Cooking for Students Tomato and Basil Pizza

Quick Tomato and Basil Pizza

Posted on September 2, 2015 by Cooking for Students

College students live on pizza. When there is no time for dinner, they order a pie. The thing is, who wants to waste money on pizza every night? It tastes good but it not very nutritious. You can make a much better pizza on your own with the help of store bought pizza dough, grape tomatoes, fresh basil a quick pizza sauce and cheese. Not only is this a quality pizza but it is healthy. It isn’t greasy, is not high in fat and highlights the fresh ingredients perfectly.

What’s in it?

  • Store bought pizza crust, consider using whole wheat
  • 3-4 fresh basil leaves, torn
  • 2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
  • Shredded mozzarella cheese, low fat
  • Dried oregano
  • All purpose flour, for dusting

The Sauce

  • 1 8 oz cant tomato sauce
  • 1 garlic clove, chopped
  • ½ tablespoon onion powder
  • Pinch of oregano
  • Salt and black pepper, to taste

*Serves 4-6

How’s it made?

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  2. Line a large pan with foil or parchment.
  3. Make the sauce by adding all the sauce ingredients into a blender or food processor except for the salt and pepper. You just want to blend the garlic into the sauce.
  4. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Feel free to cook the sauce over medium heat to enhance the flavor even further if you have the time.
  5. Set the sauce aside.
  6. Lightly flour your work surface and press out the dough with your hands. You want the crust to be thin so it gets crisp when baked.
  7. Transfer the dough onto the baking sheet.
  8. Spread as much pizza sauce as desired.
  9. Sprinkle with cheese.
  10. Add the halved grape tomatoes on top.
  11. Finish with torn basil leaves and a pinch of dried oregano.
  12. Place into the oven and bake according to the packaging instructions. Crust should be crisp and golden brown.
  13. Remove from the oven, cool and cut into slices.

This pizza is fresh tasting, so filling and delicious. Every bite is crispy, the sauce is flavorful, the grape tomatoes are sweet and the cheese is nice and melty. This pizza is way better than the one you usually have delivered and it costs much less. If you miss the meat, feel free to add pepperoni, sausage or chicken. This pizza presents an opportunity to use leftovers and clean out your fridge.