Garden Greens Goddess Pizza.

Sharing one of my favorite cheesy pizzas, Garden Greens Goddess Pizza. This is the early summer pizza we all should be making. Homemade pizza dough topped with spicy homemade “goddess” style basil pesto, shredded kale, creamy cheese, and garden-fresh zucchini. Roast everything up in a super hot oven until the zucchini becomes almost chip-like, the cheese is melty and bubbly, and the crust is golden and perfect. Once out of the oven, top with fresh basil for the most delicious garden-style summery pizza.

As we enter into the early summer months, I’m really looking forward to cooking (and baking) with fresh produce. I love seeing what’s growing in everyone’s gardens and what the local farm stands and markets are carrying. When I made this pizza last week, we were experiencing some very beautiful spring weather and I was so inspired to cook with the overflowing produce in my fridge.

I wanted something light, fresh, and colorful. A fun recipe that would incorporate the herbs we are currently growing in our garden. Sure, it’s a bit early for gardens to be producing an abundance of zucchini and kale, but soon enough…I’m just helping us all prepare!

Speaking of gardens, are any of you tending to gardens this season? It’s tricky trying to grow produce here where we live in Colorado. If not covered, there are many nights where the produce will freeze. Even during the hottest month of the year. But I’m excited to already have herbs in full bloom and leafy greens on the way…all thanks to our greenhouse!

The inspiration.

When it comes to cooking in the summer months, I tend to keep things simple. That means creating recipes with lots of produce. After months of quarantined cooking, it’s going to be nice to lighten things up a bit.

Enter this pizza, it still feels hearty and crave-worthy, but yet it incorporates so much fresh produce and flavorful herbs. It’s going to be perfect for busy summer nights when you have tons of greens, zucchini, and basil in the fridge.

Which is how this pizza came to be. It was created using the contents of my fridge, our herb-garden, and the abundance of homemade goat cheese we now have. My favorite recipes are always the ones created on the fly.

The Garden Greens Goddess Pizza details…

As with most of my pizza recipes, this is simple. And you can easily swap ingredients dependent on your tastes and what you have on hand.

Start with the dough. I like to use my homemade pizza dough recipe from the HBH Super Simple cookbook. It’s the easiest to make and truly delicious. If you can think a few hours ahead of time, I’d recommend making your own dough. If not, store-bought pizza dough works great too (Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s both have great options)!

Once you have your dough figured out, it’s time to make pizza…and a spicy, lemony basil pesto too.

For the pesto, I used a mix of fresh basil and dill, but I often swap the fresh dill for mint, so use whichever you prefer. I like to add lots of lemon to my pesto, and for this pesto, a spicy jalapeño pepper too. Of course, if you don’t love spicy food, you can simply omit the jalapeño from the pesto.

If you’ve never made pesto before, it’s easy. You simply blend fresh herbs with parmesan cheese, olive oil, and a pinch of salt in either a blender or food processor. It’s easy and worth the extra five minutes’ time. That said, if you don’t have lots of fresh basil on hand, feel free to use your favorite store-bought pesto.

Now…put it all together and bake!

Once the pesto is made, roll out the pizza dough and layer on the toppings.

Spread on a heavy layer of pesto, add lots of shredded kale, crumbled goat cheese, and plenty of melty fontina cheese. Now…the next step is key. Cut the zucchini (or yellow summer squash) into ribbons using a vegetable peeler (or just thinly slice the zucchini into rounds). Getting the zucchini thinly sliced is key. It bakes up atop the pizza and turns almost “chip” like. It’s delicious and a fun way to switch up the average way you might cook with zucchini.

Once everything is layered onto the pizza dough, simply bake in a super hot oven. Ten or so minutes later dinner is done. You’ll have cheesy pizza with all the vegetables and your kitchen with smell pretty darn good too.

Finish with a large handful of fresh basil leaves, slice, and enjoy! Simple, yet perfect. A low-key dinner at home that feels fun and even a little fancy(ish) too.

So with that, what do you all think? Tuesday night pizza? Promise it’s going to be fun, and most importantly, so very GOOD.

Looking for other fun pizza night recipes? Some favorites of mine include…

Pesto Zucchini and Peach Pizza with Burrata

Herbed Butter Heirloom Tomato Pizza

Pepper and Cherry Tomato White Pizza

Garlic and Herb Roasted Cherry Tomato Pizza with Caramelized Onions

Lastly, if you make this garden greens goddess 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 tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Garden Greens Goddess Pizza.

4.60 from 88 votes

4

by Tieghan Gerard

calories 777kcal

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Prep15 minutes mins

Cook15 minutes mins

Total30 minutes mins

Garden Greens Goddess Pizza: Topped with spicy homemade "goddess" style basil pesto, shredded kale, creamy cheese, and garden-fresh zucchini and basil...so delish!

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1/2 pound pizza dough, homemade or store-bought
• ▢ 1/2 cup basil pesto, (homemade below)
• ▢ 2 cups chopped or shredded kale
• ▢ 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ kosher salt
• ▢ crushed red pepper flakes
• ▢ 6 ounces creamy goat cheese, crumbled
• ▢ 1/2 cup shredded fontina cheese
• ▢ 1 medium zucchini or summer squash, shaved into ribbons
• ▢ 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly torn

Goddess Basil pesto

• ▢ 2 cups fresh basil
• ▢ 1/2 cup fresh dill or mint
• ▢ 1 jalapeño, seeded if desired
• ▢ 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 3 tablespoons roasted shelled pistachios
• ▢ 1/4 cup shredded pecorino or parmesan cheese
• ▢ juice of 1 lemon, (about 2 tablespoons)

Instructions 

• 1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Grease a large baking sheet with olive oil.

  2. Make the pesto, if using homemade. In a blender or food processor, combine all ingredients and pulse until smooth. Taste and add salt as needed. Keep stored in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

  3. On a lightly floured surface, push/roll the dough out until it is pretty thin (about a 10-12 inch circle). Transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet.

  4. Spread the dough with pesto, top evenly with kale, and drizzle with olive oil. Season lightly with salt and a pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Top with crumbled goat cheese and fontina cheese. Arrange the zucchini ribbons over the cheese, drizzle lightly with olive oil and season with salt.

  5. Transfer to the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese has melted. Top the pizza with fresh basil and crushed red pepper flakes. ENJOY! 

Nutrition

Calories: 777kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

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