Olive oil goes onto pizza at three points: in the dough, over the toppings before baking, and over the finished pizza. Each does something different, and the case for saving your good bottle until the end is about aroma.
What heat does to olive oil
Much of a fresh extra-virgin olive oil’s aroma comes from volatile compounds, the kind that evaporate easily, and heat drives them off. That’s the reasoning behind Ken Forkish’s advice in The Elements of Pizza (2016): “Saving the drizzle of olive oil until the pizza has finished baking preserves the aromatics of good-quality extra-virgin olive oil.”
Heat doesn’t wipe out the difference between oils, though. The best evidence we found is a 2022 study in the journal Foods by Amalia Piscopo and colleagues. A pizzeria in Reggio Calabria made Neapolitan pizzas to the EU specification, adding one of three oils to the tomato topping: a blend of refined and virgin olive oils, a commercial extra-virgin oil blended from several cultivars, and a single-cultivar extra-virgin oil from Ottobratica olives. The paper puts the bake at about 300°C (570°F). The researchers analyzed the oils and the baked toppings, and a trained panel of 12 judges rated the pizzas.
- Flavor intensity. Of the attributes the panel scored, only the intensity of the tomato-sauce flavor and of the oil flavor differed significantly. The single-cultivar oil gave the highest mean oil-flavor score, 5.92 on a 0-to-10 scale, against 4.92 for the extra-virgin blend and 3.58 for the refined blend. Only the gap between the single-cultivar oil and the refined blend was statistically significant; the extra-virgin blend didn’t differ significantly from either. These are trained judges rating intensity, not a ranking of which pizza people preferred.
- Chemistry. The single-cultivar oil started with the most phenolic compounds and aroma compounds, and the pizza made with it had the least degraded fat after baking. The authors link its better stability to its phenolic content.
- What didn’t differ. Appearance, overall flavor, dough hardness, crunchiness, greasiness and a separate olive-oil taste score didn’t differ significantly between the pizzas. That isn’t proof the pizzas were the same, only that the panel’s scores didn’t separate them.
It’s one pizzeria, one style, one bake of about 300°C and one cultivar, so it isn’t a general rule, and it doesn’t tell us what happens in a 90-second bake at 450°C or in a home oven. But it doesn’t support the idea that any oil tastes the same once baked.
We haven’t found a study that measures how much of an oil’s aroma survives a several-minute home-oven bake compared with a pizza oven’s 60 to 90 seconds, so treat the timing below as a flavor choice, not a nutritional one.
Before the bake: richness and tradition
In Naples, oil goes on before the bake. The EU specification for Pizza Napoletana calls for 4 to 5 g of extra-virgin olive oil per pizza, with a tolerance of up to 20% more, poured in a spiral over the topped pizza before it goes into the oven. That amount belongs to the specification’s own pizzas, not to every size and style. Forkish notes that Neapolitan pizzerias don’t stir oil into the sauce; it goes over the pizza after the sauce and cheese, as a dressing.
A little oil before the bake also protects some toppings. For his marinara, Forkish coats sliced garlic in oil before it goes on, which he says keeps it from burning. On his home-oven margherita, he adds a spoonful of oil partway through the bake, then a drizzle of extra-virgin oil when it comes out.
A pre-bake drizzle doesn’t need your most expensive oil, because its job is richness, not aroma.
After the bake: the good bottle
Forkish’s recipe chapter opens with things to do “immediately after it comes out of the oven,” starting with this: if you have a nice, aromatic olive oil, drizzle it over a margherita or marinara right after it comes out. Forkish describes Roman al taglio pizza as coated with brushstrokes of olive oil after baking, and brushes his own pizza rossa with oil the moment it comes out. Modernist Pizza reports that Rome’s Antico Forno Roscioli dresses its pizza bianca with olive oil and salt after baking.
How much. About a teaspoon (4 to 5 g) over a 12-inch pizza, in a thin stream, is a reasonable place to start. It’s the same amount the Neapolitan specification puts on each pizza before baking, though that figure isn’t a rule for a finishing drizzle.
Which oil. One you’d enjoy on bread, because you’ll taste it directly. UC Davis’s 2026 buying guide suggests looking for a harvest date rather than relying on a best-by date, and choosing oil in dark glass, metal tins or bag-in-box containers, which protect it from light; its 2016 advice adds storing it somewhere cool and dark, away from heat. The finishing oils and flaky salt guide covers buying, storing and what else to add after the oven.
In the dough
Oil in the dough is about texture more than aroma. Modernist Pizza (2021) uses extra-virgin olive oil in some of its doughs for its flavor, and notes that the inside of the crust doesn’t get hot enough to break down the oil’s volatile compounds. Pure olive oil works in its place if you prefer. More in pizza dough with oil, butter or lard.
A simple routine
- Dough: whatever oil your recipe calls for, if any.
- Before the bake: a small drizzle of everyday olive oil over the topped pizza, if you like the richness.
- After the bake: about a teaspoon of your best extra-virgin oil over the hot pizza, then any other finishes.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Should olive oil go on pizza before or after baking?
- Both work, for different reasons. The Neapolitan specification puts 4 to 5 g of extra-virgin olive oil on each pizza before baking. Forkish saves his most aromatic oil for right after the bake, because that preserves its aromatics.
- Does baking destroy the flavor of extra-virgin olive oil?
- It changes it but doesn't erase it. In a 2022 study of Neapolitan pizzas baked at about 300°C, a trained panel scored oil-flavor intensity significantly higher for a single-cultivar extra-virgin oil than for a refined blend; a blended extra-virgin oil scored in between and didn't differ significantly from either. Volatile aromas do escape with heat, which is why the finishing drizzle goes on after.
- Can I use cheaper olive oil in the dough?
- Yes. Modernist Pizza uses extra-virgin oil in some doughs for its flavor, noting the crumb doesn't get hot enough to break down its volatile compounds, but says pure olive oil can be substituted.
- How much olive oil should I drizzle on a pizza?
- About a teaspoon, 4 to 5 g, over a 12-inch pizza is a reasonable start. That's the amount the Neapolitan specification puts on each of its pizzas before baking, not a rule for every size.
Sources
- Amalia Piscopo, Angela Zappia, Antonio Mincione, Roccangelo Silletti, Carmine Summo and Antonella Pasqualone, “Effect of Oil Type Used in Neapolitan Pizza TSG Topping on Its Physical, Chemical, and Sensory Properties,” Foods 12, no. 1 (2023): 41, published online December 2022: sections 2.1 and 2.3.5, Table 9 and the discussion. Checked October 14, 2026.
- Ken Forkish, The Elements of Pizza (2016): chapter 2 (Roman al taglio), chapter 4, “Tomato Sauce” (oil in Naples), and chapter 7 (the introduction to the pizza recipes, Pizza Marinara, Pizza Margherita, Pizza Bianca and Pizza Rossa).
- European Commission, Regulation (EU) No 97/2010, Annex II: the Pizza Napoletana specification, “Garnish” and “Baking” (4 to 5 g of extra-virgin olive oil per pizza, added before baking). Checked October 14, 2026.
- Nathan Myhrvold and Francisco Migoya, Modernist Pizza (2021), volume 1, printed pages 172 (Antico Forno Roscioli) and 316 (olive oil in dough).
- UC Davis: “How to Choose the Best Olive Oil” (2016) and “6 Tips for Buying Fresh, Pure Olive and Avocado Oil” (2026). Checked October 14, 2026.