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Anchovies on pizza? It’s a classic flavor combination that’s seriously good! Here’s how to make an Italian style anchovy pizza.
Anchovies on pizza? There’s a reason that real Italian pizza has anchovies: these little fish are chock full of savory, salty, umami flavor. Even better, anchovies are some of the most nutritious and sustainable fish on the planet! They’re full of Omega 3’s and protein. So why not add a few to your pizza? Anchovy pizza is a classic Italian dish that’s elegantly simple and perfect with a simple salad and a glass of wine. Here’s our best anchovy pizza recipe!
Anchovies on pizza
Wait: is anchovy pizza good? This is what I asked Alex when he told me he wanted to create an anchovy pizza recipe. Before he answered, he told me there’s a bigger reason for using anchovies. Alex read up on these little fish and found that they’re slightly more sustainable than bigger fish: they’re lower on the food chain and require less energy for growth. Also, fisheries for anchovies have the lowest greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. They’re also a great source of omega 3-fatty acids and micronutrients like iron, magnesium and zinc.
There are lots of ways to incorporate anchovies in your diet: but why not on a pizza? It’s a classic Italian way to bring salty, savory flavor to dishes, and this pizza totally delivers. So is anchovy pizza good? It’s seriously, good. Here we’ve accessorized the anchovies with tangy Kalamata olives and the fresh bite of red onion. It’s elegant and sophisticated: serve it with a side salad and a glass of frose and you’ve got one fantastic meal.
How to make the best anchovy pizza
To make the best anchovy pizza need a few special tools. If you’re interested in truly great pizza, you need two tools to make the perfect pizza crust:
- 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 recommend, and a bit more on pizza stone care.
- Pizza peel: A pizza peel is used to slide the pizza onto the hot pizza stone in the oven. We recommend this Standard pizza peel or this Conveyor pizza peel. The conveyor is absolutely worth the extra investment since it makes it very easy to slide the pizza out of the oven.
How to make great Italian pizza dough
To make the best anchovy pizza, you’ve got to start with a good Italian pizza dough. Here are out top tips:
- Use great flour. The flour we use is called Tipo 00 flour; it’s what Neapolitan pizza restaurants use. It makes for a beautiful, supple and fluffy dough.
- Use a great pizza dough recipe! Our Best Homemade Pizza Dough is our preferred method; we make it in our stand mixer but you can also knead it by hand. Our Easy Thin Crust method is similar but makes a thinner dough that you roll out. Or for even easier methods, you can try Sheet Pan Pizza or Cast Iron Pizza.
Video: How to make pizza dough
And that’s it: all our tips for making the best anchovy pizza recipe at home! Let us know if you give it a try in the comments below.
Looking for more pizza recipes?
Outside of this anchovy pizza recipe, here are some of our favorite pizza recipes:
- Best Margherita Pizza
- Pesto Pizza
- Veggie Pizza with Avocado
- Italian Pizza with Pesto
- Perfect Neapolitan Pizza
- Artichoke & Cherry Tomato Pizza
- Spicy Vegetarian Diavola Pizza
- Loaded Mexican Pizza
- Our Best Vegan Pizza
- Egg Pizza with Pecorino
- Easy Calzone Recipe
- Homemade Easy Pizza Sauce
- KitchenAid Pizza Dough Recipe
- Best Pizza Stone & Best Pizza Oven
- All Homemade Pizza Recipes!
This anchovy pizza recipe is…
Pescatarian. (All of our other pizzas above are vegetarian!)
Best Anchovy Pizza
Anchovies on pizza? It’s a classic flavor combination that’s seriously good! Here’s how to make an Italian style anchovy pizza.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 7 minutes
- Yield: 8 slices 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1 ball Best Pizza Dough (or Food Processor Dough or Thin Crust Dough)
- ⅓ cup Best Homemade Pizza Sauce
- 2 to 3 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
- 6 anchovy fillets from a jar or can
- 8 Kalamata olives
- 1 handful thinly sliced red onion
- Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, for grating
- Semolina flour or cornmeal, for dusting the pizza peel
Instructions
- Make the pizza dough: Follow the Best 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 5 Minute Pizza Sauce.
- Prepare the toppings: If using fresh mozzarella cheese, slice it into ¼ inch thick pieces (see the photo). If it’s incredibly watery fresh mozzarella (all brands vary), you may want to let it sit on a paper towel to remove moisture for about 15 minutes then dab the mozzarella with the paper towel to remove any additional moisture.
- Thinly slice the red onion.
- 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 the pizza sauce over the dough using the back of a spoon to create a thin layer. Add the mozzarella cheese, anchovy fillets, Kalamata olives and red onion. Top with a thin layer of grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese.
- 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 5 to 7 minutes in the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven). Slice into pieces and serve immediately.
