Bold, creamy, rich, and slightly spicy
This pizza is without a doubt one of my favorite combinations. A classic red sauce topped with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese provides a base for briny, crushed Castelvetrano green olives, rich and creamy cubes of feta cheese, and a generous sprinkle of spicy red pepper flakes. The feta begins to caramelize and char lightly on the edges but remains bold and creamy in the center, and trust me, once you start crushing your olives you'll never go back to slicing them! This rich and slightly spicy combination takes regular pride of place in our standing Friday night pizza rotation.
Let's talk about the green olive, feta cheese, and red pepper flake toppings for a moment
Green olives
I love to use Castelvetrano green olives for this pizza. They are firm enough to hold up to the high heat of the oven and offer a mild, sweet, and butter flavor. I like to buy them pre-pitted to make this dish super easy to prep, and love to crush them by hand, rather than slice them so you can enjoy a more concentrated bite of olive without them rolling off the pizza as it tucks into the oven.
If you can’t find Castevatrano olives a decent substitute is green Cerignola olives, which are also firm and buttery. If neither option is to be found, this recipe works well with green Manzanilla olives, which are readily found in most grocery stores, often stuffed with red pepper. This option is much brinier and slightly bitter compared to the Castelvetrano olive, but will still be delicious in this recipe if you’re having trouble finding the others.
Feta cheese
I prefer to use Greek block feta in brine for this recipe when possible. The saltwater brine helps to ensure that the feta stays fresh and creamy and also elongates the life of the feta, which is nice if you plan to tuck it in the fridge for a few extra days before baking. If you are unable to find Greek block feta in brine, the vacuum-packed blocks are also perfectly reasonable to use in this recipe, though they may be slightly less creamy. I would avoid pre-crumbled feta for this dish as it tends to be drier and less flavorful than block feta -- and I really love being able to bite into a big creamy cube of feta after it's been lightly oven-charred!
Red pepper flakes
A generous sprinkle of red pepper flakes makes this pizza extra delicious and helps balance the brininess of the olives and the rich creaminess of the feta, so don’t be tempted to omit them. The amount you use is really up to you (and your own heat tolerance) but I like to use at least ½ teaspoon or more on this pizza to give it a little kick of spice.
WHAT ABOUT THE PIZZA CRUST?
I prefer to use this Easy Same-Day Pizza Dough recipe to make this Green Olive and Feta Pizza, but if you have a preferred pizza crust recipe of your own or want to grab some pre-made dough from the store, feel free to use those as well.
WHAT TEMPERATURE IS BEST TO BAKE PIZZA AT?
Your aim is a perfectly golden crust and nicely caramelized toppings, so the hotter the better. Many professional pizzerias keep their ovens heated to 800 degrees F or higher, but most home ovens only reach temperatures between 500-550 degrees F so this recipe is created with those constraints in mind. I bake my pizzas at 500 degrees F / 260 degrees C and get wonderful results. If your oven tops out at 450 degrees F / 232 degrees C, I have tested that temp many times over as well and it works well, though you’ll want to plan on a few extra minutes in the oven, especially if your pie is piled high with toppings.
REHEATING PIZZA LEFTOVERS
It would be cliche if I made a joke about leftovers and pizza right now, so we’ll just skip that and assume you didn’t eat the entire pie for a moment. My two favorite methods for reheating pizza so it retains its crisp crust while remelting the cheese is in the oven or in a cast-iron pan on top of the stove.
Oven method: Bake on a sheet pan at 350 F / 175 C for 10 minutes or until pizza has reached your desired level of warmth and crispness.
Stovetop method: Set pizza in a cast-iron pan over medium-low heat. Allow to cook until the crust has reached your desired level of crispness. If the cheese isn’t melted enough for your taste you can add a few drops of water to the pan (away from the pizza) and cover the pan for a minute or two to allow the steam to melt the cheese further.
WHAT TOOLS DO I NEED TO MAKE THIS RECIPE?
- A cutting board
- A chef's knife
- A baking sheet
- Parchment paper
- A kitchen scale or measuring cups (for less precise measurements)
- Measuring spoons
- A rolling pin (only if you prefer an evenly thick pie) otherwise your hands are your best tool
- A spoon or spatula (to spread the sauce)
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Green Olive, Red Pepper, and Feta Pizza
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 16 minutes
- Total Time: 26 minutes
- Yield: 1 large pizza 1x
- Category: Pizza, Mains
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This pizza is without a doubt one of my favorite combinations. A classic red sauce topped with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese provides a base for briny, crushed Castelvetrano green olives, rich and creamy cubes of feta cheese, and a generous sprinkle of spicy red pepper flakes. The feta begins to caramelize and char lightly on the edges but remains bold and creamy in the center, and trust me, once you start crushing your olives you'll never go back to slicing them! This rich and slightly spicy combination takes regular pride of place in our standing Friday night pizza rotation.
Ingredients
- ½ recipe Easy Same-Day Pizza Dough
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz tomato sauce
- ¼ tsp garlic powder (can omit in favor of using garlic-infused olive oil for the olive oil portion above, if intolerant)
- ¼ tsp Kosher salt
- 6 oz (about ¾ cup) mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 1 oz (about ⅓ cup) parmesan cheese, shredded
- 100 g (about 1 cup) Castelvetrano olives, crushed (Cerignola is a good alternative, but may also sub for Manzanilla if unable to find)
- 4 oz (about 1 cup) feta cheese block in brine, cut into small cubes
- Red pepper flakes to top (I prefer to use at least ½ teaspoon or more, but the amount is really up to you and your own heat tolerance)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F / 260 degrees C and set a baker’s half sheet to the side.
- Shape your dough. If you prefer a classic pie-shape with a thicker crust compared to the center of your dough, I suggest hand-stretching your dough. If you prefer your pizza to be an even thickness, I suggest rolling your dough out with a rolling pin.
- If you are hand-stretching your dough:
- I like to rub a small amount of olive oil into my hands first; this allows me to shape the dough easier without it ripping accidentally from friction.
- Press the dough down with the palm of your hand into a disk shape, then use your fingertips to gently press down on the dough disk, further flattening it.
- To further extend the dough, I prefer to press one palm on top of one side of the dough and with the other hand lift the alternative side of the dough and gently work the dough outward, pulling very gently with the tips of my oiled fingers (like a very discrete “come hither” motion) to slowly stretch the dough out. Rotate slightly and repeat until the dough is shaped and stretched to your liking. If you find that the dough starts to snap back or is beginning to tear, allow the dough to relax for a minute or two before proceeding again. Transfer your stretched dough to a sheet of parchment paper.
- If you are using a rolling pin:
- I prefer to place my dough between two sheets of parchment paper to avoid the dough sticking to my rolling pin, but if you prefer you can also sprinkle a bit of flour over the dough ball as well as wiping some over your rolling pin by hand to prevent sticking instead. Once the dough has been rolled to your preferred size and shape, peel the top layer of parchment paper off (if using). The bottom layer that the dough is resting on can be utilized for your baking sheet. If you find that the dough starts to snap back or is beginning to tear, allow the dough to relax for a minute or two before proceeding again.
- If you are hand-stretching your dough:
- Transfer your shaped dough to the reserved baking sheet.
- Brush olive oil onto the pizza dough lightly and evenly. This can be done with a pastry brush or the back of a spoon
- In a small bowl combine tomato sauce, salt, and garlic powder, if using (see notes below). Pour over the top of the pizza dough and using the back of a spoon spread the sauce out evenly over the dough.
- Top the pizza with mozzarella, then parmesan, sprinkling evenly across the top. Then top with green olives, feta, and red pepper flakes.
- Bake for 16-22 minutes or until the crust has reached your preferred level of crispness and the feta cheese is beginning to brown on the edges. I find that pizzas that have a thinner topping layer take less time to bake and heavier-topped pizzas generally take a bit longer to bake so watch your pizza closely after the 16-minute mark and adjust as desired.
Notes
Nutritional information on Whip & Wander is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼th of the pizza
- Calories: 522
- Sugar: 5 g
- Sodium: 1355 mg
- Fat: 22 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Carbohydrates: 54 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 27 g
- Cholesterol: 34 mg
Keywords: pizza, feta, green olive, red pepper
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