Quick and easy caprese pita pizzas, cooked in a skillet! With tomatoes, mozzarella, basil, and pita bread.
Please welcome guest contributor Sheryl Julian who shares this drop-dead easy way of making pizza in a skillet with pita bread! ~Elise
Rather than yeast dough, these skillet pizzas are made on rounds of pita bread, which make an ideal pizza base because they’re thin but sturdy enough to hold toppings.
The pizzas take just minutes to assemble and cook, and you don’t even have to turn on the oven. They’re a great option for pizza night when you don’t want to make dough yourself or order take-out.
Pitas come in many sizes, from 8 to 12 inches across. Any size will work as long as it fits in your skillet. You’ll need at least one pita for each person.
Use kitchen shears to open the pitas and then cut them in half to make two rounds. This makes a thin and crispy crust for your pizza.
With the rougher side of the pita facing up, pile the rounds with fresh mozzarella and ripe tomatoes, and then cook your pizzas one at a time in a hot skillet covered with a lid.
The pizzas cook best in a heavy skillet. Cast iron is great, but a heavy nonstick pan is fine. Use any lid that covers the pan; it doesn’t have to match the pan or be airtight. If you have two skillets, you can even invert one and use it as the lid!
Once the cheese melts, sprinkle the pizzas with finely cut basil and serve right away.
The French word for that pretty heap of finely cut basil leaves is “chiffonade,” though you can just tear the leaves with your fingers if a chiffonade feels too fussy for you. Sprinkle the basil over the pies just before serving so the basil stays bright green and aromatic.
Mozzarella and Tomato Skillet Pita Pizzas Recipe
- Prep time: 5 minutes
- Cook time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings (2 rounds each)
Ingredients
- 4 pita rounds, 8- to 12-inches
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh mozzarella
- 4 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 1 pint mixed cherry tomatoes, halved
- Olive oil, for sprinkling
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Large handful fresh basil leaves
Method
1 Prepare the pita rounds: Use scissors to cut around the edge of each pita to make two thin rounds. Separate the rounds and set them on baking sheet with the rough sides facing up.
2 Cut the mozzarella: Use a thin, sharp knife to slice the mozzarella as thinly as possible. It doesn’t matter if you don’t make even or perfect rounds.
3 Assemble the pizzas: Divide the mozzarella among the pitas. The cheese doesn’t need to cover the rounds completely. Add a few slices of the large tomatoes, enough to almost cover the mozzarella. Fill in the gaps with cherry tomatoes. Drizzle with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper.
4 Cook the pizzas: Heat a cast-iron or other heavy skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes, until a flick of water sizzles and evaporates on contact. Add 1 pizza round and cover the pan. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the mozzarella melts at the edges. Use a wide metal spatula to lift the pizza out of the pan and transfer to a plate. Cook the remaining pizzas in the same way. (If you have more than one skillet, use them to cook several pizzas at once.)
5 Cut the basil: While the pizzas are cooking, prepare the basil. Stack the leaves on top of each other, then roll them up into a tube. Use a sharp knife to slice the tube thinly across. With your hands, fluff up the basil to separate the shreds. (Alternatively, just tear the basil with your fingers.)
6 Finish and serve: Sprinkle the hot pizzas with a pinch of salt and basil. Serve immediately.
