VEGAN PESTO PIZZA
Healthier pizza? Vegan pizza? Green Pesto pizza? Is that even possible I hear you say? Earlier this year I was approached by the lovely people from Pizza da Piero to come up with a pizza recipe that would be just that: healthy and vegan. *
For those of you who are not familiar with Pizza da Piero, let me explain. They are an Irish family business making delicious pizza bases and sauces which are available to buy in various shops and delis around the country. In fact, I had been using their products many times before because, let’s be honest … who has time to always make their own pizza base? Theirs is a lovely thin crust base which is sold fresh but also freezes really well.
Vegan Pizza
The question I always get asked is about which vegan cheese to use, but I’ll let you in on a secret: most of the time I don’t even use cheese. In the case of this pizza, the secret ingredient is pesto - it does all the flavouring whilst at the same time giving you a bit of a cheezy indulgence. The second important ingredient are black olives. It is crucial that you use these, they will add the much needed saltiness that cuts through the pesto.
People are often sceptical when it comes to putting green vegetables like broccoli and courgette on a pizza, but I would really urge you to try and judge for yourself. This green pizza will leave you satisfied and full whilst at the same time ensuring you are getting a healthy dose of good veggies into you. I hope you enjoy, and if you make it, let me know below in the comments or share on Instagram and make sure to tag me.
Green Pesto Pizza with Black Olives
Vegan Pesto Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 ready made pizza base (such as
- Pizza da Piero
- )
- 90g green pesto (I used Basil Pesto by The Happy Pear but any other green pesto is fine too)
- 100g tenderstem broccoli
- 1 small courgette
- 8-10 pitted black olives
- 4-5 small baby plum tomatoes, sliced
- Handful of rocket leaves
- Olive oil or chilli oil
- Pepper
Instructions
- Heat your oven to 250C/480F
- Bring a small pot of water to the boil.
- Cut the stems off the broccoli. (Keep to use in story fries, tofu scramble, green smoothies etc).
- When the water is boiling, add the broccoli and leave for exactly 2.5 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water. Pat dry.
- Spread the pesto all over the pizza base. (Note: if you are using the Happy Pear pesto, this represents ½ a tub).
- With a vegetable peeler, cut about 8-10 ribbons off the courgette.
- Distribute the broccoli, courgette ribbons, tomatoes and olives evenly over the pizza base.
- Add a sprinkle of olive oil (or chilli oil if you like)
- Place the pizza in the oven for 5 minutes.
- Remove, add rocket leaves and fresh pepper. Serve.
Notes:
* If your oven does not go all the way to 250C/480F, have it on its highest possible setting. The cooking time may increase a little to maybe 10 minutes. * You can use pitted or unpitted black olives. If you use unpitted ones, just be aware of the pit when you are enjoying your pizza. * If you would like to save this recipe, why not pin the image below to your Pinterest account so you can find it easily. * I was paid to create this recipe for Pizza da Piero but all opinions are my own.
