If we can’t agree on anything else (and it seems we really can’t), can we at least agree that pizza is the most delicious food? I can’t imagine it not being on someone’s top 5 list. Over here it is #1, especially on Friday nights. There is nothing better than getting home on Friday, high-fiving about the fact we get to sleep in the next day, putting on my favorite sweatpants (or as my husband says, something a little more stainable), and sitting down to a hot, cheesy pizza (and an equally cheesy movie). This garden fresh, vegetarian pesto pizza is perfection. It is packed full of fresh vegetables – even your finickiest meat eater will be satisfied. 

Quick and Easy Homemade Vegetarian Pizza Recipe

This blog might end up being solely a compilation of different pizza recipes (spoiler alert), but this pesto pizza is one of our favorites. The best part is the taste. But the second best part is how EASY it is to make. 

This pizza saved the day when my parents visited this summer. We hadn’t seen them in months and were practicing strict social distancing measures since my husband and I both work in healthcare. We gave them a separated space in the basement and limited our interaction to the backyard. This meant I couldn’t spend a lot of time prepping meals or cleaning dishes. This pesto pizza recipe was the perfect fix! My parents were impressed that something so delicious seemingly appeared out of thin air. 

You get to pick your difficulty level with this pizza. In a rush? Grab store bought crust and pesto. Have a bit of extra time on your hands? Check out Lu’s Easy Herby, Vegan Pepita Kale Pesto. Her recipe is fast, easy, and delicious. Really want to make things homemade? Try making your own pizza crust. Check out Simple Vegan Blog’s “Homemade Pizza Dough” or Tastes Better From Scratch’s “Easy Pizza Dough Recipe.” For these pictures, I used store bought crust and pesto, but I’m pretty sure I still get points for the overall dish being homemade.  

How to Make this Fresh and Delicious Pizza

Start by dicing your ingredients while you wait for your oven to preheat. Cut the mushrooms into fairly large chunks and rip the spinach into bite-size pieces. Then remove the seeds from the tomatoes. This is optional, but it will help reduce the liquid. Cut the tomato into fourths and rinse seeds off under the faucet before dicing.

Follow the direction of your store bought crust (or your homemade crust recipe). The store bought crust I used instructs me to bake it at 400 for 6 minutes before adding any ingredients. Once your crust instructs you to start adding toppings, add the pesto and ¾ of the cheese.

Top with mushrooms, tomatoes, and spinach.  Then add the remaining cheese. Sprinkle oregano and basil to your preferred taste (the more, the better – in my opinion). Once the ingredients are added, my crust instructs to bake it at 400 for 6-10 minutes. I baked mine for 8 minutes and feel the crust has the perfect golden crunchiness to it. Ta-da – pizza perfection!

A Few Notes About Vegetarian Pesto Pizza

• This delicious pesto pizza is vegetarian friendly, but we promise meat eaters will be happy too.
• You can make this vegan friendly with a couple quick swaps. Use vegan cheese, check your pizza and pesto to make sure they are vegan. Lu’s Easy Herby Vegan Pepito Kale Pesto is vegan friendly. Simple Vegan Baking’s “Homemade Pizza Dough” is vegan too.
• You don’t have to remove the seeds from the tomatoes. Removing the seeds helps reduce extra liquid.
• Store in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days (if you haven’t finished eating it by then, I question your sanity).

Happy Cooking – Meu

Vegetarian Pesto Pizza – Garden Fresh and Easy

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by Ifyougiveagirlanoven@gmail.com Course: Lunch, DinnerCuisine: VegetarianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

5

servings

Prep time

10

minutes

Cooking time

15

minutes

This flavorful, vegetarian pesto pizza is loaded with vegetables. You’ll love the taste and how easy it is to make this garden fresh pizza.

Ingredients

• Pizza crust (store bought or homemade)

• 8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese

• ½ cup pesto + 1 tablespoon

• 2 roma tomatoes

• 6 ounces portobello mushrooms

• 1 cup fresh spinach

• Oregano – to taste

• Basil – to taste

Directions

• Follow directions from your store bought crust or preferred homemade crust recipe regarding pre-heating and steps to prepare crust
• Spread pesto on crust
• Sprinkle ¾ (6 ounces) of the cheese onto pesto.
• Dice mushrooms and cut spinach into medium pieces. Cut tomatoes – remove seeds (optional)
• Add mushroom, spinach, and tomatoes into cheese. Disperse evenly.
• Sprinkle remaining cheese on top.
• Sprinkle oregano and basil seasoning to taste
• Bake – follow directions of you preferred pizza crust.

Notes

• Store in air-tight container in refrigerator for up to 4 days.

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