Tag Archives: Pizza

Pesto Veggie Flatbread Pizza

February 16, 2021

As promised, here is my favorite easy veggie pizza! While it can be made on homemade pizza dough, I often opt for our favorite flatbread crusts from Trader Joe’s. And I always keep a jar of Costco’s basil pesto on hand (it freezes well!). You can mix up the veggies but this is our favorite combination, inspired by a favorite at our local pizza place: chopped baby spinach, cremini mushrooms, sliced tomato and black olives. And then, of course, lots of cheese!

Pesto Veggie Flatbread Pizza

INGREDIENTS

flatbread pizza crust (or pita, naan, pizza dough, etc., our favorite flatbread crusts pictured above are from Trader Joe’s)
basil pesto (we love the Costco brand, or homemade)
chopped baby spinach
sliced cremini mushrooms
thinly sliced tomato
sliced black olives
freshly grated mozarella cheese
freshly grated Parmesan and/or Pecorino Romano
crushed red pepper flakes, for serving (optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F. Place flatbread pizza crust (or pita, naan, etc.) on a large baking sheet. (Or if making pizza dough, prepare it according to recipe directions.)
  2. Top the pizza crust with a thin layer of pesto, a bit of mozzarella cheese, some spinach, mushrooms, slices of tomato, and black olives, Top with more mozarella cheese and sprinkle with Parmesan and/or Pecorino Romano.
  3. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes until the crust is crisp and the cheese is golden and bubbling. Slice and serve with crushed red pepper flakes (optional).

Pepperoni, Mushroom, and Black Olive Pizza

January 26, 2021

These next few recipes are some of our house favorites (the things we make so often that we don’t actually need a recipe). They’re simple, but I figure worth sharing since we think they’re delicious enough to eat on repeat. Starting with the most-requested pizza around here- pepperoni, mushroom, and black olive. Homemade crust and freshly grated mozarella and Parmesan, as well as really good pizza sauce (I recommend Rao’s) make it extra delicious. (And of course, I too use store-bought flatbread, pita, etc. when I’m not in the mood for making dough.) I admit, I’m more of a veggie pizza girl so my favorite veggie pizza recipe will be coming soon as well!

Pepperoni, Mushroom, and Black Olive Pizza

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe pizza dough
pizza sauce (we love Rao’s marinara or Rao’s pizza sauce)
mozarella cheese, shredded (~ 8-oz. per pizza)
sliced pepperoni
sliced mushrooms (button or cremini)
sliced black olives
freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or Pecorino Romano)
crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Prepare pizza dough according to recipe directions.
  2. Preheat oven and pizza stone to 450 F.
  3. Spread pizza sauce on top of prepared crust. Top with pepperoni, mushrooms, black olives, mozarella, and sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
  4. Bake pizza for 10-12 minutes until the crust is puffed and golden brown and the cheese is bubbling. Slice and serve with crushed red pepper flakes (optional).

Makes 1 large pizza.

Three Cheese Chicken and Spinach Pizza with Garlic White Sauce

May 18, 2020

garlic chicken spinach pizza

Dustin finally gets to go back to work tomorrow (Which is such a relief! Though we’ll miss having him home 24/7…) so my posting probably won’t be as frequent. This time stuck at home together has been a mixture of fun and stress and sometimes just strange. But I’ve been cooking so much more and taking pictures and writing again and that feels good!

three cheese pizza spinach white sauce

We have pizza almost weekly and I don’t always make my homemade dough. Sometimes I use pita or naan or another flatbread for the crust because it’s quick and convenient and still tastes good. But every so often making your own dough is totally worth it! I came across this pizza topped with a garlic white sauce, three cheeses (including some pepper jack which is my 8-year-old daughter’s cheese obsession right now), and chicken and knew I had to make it right away! It was worthy of a homemade crust. The garlic white sauce is dreamy. I had to stop myself from licking it all up before it made it onto the pizza. Luckily the sauce makes enough for 2 pizzas, so double the dough or freeze half for later. I made two pizzas and didn’t regret having some leftover the next day!

My addition to the original recipe was some spinach. I keep frozen chopped spinach on hand because it’s so easy to use- just measure some out and pop it in the microwave to thaw. The red onion is optional- I included it on my part of the pizza, left it off for the kids. Chives and extra crushed red pepper are optional too, but always recommended! (The pepper jack doesn’t make this pizza very spicy so if you want more heat go for the pepper flakes.) We all loved this one- definitely going to be a repeat pizza over here!

Three Cheese Chicken and Spinach Pizza with Garlic White Sauce

INGREDIENTS

Pizza:
~1/2 cup garlic white sauce
2 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or Pecorino Romano)
1 medium chicken breast (about 1 1/2 cups), cooked and shredded
1/2- 3/4 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and moisture squeezed out (measured before thawing)
red onion, sliced (optional)
1 1/4 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
3/4 cup pepper Jack cheese, shredded
salt and freshly ground black pepper
pinch crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
chives for garnish (optional)

Garlic White Sauce:*
2 Tbsp. butter
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1 cup milk
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (or Pecorino Romano)

*This makes enough sauce for 2 pizzas!

DIRECTIONS

  1. Prepare pizza dough according to recipe directions.
  2. To make the garlic white sauce, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, cooking for 30 seconds before whisking in flour, pepper, salt and oregano. Whisk to combine well. Slowly add milk, whisking until well combined. Continue whisking occasionally until desired thickness is reached. Remove from heat, stir in cheese until smooth. Use immediately or cover and chill until ready to use.
  3. Preheat oven and pizza stone to 450 F.
  4. Spread 1/2 cup (or approx. half of the) garlic white sauce over the prepared crust. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Top off with shredded chicken and optional red onions. Sprinkle with mozzarella and pepper Jack cheese. Dust with black pepper (and a pinch of salt if you used unseasoned chicken and spinach).
  5. Bake in preheated oven on pizza stone for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is puffed and the cheese and crust are golden. Top with fresh chives (optional). Slice and serve with crushed red pepper flakes for more heat (optional).

Adapted from Baked by Rachel

Fig Jam, Prosciutto, and Arugula Pizza

April 21, 2020

If you’ve been here long you know how much I love making homemade pizza (and dough). I’ve got a an index full of pizzas for you to try. Today’s recipe has become a regular at our house… pizza with fig jam, prosciutto and arugula. The contrast of sweet fig spread and salty prosciutto is amazing. Add some smooth mozzarella, peppery arugula, and finish with a drizzle of balsamic glaze and it’ll be a pizza you won’t forget!

I’ve linked to the pizza dough recipe/instructions that I’ve been using for years. But sometimes I too get lazy and use store bought instead. Homemade dough is always the tastiest but these toppings are also excellent on a pita, flatbread crust, etc.

Fig Jam, Prosciutto, and Arugula Pizza

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe pizza dough
fig jam (Trader Joe’s makes a great fig spread)
mozzarella, shredded or thinly sliced (fresh mozzarella is best but low-moisture can also be used)
prosciutto, thinly sliced
cremini mushrooms, thinly sliced (optional, I love adding them for some extra nutrition and protein)
freshly grated Parmesan
baby arugula
balsamic glaze, for serving (optional)

DIRECTIONS

  1. Prepare pizza dough according to recipe directions.
  2. Preheat oven and pizza stone to 450 F.
  3. Spread a thin layer of fig jam on the prepared crust. Top with mozzarella cheese, prosciutto*, mushrooms (if using), and a sprinkle of Parmesan.
  4. Bake in preheated oven (on pizza stone) for 10-12 minutes until the crust is puffed and golden and the cheese has melted and browned.
  5. Remove from the oven and top with arugula, another sprinkle of Parmesan, and drizzle with balsamic glaze (optional). Slice and serve.

*You can bake the pizza with the prosciutto on top if you like it crisp, or wait and add the prosciutto after the pizza bakes if you prefer it soft. The original recipe linked below shows it added at the end with the arugula, Parmesan, and balsamic glaze.

Makes 1 large pizza.

Adapted from Food Network

Skillet Pizza

May 22, 2014

IMG_5632

Skillet pizza again. But this time not deep dish. My usual honey whole wheat dough recipe, but halved (so a whole recipe would make 2 pizzas). I love using a pizza stone and for a large pizza, it works wonderfully. But this new method is the closest I’ve come to an authentic puffy, light, oven-fired crust. The prepared crust (with toppings) is placed in a hot cast iron skillet on the stove top and then immediately transferred to the broiler where it cooks for less than 3 minutes!! It’s so fast and the result is awesome.

IMG_5631

On your first attempt you are pretty much guaranteed to make a mess. Transferring the prepped pizza to the HOT skillet is tricky. Dump more flour/cornmeal than feels comfortable under that crust while you are topping it and then it should slide easily. Don’t worry if some cheese or toppings land under the crust or if it doesn’t look pretty. It will taste great no matter what. And the little bits of cheese that end up on the outside of the crust crisp up against the skillet and those were my favorite bites (think Pequod’s crispy cheese crust- yum).

If I haven’t yet convinced you that you need a cast iron skillet, maybe this recipe will do the trick?

Skillet Pizza

INGREDIENTS

1 recipe pizza dough (to make 2 skillet pizzas)
flour or cornmeal, for dusting
12-inch round cast iron skillet
toppings of choice

for this pizza I used:
crushed tomato sauce (makes enough for 2 large pizzas, or about 4 skillet pizzas)
chicken sausage
roasted mushrooms
red onion
black olives
shredded mozzarella
freshly grated Parmesan
pinch crushed red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS

1. Prepare the dough according to recipe directions.

2. When the dough has finished rising, preheat the broiler. Meanwhile, place a large (12-inch recommended) cast iron skillet on the stove over high heat and preheat for 10 minutes, until very hot (turn down the heat slightly if it starts to smoke).

3. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions. Generously flour or sprinkle cornmeal over a large pan or pizza peel. Carefully stretch the dough to the size of your skillet (about 12 inches). Place on the prepared pan/peel and top with desired toppings.

4. When the skillet is ready, carefully transfer the pizza from the pan/peel to the HOT skillet. (If it’s not sliding off then you didn’t place enough flour/cornmeal under the crust. It’s OK if it doesn’t land perfectly in the skillet. We’re going for taste, not looks here.) Immediately transfer the HOT skillet to the oven and place under the broiler. After 45 seconds-1 minutes, rotate the pizza 180 degrees and continue broiling for approx. another 2 minutes until the crust is puffed and golden and the cheese is bubbling (it happens FAST). Remove from the oven and repeat with the remaining dough.

Makes 2 skillet pizzas (approx. 12-inches round), each pizza serves 2.

(Adapted from Bev Cooks and Kitchen Konfidence)