Veggie Lover’s Pizza

Healthy pizzas are one of my favorite go-to meals.  They get a bad reputation for being filled with cheese and unhealthy ingredients, but in fact they can be an excellent vegetable delivery vehicle (particularly good for picky eaters!).  This pizza is overflowing with veggies, built on a whole wheat crust, and uses very little, if any, cheese.  It’s a winner for sure!

Veggie Lover’s Pizza Ingredients:

Whole wheat pizza crust
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 small jar of tomato paste
1 red onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 bunch of kale, chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
2 cups of chopped mushrooms (any variety)
1/2 cup chopped green olives
2 teaspoons olive oil
Optional: 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Chop the red onion and garlic into small pieces and saute in 1 teaspoon of olive oil in a large cast-iron pan.  Add the halved cherry tomatoes, red pepper flakes, and 1 small jar of tomato paste.  Please try to find tomato products in glass jars or cardboard boxes instead of cans, because the acid in tomatoes leaches chemicals from the metal cans.

While the sauce is sauteing, begin to wash and chop the other vegetables.  Be sure to remove the pits from the olives.

Roll out your pizza dough and place it on an oiled pizza stone or large baking sheet.  Ladle the tomato sauce onto the dough and use a spatula to spread it in an even layer.

Pile on the kale, mushrooms, peppers, and olives (all raw), and sprinkle with parmesan if you’re using cheese.

Bake at 400 degrees for 35 minutes, or until very aromatic and starting to crisp on the edges.

Cool for 5 minutes before cutting and serving.

There is so much to love about this pizza.  First and foremost, it tastes wonderful!  Second, it is literally filled to the brim with delicious vegetables, and very adaptable based on whatever you have on hand.  Third, it feels like a treat even though it’s completely healthy.  Definitely my kind of pizza!

Here are some of my other favorites –

Grilled Summer Vegetable Pizza
Lemon Brussels Sprouts Pizza

Enjoy!