Best Authentic Italian Tuna Pizza Recipe (Pizza al Tonno)
Tuna Pizza, known in Italy as Pizza al Tonno, is a classic coastal comfort food that turns a few pantry staples into something restaurant-worthy. The combination of savory tuna, sharp red onions, and melted mozzarella is a refreshing escape for anyone who is tired of the same boring meat toppings. Best of all, it comes together in minutes with canned tuna you already have at home.
How to Make Tuna Pizza (Step-by-Step)
Here is the full method from start to finish. Total time is about 25 minutes if your dough is ready.
- Preheat the oven. Set it to the highest temperature it allows (250°C / 480°F or more) with a baking stone or steel inside. Give it at least 20 minutes to get screaming hot.
- Prep the tuna. Drain your canned tuna thoroughly and flake it into medium chunks. Do not mash it into a paste.
- Prep the onions. Thinly slice red onions and soak them in cold water for 10 minutes to soften their sharp bite, then pat dry.
- Shape the dough. Roll or stretch your dough out to about 12 inches on a lightly floured surface.
- Sauce it. Spread a thin, even layer of tomato sauce with a light touch of garlic, leaving a border for the crust.
- Cheese first. Scatter low-moisture mozzarella over the sauce. This layer keeps the crust from going soggy.
- Add the toppings. Distribute the tuna chunks and red onion slices evenly over the cheese. Add capers, olives, or chili here if you like.
- Bake. Slide the pizza onto the hot stone and bake for 8–10 minutes, until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling.
- Finish and serve. Sprinkle with dried oregano and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Slice and serve hot.
Pizza Tuna Recipe
This is the real Italian pizza tonno recipe with olive oil tuna, red onion, San Marzano sauce, and every pro tip you need for a perfect bake.
Equipment
- Pizza steel or stone
- Wood fired oven Ooni/Gozney
- Wooden peel
- Metal peel
- Kitchen scale
- Mandoline or sharp knife
- Lidded containers
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 500 grams Caputo 00 flour 325 grams water at room temperature 10 grams fine sea salt 0.3 grams instant dry yeast about an eighth of a teaspoon
For the Sauce
- 400 gram can whole San Marzano DOP tomatoes 1 teaspoon fine sea salt 1 small drizzle extra virgin olive oil Pinch of dried oregano optional but recommended
For the Toppings (per pizza)
- 80 grams Low-Moisture Mozzarella torn and drained 20 minutes on paper towels 80 to 100 grams high quality Italian or Spanish tuna packed in olive oil, drained well and flaked into rough chunks Half a small red onion, sliced paper thin (about 2 millimeters), soaked in ice water 10 minutes and patted dry 1 teaspoon capers, rinsed (optional) Pinch of dried oregano 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, for finishing Half a lemon, for finishing Fresh cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Make the Dough
- Combine flour and water in a large bowl. Stir with your hand until no dry flour remains. Cover and rest 30 minutes (autolyse).
- Add salt and yeast. Squeeze through the dough with your fingers until fully incorporated.
- Knead in the bowl using stretch and fold for 5 minutes until smooth and slightly tacky.
- Cover and bulk ferment at room temperature for 1 hour.
- Divide into 2 balls of roughly 420 grams each. Shape into tight smooth balls by tucking the edges underneath.
- Place in lightly oiled lidded containers. Refrigerate 24 to 72 hours.
- Remove from the fridge 2 hours before baking.
- Prepare the Sauce
- Crush the San Marzano tomatoes by hand in a bowl until you have a textured purée.
- Add salt, olive oil, and oregano. Stir and taste. The sauce should be bright, salty, and slightly acidic.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Assemble the Pizza
- Slice the red onion paper thin and soak in ice water for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry on paper towels.
- Drain the tuna in a sieve for 2 to 3 minutes. Flake by hand into rough half inch chunks. Reserve a teaspoon of the drained oil for finishing if desired.
- Tear the fior di latte into rough pieces and drain on paper towels for 20 minutes.
- Flour the work surface lightly. Press a dough ball flat from the center outward with your fingertips, leaving the rim untouched.
- Lift and drape over your knuckles. Rotate gently to stretch into a 12 inch round.
- Transfer to a well floured peel. Shake gently to confirm the pizza is loose.
- Spread 2 to 3 tablespoons of sauce in a thin spiral, leaving a finger width border.
- Scatter the drained fior di latte in loose pieces across the sauce.
- Distribute the tuna chunks evenly across the cheese, leaving gaps.
- Scatter the drained red onion across the pizza, separating any rings stuck together so each lies flat.
- Add capers if using and a small pinch of dried oregano.
Bake and Serve
- Home oven: preheat pizza steel at maximum temperature (500 to 550 degrees Fahrenheit) for at least 45 to 60 minutes. Slide the pizza onto the steel and bake 8 to 10 minutes until the cornicione is puffed and beginning to char, the cheese is melted with golden blistered spots, the tuna edges have slightly darkened, and the onion has softened with light char on the tips.
- Wood fired oven: bake at 850 degrees Fahrenheit on the floor for 60 to 90 seconds, rotating every 20 seconds with a turning peel.
- Pull the pizza immediately and drizzle with the finishing olive oil.
- Squeeze fresh lemon over the surface.
- Add a turn of fresh cracked black pepper. Slice with a wheel or kitchen shears and serve immediately.
Notes
- Soak the sliced red onion in ice water for 10 to 15 minutes before topping the pizza. This single technique removes the harshness while preserving the sweetness and texture. Drain and pat dry before scattering. The difference is real and almost no recipe mentions it.
- Use only high quality Italian or Spanish tuna packed in olive oil. Generic American canned tuna will give you a mediocre pizza no matter how good the dough is. This is the most important ingredient choice in the recipe.
- Drain the tuna thoroughly before flaking. Excess oil makes the pizza soggy. A small teaspoon of the drained oil can be drizzled back on after the bake for flavor without the sog.
- Finish with fresh lemon and good olive oil after pulling the pizza from the oven. The lemon brightens everything and the finishing oil carries the aromatic compounds that burn off during the bake.
- If using salt packed capers, rinse them under cold water for 5 minutes before using. They are dramatically better in flavor than brined capers but need this step to be edible.
Absolutely brilliant recipe! Putting the cheese first keeps the crust incredibly crispy, and soaking the onions completely transforms the flavor into an authentic Italian masterpiece.
some people question putting tuna on pizza, but obviously it’s delicious. I wish people would get things to try before they start nay-saying. this recipe Super EASY as well!