A very easy vegan pesto pizza, for a bit of a twist on your everyday pizza! Topped with homemade dairy free pesto, it makes good use of the summer abundance of herbs and is a delicious healthy-ish dinner option.
I’ve added tomato confit, jarred artichokes, greens, and lots of zucchini, but you can use any toppings you like. The confit adds a real punch of flavour that helps make this simple pizza a little more special and pairs so well with pesto.
If you don’t eat dairy and really miss pizza, give this a try. It’s not the same – I used to get double cheese stuffed crust pizza, after all – but it’s excellent in its own right. Graham says it’s not pizza but it is at the very least a truly good Flammkuchen.
Ingredients
- Sourdough pizza dough: or spelt pizza dough, store-bought frozen, whatever you prefer. For a gluten-free option, try broccoli pizza crust.
- Pesto: since this is the main flavour, try to use homemade if you can. The fresher the basil, the better.
- Toppings: those listed are highly recommended with the pesto but of course you can use what you like. Try eggplant, sweet peppers, very thinly sliced potato, mushrooms, are all excellent. Of course cheese, vegan or not, is always good on pizza, too.
Step by Step
Mixing and shaping the dough is outlined in that recipe, so we’re skipping it here, since you may choose to use a different pizza crust.
Step 1: shape the dough and add toppings evenly over it.
Step 2: bake until golden and serve hot.
Recipe Notes
The hotter the oven the better. Don’t be tempted to reduce the heat thinking the pizza will burn – it just doesn’t need very long to cook. I always turn my pan halfway through baking to ensure even browning, but my oven bakes unevenly (too hot at the front).
Of course you can also use a pizza stone or pizza oven, but I have neither and can’t offer advice on their use for this recipe.
How to Store
Storage: keep leftovers in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to three days, but note that the toppings will soften the crust over time.
Freezing: I haven’t tried freezing this, but it should be fine to freeze in an airtight container for up to three months.
Newsletter
More Summer Dinners
Summer Greek Chickpea Salad
Super Green Spinach Pancakes
Green Monster Swiss Chard Frittata
Summer Harvest Vegan Burrito Bowl
If you make this Summer Pizza or any other vegetarian dinner recipes on Occasionally Eggs, please take a moment to rate the recipe and leave a comment below. It’s such a help to others who want to try the recipe. For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email.
Vegan Pesto Pizza
Ingredients
- ½ batch spelt sourdough pizza crust
- 50 grams dairy free pesto
- 1 large handful hardy greens spinach, rucola, chard, etc.
- 1 small zucchini thinly sliced
- 4 jarred artichoke hearts quartered
- 100 grams tomato confit
- Fresh basil to serve (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare the pizza dough according to instructions the night before beginning (or thaw your frozen dough in the refrigerator). Make sure it’s been shaped and risen before beginning.1/2 batch spelt sourdough pizza crust
- Make the pesto, if needed, and set aside.50 grams dairy free pesto
- Preheat the oven to 240°C (460°F).
- Spread the pizza dough with the pesto, reserving a couple tablespoons for drizzling over the pizza before serving. Leave 2-3 cm (1 inch) from the edge for the crust.
- Top with, in the following order, the greens, zucchini, artichoke hearts, and tomato confit.1 large handful hardy greens, 1 small zucchini, 4 jarred artichoke hearts, 100 grams tomato confit
- Once the oven is hot, place the baking sheet with the pizza onto the centre rack. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the edges are a dark golden brown.
- Cool for five minutes before slicing and serving with extra pesto and basil leaves. Leftovers are good cold and will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator.Fresh basil
* For American cup measurements, please click the pink link text above the ingredient list that says ‘American’.
Nutrition
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. If this information is important to you, please have it verified independently.
This post was first published in April 2018. It has been updated with improvements to the recipe as of August 2021.
Occasionally Eggs
If you’re looking for approachable, seasonal vegetarian recipes, you’re in the right place! Occasionally Eggs is all about healthier plant based recipes that follow the seasons.
Find vegetarian staples, refined sugar free desserts, and hundreds of vegan recipes. All OE recipes are vegetarian, dairy free, and refined sugar free.
Alexandra Daum says
I hope you can try it soon, Alex! I'm sure it would be delicious but I usually avoid soy – it can cause similar reactions as dairy for me. It's a great tip, thank you!
Alex says
This looks so good! I have to bookmark this for when I finally start my own sourdough starter 😉
Have you tried adding miso to your vegan pesto? It adds a nice salty/savory note.