This will be your new go-to Greek pizza recipe!  You can easily customize the ingredients and enjoy freshly baked pizza right out of the oven any time of the day from the comfort of your home. With this easy recipe, there’s no need for a rolling pin or pizza stone. Simply press the dough into the baking pan, add your favourite toppings, and bake in the oven for only 10 minutes!

The creamy feta cheese, mozzarella and cheddar cheese melt into the Mediterranean toppings as the pizza bakes perfectly in the oven to create a crispy, flavourful crust and chewy interior.

Homemade pizza is so much easier to make than you think, especially when using store-bought dough, and I love that you can prep the toppings and dough ahead of time.

INGREDIENT NOTES

Pizza dough:  I love using store-bought pizza dough because it saves so much time, but if you have a couple of hours, homemade dough is always an option. You can find fresh dough from your local pizza restaurant, Whole Foods (sometimes they have fresh dough, but they also have it in the frozen section), or your local specialty grocery stores. 300 grams of pizza dough will stretch into a 12″ pizza pan and produce a thin crust-style pizza.

If you’re using frozen pizza dough, make sure to let it thaw overnight in the fridge or at room temperature. No pizza dough? No problem! You can easily substitute pita, flatbread, or naan bread.

Ground beef:  I recommend lean or extra lean ground beef. The ground beef should be fully cooked before adding it to the pizza, but try not to overcook it because the ground beef will cook more in the oven.

Garlic butter: Combine room-temperature butter and grated garlic cloves.  You can also use roasted garlic powder instead of garlic cloves or buy ready-made garlic butter from the grocery store. Mix it all together, and then use garlic butter as your base for this pizza instead of classic tomato sauce.

If you’re not ready to switch it up, then you can use tomato pizza sauce instead of garlic butter.  Or make half with pizza sauce and half with garlic butter to see what you like best.

Tomatoes: You can use cherry tomatoes (sliced in half or quarters), Campari tomatoes, Roma tomatoes, or any type of tomatoes you like or have on hand. I find cherry tomatoes are easy to slice and work really well because they add a little sweetness and bursts of flavour.

Kalamata olives: You could also use green olives or black olives, but you’ll want the olives to be pitted (where the pit has been removed) and sliced.

Red onion: You can slice or dice the red onions.  But it’s best not to slice the onions too thin because they will burn under high heat.

Mixed cheese: You can use whichever brand of cheese you love, but I’d recommend using high-quality mozzarella cheese, cheddar cheese, and crumbled feta. I find that good quality cheese tastes better and doesn’t turn dark brown/burn under high heat, and melts beautifully into the pizza.

While you can save time using pre-packaged mixed shredded cheese, I think you’ll get better results using a box grater and shredding your own mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Pre-packaged shredded cheese can be really dry, so it doesn’t melt as well.

Fresh basil (optional): Sprinkle some chopped fresh basil on top after the pizza comes out of the oven.

Optional toppings: Fresh veggies like green peppers, fresh spinach, red peppers, or mushrooms would all be delicious additions to this Greek pizza. I love to drizzle some hot honey on top for a little sweet and salty combo! I love how easily customizable homemade pizza is.

RECIPE TIPS

• Allow the pressed dough to rest on the sheet pan for at least 30 minutes at room temperature. Lightly press the dough to create little dips.  Once it’s at room temperature, the dough will be easier to stretch out.
  
  
  
• Grease the bottom and sides of the pan with olive oil.  Don’t skip out on the olive oil.  This will add so much flavour and give you that crispy, golden brown crust.  Once the dough is ready, simply press and stretch the dough to fill the baking pan or pizza pan.
  
  
  
• Spread out the toppings and cheese evenly on the pizza.  Some veggies have more water in them (tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers, spinach). While still delicious, an excess amount of these ingredients will tend to produce a soggier pizza.​
  
  
  
• Leave a little bit of the dough exposed around the edges for the crust. Use your fingers to press gently to form a crust around the edges.
  
  
  
• The temperature of the oven needs to be very hot. I am usually impatient when preheating the oven, but you really need to ensure the oven is hot before baking the pizza. Because the oven temperature will be really hot, I would recommend keeping an eye on the pizza while it’s in the oven. Depending on your oven, you may need to rotate the pizza halfway through. Bake the pizza on the middle rack for the best results.

HOW TO MAKE GREEK PIZZA: STEP-BY-STEP

STEP 1: Press the pizza dough. Grease the bottom and sides of a 12″ pizza pan with olive oil.  Flatten or roll out the pizza dough into a circle and place it in the greased pan. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

Step 2: Cook the ground beef. Heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the ground beef and break it into smaller pieces using a wooden spoon or spatula. Season with dried oregano, roasted garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the beef is fully browned and no pink remains. Remove from heat and set aside.

STEP 3: Prepare the toppings. Preheat your oven to 450-500 degrees F on bake. While the dough rests, you can cook the ground beef and prep the onions, tomatoes, olives and shredded cheese.  In a frying pan, cook the ground beef with seasoning salt, garlic powder, black pepper, and dried oregano.

Make sure the ground beef is fully cooked before adding it to the pizza. The vegetables can go on raw, so there is no need to cook them first. Grate the mozzarella and cheddar cheese using a grater. In a small bowl, mix room-temperature butter with minced garlic.

STEP 4: Add the fresh toppings. Use your hands to press the pizza dough to fill the pan.  Press the dough into the sides to form a crust. Use your fingers to press into the dough to create little bumps. Spread the garlic butter on top of the pizza dough.

Sprinkle the top of the dough with half the amount of mixed cheese and crumbled feta.  Top with the cooked ground beef, diced tomatoes, onions, and black olives, and sprinkle with the remaining amount of mixed cheese and crumbled feta cheese.

STEP 5: Bake and cut the pizza. Once your oven is preheated, bake the pizza on the middle rack for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly. Using oven mitts, hold the baking dish with one hand, and with the other hand, slide a large knife under the pizza. Lift the pizza out of the dish and transfer it to a cutting board.

Let the pizza rest for a couple of minutes before slicing. If you don’t have a pizza cutter (who does, right?), a large chef’s knife works perfectly. Cut vertically down the center, then horizontally in the middle, and finally, cut between the slices to make eight pieces.

Carefully move the sliced pizza to a cooling rack or pizza tray with holes to let the steam escape and prevent the bottom from getting soggy. Finish it off with a sprinkle of parmesan, a drizzle of hot honey, red pepper flakes, or fresh chopped basil.

HOW TO RE-HEAT PIZZA

Store any leftover pizza in an airtight container for up to four days in the fridge.  To reheat pizza so that the crust is crispy, it’s best to reheat leftover pizza in the oven.  To do this, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F on bake, and place the leftover pizza in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the pizza is warmed through.  If you’re in a hurry, then you can reheat any leftover pizza in the microwave, but it will be softer and not as crispy.

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