Main dish

Naan Bread Pizza recipe

Name: Naan Bread Pizza
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2
Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil; 2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped; 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400g); a large handful of fresh basil, leaves and stalks sliced; salt and black pepper; 2 x naan breads; 125g buffalo mozzarella; ½ a small onion, sliced; 2-3 mushrooms, sliced; 25g hard cheese, grated (I use Pecorino Romano)

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Naan breads make brilliant pizza bases (thanks, Nigella). Top with a good quality pizza sauce, buffalo mozzarella and any toppings you fancy.

Prep20m
Cook10m
Total30m

cheese pizza vegetarian

I can’t remember how I came to own Nigella Express (affiliate link) but it was the first cookbook I became deeply enamoured with. It’s now 17 years old and I’ve never forgotten lines like:

“All I feel strongly is that while shop-bought pizza bases are vile, packet naans, when heated, are not.”

Pizza bases have come on in recent years. M&S’s woodfired offering is solid and Crosta and Mollica’s comes pre-sauced. Naan bread works a treat, though, and is usually a bit cheaper.

This isn’t quite an express recipe because I make a thick pizza sauce. It’s worth the small amount of effort. Depending on the size of your naans, you’ll probably end up with leftover sauce. This is a good thing (see notes). Sometimes there are just a few spoonfuls left and it’s tempting to use it all. Stop! Over-sauced pizza is unbalanced and a waste of ingredients. Learn from my mistakes. A thin layer is all that’s needed.

This is more of a deep pan than thin crust pizza. It’s incredibly satisfying. I use M&S naans and buffalo mozzarella but any naan and cheese will do. I figure that even if you top the naans with the most premium ingredients money can buy, it’d still come in cheaper than a takeaway.

Notes

My naan of choice is a pack of two tandoori naans from M&S. They’re on the smaller side (see the photo) but that gives you good reason to pull out some side dishes.

Leftover sauce (even if there’s only a bit)

Spread over pittas (top up with ketchup if needed), scatter over grated cheese and grill. Delicious.

Recipe credit

Nigella Express (affiliate link) by Nigella Lawson (although this recipe differs to the original).

Recipe

Naan Bread Pizza

Prep20m
Cook10m
Total30m

Serves: 2

Ingredients

Tomato sauce

1 tbsp olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400g)
a large handful of fresh basil, leaves and stalks sliced
salt and black pepper

Base

2 x naan breads

Toppings

125g buffalo mozzarella
½ a small onion, sliced
2-3 mushrooms, sliced
25g hard cheese, grated (I use Pecorino Romano)

Method

Tomato sauce: Place a medium saucepan over a low heat. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 2-3 chopped cloves of garlic. Fry for a few minutes until the garlic starts to colour.
Add 1 tin of chopped tomatoes (400g) and a large handful of fresh, sliced basil leaves and stalks. Cook on a high heat for around 15 minutes until the sauce reduces and thickens. There should be no watery tomato juice left. Season with salt and black pepper.
Naan pizza: Preheat your oven to 220°C (200°C fan). Cover a large baking tray with tin foil. Place 2 naan breads onto the tray and spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over each naan.
Tear over a 125g ball of buffalo mozzarella. Top with ½ a small sliced onion, 2-3 sliced mushrooms and 25g of grated hard cheese (I use Pecorino Romano). Bake for around 10 minutes (but check after 7). I wait for the cheese to turn golden brown (sometimes 12 minutes). Serve immediately and store any leftover sauce in the fridge for up to 3 days.