What is the green stuff they put on top of pizza?

Whether you're looking for a vegetarian pizza that's not plain margarita, green food for St Patrick's day, or just something a bit different, this green pizza is a fresh and delicious slice, packed with veggies and cheese.

This post may contain affiliate links, where we earn from qualifying purchases. See more details in the policy page.

I know it hasn't been all that long since I had a bit of a pizza phase (with my caramelized onion and gorgonzola pizza and Catalan coca/Spanish pizza back to back). It's got me on a bit of a roll, I think.

However, it has to be done now and then, right? And this green pizza is perfect for this time of year as the bright fresh colors and flavors scream of spring. Even if it doesn't necessarily agree outside, of course.

You might have noticed I haven't really shared any typical tomato sauce-based pizzas. It's not that we don't have them - in fact pepperoni pizza is my elder son's favorite and so is what we probably have the most.

But I think that's probably why I like experimenting with other combinations when I make something else. And the results have been delicious and diverse, as I hope you might have seen.

How to make this green pizza

This pizza has a pesto and ricotta 'sauce' as the base, then you top it with veggies, cheese then bake and finish off with some arugula. I also added a little more fresh parmesan and truffle oil, but that part's up to you.

The mixture of textures and flavors is really tasty and you honestly don't miss the usual sauce. Here I topped it with zucchini and asparagus, but I have also made this with broccoli as well, and other green veg like peas would be great on there too. Or use other veg, or course, if you're less bothered about keeping to the green theme.

This pizza is pretty easy to make since there's no pre-cooking of a sauce or any other part of the topping, you just mix, slice and layer it up. I've made the base, as I really like the flavor of this one and it's not hard, but you can of course buy ready-made as well.

Bright and fresh, this green pizza packs a veggie punch. It's full of the brightness of spring and the perfect way to change up pizza night.

Try these other pizza ideas:

• Lahmacun (Turkish meat pizza/flatbread)
• Bacon corn pizza
• Fall pizza with butternut squash and sausage
• Plus get more mains recipes in the archives.

This unusual green pizza combines cheese, pesto and vegetables for a tasty, fresh slice.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: Fusion, Italian

Servings: 2 or more

Calories: 771kcal

Save

For the pizza base

• 1 cup white bread flour 135g
• ½ cup whole wheat flour 70g
• ½ cup all purpose flour 70g plain flour
• ¾ teaspoon fast-acting dried yeast
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 ½ tablespoon plain yogurt eg Greek-style
• ¾ cups water 180ml, warm

For the topping

• 4 teaspoon pesto
• ½ cup ricotta 120ml/8tbsp
• 7 oz zucchini 200g courgette
• 8 stems asparagus approx
• ½ oz parmesan 15g, finely grated
• 2 handfuls arugula rocket
• ¼ oz parmesan 8g, shaved
• 2 teaspoon truffle oil approx (OK to omit if you don't have but it does finish it nicely)

Ahead of time

• To make the pizza dough, put the flours, yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl and mix together. Make a slight well in the middle and add the oil, yogurt and water and carefully mix together into a dough. It will be slightly wet and sticky. Tip the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes, stretching the dough away from you with the back of your hand, folding the stretched part over on top of the rest of the dough, turning 90 degrees then repeating. Add a little more flour as you go, if needed. After around 5min it should stop feeling sticky. Clean out the mixing bowl, lightly oil it then form the dough into a ball and put it in the bowl. Cover with cling film/plastic wrap and leave it to rest somewhere warm for about an hour, possibly more, until it doubles in size.

As ready to cook

• When ready to make the pizzas, preheat oven to 425F/220C. Put baking sheets in the oven to allow them to pre-heat.

• Knock back the pizza dough (prod with your fingers after turning it out of the bowl) and divide into 2 (alternatively, you can make one large pizza or more smaller). Keep the piece(s) you are not working with to one side, covered, while you work on the one pizza.

• Roll out the pizza dough into a circle or rectangle, as you prefer, and as suits your baking sheet/tray. Roll it about as thin as you can and transfer to a piece of parchment paper. Repeat with the remaining dough.

• Mix together the ricotta and pesto and spread across the pizza bases. 

• Thinly slice or shave the zucchini, shave the asparagus and spread both over the base. Top with the grated parmesan and bake for approximately 15 minutes until the base is crisp and the vegetables looked gently cooked but not overly brown. 

• Top with the arugula, shaved parmesan and a drizzle of truffle oil then serve. 

Note, you can swap out a ready made base if you like. You can also add to the vegetable toppings eg with broccoli, peas.

Calories: 771kcal | Carbohydrates: 100g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 29g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 41mg | Sodium: 925mg | Potassium: 625mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1260IU | Vitamin C: 20.8mg | Calcium: 355mg | Iron: 4mg

See some of my favorite cooking tools and ingredients in the Caroline's Cooking Amazon store. 

Remember to pin for later!