Pizza Night
Pizza is an easy and popular recipe that is perfect for a quick weeknight dinner! Try this vegan Pesto Pizza for a healthier version of this classic dish.
The vegan walnut pesto in this recipe is great in salads and pasta as well, and I think you’ll love the almond ricotta too! Topping the finished pizza with greens is a great way to sneakily eat more of this important food.
Whole Plant Based Ingredients
One thing I really love about this recipe is that the cheese and pesto are both made from whole plant foods! No fake processed cheese here. I like to put the almond ricotta onto the pizza after it’s done baking to prevent it from drying out!
Try adding more green veggies to make this pizza even healthier, if you love lots of toppings. I love to add mushrooms, onions and asparagus to pesto pizzas.
Are you a pizza fanatic? Try this GF Veggie Protein Pizza
If you’re a spelt lover, here’s a Summer Vegetable Ancient Grain Pizza featuring a whole grain spelt crust.
Equipment
- Oven
- Pizza Stone
- Sheet Pan
Ingredients
Vegan PIzza Dough
- 2 1/2 cups organic bread flour
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tsp instant yeast
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 cup water lukewarm
Almond Ricotta
- 1 cup organic almonds blanched and slivered
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1 tbsp lemon zest
- 1 tsp sea salt
- water as needed
Walnut Pesto
- 1 cup olive oil extra virgin
- 1 cup walnuts
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 cups basil
- 2 cups meslun greens
- zest and juice of 1 lemon
For the Pizza
- 1 recipe almond ricotta see above
- 1 recipe walnut pesto see recipe
- 1 recipe pizza dough see recipe
- 4 cups baby mesclun greens
Instructions
Pizza Dough
- To make the pizza dough, mix together the bread flour, sea salt and instant yeast in a medium mixing bowl and stir well. Make a well in the center of the bowl and add the olive oil and warm water and mix well until a shaggy dough is formed.
- Turn the dough out onto the counter and roughly form the dough into a ball. Knead the dough for 10 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and elastic. Put the dough back into the mixing bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to sit for about 1 hour in a warm spot in your kitchen until the dough has risen and doubled in size.
- After the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and remove it from the bowl. But the dough in half and form into 2 equal balls. Place the balls onto a tray and cover with plastic and allow to rest for 1 hour before using.
Almond Ricotta
- Place the blanched and slivered almonds into a bowl and cover with clean filtered water. Allow to sit overnight.
- The next day, drain and rinse the almonds thoroughly. Transfer the soaked almonds to a food processor and add the lemon juice, lemon zest and sea salt. Get a cup of water to have on hand while you process the almonds,
- Turn on the food processor and add water little by little to help the almonds achieve a smooth and fluffy texture. Scrape down the sides of the food processor frequently to help prevent chunks of almonds being left in your ricotta.
- After the almond ricotta is the desired texture, transfer to a bowl and season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. Store in your refrigerator in an airtight containerfor up to 2 weeks. It can be frozen as well.
Walnut Pesto
- Wash your food processor after making the almond ricotta, as you'll need it for this recipe! Place the walnuts, olive oil, garlic, sea salt, mesclun greens, basil, lemon juice and zest into the processor. Pulse repeatedly until a chunky but consistent texture is achieved. Transfer to a small jar or other airtight container and store in your refrigerator for up to 1 week.
To make the pizza
- Pre-heat your oven to 450°F. If you have a pizza stone, make sure you pre-heat it at least 30 minutes.
- Once the dough balls have rested the complete time, they should be ready to use. Turn them out onto a lightly floured surface and gently press down in the center of the ball with the pads of your fingers working outwards to start forming a circle. Continue to press the pizza out on the table, being careful not to flatten the crust around the edge.
- When the pizza is about 10" wide, transfer it to a sheet pan (or a pizza peel if you're using a pizza stone). Spread about 2 oz of the pesto onto the crust and transfer to the oven. Cook for about 6-8 minutes until the crust is as crisp as you like it.
- When the pizza is done, remove it from the oven and place it on a large cutting board. Top the pizza with dollops of the almond ricotta and generous amounts of mesclun greens. Cut and serve immediately,
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