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Artichoke Pesto and Burrata Pizza with Lemony Arugula…for those nights when you’re looking for a really good pizza, but you also need a salad. Homemade pizza dough topped with basil pesto, olives, spinach, and artichokes, baked until the crust is golden and perfect. As soon as the pizza comes out of the oven, top it with fresh burrata cheese and a simple herby, lemony arugula. Every last bite of this pizza is delicious and super fresh. Making it the perfect January pizza. It’s cheesy, but veggie filled too. Balance.
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I don’t know if pizza fits into your “Healthy January” eats, but it surely fits into mine.
Don’t you see all those greens? And those veggies underneath the greens, and those fresh herbs, and that lemon? This is a true salad pizza, and honestly, it’s the type of pizza of my dreams. I’ve been craving pizza the last few weeks, and I could not love this one more. It’s everything I could ever want from a pizza.
Oddly, this pizza was inspired by my soon to be sister in-law, who is currently doing a 3-day juice cleanse. Yesss, 3 days of nothing but juice! There’s nothing that sounds worse to me than consuming only fluids for 3 whole days. I truly don’t think I could do it. Thankfully for you guys, I have no plans of juice cleanses here, and only see more pizzas in my future.
Truthfully, I don’t really believe in these juice cleanses or new year’s diets. I know that everyone is different, and has different health needs, but I’m much more about enjoying real food, and everything in moderation. I feel that if we restrict the foods we really want, we’ll one, be unhappy, and two, end up binge eating and or developing unhealthy eating habits. Again, I get that everyone one’s different, but I think you should eat what makes you feel your best. For me, that lots of greens and vegetables, colorful fruits, healthy grains, and yes, cheese too. Sorry, no liquid diets for 3 days for me!
Who’s with me? I polled on Instagram and 99.5% of you are with me so far. GREAT. So let’s talk pizza!
As I said, this pizza was inspired by my very soon to be sister-in-law, Lyndsie (the wedding is in September). She not only loves pizza, but loves a good arugula salad, complete with artichokes, fresh herbs, and a lemon vinaigrette. When I was brainstorming pizza ideas, I thought why not combine that combo into a pesto pizza with burrata and arugula on top.
It sounded too good, so here we are today. The pizza with salad on top.
I topped homemade pizza dough (it’s whole wheat…so healthier, right?!) with a generous amount of basil pesto, green olives, a little baby spinach, and marinated artichokes. Then I threw it into the pizza oven and baked it until the crust was crisp on the outside, but soft and chewy in the center.
As soon as it comes out of the oven, add the burrata. Allow the cheese to sit atop the pizza for a few minutes to melt. Oh so heavenly.
Now, since I know I will get asked this question, yes you can use another cheese like fresh mozzarella. But before you do, just check with your local grocery store to see if they carry burrata cheese. It’s commonly sold almost everywhere now, so I think most of you should be able to find it! And trust me, it’s soooo worth locating, because burrata cheese is like no other. Think mozzarella on the outside, but creamy ricotta on the inside. So good!
Moving beyond the cheese and onto the greens.
While the pizza is baking, mix up that lemony arugula topping. It’s a very simple mix of olive oil, lemon, fresh arugula, basil, dill, a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes – for heat, and toasted pine nuts for a little crunch.
It’s herby, with a lemony, peppery bite. Perfect atop a veggie filled burrata pizza pie.
And with that, I know it’s only Thursday, but Thursday night pizza is sounding pretty good to me.
If you make this pizza, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to also tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
More HBH Pesto Recipes:
- Pesto Potato Salad
- Spicy Pesto Pasta Alla Vodka
- Pesto Chicken Caesar Salad with Tomatoes and Burrata
Watch the How To Video:
Artichoke Pesto and Burrata Pizza with Lemony Arugula.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound pizza dough, homemade or store-bought
- 1/3 cup basil pesto, homemade or store bought
- 1/2 cup green olives, roughly chopped
- 1 cup baby spinach, roughly chopped
- 1 jar (12 ounce) marinated artichokes drained and roughly chopped
- crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil plus more for drizzling
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- kosher salt and black pepper
- crushed red pepper flakes
- 2 cups baby arugula
- 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons fresh dill, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts
- 8 ounces burrata cheese, (about 2-3 balls)
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet with olive oil.2. On a lightly floured surface, push/roll the pizza dough out until it is pretty thin (about a 10-12 inch circle). Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet. Spread the dough with pesto and top evenly with olives, spinach and artichokes. 3. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden.4. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, and a pinch each of salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper. Add the arugula, basil, dill, and pine nuts and toss to combine. 5. Remove the pizza from the oven and top with burrata. Allow the burrata to sit on the pizza and warm through, about 5 minutes. Top arugula. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Hi ! I’m going to make this for a pizza battle with my brother next week, I represent “healthy pizza” 🙂
I’m a bit lost on how to make the artichoke, I’ve never cooked with them before so I don’t understand what you mean by “marinated artichokes”. Am I supposed to marinate them in something in particular ? Sorry, seems obvious for everybody but not to me :p
Thanks !
Hi there! Marinated artichokes came in jar, you purchase them are the grocery store. They are very easy to use, just drain them from their liquid and add to the pizza. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
I absolutely love this pizza but my crust never seems to cook enough, especially in the middle. Do you have any suggestions such as par baking the dough before adding toppings? I don’t have a pizza stone and have just been baking it on a sheet. Thanks!
Hey Cara,
What temp do you have your oven at? I find the higher the heat the better for pizza. Let me know how I can help! xTieghan
Tieghan,
Ok last one for today – but this pizza changed my life. First, it’s stunning on the plate. Second, it’s incredible and delicious. Third, I ate my weight in it and was still able to justify it as a “salad pizza.” Fourth, if you can’t find Burrata, make something else and come back to this, because it is key IMO.
I did overdress my greens with the lemon – and I’d urge whoever is making this to add a little liquid at a time to them so as not to repeat my mistake because they got a hint soggy by the time I went back for seconds. Also if you’re planning on eating this in multiple sittings, don’t dress the whole pizza in the greens – cut that part in half or whatever you estimate you’ll eat the first day.
I dream about this dish. I sent it to my dad, he made it, and now HE dreams about this pizza. 12/10 would make again, and would wholeheartedly nominate for best recipe I’ve made. Ever. Bless u.
All of these comments are so great! I am so glad this pizza turned out amazing for you and I love the burrata in it too… MY FAV! Also thank you for sharing it with your dad, so sweet!! I hope you have a great week, Catherine! xTieghan
This pizza was MAGICAL. PHENOM. 10/10.
Thank you Catherine! xTieghan
So delicious!! This was my first time making homemade pizza dough and it was so easy with your other linked recipe. Thanks for a great recipe. Will be making this again and again.
Thank you Rebecca! xTieghan
This pizza is amazing! I made it with caulipower crust (found it in the freezer section of Kroger) and store bought pesto and it was so fast, easy and delicious. I am always looking for more ways to use burrata- we usually just eat it plain it is so good! Will be making this much more!
Hi Sarah! I am so glad you loved this pizza recipe! Thank you so much for helping me! xTieghan
So delicious and simple to make!
As usual I only half read the ingredients before making it (oops!) so I had to swap out a few things but it was still so good!
I didn’t have spinach so I skipped that, i used fresh mozzarella that I added before baking and homemade pesto, made the dressing with lime instead of lemon and finally skipped the dill and pine nuts. I will remake it for sure, with the right ingredients this time hehe
I hope you love it even more with the ingredients, but I am so glad this turned out amazing! Thank you Marie! xTieghan
We love this pizza. We’ve made it at least 5 times already. Delicious!
That is so amazing! Thank you Camille! xTieghan
Made this tonight–loved it! I’m planning on making it for Easter.
I love that! Thank you Heather! xTieghan
What would this be like with soft goats cheese? Too tangy maybe? ?
HI! I am sure soft goat cheese will be delicious! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe. Thanks so much!! xTieghan
Ohmigosh, this was SO GOOD!!!! I used herb and garlic dough from Trader Joe’s and also their pesto, which is surprisingly good. I left off the olives, since I don’t like them but I followed everything else and agree, if you can get Burrata, it is a game changer (I also got that at trader joe’s). I added some garlic and onion powder and extra red pepper flakes. This was something I would get at a restaurant. Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Hi Alissa! I am so glad you loved this recipe! Thank you so much for making it! xTieghan
I discovered your blog back in November and have since been working my way through all of your recipes. I made the turkey on a whim for Thanksgiving and my entire family (ENTIRE) dictated that I was to permanently make the bird for the foreseeable future. Anyways…I made this the other night for my family and everyone said it was in their top 10 for best food that they have ever had. Some of them took pictures and sent it to their friends. This is an incredible recipe and I am so excited to work through the rest of the recipes.
Thank you!
Olivia
Thank you so much Olivia! I am so glad you have been loving my recipes and blog and I hope you continue to! Thank you so much!
Nothing hits the spot like a good homemade pizza! Love how you incorporated burrata cheese, too, but have you tried it with any other cheeses?
HI! I have not made this with other cheeses, but I am sure any cheese that you love will be great! I recommend mozzarella, ricotta, or fontina, but just make sure to melt these onto the pizza as it bakes. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Not the first of your pizzas I make but, so far, my favourite. So yummy !!!
I am so glad you loved this! Thank you Eleanor!
Amazing recipe! I made this for dinner tonight and think I will be dreaming about it tonight! Thank you for introducing me to a new recipe and a new favorite cheese!
Thank you so much Latrice!
There’s nothing better than pesto with burrata! This is my dream pizza! 🙂
Thank you so much Laura!