Yes, you heard that right! You can make easy Air Fryer Focaccia Pizza with a perfectly cooked base without needing a pizza oven. A focaccia base is topped with a delicious tomato sauce and loaded with cheese and fragrant Sicilian style herbs. Pizza night just became a lot more fun!
I find focaccia so satisfying. The pillowy soft pockets of bread, which are delicately flavoured, are just too good to pass up. Layering on some fragrant and bright tomato sauce, cheese and fresh herbs takes the focaccia to a whole new level.
Suddenly, the popular starter becomes a main dish – focaccia pizza is easily a lunch or dinner in its own right! It tastes incredible and is totally filling.
I chose to make the whole pizza in a sheet pan for ease. The focaccia dough is semi-cooked first and then the toppings are added after.
The texture has resemblance to deep-pan pizzas rather than the thin crust thanks to plenty of yeast in the dough which gives a fluffier texture.
Sometimes, I make these Air Fryer French Bread Pizza from fresh baguettes!
Ingredients for vegetarian focaccia pizza
Focaccia ingredients
See my Grape and Rosemary Focaccia recipe for notes on ingredients required for the focaccia. Of course, leave out the grapes and goats cheese.
To make it even simpler, buy a store-bought focaccia mix. To go super-duper simple, buy ready made focaccia, simply top with tomato sauce, cheese and herbs for the quickest ever pizza meal!
Tomato sauce – I used a homemade marinara sauce using canned tomatoes which is rich with flavour. See below for the full recipe. You can also use passata (sieved uncooked tomatoes) or store-bought pizza sauce.
Cheese – I used a blend of grated mild cheddar and sliced fresh mozzarella. If using fresh mozzarella, make sure to drain as much of the moisture as possible or else the pizza will be soggy.
Sicilian herbs – This is optional but I highly recommend adding these blend of herbs for an incredible boost of flavour. I made my own blend (recipe below) but as an alternative, use Italian seasoning.
Plum tomatoes – To top the pizza, I sliced some baby plum tomatoes lengthways.
Toppings
This pizza tastes fantastic and has all the flavour you need as it is, however you can get more adventurous. You can add all sorts of toppings to suit your taste, think of this recipe as the base.
I love adding different grilled veggies like in this Chargrilled Vegetable Pizza .
How to make focaccia pizza in the air fryer
Focaccia Pizza is made in a few easy steps, with the end-result being so rewarding!
Preparing the focaccia crust
Add all the dry ingredients to a bowl then mix in warm water until you have formed a wet sticky dough.
If you are using a focaccia bread mix, follow the packet instructions.
Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes or use a stand mixer.
Generously pour a few glugs of olive oil over the dough, cover with a towel and allow the dough to rise for 1 hour (do not leave directly in sunlight). Use the Instant Pot to speed the process – see recipe notes below.
Once the dough is risen, knock out the air and arrange on a sheet pan approximately 1 inch thick. The baking tray should be brushed liberally with oil. Cover again and allow to rise for 30 minutes.
Using your fingers, dig deep holes/grooves into the focaccia.
Place the sheet pan in the Air Fryer and select Air Fry at 205C or 400F for 5 minutes. The focaccia will have risen and very slightly browned on top.
At this point, spread on the tomato sauce and sprinkle over the dried Sicilian herb mix. Top with grated cheese going all the way to the edges.
Put cut tomatoes on top.
This time, I have lowered the temperature to allow the focaccia to cook all the way through and prevent the cheese from burning. Air fry at 170C or 340C for around 10-12 minutes. The cheese should be bubbling.
Cut with a knife and serve immediately with plenty of fresh basil and scatter over more dried herbs if you wish.
How to make marinara sauce
No sugar is necessary and this marinara sauce will be bursting with sunny tomato flavour without being sour – you just need patience.
To make 500ml marinara sauce, you will need
- 2 tins (400g each) of plum tomatoes,
- 1 large brown onion,
- 4 garlic cloves,
- 2 tbsp tomato puree,
- 1 tbsp dried oregano,
- 2 tsp red chilli flakes,
- salt and pepper to season
I made the marinara in the Instant Pot pressure cooker to save time but you can also make it on the stove.
Add 2 tbsp olive oil to the pan/inner pot and sauté roughly chopped onion and garlic cloves (the sauce will be hand blended later). When the onion is translucent and the garlic has softened, tip in all of the tomatoes and the tomato puree, herbs and spices. Stir well. Add approximately 150mls of water and close the Instant Pot lid.
Pressure cook on High for 12 minutes and allow for NPR.
For stove top – cover with a lid and simmer on low/medium heat for around 30 minutes or until you see oil appearing around the sides. The mixture should be thickening and reducing down.
Blend the sauce and season with salt and pepper. If it is still a bit loose, sauté for 5 minutes to reduce further.
The marinara sauce is ready to be used to dip into, to be stirred into cooked pasta, used in a pasta bake or as a pizza topping.
How to make Sicilian herb mix
This gorgeous seasoning blend is so beautiful with the deep tomato sauce and cheese. I add it on top of the tomato sauce rather than on the cheese to prevent it burning as the pizza cooks.
You will need
- 1 tbsp dried basil
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 1 1tbsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1tsp crushed fennel seeds
Recipe notes for the best focaccia pizza:
The dough:
Give the dough plenty of time to rise to achieve the fluffiest base – I use my Instant Pot on yogurt mode to prove the dough faster during cool months (thanks UK weather!). For this method, generously add olive oil to the inner pot of the Instant Pot. Brush some oil on the sides of the inner pot as the dough will rise. Place the dough in the inner pot and cover with a clear lid (not the Instant Pot lid). Select Yogurt or Sous Vide and set the temperature to 30C if it gives you the option. Prove for 30 minutes. The dough should have doubled in size. If not, add another 15 minutes at a time.
To allow for full flavour of the focaccia, wrap the kneaded dough and keep in the fridge overnight. This allows the yeast and flour to develop a sourdough flavour. The next day, you will gave to punch down the air from the dough and allow to rise again for another hour prior to using.
Cooking tips:
Ensure the sheet pan or baking tray that you use is at least 3 inches deep to allow for the focaccia to rise.
For the softest focaccia, do two proofs – once with the kneaded dough and once after the dough is laid into the pan.
Some recipes suggest to use the highest possible heat settings when cooking the focaccia. I found that in the air fryer, 205C for 5 minutes was sufficient to par-cook the focaccia before adding toppings. Then lowered the heat to 170C and cooked the pizza with toppings for 12 minutes . I had perfectly cooked, fluffy crust and golden melted cheese. You may have to make small adjustments to these times.
Cooking the focaccia twice first allows the crust to almost cook then adding the toppings. This way, the crust is fully cooked and crispy and the toppings do not burn.
Allow the pizza to rest for 5 minutes before slicing into.
Yes, the dough can be made up to 2 days in advance. Coat the kneaded dough in oil and keep in the fridge in an air tight container. When you are ready to use it, remove from the fridge, punch out the air, and allow the dough to rise to double again. This may take 1-2 hours.
You can use your pressure cooker on Yogurt mode to prove dough in colder weather. Generously add oil to the inner pot and place the dough in the pot. You can alternatively place the dough on top of parchment without oil. Cover the inner pot with a glass lid – not the Instant Pot lid and select Yogurt mode or Sous Vide (at 30 Celsius) mode on some models. Do this for 30 minutes at a time. If the dough has not risen sufficiently, add another 15 minute at a time
As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!
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Air Fryer Sheet Pan Focaccia Pizza
Equipment
- 1 Air fryer
- 1 Instant pot
- 1 Baking pan Sheet Pan
Ingredients
Focaccia Bread
- 225 grams bread flour
- ½ teaspoon active yeast dried
- ½ tablespoon caster sugar
- ½ teaspoon rosemary fresh or dried (optional)
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- sea salt
- 175 ml warm water
Toppings
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- ¼ cup cheddar cheese grated
- ¼ cup mozzarella cheese grated
- 2 tablespoon Sicilian herb
- 6 plum tomatoes baby
- 2 tablespoon basil leaves fresh
Instructions
- Place flour, yeast, sugar, salt and chopped rosemary in a stand mixer bowl or bowl. 225 grams bread flour, 1/2 teaspoon active yeast, 1/2 tablespoon caster sugar, sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
- Add warm water, knead the dough for 2-3 minutes. 175 ml warm water
- If using hands to knead the dough, mixing with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough (if it sticks to the bowl, add a little more flour). Using your hands, knead for 10 minutes until smooth.
- Pour 3 tbsp of the oil into a bowl. Roll the dough in the oil and shape into a ball. Cover with clingfilm or clean kitchen towel and leave in a warm, draft-free place for 1–2 hours until the dough has doubled in size. 4 tablespoon olive oil
- If using an Instant Pot to prove the dough, read the notes above in the main post.
- Once the dough is risen, knock out the air and arrange on a sheet pan approximately 1 inch thick.
- The baking tray should be brushed liberally with oil. Cover again and allow to rise for 30 minutes.
- Using your fingers, dig deep holes/grooves into the focaccia.
- Place the sheet pan in the Air Fryer and select Air Fry at 205C or 400F for 5 minutes. The focaccia will have risen and very slightly browned on top.
- At this point, spread on the tomato sauce and sprinkle over the dried Sicilian herb mix. Top with grated cheese going all the way to the edges. 1/4 cup tomato sauce, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, 2 tablespoon Sicilian herb
- Put cut tomatoes on top. 6 plum tomatoes
- This time, I have lowered the temperature to allow the focaccia to cook all the way through and prevent the cheese from burning.
- Air fry at 170C or 340C for around 10-12 minutes. The cheese should be bubbling.
- Cut with a knife and serve immediately with plenty of fresh basil and scatter over more dried herbs if you wish. 2 tablespoon basil leaves
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Air Fryer Sheet Pan Focaccia Pizza
Equipment
- 1 Air fryer
- 1 Instant pot
- 1 Baking pan Sheet Pan
Ingredients
Focaccia Bread
- 225 grams bread flour
- ½ teaspoon active yeast dried
- ½ tablespoon caster sugar
- ½ teaspoon rosemary fresh or dried (optional)
- 4 tablespoon olive oil
- sea salt
- 175 ml warm water
Toppings
- ¼ cup tomato sauce
- ¼ cup cheddar cheese grated
- ¼ cup mozzarella cheese grated
- 2 tablespoon Sicilian herb
- 6 plum tomatoes baby
- 2 tablespoon basil leaves fresh
Instructions
- Place flour, yeast, sugar, salt and chopped rosemary in a stand mixer bowl or bowl. 225 grams bread flour, 1/2 teaspoon active yeast, 1/2 tablespoon caster sugar, sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon rosemary
- Add warm water, knead the dough for 2-3 minutes. 175 ml warm water
- If using hands to knead the dough, mixing with a wooden spoon until it forms a dough (if it sticks to the bowl, add a little more flour). Using your hands, knead for 10 minutes until smooth.
- Pour 3 tbsp of the oil into a bowl. Roll the dough in the oil and shape into a ball. Cover with clingfilm or clean kitchen towel and leave in a warm, draft-free place for 1–2 hours until the dough has doubled in size. 4 tablespoon olive oil
- If using an Instant Pot to prove the dough, read the notes above in the main post.
- Once the dough is risen, knock out the air and arrange on a sheet pan approximately 1 inch thick.
- The baking tray should be brushed liberally with oil. Cover again and allow to rise for 30 minutes.
- Using your fingers, dig deep holes/grooves into the focaccia.
- Place the sheet pan in the Air Fryer and select Air Fry at 205C or 400F for 5 minutes. The focaccia will have risen and very slightly browned on top.
- At this point, spread on the tomato sauce and sprinkle over the dried Sicilian herb mix. Top with grated cheese going all the way to the edges. 1/4 cup tomato sauce, 1/4 cup cheddar cheese, 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese, 2 tablespoon Sicilian herb
- Put cut tomatoes on top. 6 plum tomatoes
- This time, I have lowered the temperature to allow the focaccia to cook all the way through and prevent the cheese from burning.
- Air fry at 170C or 340C for around 10-12 minutes. The cheese should be bubbling.
- Cut with a knife and serve immediately with plenty of fresh basil and scatter over more dried herbs if you wish. 2 tablespoon basil leaves
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
UK Takeaway style Chinese Salt and Pepper Chips have a cheesy makeover with these incredible Salt and Pepper Halloumi Fries!
- Ingredients Halloumi Fries Ingredients For the Chinese Salt & Pepper seasoning Vegetables
- How to make Salt & Pepper Halloumi Fries Tips
- Serving Suggestion
- Other Fries/Chips Recipes
Deliciously crispy Air Fryer Halloumi Fries and crunchy vegetables are tossed in a five spice salt & pepper seasoning!
This recipe makes the party food favourite halloumi fries even more exciting – I didn’t think it could even be possible until now.
I love my fusion food, especially British-Indian fusion but now I am venturing out into different cuisines like this British-Chinese combo! Throw in Halloumi and this is truly a global dish!
I had a packet of store-bought halloumi fries and a sorry looking pepper sat in the fridge so I thought I’d experiment with them and make a salt and pepper version! I’m so glad that I did – the flavours all complement each other so well.
Halloumi is a white hard cheese that hails from Cyprus. Thanks to the properties of halloumi, it doesn’t melt when cooked so holds its shape beautifully for fries and for these BBQ Halloumi and Mushroom Skewers or Vegetable Paella with Halloumi .
Ingredients
Halloumi Fries Ingredients
Halloumi – halloumi is easy to source from your local supermarket in the cheese section. Any type of halloumi works well. Halloumi that is packaged with dried herbs may impart a bit of a Mediterranean flavour to the dish so you may want to try and find one without the flavouring. You can also use grilling cheese which is available in some shops. Another option is paneer which has a high melting point so will hold its shape.
Other alternatives are Greek semi-hard cheeses such as graviera, kefalograviera and kefalotyri.
Flour – plain flour or all purpose flour works great and you only need a small amount for a block of halloumi. Gluten-free flour also works just as well. Corn starch or rice flour leads to even crispier halloumi
Spray cooking oil
If shallow frying: use a neutral flavoured oil such as vegetable, sunflower, canola or grapeseed.
For the Chinese Salt & Pepper seasoning
White pepper powder – ground from white peppercorns, you can find this in most supermarkets, alternatively use black pepper
Chinese five spice – it gives a unique savoury flavour in Chinese cooking. The powder consists of cinnamon, star anise, cloves, Sichuan peppercorns, and fennel seeds. It can easily be found
Red chilli flakes – you can adjust this according to your spice level
Sugar
Salt
Optional:
Sichuan peppercorns – to make this recipe more spicy, add crushed Sichuan Peppercorns which provide a numbing heat
Garlic Powder – if you do not want to use fresh garlic in the recipe, you can add some garlic powder to the seasoning.
Vegetables
Fresh vegetables: white onion, spring onions, bell pepper (red and green), red or green chillies
I like to cut the vegetables into long strips and cut the chillies and spring onion into fine rounds.
Garlic – fresh minced or finely chopped garlic is best.
Oil – use a flavourless oil
How to make Salt & Pepper Halloumi Fries
Firstly, prepare the halloumi fries:
Preheat your air fryer .
Slice the halloumi into chips/fries. Coat in your flour of choice then shake off the excess.
Arrange in the air fryer basket in a single layer. Spray with cooking oil. Air Fry for 10 minutes on 180C. You may have to turn the fries at the half way mark.
Prepare the seasoning by mixing together the powders. Keep this for later on.
Next, prepare all the vegetables.
I like the onions and peppers to be cut into strips but you could cube them if you prefer. I finely chop the garlic and cut the spring onion and chillies.
Add oil to a pan and add all the vegetables and sauté on high heat for 1-2 minutes. I do not sauté for long because I want the vegetables to remain crunchy.
Toss in the halloumi fries (or chips, tofu, aubergine, hash browns or whatever you happen to be using). Sprinkle over about 1-2 tsp of seasoning or adjust according to your taste and how much you’re making.
Mix gently so not to brake the fries and serve immediately!
Tips
To make this recipe even more easy for yourself, you can spruce up a packet of ready-made halloumi fries from the supermarket and toss them in your homemade salt and pepper seasoning! So easy, quick and chances are, you’ve already got a stray pepper kicking about in your fridge anyway!
Leave on the milky fluid that’s in the packet as it helps the flour to stick to the halloumi
You can easily use gluten-free flour in replacement of plain flour
Rice flour or corn-starch provides an even crunchier coating
You can also use paneer batons as paneer holds its shape with cooking.
Do not overcook the vegetables, they are best crunchy and also more nutrients are retained that way.
For children, you can leave out the chilli flakes or use less in the recipe.
Serving Suggestion
Serve this dish hot to enjoy the vegetables at their most crunchy and the halloumi at its most crunchy!
The delicious finger licking coating means that these are best eaten as they are – no dip required!
Why not make a meal and serve with Vegetable Chow Mein .
Other Fries/Chips Recipes
Easy Air Fryer Avocado Fries
Indian Masala Fries
Masala Mogo Chips
Easy Sweet Potato Fries in Air Fryer
Cassava/Yucca Fries
Kenyan Style Masala Chips
TikTok Air Fryer Pasta Chips
Banana/Plantain Chips Air Fryer
Mogo Chips 65
Air Fryer Garlic Fries
As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!
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Salt and Pepper Halloumi Fries
Ingredients
- 300 gram Halloumi cut into chips
- 2 tbsp flour plain flour or all purpose flour
- 1 tsp oil use cooking spray
- 1 onion brown onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- ½ red pepper cut into thin strips
- ½ green pepper cut into thin strips
- ¼ cup spring onion green onion
- 1 chilli red or green chilli
Salt and Pepper Seasoning
- 1 tsp five spice
- 1 tsp white pepper powder
- 1 tsp sugar white granulated
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp red chilli flakes
Instructions
Air Fryer Halloumi Fries
- Cut the halloumi into chips 300 gram Halloumi
- Coat in flour and shake off the excess 2 tbsp flour
- Add to the air fryer basket and spray cooking oil 1 tsp oil
- Air Fry for 10 minutes at 205C/400F. Turn over at 5 minutes
Prepare the seasoning
- Mix together all the spice powders in a bowl for the Chinese five spice seasoning and set aside 1 tsp five spice, 1 tsp white pepper powder, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp red chilli flakes
Cooking the vegetables
- Add oil to a pan and add the onion, garlic, peppers, chilli and spring onion. Reserve some of the green part of the spring onion to garnish later. 1 onion, 2 cloves garlic, 1/2 red pepper, 1/2 green pepper, 1/4 cup spring onion, 1 chilli
- Cook on High heat for 1-2 minutes and turn off the heat
- Add the halloumi fries and sprinkle seasoning to taste
- Serve immediately.
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
