This air fryer naan pizza is a cinch to make and so delish! You can add any toppings you like, but our favorite recipe is caprese pizza with balsamic glaze. Great as a snack, appetizer or main dish, you'll want to make these delicious flatbread pizzas again and again.
If you've never made homemade pizza with naan, or if this is your first time making pizza in an air fryer, it's so easy you'll wonder why you didn't try this sooner. In just 10 minutes, you'll have golden, crispy mini gourmet pizza full of flavor.
WHAT IS AIR FRYER NAAN PIZZA?
Air fryer naan pizza uses a delicious buttery flat bread native to India, called naan, as a substitute for traditional pizza dough crust. It makes the perfect substitute thanks to its soft texture and flat roundish shape. Just add your favorite toppings and heat until it's crispy.
❤️ WHY YOU'LL LOVE THIS CAPRESE PIZZA RECIPE
✔️ Quick and easy. Only 10 minutes from start to finish.
✔️ Use ingredients you already have on-hand.
✔️ A fun meal the kids can help make! Use any ingredients they love.
INGREDIENTS
This section explains how to choose the best ingredients for air fryer naan pizza, what each one does in the recipe, and substitution options. For measurements, see the recipe card below.
You may have all of the ingredients for air fryer naan bread pizza in your refrigerator or pantry and not need to make a trip to the grocery store. See recipe card below for ingredient amounts.
- Naan bread: You can find naan in the bread section of your grocery store. Some stores also sell it frozen.
- Tomatoes: Grape or cherry tomatoes are perfect for these mini pizzas.
- Olive oil
- Pesto: To save time, use ready-made pesto.
- Mozzarella: Grate your own mozzarella cheese using low moisture mozzarella (not the fresh mozzarella cheese stored in liquid).
- Basil: Use fresh basil leaves.
- Balsamic glaze: You can make your own or use store-bought to save time.
VARIATIONS
Meat lovers - Using pizza sauce as your base, add pepperoni, ham, prosciutto, crispy bacon, sausage and/or sliced Italian meatballs. It's an easy way to create a meat lover's delight.
Asparagus and prosciutto - Top with prosciutto wrapped asparagus, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and add a few dollops of goat cheese.
Veggie lovers - Make the perfect Greek-inspired vegetarian pizza with onions, mushrooms, minced garlic, peppers, kalamata olives and feta cheese.
Extra crispy - For an extra crispy, less doughy crust, air fry your naan for 3 minutes before adding toppings.
INSTRUCTIONS
This section shows how to cook this caprese pizza on naan bread in the air fryer, with step-by-step photos and details about the technique. For full instructions, nutritional information, to print the recipe or to have the recipe scaled to double or triple, see the recipe card below.
PREPARE: Slice tomatoes and grate mozzarella cheese. Mix olive oil and pesto together. Brush ½ teaspoon of olive oil onto the top of each naan bread. Sprinkle with ¼ cup of fresh grated cheese. Add sliced tomatoes.
🔴 TIP: Grate your own mozzarella cheese. Use low moisture mozzarella (not the fresh, wetter mozzarella cheese). Don’t use prepackaged shredded mozzarella if you can avoid it.
COOK: Cook in the air fryer basket at 400°F for 4-5 minutes. Keep an eye on them so they don't overcook.
FINISH: Sprinkle with basil and top with balsamic glaze. Serve.
🔴 TIP: Put the basil on the pizza after it’s cooked. Basil will blow right off the pizzas when cooked in the air fryer or will crisp up too much if broiled in the oven.
RECOMMENDED TOOLS
Air Fryer – This recipe requires an air fryer. You could also adapt this recipe to the oven.
HOW TO MAKE AIR FRYER PIZZA AHEAD
Air fryer caprese pizza is an excellent alternative to store bought frozen pizza. To make ahead, add the toppings to your pizza and wrap in plastic wrap and store freezer-safe bags with all air removed. When you are ready to cook them, put them directly in the air fryer. If cooking from frozen, add a few additional minutes of cooking time.
HOW TO MAKE NAAN PIZZA IN THE OVEN
If you don't have an air fryer, oven baked caprese pizza is just as delicious! Set the oven to broil and prepare the pizza according to the recipe. Broil for 2-3 minutes, watching carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn. Remove from the oven when the cheese is melted. Top with basil and balsamic sauce.
TIPS FOR THE BEST CAPRESE PIZZA
Follow these tips to make the best caprese pizza on naan.
✔️ Brush the basil pesto base onto the naan. It spreads more evenly when brushed on than applied with a spoon.
✔️ Grate your own cheese using low moisture mozzarella. Avoid fresh mozzarella packed in water (not as melty), and prepackaged shredded mozzarella (not as flavorful)
✔️ Put the basil on the pizza after it’s cooked. Basil will blow right off the pizzas when cooked in the air fryer or burn if broiled in the oven.
STORAGE TIPS
Refrigerate: Place parchment paper or wax paper between slices and wrap in a cling film or place in an air tight food storage bag for up to 3 days.
Freeze: You can freeze cooked air fryer naan pizza for up to 2 weeks. Place parchment or wax paper between slices or whole pizzas to prevent them from sticking to each other. Then place in an air-tight freezer bag.
Defrosting: Thaw on the counter for 1-2 hours or in the refrigerator overnight.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH CAPRESE PIZZA
Air fryer naan pizza pairs perfectly with our easy Italian salad, antipasto tortellini salad, or shrimp fettuccini with lemon garlic sauce. Want to make your side dish in the air fryer? Check out our other air fryer recipes below for ideas.
MORE AIR FRYER RECIPES
If you like this easy caprese air fryer pizza, you'll love our air fryer prosciutto wrapped asparagus, air fryer meatballs, air fryer fried fish, air fryer lemon chicken, or air fryer bagel bites.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
For perfect results every time, here are answers to the most common questions about cooking air fryer naan pizza.
Using an air fryer is probably one of the best ways to heat naan bread because it gets hot quickly without becoming rubbery. The longer you cook it the more crispy will become.
If you like your naan pizza crust more crispy, heat your naan for a few minutes in air fryer before adding the toppings, just until it starts to feel crisp. Then add your toppings and place it back in the air fryer until the cheese is fully melted and all ingrdeints are hot.
Traditionally naan is made with yogurt so the most common name brand naan available in stores are not vegan.
This air fryer naan pizza recipe cooks up in the about 5 minutes.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 4 pieces naan bread - (or small cooked pizza dough rounds)
- 8 pieces grape tomatoes - (or cherry tomatoes)
- 2 tspn olive oil
- 1 tspn pesto
- 1 cup mozzarella, low moisture whole milk - freshly shredded
- 8 pieces basil - chiffonade
- 2 tablespoon balsamic glaze
Instructions
Mix extra virgin olive oil and basil pesto together and spread ½ teaspoon onto each piece of naan with a basting brush.
Slice tomatoes 3-4 times each. Tap to remove excess moisture. Place ¼ cup shredded cheese and as many tomatoes as desired onto each mini pizza.
Place mini pizzas into the air fryer. You may need to cook 2 at a time.
Cook at 400°F for 4-5 minutes.
Top with fresh basil, cut chiffonade or torn into pieces. Drizzle with balsamic glaze.
Serve.
Notes
- Brush the basil pesto base onto the naan rather than trying to spread it around with a spoon.
- Grate your own mozzarella cheese using low moisture mozzarella. Fresh mozzarella is an option but when tested we found it didn’t melt up as nicely as the shredded and needed to cook quite a bit longer in the air fryer.
- Put the basil on the pizza after it’s cooked. Basil will blow right off the pizzas when cooked in the air fryer or will crisp up too much if broiled in the oven.
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