Make a puttanesca pizza inspired by the classic Italian pasta dish. This pizza is filled with anchovies, olives, capers, and pecorino cheese.
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If you've never heard of puttanesca, it's a pasta dish from the Italian region of Campania made with tomato, anchovy, olives, and capers. I learned how to make this dish while going to culinary school in Italy.
While in school, my friend Erica made an amazing puttanesca-inspired pizza. It had all of the same components of the pasta dish but in pizza form.
I was so inspired by her pizza that I decided to create my own version of puttanesca pizza. This recipe uses a Neapolitan-style crust paired with spicy tomato pizza sauce, and lots of briny toppings (like olives and capers).
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What You'll Learn In This Recipe
- Helpful tips for making the best Italian pizza such as how to stretch the dough.
- The important toppings and components to achieve a similar taste to puttanesca pasta.
- Cooking instructions for both a home oven and a pizza oven.
Need more topping ideas to make the best Italian-inspired pizzas? Grab my list of 85+ Italian pizza topping ideas.
Ingredients You Need
When selecting ingredients to make an authentic Italian pizza, always use high-quality, in-season produce.
- Pizza dough: I prefer to make pizza dough at home (it has so much more flavor). However, a store-bought pizza dough will also work and help you save time.
- Mediterranean olives: I like the taste that comes from the mix of flavors with green and purple olives. If you prefer black olives, feel free to substitute.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Always use good-tasting, high-quality extra virgin olive oil. Learn more about how to pick out a bottle of olive oil.
- Capers: Drain the capers before making the sauce.
- Lemon juice: I always love squeezing fresh lemon juice for the best flavor.
- Anchovy paste: I find anchovy paste easier to use and store compared to tins of anchovies. However, either will work.
- Garlic: Always use a fresh clove of garlic.
- Spicy pizza sauce: Feel free to substitute for classic pizza sauce if you aren't a fan of spice.
- Pecorino cheese: This type of cheese is made from sheep's milk, and it's known for having a very salty taste. If you can't find pecorino, you can substitute for equal parts of parmesan cheese.
Check out the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and exact measurements.
How To Make This Recipe
Before you begin making the pizza, remove the dough from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature. You'll also want to begin preheating your oven.
1. First, let's make an olive "sauce". This contains all the classic puttanesca pasta ingredients that flavor the pizza.
Add the olives, olive oil, capers, lemon juice, anchovy paste, garlic, and black pepper to the container of a high-powered blender. Cover and blend for 30 seconds until all ingredients are finely chopped.
2. Once you've shaped the pizza dough (you can check out the recipe card below for helpful instructions and tips), spread a layer of spicy tomato sauce on the bottom of the dough.
3. Next, top with the olive mixture.
4. Finally, add pecorino cheese on top. Then, you can bake the pizza until the crust is golden brown and the cheese has melted.
Once the pizza comes out of the oven, garnish with a sprinkle of dried oregano.
Expert Tips
- Want to check that your pizza is fully cooked? You should be able to hold up the entire pizza with only 3 fingers to show that the crust is perfectly baked.
- Always make sure the pizza crust has come to room temperature before stretching.
- The secret to amazing pizza is cooking at a high temperature. If you're using a home oven, be sure it's properly preheated before baking. I love using my Ooni pizza oven to achieve that perfect leopard-spotted crust.
Recipe FAQs
I love using my Ooni pizza oven. It gives the pizza that leopard print browning and perfectly cooks the crust.
However, you can also use a home oven and cook the pizza at a high temperature on a pizza stone (see instructions below).
Sure! Even though puttanesca is traditionally made with pecorino cheese, parmesan cheese will still taste delicious. It just won't have as salty of a bite as pecorino.
Round pizzas come with practice. If you notice your pizza isn't perfectly circular, don't worry, it will still taste delicious. Keep working on your technique for stretching pizza. You have to allow gravity to help you stretch the dough.
More Pizza Recipes
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating in the recipe card below. Don't forget to follow along on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest for more recipes.
Italian Puttanesca Pizza
Equipment
- pizza stone or pizza oven
Ingredients
- 1 (9.9 ounce) pizza dough
- ¼ cup pitted Mediterranean olives drained
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon capers drained
- 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon anchovy paste
- 1 clove garlic
- pinch finely ground black pepper
- flour for dusting
- ¼ cup spicy pizza sauce
- ⅓ cup finely shredded pecorino cheese
- dried oregano for garnish
Instructions
- Remove the pizza dough from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature. Arrange the oven rack to the center of the oven. Place a pizza stone on the rack, then heat oven to 450°F (230°C). Allow the oven and pizza stone to preheat for at least 30 minutes. Alternatively, heat a pizza oven to 810°F (432°C).
- Add olives, olive oil, capers, lemon juice, anchovy paste, garlic, and black pepper to the container of a high-powered blender. Cover and blend for 30 seconds until all ingredients are finely chopped.
- Lightly flour a clean work surface. Grab pizza dough and cover both sides in flour. Flatten dough ball slightly with your hands, then use your fingers to make an indent for the crust. Once the dough is circular, use the outer palm of your hand to continue stretching the dough until it reaches a 13 inch (33 cm) circle with even thickness. To help stretch the dough, hang it on your knuckles and allow gravity to pull it downwards.
- Ensure that there is sufficient flour underneath the pizza dough, then build the pizza directly on a pizza peel or the hot pizza stone dusted with cornmeal.
- Spread a layer of spicy tomato sauce on the bottom of the dough, followed by the olive mixture. Top with pecorino cheese.
- Bake for 10 - 14 minutes until the crust is golden brown. If you are using a pizza oven, bake for 60 - 90 seconds, rotating as needed, until the crust is golden brown and the bottom of the dough is fully cooked. Once the pizza comes out of the oven, garnish with dried oregano.
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