White Pizza with Artichoke Pesto and Spinach. Homemade or store bought pizza dough is smeared with artichoke pesto, sautéed spinach, chili flakes, Italian mixed cheese blend and marinated artichoke hearts, then baked until the crust is golden and perfect. This veg forward pizza with a crusty dough is super delicious, so cheesy fresh out of the oven.
I have been on a pesto roll lately, just this week I made this, basil pesto and kale pesto for our weekly menu, for now let’s talk about this artichoke pesto. White pizza is usually made with milk, butter, cream, cheese and tends to be dairy heavy, this pesto is something along the same line, but different because the majority ingredients are artichoke, walnuts, garlic, olive oil and of course parmesan cheese making it creamy, garlicky and easily spreadable on the pizza making a delicious base sauce + a tad healthier. I also sautéed some spinach and dotted it on the top along with jarred marinated artichoke for extra flavor+ 4 blend Italian cheese for a bit more complexity. The pesto is also delicious tossed with pasta which will be shared soon for sure.
Bonus, this pizza only takes about 30 minutes (+ preheating time) which is kind of perfect for a busy weekday dinner.
White Pizza with Artichoke Pesto & Spinach
Ingredients
Pizza
- ½ pound pizza dough, homemade or store bought make sure the dough is at room temp for easy rolling/ stretching
- 4-5 ounce bag baby spinach
- ⅓ cup artichoke pesto, recipe follows
- 1 clove garlic chopped
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ jar marinated artichoke drained
- pinch chili flakes
- 1 cup Italian cheese blend
- sea salt and black pepper as needed
Artichoke Pesto
- 8 oz defrosted, frozen artichoke hearts
- ½ cup walnuts, raw
- 2 cloves garlic
- ⅓ cup parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 generous pinches of chili flakes
- ½ cup packed parsley leaves I skipped this to maintain the white color
Instructions
- Grease a pizza stone, steel or baking sheet with olive oil. Place the pizza stone or steel in the oven and preheat the oven to 475°-500° F.
- Heat oil in a pan and cook the spinach just until wilted. Season with salt and pepper.
- On a lightly floured surface, push/pull/stretch or roll the pizza dough out until you get a thin about a 10-12 inch circle'ish shape). Room temperature dough helps with stretching the dough easily). Place the pizza on a paddle for easy transfer into the oven or transfer the dough to the baking sheet( its very difficult to transfer once the toppings are placed on the pizza) Spread artichoke pesto all around the pizza lightly leaving a 1/2 inch border around. Sprinkle chili flakes lightly. Dot the sautéed spinach, artichoke hearts on the pizza. Sprinkle the cheese.
- Transfer to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden.
Artichoke Pesto
- In a food processor add the ingredients except the oil. Turn the machine ON and with the food processor running pour in the extra virgin olive oil and pulse just until you get a smooth thick paste. Add salt and pepper to your taste and pulse one more time to mix.
- Leftover artichoke pesto makes an excellent sandwich spread or tossed with freshly cooked pasta. Enjoy!
Loved this recipe! Never thought vegetarian pizza could be so good.
thank you so much, happy you liked it.