Mushroom Margherita Mini Pizza

This mushroom Margherita mini pizza for was the first time I made a pizza in an air fryer and I was so impressed that it took only 5 minutes to cook! Don’t worry if you don’t have an air fryer, you can also cook the pizza in a toaster or regular oven. By “mini”, I am referring to a small pizza roughly 15 cm in diameter. Do you know a small pizza is also called a pizzetta? I only just learned that. One mini pizza will fit most air fryers or a toaster oven nicely, while two mini pizzas will fit an oven tray side-by-side. It is the most ideal pizza size for my solo pizza lunch on WFH days. This pizza recipe is a super fast and easy way to enjoy freshly baked hot pizza with bubbly cheese anytime at home.

Variations:

Mushroom Margherita Mini Pizza Recipe

INGREDIENTS (Mushroom Margherita Mini Pizza)

Mushroom Margherita Mini Pizza Ingredients

  1. Mini pizza bread options. I buy an extra focaccia bread every time I takeaway from Saizeriya. I found it to be the perfect mini pizza base in terms of thickness, size and price.  Besides focaccia, you can use frozen pizza base, pita bread, flat bread, puff pastry and naan. My focaccia bread is about 15 cm – one pizza will fit my air fryer or toaster oven nicely, while 2 breads will fill one oven tray perfectly.If you not using fresh focaccia bread on the same day of purchase, wrap each bread in cling wrap followed by aluminium foil – the frozen bread will keep well in the freezer for months.
  2. Pizza sauce – I am using a two-in-one pizza & pasta sauce. Leftover sauce can be frozen in an ice cube tray.
  3. Fresh mozzarella cheese – I tear the cheese to small pieces by hand. The cheese will melt nicely when baked.
  4. Sliced button mushroom and cherry tomatoes – these are my simple toppings for my pizza.
  5. Garnishes – I used freshly cracked pink salt (optional), fresh basil, red pepper flakes & extra-virgin olive oil.

Before Baking:

Mushroom Margherita Mini Pizza (B4 Baking)
Sometimes I find the motivation to make a dish in the strangest places – When I saw affordable air fryer paper liners at ValueShop, I knew right away that the size of the paper liners are perfect for fitting one mini focaccia pizza in the air fryer. The air fryer paper liners make cleaning up a breeze.

After Baking:

Mushroom Margherita Mini Pizza Recipe
Garnish with pink salt, basil, evoo and chilli flakes.

Mushroom Mozzarella Focaccia Pizza Recipe

If you are baking the pizza in the air fryer, take care not to burn the pizza as the air fryer cooks the pizza really quickly.

Check out the ingredients and step-by-step photos on the previous page.

Ingredients:

  • one mini (about 15cm) pizza base use focaccia bread,  instant pizza base, flat bread, pita bread, puff pastry or naan

Toppings Per Pizza (Estimate by Eye):

  • 1-2 tbsp pizza sauce (or pasta sauce such as marinara sauce)
  • 30g fresh Mozzarella cheese drained, patted dry & torn by hand to small pieces
  • 1 button mushroom sliced thinly
  • 1 cherry tomato sliced thinly

Suggested Garnishes

  • shredded fresh basil
  • freshly cracked (pink) salt
  • sprinkle of red chilli pepper flakes
  • a small drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

  1. Prepare the pizza. Place each focaccia bread on an air fryer paper liner, or two pizzas side-by-side on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Spread the pizza sauce evenly on each bread using the back of a spoon, leaving a small gap around the edges. Top the pizza with torn pieces of mozzarella cheese, sliced mushrooms and sliced cherry tomatoes.
  2. Method 1: Bake in an air fryer. Bake in air fryer for 5 minutes (no need to preheat). If you have a second pizza to cook immediately, reduce the baking time to 4 minutes. If the cheese is not melted, just leave the pizza inside the air fryer for another minute or so, as the hot air inside the air fryer will continue to cook the pizza. Method 2: Bake in oven. Preheat oven to 200°C (392°F). Bake in toaster oven for about 8 mins, or in a regular oven for 10-12 minutes, until the crust is lightly golden and the cheese is melted.
  3. Garnish pizza with fresh basil, a small sprinkle of salt & red chilli pepper flakes and a light drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Cooking Note:

Instead of precisely measuring the ingredients, estimate the ingredients (pizza sauce, cheese, mushroom, tomato etc) required by eye, since this is a small pizza.