A triple-cheese delight, this three cheese pizza features a perfectly soft and chewy homemade crust and lots of mozzarella, cheddar, and Parmesan.
Homemade pizza may seem like a daunting thing to attempt at home at first glance, but not anymore! We have the only pizza recipe you will ever need, and bonus: it’s SO easy and perfect for beginner yeast bakers!
It’s also coming armed with three cheeses, in typical fashion around here.
Shockingly though, it’s not even the cheese that makes this pizza all that it is. The homemade crust really does set the tone for a good pizza and that’s exactly what’s happening here.
Anyways, are you ready to kiss that pizza delivery goodbye?? Homemade pizza night is a go!
This Homemade Pizza features…
- A crisp and chewy homemade pizza crust
- Three kinds of cheese including mozzarella, cheddar, and Parmesan
- No mixer needed for dough and a blank canvas for so many toppings
Making the Pizza
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Water
- Active dry yeast
- Honey
- Olive oil
- Kosher salt
- All-purpose flour
- Pizza sauce
- Mozzarella cheese
- Cheddar cheese
- Parmesan cheese
Do I Need a Baking Stone?
While we highly recommend baking pizza on a stone for the best crust texture, this recipe does not require it. We include instructions for both stone baking and using a pizza pan.
Tips for Perfect Pizza
- Use water at 110F degrees – we recommend temping the water to ensure it’s not over 110F. If you use water that is too warm, it will kill the yeast and your dough will not rise.
- Measure flour correctly – we use the spoon-and-level technique for measuring flour as this will prevent over-measuring your flour. Use a spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife.
- Knead dough properly – this step is where we develop the gluten in our dough which is crucial for forming the structure of the rolls. You can knead by hand or use your stand mixer with the dough hook attachment.
- Let dough rise in a warm place – yeast dough loves warm environments for rising. We recommend 75F-80F for a rising environment in your kitchen.
- Bake pizza at high temperature – 450F will give you that perfectly crisp crust exterior.
Freezing Pizza Dough
The dough for this pizza freezes wonderfully if you would like to bake only one pizza and save the rest for later. Follow the recipe instructions through step 4 and once dough has risen, divide in half, place one of the halves in a sealable bag, and freeze up to 2 months.
When ready to bake pizza, remove dough from refrigerator the night before and allow to thaw in refrigerator. Remove dough from refrigerator 1 hour before baking to allow to come to room temperature before rolling out and proceeding with baking.
Topping Suggestions
Try these topping ideas for your pizza!
- Meat – Pepperoni, chicken, sausage, or ground beef.
- Vegetables – mushrooms, onions, sweet pepper, spinach, or garlic.
- Cheese – asiago, Monterey jack, sharp cheddar, or feta.
- Miscellaneous – pineapple, basil, oregano, or hot sauce.
The crust really is the foundation to a good pizza and this simple recipe more than delivers! It’s crisp on the outside, yet soft and chewy inside and absolutely smothered in gooey cheese.
What more could anyone ask of a pizza??
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
More pizza favorites to try next!
- Chicken Alfredo Roasted Red Pepper Pizza
- Cheesy Pizza Focaccia Breadsticks
- Mediterranean Baked Feta Pizza
Three Cheese Pizza
This recipe may included paid links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 1-1/3 cups warm water (110F)
- 2-1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
Sauce and Toppings
- 1 cup pizza sauce
- 3 cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
- Your choice of toppings: pepperoni, sausage, cooked chicken, peppers, pineapple, onion, etc.
- Red pepper flakes and dried basil for topping, optional
Instructions
Pizza Dough
- Place warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook OR a large bowl. Dissolve yeast in water and let stand 5 minutes until foamy.
- Mix honey and olive oil into yeast mixture until smooth. Add salt and 3 cups flour to bowl and mix on low speed OR with a wooden spoon if making dough by hand until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 2 minutes of mixing (if dough seems a bit wet, add additional flour by the tablespoon until dough pulls away from sides of bowl)
- If making dough in stand mixer, knead dough in mixer on low speed 5-7 minutes until dough is stretchy and elastic. If making dough by hand, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand until dough is stretchy and elastic, about 10 minutes of kneading.
- Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place at room temperature 1 to 1-1/2 hours until dough is doubled in size.
Sauce and Toppings
- Preheat oven to 450F and adjust oven rack to middle. Place a pizza stone on oven rack to preheat (if using stone)
- Turn pizza dough onto a well-floured surface and divide into 2 portions. Roll each portion into an 11-inch circle. Transfer a dough circle to a floured pizza peel if baking pizza on stone (do this part one crust at at time if you're working with one pizza peel) or to two greased 10-inch pizza pans. Fold about 1 inch of edges over to create a thicker crust edge
- Spread pizza sauce over each pizza crust and top with mozzarella, cheddar, Parmesan, and any desired toppings.
- Work in batches for baking pizza. If baking pizza on stone, use the peel to slide pizza onto stone. If baking in pan, place pan in oven and bake pizza at 450F 15-20 minutes until pizza is a deep golden brown. Repeat baking steps with remaining pizza.
- Top hot pizzas with red pepper flakes and dried basil if desired. Use a pizza wheel to slice pizza into wedges and serve immediately while warm. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe tips and photos on 2/22/24.
Jennifer S. says
This looks good, Sara. I agree with you about cheese. My children will eat almost anything if I add cheese. 🙂 I also like lots of toppings and now I’m craving pizza.
Natalie @ Tastes Lovely.com says
This crust looks amazing Sarah! Thanks for the recommendation. Looks like I’ll be making more pizza this weekend : )
Sarah says
Thanks so much, Natalie! LMK how your pizza turns out! 😀
Lucy Gibson says
That pizza you posted looks amazing. The close up of the olives, cheese, and sausage is making me very hungry. I don’t have the time to cook myself so I’ll need to find a good pizza joint.
Sophie says
Very much glad to find your article. I love pizza so much. Never think about this kinds of recipe. I will obviously try this out hope it will make by birthday evening so much special. Thanks a lot for sharing.
mogios wylie says
That pizza you posted looks amazing. The close up of the olives, cheese, and sausage is making me very hungry. I don’t have the time to cook myself so I’ll need to find a good pizza joint.
Pizza Perfect says
The pictures are stunning!!