Prosciutto & Arugula Pizza

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This delicious, upscale pizza recipe with fresh prosciutto and arugula is easier than it looks and makes the perfect date night dish!
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We love pizza. We both grew up on east coast pizza, we’ve traveled through Chicago for some deep-dish, and now we’re on the hunt for some delicious pies in Southern California.

The problem is, it’s hard to find pizza around here that compares to the delicious New York-style east coast pizza we love. So instead of trying to replace the style of pizza that is near and dear to our hearts, we’ve been trying a lot of different pizzas with an open mind.

Prosciutto and arugula pizza on a pizza tray

Our quest for good pizza, which has taken us all the way from Ojai to San Diego so far, has inspired us to be more adventurous with our at-home pizza recipes. One of the best local pizzas we had recently was a prosciutto arugula pizza, so we decided to make our own version of it!

Our Prosciutto & Arugula Pizza, much like the pizza that inspired it, is an upscale date-night dish that uses fresh, high-quality ingredients for tons of flavor. But even though it’s a specialty pizza, it’s still pretty easy to make! Store-bought dough and an easy homemade pizza sauce form the base for just three simple toppings: mozzarella cheese, prosciutto, and baby arugula.

A GIF showing how to make prosciutto and arugula pizza
Here are a few tips for making the perfect Prosciutto Arugula Pizza:
  • Use a slightly thinner layer of pizza sauce for a tasty, subtle tomato base that doesn’t distract from the bold flavors of the prosciutto and arugula
  • A high-quality prosciutto sliced fresh from the deli packs a ton of salty flavor into this pizza (we tried making it with pre-packaged prosciutto once, and it just wasn’t the same)
  • Chop the prosciutto up into small chunks for topping the pizza so it gets nice and crispy
  • Brush the crust with butter and seasonings before cooking (our secret trick for adding some extra flavor to store-bought dough!)
  • Wait until the end of cooking to top the pizza with fresh arugula – then put it back in the oven for another minute or two until the arugula is slightly wilted

This flavorful, fun, upscale pizza will wow your taste buds and show off your cooking skills to anyone you’re looking to impress. Try making our recipe below for a date night activity or dinner surprise and let us know what you think in the comments!

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Prosciutto & Arugula Pizza

This delicious, upscale pizza recipe with fresh prosciutto and arugula is easier than it looks and makes the perfect date night dish!
Servings 8 slices
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes

Ingredients

The Base

  • 1 lb store-bought pizza dough*
  • ¼ cup flour for dusting
  • cup Pizza Sauce* see ingredients below
  • 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

Pizza Sauce

  • ¾ tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ tsp minced garlic
  • cup crushed tomatoes
  • ¼ cup tomato puree
  • ¼ tsp sea salt
  • Pinch dried basil

The Toppings

  • ¼ lb prosciutto*
  • 2 to 3 handfuls baby arugula

The Crust

  • 1 tbsp butter melted
  • Garlic powder to taste
  • Onion powder to taste
  • Oregano to taste
  • Sea salt to taste

Instructions

Pizza Sauce

  • Heat olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add minced garlic and sauté for about 1 minute, or until fragrant.
  • Add crushed tomatoes, tomato puree, sea salt, and basil. Stir to combine and let cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  • Transfer sauce to a dish to cool slightly before using.

Prosciutto & Arugula Pizza

  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Chop prosciutto into small chunks.
  • Scoop some flour into a bowl and set it next to your working area. Lightly dust a with flour, spreading it around evenly. Then dust your palms with flour and stretch the dough, using both hands, until it is roughly the size of the pan. Use additional flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.*
  • Lay your stretched dough on the pan and lightly flour the bottom surface, reaching a hand gently underneath it, to prevent the dough from sticking to the pan.
  • Spoon up to 2/3 cup of pizza sauce onto the dough a little at a time, spreading it around with the back of a spoon. Continue until the dough is covered with a thin layer of sauce, leaving about a 1-inch border for the crust.
  • Next, sprinkle handfuls of mozzarella cheese onto the pizza. We recommend starting from the edges and working in towards the center, using a lighter hand, and then adding more cheese where needed to fill in the gaps.
  • Generously top the pizza with prosciutto.
  • Finally, season the crust. Lightly brush the crust with melted butter, then sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder, oregano, and sea salt.
  • Bake for approximately 16 minutes, or until crust starts to turn golden and cheese is bubbly and lightly browned.
  • Top the pizza with a few handfuls of baby arugula and bake for another 2 minutes.
  • Let cool for at least 2 minutes before slicing.
  • Gently loosen pizza from the pan with a metal spatula. Then slice, serve, and enjoy!

Notes

Pizza dough: Feel free to use any kind of pizza dough for this recipe – fresh or frozen (or even homemade if you’re feeling ambitious!). Our favorite store-bought dough is the Whole Foods brand. Just remember to leave the dough out for about 1 hour before working with it so that it reaches room temperature.
Pizza Sauce: We make our own pizza sauce, but you can always use store-bought to make this recipe a little bit easier.
Prosciutto: We recommend using either fresh prosciutto from the deli, or a high-quality packaged prosciutto, for the best flavor.
Stretching the dough: For some helpful tips and more detail on stretching the dough, check out our Buffalo Chicken Pizza recipe! (Note: we used our 14″ round Wilton pizza pan for this recipe, instead of a rectangular baking sheet.)
Baking pizza: Pizza can be finicky and cooks at different rates depending on the hydration level of your dough, your oven’s actual temperature, and other factors. We recommend keeping an eye on your pizza as it cooks and using visual cues to tell when it’s done – use our time estimates as a rough guide.
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Author: Nicole
Calories: 330kcal
Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main, Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: arugula, date night, mozzarella, pizza dough, prosciutto, summer

Nutrition

Calories: 330kcal | Carbohydrates: 34g | Protein: 14g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 36mg | Sodium: 904mg | Potassium: 236mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 533IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 164mg | Iron: 3mg

If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.

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