Ham and Cheese Pizza is such a classic combination of flavours. This is the perfect meal at the end of a long day, it’s quick and delicious and can be served with some great additions to make it even more special. Make your next Fakeaway pizza night a Ham and Cheese Pizza night – you’re going to love it.
Historically, the pizza hails from Italy possibly from sometime in the 18th century. Fast forward to modern times and the concept of delicious toppings added to a bread base has spread throughout the rest of the World. You can’t hold a good idea back.
Ham and cheese is a popular combination. It’s the pairing of the ham with the saltiness of the cheese that makes it a winner but don’t underestimate the effect that a good tomato sauce or herbs can have in making the finished dish sublime. Simple is often the key to great food.
What you need to know about this Ham and Cheese Pizza Recipe
This recipe is incredibly straightforward. You will need a pizza base, tomato pizza sauce (Why not make your own sauce? This recipe is really easy, quite delicious and doesn’t rely on you remembering to pick up any with the grocery shopping.), mozzarella cheese and ham.
What are you waiting for?
A few good reasons for making this pizza
The best reason of all for making this pizza is that it’s absolutely delicious. Combining ham and cheese gives you an awesome pizza. The ham and gooey melted cheese on top of a good pizza base is just delicious, the flavours and textures go so well together and it is so easy to make.
Have I mentioned that it comes together really fast.? Once you have the ingredients to hand you can have it on the table within half an hour. Make an accompanying salad whilst it’s cooking in the oven and you have a feast ready in no time.
It also uses fairly ordinary everyday ingredients. I’ll talk about possible substitutions and variations later but this is quite a versatile recipe that you can use again and again.
About Pizza Bases
Making a good pizza requires a good pizza base. If you’ve got a little time available t allow a bread dough to rise then why not make your own? The pizza base in our Margherita Pizza recipe would be perfect for the job.
Otherwise, get yourself a pizza base of around 12 inches (30 cm) and use that to load up with the tomato pizza sauce and the mozzarella, cheese and ham toppings. This recipe is to top off one pizza base so if you’ve company and need more than that then use the ‘recipe card’ below to scale up the amounts for you.
Making a perfect Ham and Cheese Pizza
Ingredients
Gather your ingredients together.
- Pizza bases – a 12-inch pizza will feed 2 adults if you serve it with other things such as salad or jacket potatoes. Use ready-made, shop-bought pizza bases for a really quick meal or snack. Make your own if you have the time.
- Tomato sauce – Use a well-flavoured tomato sauce or make your own like our recipe for a no-cook tomato sauce.
- Mozzarella cheese – use 1/2 a ball of mozzarella cheese for one 12-inch pizza base.
- Ham slices – use 2 or 3 slices of thinly sliced ham such as prosciutto (good for authenticity)
- grated parmesan cheese – a tablespoon is enough for one 12-inch base, but if your taste buds require more, feel free to add more.
- Optional toppings – this recipe is really for a fairly straightforward Ham and Cheese pizza but feel free to add a few olives or some chopped peppers, fresh rocket leaves. Roasted peppers from a jar work well but you need to rid them of as much liquid as possible so that do not make the pizza soggy.)|
Step-by-Step Instructions for Making Ham and Cheese Pizza
This may seem like a lot of steps but it is really very easy to do and the results are both impressive and delicious.
Step 1. Begin by gathering your ingredients together. Preheat the oven to 180C Fan oven/200 C/390F.
If you’ve made your own dough, roll out the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface to your desired thickness. If you are using pre-made bases then place these on your work surface.
Step 2 – Place the rolled-out dough or the pre-made bases onto a pizza stone or baking sheet. I use a baking pizza tray, that’s the kind with the little holes in the base. It helps ensure a non-soggy base for a finished pizza as it cooks more evenly than a baking sheet alone. However, a baking sheet will do a good job.
Step 3 – Spread a generous amount of tomato sauce evenly over the dough, leaving a small border around the edges. I tend to use about 80mls of pizza sauce and I generally make my own pizza sauce using this no-cook pizza sauce recipe. I find it helps to spread the sauce out using the back of a spoon – it makes it a little easier to do without tearing at the dough.
Step 4 – Sprinkle a layer of shredded mozzarella cheese over the sauce.
Put the pizza into the preheated oven and bake until the crust turns golden brown and the cheese is bubbly and melted.
Step 5 – Baking the pizza should take about 15-16 minutes but judge the pizza’s ‘doneness’ by its colour. Keep an eye on it as it bakes.
Step 6 – Remove the pizza from the oven and tear over the ham slices and then dress it with a few rocket leaves (arugula) (Adding rocket leaves is entirely optional but you may like it – I love their peppery flavour on pizza.).
Step 7 – Finish the pizza off by adding some finely grated parmesan before slicing and serving.
Enjoy!
Experiment with other pizza flavours
Time to be brave…
Yes, this is a Ham and Cheese pizza recipe but there are so many variations you can make with this basic recipe to make it the ultimate ham and cheese pizza as far as you are concerned.
Here are some of my ideas;
- Experiment with different types of cheese like a delicious mature cheddar, Gouda, or provolone to add a unique twist to your ham and cheese pizza.
- For a smoky flavour vibe, consider using thinly sliced smoked ham.
- Sprinkle a few chilli flakes for a little fiery heat. Always good.
- How about a drizzle of Sriracha hot sauce? Not authentically Italian perhaps but it always adds an interesting dimension to food.
- Sprinkle some dried oregano, thyme or basil on top of the pizza for a touch of extra herbiness. The pizza sauce probably already contains some herbs and garlic so you’ll just be emphasising those flavours a little more.
- Try adding a few other vegetables such as roasted peppers from a jar or a few mushrooms but resist going too wild you don’t want to risk making the pizza soggy if there’s a lot of moisture coming out of the vegetables.
F.A.Q’s
Definitely! Using pre-made pizza dough can save you time and effort. It’s easy to find at the supermarket and it makes pizza-making pretty convenient.
Certainly! While ham is what you’d expect on a Ham and Cheese pizza you can experiment with other meats like bacon, pepperoni, chorizo, smoked sausage or even garlic sausage to really make this recipe your own.
Yes, you can and turning this into an equally delicious vegetarian pizza is easy to do. Just omit the ham and perhaps add a few mushrooms or some roast pepper for flavour as a flavour replacement. I frequently do this as I have both vegetarians and meat eaters to cater for at home.
Yes, you can freeze leftover ham and cheese pizza. Wrap individual slices or the entire pizza in cling film/plastic wrap or aluminium foil, place it in an airtight container or freezer bag, and store it in the freezer for up to three months. To reheat, simply thaw in the refrigerator and warm in the oven until piping hot.
If you have any leftovers they can be stored safely for 3-4 days in the fridge, providing that you refrigerate the pizza within 2 hours of it coming out of the oven. If you reheat it, you should take care that it is piping hot before eating to avoid any discomfort or stomach upsets.
Yes, you can. You either need to purchase a gluten-free premade pizza base or make your own using gluten-free flour.
Serving your Delicious Pizza
Whether you have used this recipe to create your own Ham and Cheese Pizza or whether you’ve made a vegetarian version there are a few things you can serve it with to make it even more special.
- garlic bread – easy to make or buy ready-made, plus it’s quite delicious.
- green salad – lots of fresh salad leaves simply dressed with perhaps a little lemon juice and ground black pepper.
- If you’re particularly hungry I think that pizza goes really well with jacket potatoes – is that just me?
So, there you have it Ham and cheese pizza. It combines two absolutely fantastic flavours, whether you’re making the recipe as written or adding your own personal touches the combination of gorgeous creamy cheeses with the savoury saltiness of ham is delicious. Use premade bases and it becomes a time-saving recipe that will give you a feast. So treat yourself and enjoy!
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Ham and Cheese Pizza Recipe
Equipment
- 1 pizza tray
- 1 spoon for spreading the sauce
Ingredients
- 1 pizza base a premade or homemade pizza base of about 12-inches
- 1/3 cup pizza sauce commercial pizza sauce or homemade
- 2 ham slices proscuito is a good choice for pizza as it is cut thinly
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- 1 tbsp parmesan cheese finely grated (shredded)
- 1 rocket leaves Use a small handful of arugula/rocket leaves (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C Fan oven/200 C/390F.
- If you've made your own dough, roll out the pizza dough on a lightly floured surface to your desired thickness. If you are using pre-made bases then place these on your work surface.1 pizza base
- Place the rolled-out dough or the pre-made bases onto a pizza stone or baking sheet. I use a baking pizza tray, that’s the kind with the little holes in the base. It helps ensure a non-soggy base for a finished pizza as it cooks more evenly than a baking sheet alone. However, a baking sheet will do a good job.
- Spread a generous amount of tomato sauce, (approximately 1/3 cup or 80mls) evenly over the dough, leaving a small border around the edges. It helps to spread the sauce out using the back of a spoon – it makes it a little easier to do without tearing at the dough.1/3 cup pizza sauce
- Either tear or shred (grate) the mozzarella cheese over the pizza base.1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
- Put the pizza into the preheated oven and bake until the crust turns golden brown and the cheese is bubbly and melted. This should take about 16 minutes but judge the pizza’s ‘doneness’ by its colour.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and tear over the ham slices and dress it with a few rocket leaves (Adding rocket leaves is entirely optional but you may like it – I love their peppery flavour on pizza.), add some finely grated parmesan cheese before slicing and serving.2 ham slices, 1 rocket leaves, 1 tbsp parmesan cheese
Notes
Nutrition
Why not Pin this recipe today for your next Fakeaway pizza night?
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