Best Pizza Toppings

Pizza toppings can be almost anything, but Neapolitan pizza is built around restraint.

The better question is not “How many toppings can I add?” but:

Which few toppings work best together?

Topping quantity is the thing home cooks most consistently get wrong, and the fastest way to recalibrate is to watch a pizzaiolo do it. Class slots go quickly — check live dates before you plan around one.

Best Pizza Toppings

Useful Neapolitan-style toppings include:

• San Marzano tomatoes
• fior di latte
• buffalo mozzarella
• fresh basil
• garlic
• oregano
• anchovies
• olives
• capers
• mushrooms
• sausage
• prosciutto
• salami
• artichokes
• aubergine
• courgette
• peppers
• Parmesan
• olive oil

Traditional Neapolitan Combinations

Margherita

• tomato
• mozzarella
• basil
• olive oil

Marinara

• tomato
• garlic
• oregano
• olive oil

These combinations reveal the basic Naples principle:

good dough + good ingredients + little excess.

Exact weights for both are in our authentic Neapolitan pizza recipe.

Why Fewer Toppings?

The centre is extremely thin.

Too many toppings add weight, moisture and cooking time.

This can cause soggy dough, tearing, undercooked centre and toppings sliding. The thin centre and puffy rim are the defining features of the style — our guide to what Neapolitan pizza is explains why the structure cannot carry much.

Other Naples Food Experiences You Might Enjoy

The quantities below make far more sense once you have seen them measured out by hand. In Naples’ Centro Storico — the UNESCO-listed old town around Spaccanapoli and Naples Cathedral — you can book hands-on Neapolitan pizza classes, classes where you choose your own toppings, wood-fire oven sessions with a working pizzaiolo, pizza and tiramisu workshops, pizza and gelato making classes, and full Neapolitan cooking classes covering pasta and antipasti. Most run 2–3 hours and end with you eating what you made.

Best Cheeses

Fior di Latte

Mild and practical.

Mozzarella di Bufala

Richer and wetter.

Parmesan

Useful in small amounts for savoury depth.

Pecorino

Stronger and saltier.

Provola

Good melting with more pronounced flavour.

The choice between the first two changes how much water reaches the dough — see buffalo mozzarella vs fior di latte.

Classic Topping Ideas

1. Margherita: tomato, mozzarella, basil
2. Marinara: tomato, garlic, oregano
3. Bufala: tomato, buffalo mozzarella, basil
4. Anchovy: tomato, mozzarella, anchovies, capers
5. Mushroom: tomato, mozzarella, mushrooms
6. Prosciutto: tomato, mozzarella, prosciutto
7. Sausage: tomato, mozzarella, sausage
8. Salami: tomato, mozzarella, salami
9. Olive & caper: tomato, olives, capers, oregano
10. Vegetable: tomato, mozzarella, selected vegetables

Best Meat Toppings

Prosciutto

Often best added after baking.

Salami

Adds salt, richness and spice.

Sausage

Works well with mushrooms, broccoli or mozzarella.

Pancetta

Use sparingly.

‘Nduja

Excellent on contemporary Italian-style pizza.

Best Vegetable Toppings

Good choices include mushrooms, aubergine, courgette, peppers, artichokes, onion, broccoli and potato.

Pre-cooking watery vegetables can improve results.

Best Toppings After Baking

Some ingredients are better added after the pizza leaves the oven:

• prosciutto
• rocket
• burrata
• fresh basil
• Parmesan shavings

Best White Pizza Toppings

Try:

• mozzarella + potato + rosemary
• mozzarella + mushroom
• mozzarella + sausage
• mozzarella + courgette
• ricotta + spinach
• provola + mushroom

Vegetarian Pizza Toppings

Easy options include Margherita, Marinara, mushrooms, aubergine, artichokes, courgettes, roasted peppers and olives.

Vegan Pizza Toppings

Marinara is naturally one of the easiest traditional vegan pizzas.

Other toppings include mushrooms, olives, aubergine, peppers, artichokes, capers and onion.

How Many Toppings Should You Use?

For Neapolitan pizza, two to four main ingredients are often enough.

Why Do Too Many Toppings Make Pizza Soggy?

Every topping contributes moisture.

Particularly wet ingredients include fresh mozzarella, buffalo mozzarella, mushrooms, courgette, fresh tomato, spinach and peppers.

Should Toppings Be Cooked First?

Some are fine raw when sliced thinly.

Others benefit from pre-cooking, especially sausage, aubergine, potatoes, thick mushrooms and some peppers.

What Order Should Toppings Go On?

For Margherita:

1. dough
2. tomato
3. mozzarella
4. basil
5. olive oil

Sauce goes on first and goes on thinly — roughly 60–80 g for a 28–30 cm pizza, as set out in our guide to San Marzano tomatoes and pizza sauce.

Home-Oven Topping Advice

Domestic ovens remove moisture less efficiently than pizza ovens.

Use less sauce, well-drained mozzarella, fewer watery vegetables and lighter quantities. How much less depends on the temperature you can actually reach — see our pizza oven temperature guide.

Common Mistakes

• completely covering pizza with cheese
• using wet mozzarella
• adding too many vegetables
• using huge topping pieces
• leaving the topped pizza sitting
• using every ingredient at once

Learning Topping Balance in Naples

A pizza class can be useful because many home cooks are surprised by how little tomato and cheese professionals use.

The class that puts the decision in your hands is the Pizza & Tiramisu Making Class with Drink and Appetizer — you choose your own toppings rather than following a fixed Margherita, and the chef corrects the quantities before it goes into the wood-fire oven. Rated 4.9/5 by 1,008 guests, family-friendly, opening with an aperitivo. If you would rather learn the classic Margherita balance first, the Neapolitan Pizza and Tiramisu Cooking Class (4.9/5, 1,575 guests, from around €20) tops with San Marzano tomatoes, fresh buffalo mozzarella and basil, in that order and no further. For a session that swaps the dessert course for artisan gelato, the Pizza and Gelato Making Class (4.8/5, 400 reviews) runs three hours.

Compare pizza-making classes in Naples →

Frequently Asked Questions

What are traditional Neapolitan toppings?

Tomato, mozzarella, basil, garlic, oregano, anchovies, capers and olive oil are among the classics.

What goes on Margherita?

Tomato, mozzarella, basil and olive oil.

What goes on Marinara?

Tomato, garlic, oregano and olive oil.

Does Marinara contain seafood?

No.

Why is my pizza soggy?

Too much tomato, wet cheese, watery vegetables and insufficient heat are common causes.

Final Thoughts

The best pizza toppings are not necessarily the most elaborate.

Neapolitan pizza teaches that balance matters more than quantity.

Ready to Book?

The Naples pizza making class — dough from scratch, wood-fire oven, pizza and tiramisu — is rated 4.9/5 by 1,575 guests. Classes from €20. Free cancellation up to 24 hours before.