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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.

overhead photo of Garden Greens Goddess 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!

overhead prep photo of Garden Greens Goddess Pizza on baking sheet before baking

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.

overhead close up photo of Garden Greens Goddess Pizza

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.

overhead close up photo of Garden Greens Goddess Pizza

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.

overhead photo of Garden Greens Goddess Pizza

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.

overhead close up photo of Garden Greens Goddess Pizza

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.

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories Per Serving: 777 kcal

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

Ingredients

Goddess Basil pesto

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! 
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Comments

    1. Hi Jasson,
      Amazing!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend! xTieghan

  1. 5 stars
    Super good!!! I usually make the homemade dough from the cookbook but I was in a big rush so I just grabbed store bought pizza dough and it still turned out great. The pesto with the cheese and all the veggies is so good together. It’s very flavorful and guilt free (IMO).

    1. Hey Kelly,
      Awesome!! Thanks so much for your comment and making this recipe. So glad it hear it was enjoyed! xTieghan

  2. 5 stars
    My husband and I loved this recipe. This pesto was a delicious interesting version. We used dill, added in the jalapeno and used freshly-grated Parmegiano Reggiano. We made two approximately 10″ pizzas without doubling the topping quantities. The only change we made in the topping was using about 1/2 the amount of goat cheese, just enough to get a little tang in each bite, and about 1/3 cup of Italian fontina (2/3 cup total) on each pie. This recipe is saved forever in My Recipe Box.

    1. Hey Susan,
      Happy Sunday!! Thanks for giving the recipe a try and your comment, love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan

  3. If I add the pesto and the cheese when I take it out of the oven there is so much oil. How do you prevent this?

    1. Hey Linda,
      Sorry I am not sure what you mean by adding the pesto and cheese after you take it out of the oven? I would recommend following the recipe as is, I hope this helps! xTieghan

  4. Hello, Susan, I love your re-telling of the story of how Green Goddess dressing was invented. I remember it from my childhood, but honestly, I couldn’t have told you what is in it. Reading your recipe, I’m intrigued and hope to try it soon. Actually, I’ll try the blue cheese version, a spectacular variation as far as I’m concerned.Handcrafted Corten Products In Australia

  5. 5 stars
    I love this pizza! We’ve been making it since you released the recipe and it helped my boyfriend realize he likes kale. It’s so easy (especially because we use store bought pizza dough, pesto, and pre-chopped kale) and it’s always so delicious! Thank you!

  6. 5 stars
    This is an amazing and easy recipe. Well maybe easier for me bc I used garlic naan instead of making pizza crust. The pesto is sooo good and would be awesome on so many things. Highly recommend and we will make this again.

  7. Oh my goodness…made this pizza a few nights ago and it was awesome. Everyone enjoyed it and I especially loved the choice of toppings. Great recipe, In fact, all your recipes that I have tried are just delicious!

  8. 5 stars
    This recipe was DELICIOUS. Perfect for a summer day, with a zucchini fresh from my garden! Thank you for never disappointing!!

    1. Hi Thelma,
      I think that is personal preference, I love both! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan

  9. 5 stars
    As always your recipes never fail! This was super delicious and perfect for the summer. I didn’t have any goat cheese at home so I used ricotta and snuck in a little bit of cream cheese. Baked it on a cauliflower crust and omg so beyond delicious. Can’t wait to make this again but with the suggested ingredients! Thank you for sharing.

    1. Thank you so much Sara! I am really glad this turned out so well for you! I hope you continue to enjoy all of the recipes I create! xTieghan

  10. 5 stars
    I switched the basil with spinach and added some mushrooms and it tasted wonderful. Nice summer lunch to go with my chilling mojito.
    Thank you for sharing!

  11. 4 stars
    This was a fantastic summery dinner! But I made two tweaks that I would highly recommend. First, I flipped the cheese ratio (about 3 oz goat cheese & 1 cup fontina) because we wanted more melty goodness. Second, I scattered roasted garlic cloves under the kale. I’ll definitely be making it again!