Shrimp Pizza (3 Cheese!)
This garlicky shrimp pizza combines buttery seafood with three Italian cheeses for a pizzeria-worthy pie you can make at home.…
This garlicky shrimp pizza combines buttery seafood with three Italian cheeses for a pizzeria-worthy pie you can make at home. It’s like shrimp alfredo on a pizza crust—creamy and unforgettably good!
I’ve made hundreds of pizzas over the years (seriously, we test pizza recipes almost every week in our kitchen). But this three-cheese shrimp pizza instantly earned a spot in our family’s top five! Shrimp on pizza isn’t usually my first choice. But after eating an incredible seafood pizza with Alex at one of our favorite pizza joints in town, we knew we had to try it at home!
What makes this combination so magical is how garlicky sautéed shrimp pairs with creamy ricotta cheese. It creates this luscious, almost alfredo-like experience, but with the texture contrast of a crispy crust. If you love shrimp, I know you’ll love it as much as we do!
How to make shrimp pizza: quick overview
The biggest mistake people make with seafood pizza is putting raw shrimp directly on the pizza before baking. Raw shrimp can contain harmful bacteria, and consuming raw shrimp increases the risk of food poisoning. Here’s a quick overview of how to make this shrimp pizza recipe:
- Sauté the shrimp with garlic and butter. Get that shrimp perfectly sauteed before you use it as a pizza topping! Use the instructions below or our sauteed shrimp recipe.
- Spread seasoned ricotta on the dough. There’s no need to make an alfredo sauce: just spread lightly seasoned ricotta straight onto the dough.
- Top with mozzarella and Parmesan and bake! All you need is 5 to 7 minutes in a super hot oven. It’s best if you have a pizza stone to get the crust ultra crispy.
5 star reader review
“Delicious! We used store-bought, raw crust and added some finely chopped pepperoncini. Loved it.” -Ann
Equipment that makes a difference
This shrimp pizza is best if you bake it on a pizza stone. Why? A pizza stone makes the absolute perfect crust texture! Here’s what to know:
- Pizza stone: A pizza stone is what makes Italian pizza crust crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Here’s the best pizza stone we’ve found, plus care tips.
- Pizza peel: Use a pizza peel to transfer the pizza onto the hot pizza stone in the oven. We recommend this Standard pizza peel or this Conveyor pizza peel.
- Don’t have a pizza stone? That’s ok too! You can make your pizza right on a baking sheet, or make pan pizza or sheet pan pizza.
Pizza dough variations
In my opinion, it’s always worth it to make homemade pizza dough! The result is far better than what you can buy at the store. But there’s not always time for that! You can always use purchased dough in a pinch. Here are a few homemade options for the dough:
- This pizza dough has the perfect flavor and fluffy texture, and takes only 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes to rest.
- This thin crust pizza dough is easy to roll out into a thinner, crispier crust.
- It’s simple to make a pan pizza in a cast iron skillet or a sheet pan pizza, which is the equivalent of two pizzas at once.
- You can also make smaller personal pizzas like naan pizza or pita pizza.
Tips for buying shrimp
There are lots of options at the store when it comes to shrimp! Here are a few things to look for:
- Find medium shrimp. Medium is nice for a pizza topping: it’s also labeled as 41 to 50 count. You could also use small shrimp.
- Use peeled shrimp. Often we recommend tail on, but you don’t want that for pizza! If you buy the shell-on, just remove the shell before cooking.
- Fresh or frozen. Either work; just make sure to thaw the shrimp in advance.
- Wild caught. Fish that is wild caught in your country is usually a sustainable choice. There are also quality options in well-regulated farms; see Seafood Watch Consumer Guide.
What to serve alongside
This shrimp pizza is quite rich and filling on its own, so I like to balance it with lighter side dishes:
- Try green salads like a simple arugula salad, kale Caesar salad, chopped salad, or Italian salad.
- Go for sauteed vegetables like pan fried broccoli, sauteed vegetables or sauteed peppers and onions.
- Make a veggie tray and serve with ranch dip or dill dip.
Pro tip: For a wine pairing, a crisp Pinot Grigio or unoaked Chardonnay complements the seafood beautifully without overwhelming it! Let us know if you give that a try.
Dietary notes
This shrimp pizza recipe is pescatarian. For gluten-free, use gluten free pizza dough.
Shrimp Pizza (3 Cheese!)
Pin Recipe
Print RecipeThis garlicky shrimp pizza combines buttery seafood with three Italian cheeses for a pizzeria-worthy pie you can make at home. It’s like shrimp alfredo on a pizza crust!
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 8 slices
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 ball Best Pizza Dough (or Thin Crust Dough; see Notes)
- 1/2 pound medium shrimp, deveined and peeled
- ¼ teaspoon plus ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ½ cup whole milk ricotta cheese
- Fresh ground black pepper
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- Chopped parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Make the pizza dough: Follow the Best Pizza Dough or Thin Crust Dough recipe to prepare the dough. (This takes about 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes to rest.)
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. (If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can make the pizza on a baking sheet.)
- Prepare the toppings: If frozen, thaw the shrimp in advance. Mince the garlic. Pat the shrimp dry. In a medium bowl, mix the shrimp with the minced garlic and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt. In a medium skillet, heat the butter on medium high heat. Cook the shrimp for 1 to 2 minutes per side until opaque and cooked through, turning them with tongs. When done, transfer the shrimp to a bowl.
- In a small bowl, mix the ricotta with the ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.
- Bake the pizza: When the oven is ready, dust a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use a rimless baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. But a pizza peel is well worth the investment!) Stretch the dough into a circle; see How to Stretch Pizza Dough for instructions. Then gently place the dough onto the pizza peel.
- Spread the seasoned ricotta onto the dough then ¼ cup of the mozzarella cheese. Add the shrimp, reserving the butter at the bottom of the bowl. Top with the remaining ¼ cup mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Add a sprinkle of the reserved butter (use about half).
- Use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, about 5 to 7 minutes in the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven).
- Top with the chopped parsley. Slice into pieces and serve immediately (cutting it with a knife is easiest to cut through the shrimp).
Notes
For gluten free, try our Gluten Free Pizza Dough.
More great pizza recipes
We live for pizza over here! My favorites are a good Margherita pizza, a basic cheese pizza, or a fancy truffle pizza. If you do too, here are a few more of our top pizza recipes to try:
