Baked pizzaiola potatoes with onion and mozzarella, my Sicilian mother’s recipe.
When we were children, Mom often made potatoes alla pizzaiola; she cooked them with lots of oregano, mozzarella and Sicilian pecorino and she used to cook them in a pan. I clearly remember the aroma that filled the house and immediately made us hungry! I also often make pizzaiola potatoes with onion; my husband loves them, but my version is a bit different from my mother’s and perhaps a little milder. In my recipe for pizzaiola potatoes with mozzarella and onion I replace pecorino with Parmesan and bake everything in the oven. The result is a heartier dish: the potatoes, sliced, do not fall apart and at the end of cooking they look like real, fragrant, gooey potato lasagnas — especially very aromatic thanks to the oregano. An inexpensive and delicious Mediterranean dish that the whole family will enjoy! If you love potatoes and so do your family, I also recommend trying Baked potatoes with cream and cheese and Boiled pizzaiola potatoes with ham and mozzarella.
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- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Very inexpensive
- Rest time: 30 Minutes
- Preparation time: 20 Minutes
- Portions: 5-6
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients
- 1.8 lb (about 28 oz) potatoes
- 5.3 oz onion (white or red)
- 1 2/3 cups tomato purée (passata)
- to taste salt
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- to taste dried oregano
- 11 oz mozzarella (pizza mozzarella or fresh provola)
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup grated cheese (type Grana or Parmesan)
Tools
- 1 Mandoline
- 1 Baking dish
- Oven
Steps
Rinse the potatoes, peel them and slice them into very thin, even slices; I prefer to use a mandoline. Likewise, peel the onions and slice them thinly.
Slice the mozzarella; it’s better to use pizza mozzarella that releases less liquid or, alternatively, a fresh provola. Season the tomato sauce with salt, add plenty of olive oil and mix.
Spread a little tomato sauce over a large baking dish and make the first layer of potatoes and onions; add the mozzarella or provola, a little more tomato sauce, Parmesan and oregano. Cover with more potato slices
repeat the layers until the ingredients are finished, reserving a few pieces of mozzarella.
Make the last layer with potatoes and tomato sauce, sprinkle with salt and drizzle with olive oil, pour a little water and bake in a conventional oven at 356°F for 1 hour.
If during cooking the surface starts to burn too much, cover with parchment paper directly on top and then aluminum foil, and continue cooking. Remove from the oven, add the reserved pieces of mozzarella, return to the oven for 5 minutes and then remove definitively.
Cover everything with parchment paper and a cloth and let rest for 30 minutes before serving.
The pizzaiola potatoes are ready; all that’s left is to serve them.
Pizzaiola potatoes should not be stored for more than 24 hours, so I recommend preparing only the amount you plan to consume; cold or reheated, they are not as delightful as when freshly made.
If you liked this recipe, also check out:
–Potato and zucchini casserole;
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