Burrata Cheese Pizza with Pesto
Published Jul 06, 2021•Updated May 13, 2025
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Don’t let anyone to tell you to break up burrata cheese and cook it on top of a pizza. You’ll loose all of the incredible flavor and texture of creamy burrata! You might as well use mozzarella if you’re going to cook it. Instead, make your pizza like this – top a hot, fresh out of the oven pizza with a ball of fresh burrata and slice it up to get a little on each slice. This Burrata Cheese Pizza with Pesto will make you a pizza + burrata fan for life.
Let’s just get something out of the way. When I started looking for a burrata pizza recipe most of what I found were recipes that instructed you to break the burrata up and cook it on top of the pizza. And while you can certainly do this, you’ll be squandering that pricey ball of burrata cheese. Cooking the burrata makes it lose the creamy center that makes it so unique.
Everything else about this pizza recipe is straightforward and gives this pizza a date-night-worthy vibe that is worthy of the few extra dollars you’ll spend to treat yourself to creamy, fresh, rich burrata cheese.
Oh – and the other special element of this pizza? It’s the crispy prosciutto. It’s one of my favorite salty, savory toppings. You can find it elsewhere on this site in my summer salad with peaches and crispy prosciutto or puff pastry pinwheels.
What is Burrata?
Burrata is an Italian-style fresh cheese that resembles fresh mozzarella. It is white and comes in balls, but unlike mozzarella, burrata has a firm outer shell of mozzarella and a center that is very creamy and spreadable.
Burrata is really having a moment in the food scene right now but it used to be difficult to find. Now many grocery stores sell it in small tubs, packed in liquid just like mozzarella. Look for it in single large balls or in smaller balls – any type will be great on pizza.
Can you cook Burrata cheese?
Yes – to be clear, you can absolutely cook burrata cheese. But should you? Absolutely not. Cooked burrata on pizza has a very similar texture to cooked mozzarella. If you want melty cheese on your pizza, save some money and just use mozzarella. Burrata is best served fresh, not cooked. If you cook it you will lose that creamy, spreadable center filling that is what makes this cheese so special.
That’s why, to make a burrata pizza, it’s best to add the burrata after the pizza is cooked. Slice it up and spread it around a bit to get a little on every slice.
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Pin It NowIngredients for the pizza
- Pizza Dough – Keep things simple and grab store-bought pizza dough for this “fancy” pizza. I love the whole grain pizza dough from Whole Foods, but any type will work. If you want to make homemade dough, I’ve been loving this Rachel Ray version.
- Pesto – If you happen to have access to loads of fresh basil, make homemade pesto, or just grab some pre-made pesto at the grocery store. Any pesto that’s sold fresh in the chilled section will likely be better than the shelf-stable versions sold in with other canned goods.
- Prosciutto – Buy thinly sliced prosciutto pre-packaged or ask for it at your deli counter. The thinner the better because it will crisp up more quickly. This salty cured Italian meat pair so well with the other Italian ingredients in this pizza. Want to make it vegetarian? Just skip the prosciutto.
- Baby Arugula – Use a small handful of fresh baby arugula to add some color and peppery spice to the finished pizza. A few leaves of fresh basil would be great if you prefer them over arugula.
- Black Pepper and / or Red Pepper Flakes – I love some fresh black pepper or red pepper flakes (for spice) over the top of this pizza. Feel free to skip this if you prefer, but it adds some nice finishing flavor.
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Burrata Cheese Pizza with Pesto
Equipment
- Pizza Stone
- Pizza Peel
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 1 pound Pizza Dough (use your favorite store-bought or homemade)
- 1/3 cup Pesto, store-bought or homemade, plus more for serving
- 4 ounces thinly sliced Prosciutto
- 8 ounces Burrata Cheese (see note)
- 2 ounces Baby Arugula
- Black Pepper or Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Instructions
- If using store-bought or homemade dough that has been refrigerated, set it out on a lightly floured surface and let it rest for 30 minutes before making pizza. (The gluten in the dough will relax as it comes to room temperature, making the pizza easier to shape.)
- Heat oven: Preheat oven to 500°F / 260°C. If using a pizza stone, be sure it is in the oven as the oven heats up.
- Prepare pizza dough by stretching it out on a piece of parchment paper.
- First bake (5 minutes): Transfer the parchment paper with the pizza dough to a sheet pan or slide it onto the hot pizza stone (if using). Bake for 5 minutes. (This gives the crust a head start and helps it to hold up to the toppings.)
- Add toppings: Spread the dough with a thin layer of pesto. Top with prosciutto in a single layer.
- Second bake (10 minutes): Bake pizza until crust is golden brown and prosciutto is crisp, about 10 minutes.
- As soon as the pizza comes out of the oven, top it with burrata cheese. (Note: You can use your hands to gently tear apart the burrata, fanning it out over the top of the pizza so that some of the creamy center is on every slice. Top the pizza with arugula.
- Slice pizza, cutting through the burrata and continuing to spread it over the slices of pizza. (It will be messy and imperfect, but will taste great!) Top the pizza with fresh cracked black pepper or red pepper flakes (for some spice) if you’d like. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Delicious!