Oh for the love of pizza! This post is dedicated to all those that love their pizza and make it at home rather than ordering out!
When I figured out the best way to make air fryer Margherita pizza at home, I was thrilled.

How my air fryer Margherita pizza was unexpected bliss!
Discovering easy and tasty pizza after being air-fried was the first step to an incredible and memory of air frying I will not soon forget.
My air fryer Margherita pizza had a crusty, crunchy exterior and a chewy interior because I had air-fried it to perfection.
But before perfection came a lot of trial runs, and that’s how I arrived at what I consider a texture-rich, not overcooked, not undercooked air fryer Margherita pizza that was unexpected bliss at first bite and taste!
You can jump to the recipe here, but you may mode bode well to just read through before you do that!
Jump to RecipeWhy you will fall in love ♥ with air fryer Margherita Pizza
What I love most about fresh pizza is that it is piping hot when I serve it.
- There is no box to toss out
- you won’t incur a Grub Hub fee nor an Uber Delivery Fee
- you’ll get to eat warm pizza, on demand, so no cold pizza (but maybe some cold brews)
- and of course my favorite: there’s no need to leave the house!
- the resulting texture and taste are amazing.
- air fryer to plate service right at home!
TESTING 1-2-3…Crusts and how to make an air fryer Margherita pizza
When I first got my air fryer, I was enamored with all of the ways I could use that interior basket to cook my favorite foods including pizza!
Naturally, air fryer Margherita pizza was on that list of foods I prepared and worked with to perfect.
In all fairness I didn’t just pop the pizza in and hope that it was going to work, I played around with the timing and the temperature, but, I did a few other test runs as well.
Discovering light & crisp pizza in the air fryer
What I have discovered is that air frying offers a special kind of magic on a Margherita Pizza, that makes it light, and crispy.
Light and crispy lets you enjoy the flavor of the tomato and spices rather than just crust!
Getting to the brass tacks of things, I have to say, it’s hard to create a good Margherita pizza, but when you have the right tools of the trade, it’s super easy!
Single-serve pizza in the air fryer is magical, well almost
First, knowing that every food turned out differently with the temperatures, I decided to see how far I could push things to make my air fryer Margherita pizza without burning it.
Yes, it is this easy to create a single-serve pizza in your home!
You might test the recipe out and adjust your personal heat setting to 400°F or maybe you will use 385°F?
The magic of how fast this pizza cooks is what blows me away every time and it’s always good!
How my air fryer Margherita pizza was unexpected bliss!
You don’t have to make a Margherita pizza, the toppings are endless, make your own creation! What would you add to a single-serve pizza?
If you can dream it, do it!
Pizza in the air fryer rather than the oven is perfect and faster!
However, you should note that not all pizza crusts are equal and there can be issues.
The Pizza shell will make or break an air fryer Margherita pizza
For anyone that wants to make some of the easiest and tastiest homemade pizza dough fast, make sure to check out my homemade pizza dough recipe.
But for today’s pizza we are not using homemade dough, nor are we using frozen pizzas.
Instead, we are using a store pizza shell, and to be very precise these are the store pizza shells that are single-serve.
What I’ve learned is that these premade shells turn out perfect no matter what air fryer I use and they are consistent in texture and chewiness.
Also, with the weight of this store-bought pizza shell, it does not fly up inside the basket of the air fryer, unlike other items I have tried.
So we are making single-serve pizza in the air fryer using premade, store-bought shells.
HOT TIP for air fryer Margherita pizza shells
Give your pizza shell a precook for about 1 minute, your pizza will be extraordinary, which means no toppings on it, just the shell.
So, you would preheat your air fryer, and then place this in the basket and let it in there for just a minute.
That is the game-changer for this simple air fryer Margherita pizza IMO.
Air Fryer Temperatures. Increase or Decrease?
First, knowing that every food turned out differently with the temperatures.
So, I decided to see how far I could push things to make my air fryer Margherita pizza without burning it.
Quickly I found out that I could push the limits and prepare pizza faster, which had a crunchy exterior and a chewy interior, making it a match of perfection.
Air Fryer Single-Serve Pizza with Fresh Basil Suggestions
As usual, I suggest a shopping trip right before preparing these pizzas, so that you can have the freshest ingredients possible.
Further, I realize that every air fryer is not round, but you can cut your shell to fit in order to make pizza in the airy fryer it is so easy.
If you can’t find single-serve pizza shells, I suggest purchasing a larger one and just cutting it to fit your air fryer.
Also, while my recipe is for an air fryer Margherita pizza with tomato and basil, use the recipe as a springboard and make any pizza with any topping you prefer in your air fryer!
Kitchen essentials for the single-serve pizza
You won’t need many kitchen tools or items to make this pizza.
Here’s the list of what you may want to make the air fryer Margherita pizza or whatever pizza you are creating.
- a rather large, flexible spatula to remove the pizza when it is done cooking
- parchment paper if you want to work over it
- a pastry brush
- a few small bowls for your ingredients or you can just place them all on a cutting prep board
- an air fryer
As you can see there’s not much to this recipe.
Air Fryer Margherita Pizza is about getting the prep right
I am not going to bore you with all the details that you have seen in the video, because this recipe is not rocket science.
The KEY Piece to this whole pizza is putting it together IN the air fryer basket, not assembling before!
Make sure to bookmark the post so you have the recipe
Air Fryer Margherita Pizza
Ingredients
- 1- 6 ” pizza store bought single serve shell
- 2 Tbsp. Shredded Mozzarella
- 2 Mini packs of Mini Fresh Mozzarella cut into 1/3’s 6 mini balls total
- 2 Fresh Basil Leaves Ripped
- 1 Tbsp. Olive Oil & Brush to spread
- 1 Tsp Pizza Spice
- 1 Small Roma Tomato sliced thin
Instructions
- preheat your air fryer to 385° F while you gather your ingredients and prepare them to top the pizza.
- Once the air fryer is preheated you will work with the pizza shell alone.
- Place pizza round into the pre-heated air fryer basket
- Brush pizza round with olive oil
- air fry for just one minute then open the air fryer basket, carefully do all of the following and take care to not get burned by the warm basket.
- Sprinkle the shell with the pizza spice.
- Place Roma Tomato on shell.
- Place Mozzarella Shred on tomato
- Add in the fresh mozzarella balls
- Add on Basil (you can also place this between the shredded mozzarella and the fresh mozzarella)
- Replace basket to air fryer
- Program Air Fryer to 385°F for 3 minutes.
- You want shell to be lightly golden brown and cheese will brown as well.
- If it is not give it one minute more, but do watch as one minute can be the difference between browned and burned!
- If golden in color and if the cheese is melted, remove and serve warm.
- TOTAL PREP TIME
- Prep Time: 4 Minutes
- Cook Time: 4 Minutes
- Total Time: 8 Minutes