This fresh, bright spring pesto pizza recipe comes from Alexandra Daum’s beautiful debut cookbook Occasionally Eggs.
Another great recipe from the Occasionally Eggs cookbook! This seasonal vegan pesto pizza features a basil pesto base, topped with loads of green veggies – spinach, asparagus, and zucchini.
The crust is made with spelt flour (see substitutions below) and with no cheese, it’s also vegan. It’s really a pizza you can feel good about. Change up the toppings based on what you have in the house and keep the pesto base!
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Use the JUMP TO RECIPE button at the top, or scroll to the bottom of the post to see the printable recipe card with full ingredient measurements and complete instructions.
Ingredients
For The Spelt Pizza Dough
For The Pesto
Method
Make The Pizza Dough
Whisk together the warm water, honey, and yeast in a large bowl. Let the mixture rest for 15 minutes. The yeast should bloom and look like foam.
Stir in the room-temperature water, oil, salt, and 1 cup (150 g) of flour with a wooden spoon or spatula.
Add the remaining flour ½ cup (75 g) at a time, stirring between each addition, until it becomes too difficult to mix.
Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Knead for 5-10 minutes, sprinkling additional flour as needed, until a soft, smooth dough forms.
If you have a stand mixer, skip hand kneading and use the dough hook in your mixer instead.
Clean your bowl, then add a drizzle of olive oil to it. Place the dough into the bowl, turning to coat in the oil. Cover with a plate or tea towel and set in a warm, draft-free spot. Let the dough rise for 50-60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Make The Pesto
While the dough is rising, make the pesto. Add the basil, spinach, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to a small food processor, or use an immersion blender, and blend well.
Add the olive oil in a slow stream while blending, until fully incorporated and very smooth.
Assemble & Bake The Pizza
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Roll the dough out into a circle about 2cm (¾ in.) thick and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet (you can also make two smaller pizzas).
Top the dough with the pesto, reserving a couple of tablespoons for serving.
Add the spinach, followed by asparagus, leek, zucchini, and mushrooms to the pizza. Top with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of salt.
Bake the pizza for 20-25 minutes. The vegetables should be tender and the crust golden. Top with a drizzle of pesto and serve hot.
Tips & Notes
For a richer pesto, add a quarter cup of pine nuts (toasted or raw) to the container before blending. You can also add Parmesan cheese if the pizza doesn’t need to be vegan.
Top with mozzarella (vegan or not) if you want a cheesy pizza.
We’ve adapted the recipe slightly to make one large pizza rather than the two smaller ones called for in the book. If you just have small baking sheets, feel free to make two instead.
If you mix the water and yeast together in step one and nothing is happening, your yeast is probably dead, either from age or the water being too hot. Start again, making sure to use not-expired yeast.
Substitutions
Use white flour instead of spelt for the base is preferred. You can also use our sourdough pizza crust.
Kelly wasn’t able to get leeks for the shoot, and it’s fine to leave them off. You could replace with another vegetable in the onion family, like spring onion, if you’d like to get a similar flavour without the leek.
Substitute chard, kale, or arugula for the spinach, both for the pesto and the pizza. Use what you have on hand.
Pesto from a jar can be used in place of the homemade pesto.
More Savoury Vegan Recipes
Spring Onion Biscuits
Vegan Soda Bread
Sourdough Crackers
Mini Vegan Spinach Pies
Cozy Vegan Baked Beans
Recipe
Spring Pesto Pizza From Occasionally Eggs Cookbook
Description
Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons or a digital kitchen scale
- Whisk
- Mixing bowl
- Wooden spoon or spatula
- Stand mixer optional
- Parchment paper
- baking sheet
Ingredients
Dough
- ¼ cup warm, water
- 1 teaspoon honey, or maple syrup
- 2 ¼ teaspoons dry yeast
- 1 cup water, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for coating the bowl
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 2 ½ to 3 cups spelt flour, divided
Pesto
- 2 cups basil
- 1 cup spinach, packed
- 1 clove garlic
- Juice of a lemon
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Toppings
- 4 cups spinach
- 14 oz. asparagus, halved lengthwise, woody ends removed
- 1 medium leek, cut into ½-inch (1 cm) rounds, dark green discarded
- 1 medium zucchini, cut into ½-inch (1 cm) rounds
- 2 cups button mushrooms, cut into ½-inch (1 cm) slices
- Olive oil, to drizzle
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
Make The Pizza Dough
- Whisk together the warm water, honey, and yeast in a large bowl. Let the mixture rest for 15 minutes. The yeast should bloom and look like foam.
- Stir in the room-temperature water, oil, salt, and 1 cup (150 grams) of flour with a wooden spoon or spatula.
- Add the remaining flour ½ cup (75 grams) at a time, stirring between each addition, until it becomes too difficult to mix.
- Turn the dough out onto a well-floured surface. Knead for 5-10 minutes, sprinkling additional flour as needed, until a soft, smooth dough forms.
- If you have a stand mixer, skip hand kneading and use the dough hook in your mixer instead.
- Clean your bowl, then add a drizzle of olive oil to it. Place the dough into the bowl, turning to coat in the oil. Cover with a plate or tea towel and set in a warm, draft-free spot.
- Let the dough rise for 50-60 minutes, or until doubled in size.
Make the Pesto
- While the dough is rising, make the pesto. Add the basil, spinach, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to a small food processor, or use an immersion blender, and blend well.
- Add the olive oil in a slow stream while blending, until fully incorporated and very smooth.
- Assemble and Bake the Pizza
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
- Roll the dough out into a circle about ¾ inches (2 cm) thick and place onto a parchment lined baking sheet (you can also make two smaller pizzas).
- Top the dough with the pesto, reserving a couple of tablespoons for serving.
- Add the spinach, followed by asparagus, leek, zucchini, and mushrooms to the pizza. Top with a drizzle of oil and a sprinkle of salt.
- Bake the pizza for 20-25 minutes. The vegetables should be tender and the crust golden. Top with a drizzle of pesto and serve hot.
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