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Zucchini Pesto Pizza – A simple summer meal

Celebrate summer with this easy and delicious zucchini pesto pizza.

The zucchini pesto pizza features a herby green pesto spread over homemade pizza dough, topped with thinly sliced zucchini and melty cheese.

I’m finally harvesting decent zucchini which means a zucchini glut will be mere days away. Not to worry though, finding ways to use zucchini is one of my favourite past times!

Birds eye view of a zucchini pesto pizza, a piece being picked up with melted cheese stretching off it

The Pizza Base

I’ve made a simple pizza base, the same dough as I use in my beetroot pizza. If you have the time, a sourdough pizza base would be excellent too.

a side view of a zucchini pesto pizza, a piece being picked up with melted cheese stretching off it

The Pesto

My favourite part of this pizza is the green pesto. You can store-bought OR you can make it yourself and add in extra garden greens for an extra dose of nutrients!

Right now in the garden, I’ve got silverbeet that I’m adding to the pesto, but you can add whatever garden greens you’ve got! To that, I add basil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, salt, parmesan cheese and a generous helping of olive oil.

Homemade Green Pesto

  • 1 1/2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
  • 1 cup roughly chopped silverbeet (or other garden greens)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice 
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup olive oil 
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese 
  • 1/4 cup cashew nuts, pine nuts, almonds or walnuts 

Use a blender or a food processor to blitz together all the ingredients into a chunky paste. Taste and season with extra salt and black pepper to taste.

a hand dropping mozzarella pieces over slices of zucchini layered on a pizza base

The Zucchini

The pesto paste is spread on the pizza and it is topped with very thinly sliced zucchini. Zucchini is full of water, so shaving them thinly means they crisp up a little in the oven and you don’t end up with a soggy pizza. You can use a mandoline on the finest setting or use a vegetable peeler.

The Cheese

On top of the zucchini goes the cheese. Now, what type of cheese is up to you.

I like to use either fresh mozzarella or brie cheese. Both are excellent, though the brie adds the most flavour.

Then the pizza is baked in a really hot oven until the base is a deep golden brown and the zucchini slices have shrivelled and shrunk.

Simply delicious.

Looking for more zucchini recipes? Try this lemon and zucchini spaghetti or this homemade zucchini gratin.

Why not try some other vegetable recipes like this easy cauliflower masala or this amazing and fragrant vegetarian pho recipe.

Zucchini and Green Pesto Pizza

Zucchini and Green Pesto Pizza

Yield: 2 medium pizzas
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Dough Rising Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Super simple to make, this zuchinni pesto pizza is great for summer dining.

Ingredients

Pizza Dough

  • 300g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • ¾ cup warm water
  • Extra flour for dusting

Toppings

  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 cup basil pesto (store bought or homemade), See the notes below for a homemade pesto recipe
  • 2 small zucchini, thinly sliced
  • 125g brie or fresh mozzarella

Instructions

  1. In a large bowl, add the flour, yeast, sugar, salt and stir to combine.
  2. Pour in the olive oil and water and use a fork to combine it into a shaggy dough.
  3. Tip the dough on a floured bench and knead for around 5-7 minutes until the dough ball is smooth. Place it in a lightly greased bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. Leave it to rise in a warm place for around 45 minutes.
  4. After the dough has risen, pre-heat the oven to 230°C (446°F).
  5. Thinly shave the zucchini into slices or strips using a mandolin or a vegetable peeler. Set them aside.
  6. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured bench. Roll it out into a large rectangle to fit an oven tray. Line an oven tray with baking paper and brush the baking paper with olive oil. Place on the pizza dough rectangle.
  7. Spread the pesto over the pizza base, leaving about 1/2 cm of border.
  8. Layer over the zuchinni slices. Slice or rip the cheese into pieces and layer the pieces over the pizza.
  9. Bake the pizzas for around 12-15 minutes until the pizza base is a deep golden brown and the zuchinni slices have shrivelled and shrunk. Serve while hot.

Notes

Homemade Green Pesto

  • 1 1/2 cups loosely packed basil leaves
  • 1 cup roughly chopped silverbeet (or other garden greens)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice 
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2/3 cup olive oil 
  • 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese 
  • 1/4 cup cashew nuts, pine nuts, almonds or walnuts 

Use a blender or a food processor to blitz together all the ingredients into a chunky paste. Taste and season with extra salt and black pepper to taste.

Makes approx. 2 cups of pesto 

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1 grams
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 681Total Fat: 42gSaturated Fat: 10gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 1077mgCarbohydrates: 58gFiber: 4gSugar: 6gProtein: 18g

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