:
- Use fire roasted tomatoes. These tomatoes are roasted, so their flavor is sweeter and more developed right out of the can. If you can’t find them, use the best quality tomatoes you can find.
- Whiz them in a blender with garlic, olive oil and spices. All you need to do is give the ingredients a quick spin in the blender and it’s done. Give it a taste, and you’ll melt.
Homemade pizza dough is always worth it
The other key to burrata pizza is the pizza dough! These recipes are ones we’ve honed over years and years to make sure they have the best texture and flavor. Here are the options, in order of preference:
- Master pizza dough! This Best Pizza Dough has the absolute perfect flavor and texture. We recommend trying this one at least once in your life. It is sublime.
- Thin crust. Try this Thin Crust Pizza Dough! It’s easy to roll out into a thinner, crispier crust.
- Pan pizza. An American style option: make it as a pan pizza in a cast iron skillet! It takes a little longer, but it’s an easier method.
- Naan or flatbread pizza. For easy weeknight pizza! Try Naan Pizza or Flatbread Pizza.
A pizza stone makes the best burrata pizza
The master pizza dough or thin crust dough taste best if you cook them on a pizza stone. If you want authentic-style Italian pizza, this is your best bet. Why?
- Pizza stone: A pizza stone is what makes Italian pizza crust crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Here’s the best pizza stone we’ve found, plus care tips.
- Pizza peel: Use a pizza peel to transfer the pizza onto the hot pizza stone in the oven. We recommend this Standard pizza peel or this Conveyor pizza peel.
And that’s it! All of our tips for making the best burrata pizza…ever. If you’re a pizza connoisseur, you can also use a pizza oven: head to our Pizza Oven post. This is how you get the beautifully charred crust. But full disclosure: we recently learned a trick where you can ditch the pizza oven. Make the pizza in your standard oven, then use a blow torch to char the crust and a bit of the cheese! That’s what we used here, and it worked like a charm.
More great pizza recipes
This burrata pizza is in our pizza hall of fame. Here are a few more pizza recipes that are in the top echelon for us:
- Homemade Margherita Pizza As good as it gets! Here’s how to replicate that artisan-style pizza from Italy (based on our research in Naples).
- Best Healthy Pizza Sweet caramelized bell peppers, Parmesan cheese and arugula make an extraordinarily tasty and wholesome pizza.
- Truffle Pizza If you love truffle flavor, this one is deliciously decadent.
- Homemade Cheese Pizza This one’s an American-style, good old cheese pizza.
- Best Ever Taco Pizza A big favorite! Top with refried beans, then crushed tortilla chips and ranch.
This burrata pizza recipe is…
Vegetarian.
Print
Classic Burrata Pizza
(5 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
-
Prep Time: 1 hour -
Cook Time: 5 minutes
-
Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
-
Yield: 8 slices - Diet: Vegetarian
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe Description
This burrata pizza is full of cheesy goodness and authentic Italian flavor! This rich and creamy cheese is the ultimate pizza topping.
Ingredients
- 1 ball Best Pizza Dough (or Thin Crust Dough)
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup Easy Pizza Sauce
- 3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese
- 1 4-ounce ball burrata cheese
- Fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Make the pizza dough: Follow the Best Pizza Dough or Thin Crust Pizza Dough recipe to prepare the dough. (This takes about 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes to rest.)
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (here’s the pizza oven we use).
- Make the pizza sauce: Make the Easy Pizza Sauce recipe. (You’ll use about 1/3 cup for the pizza; reserve the remaining sauce and refrigerate for up to 1 week.)
- Bake the pizza: When the oven is ready, dust a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use a rimless baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. But a pizza peel is well worth the investment!) Stretch the dough into a circle; see How to Stretch Pizza Dough for instructions. Then gently place the dough onto the pizza peel.
- Spread a thin layer of the pizza sauce over the dough, using about 1/4 to 1/3 cup. Add the shredded mozzarella cheese. Top with a thin layer of fresh grated Parmesan cheese and a few pinches of kosher salt.
- Use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, about 3 minutes. While the pizza is baking, break the burrata into small chunks and place it in a bowl.
- Add the burrata cheese: Use the pizza peel to pull the pizza out of the oven. Working quickly, spread the burrata chunks evenly over the dough. Place it back in the oven and cook 3 to 5 minutes until the cheese is melted.
- Allow the pizza to cool for a minute before adding the basil on top (whole leaves, lightly torn, or thinly sliced). Slice into pieces and serve immediately.
Category: Main Dish
Method: Baked
Cuisine: Italian inspired
Keywords: Burrata pizza
A Couple Cooks - Healthy, Whole Food, & Vegetarian Recipes
Pin Recipe
Pin Recipe
Pin Recipe