🍕 Pizza napoletana (anchovy and caper)
Outside Naples, “pizza napoletana” on Italian menus usually means a pizza topped with tomato, mozzarella, salted anchovies and capers. The anchovies melt into the tomato and give a deep, salty flavour, while the capers add sharp, briny bursts against the soft cheese. It is baked fast in a very hot oven and eaten whole.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 250 g ready pizza dough (or homemade)
- 200 g crushed tomatoes
- 125 g mozzarella, torn
- 6–8 salted anchovy fillets
- 1 tbsp capers, rinsed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Method
- Preheat the oven with a stone or tray inside for at least 30 minutes.
- Stretch the dough by hand into a 30 cm round, leaving a slightly thicker rim.
- Spread the tomato thinly and scatter the mozzarella.
- Lay the anchovies on top and add the capers.
- Bake on the hottest setting of the oven (250–280 °C) on a preheated stone or tray for 7–10 minutes until the crust is blistered.
- Drizzle with the oil and serve.
How to make it lighter
- Use less mozzarella and spread it thinly — cheese is the most calorie-dense topping.
- Rinse the anchovies and capers to cut the salt; the flavour stays strong.
- Eat half a pizza with a large green salad instead of a whole pizza alone.
History
In much of Italy, and especially in Rome, this anchovy pizza is called napoletana, while in Naples a similar topping is often called romana — a well-known naming muddle. Anchovies and capers were cheap pantry staples in southern Italy, which made them a natural pizza topping. Today it is a fixture on pizzeria menus across the country.
Count it in one photo
Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Pizza napoletana (anchovy and caper) and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →