Pizza marinara is the oldest of all tomato-topped pizzas. Debuting in the 1700s, this combination of dough, tomatoes, garlic, oregano and oil has been around for centuries. Perhaps unsurprisingly, pizza alla marinara came in at the top of the list when the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana (True Neapolitan Pizza Association, or AVPN for short) drew up its guidelines for classic pizza styles. The AVPN is known for upholding the standards of Neapolitan pizza around the globe, and its stamp of approval is a big deal in the pizza world: Only pizza marinara, pizza Margherita and pizza fritta carry it.

Our chef and culinary advisor, Kelsey Small, took on the challenge of creating a pizza marinara recipe that would follow all of the AVPN’s rules for dough, ingredients and method. He baked the pizza at high temperature in an Ooni Karu 16 — the world's only pizza oven recommended for domestic use by the AVPN — but you can make a delicious version of this pizza in any Ooni oven. The result is simple, uncomplicated and delicious.