Looking for something fun to make this weekend? Try this bright, colorful, and tasty Summer Veggie Pizza with Pesto. Made with a fluffy homemade crust and topped with veggies and fresh pesto.
TIPS WHEN MAKING YOUR PIZZA DOUGH
- To make this pizza dough you only need 6 ingredients, flour, water, oil, yeast, salt and sugar. However, you can add additional seasoning to flavor your dough. Some of my favorites include dried herbs like oregano, basil, thyme and garlic powder.
- In a small bowl mix the warm water and yeast and set aside. The yeast should start to foam after 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to make your water too warm or you can damage (kill) the yeast. If your yeast doesn’t foam it might not be bad. I recommend dumping it out and trying again.
- You do not need to use a stand mixer to make this dough. You just need your good ole hands to knead the dough into a ball. This dough does not require a ton of kneading but just enough to make sure the dough forms into a large ball around 3-5 minutes.
- After kneading the dough you will place it in an oiled bowl and cover it with a linen towel. Place the bowl in a dark and warm area for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. I usually place it in my microwave or pantry where there is minimal light. The yeast in the dough will rise, almost doubling in size of the dough.
- If for some reason your dough doesn’t rise, there was something wrong with your yeast. But no worries, the pizza will still taste wonderful. You just won’t have as much dough and it might not be as fluffy after baking.
- Rolling out your dough is so much fun! You can make one giant pizza with the dough. Separate your dough in half and make two large pizzas or separate into fours and make four mini pizzas. I just recommend placing parchment paper under the dough so it doesn’t stick to the surface.
- I rolled the dough so that it makes a thick pizza. You don’t need a rolling pin to roll the dough out but if you have one I recommend using it. If you want to use a rolling pin but don’t have one use a glass cup on its side instead.
- Make sure to leave the edges of your dough thick and only roll or stretch the middle of the dough. It is up to you on how thick or thin you will want your pizza.
- To make sure your dough does not bubble gently, poke the middle of your pizza with a fork multiple times. Avoid poking the crust of the pizza.
After you let your dough rise you will notice that it has doubled in size. You can either make one giant pizza or seperate the dough making two smaller pizzas. Or if you have little ones you can even separate the dough into fours making mini pizzas. You can get as creative as you want during this process.
First top your pizza evenly with marinara sauce or pizza sauce. Then sprinkle with nutritional yeast. Since this pizza does not include vegan cheese the nutritional yeast really adds some “cheese” flavors. If you are a big fan of vegan cheese definitely don’t hold back adding it. I recommend adding a little cheese after adding your pizza sauce and then sprinkling a little on top of your veggies.
The toppings for this Summer Veggie Pizza is endless. I recommend using what you have on hand already or substituting the veggies with some of your favorites.
Some other great toppings I recommend:
- Artichoke heart
- Bell peppers
- Tomatoes
- Sun dried tomatoes
- Olives
- Asparagus
This Summer Veggies Pizza with Pesto is:
Colorful
Healthy
Fun to make
Family Friendly
Packed with Flavorful
Summer Veggies Pizza with Pesto
Looking for something fun to make this weekend? Try this bright, colorful, and tasty Summer Veggie Pizza with Pesto. Made with a fluffy homemade crust and topped with veggies and fresh pesto.
Dough
- 1 ½ cups of all-purpose flour substitute with whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp sugar, I used cane sugar
- 1 tsp of active dry yeast
- ½ cup of warm water 105° -110° fahrenheit.
- ½ Tbsp of olive oil
- ½ tsp of salt
- 1 Tbsp olive oil (for the dough) + 1 tsp (to grease bowl)
Toppings
- ⅓ cup zucchini, cut thinly and patted dry (water will release after cutting)
- ⅓ cup yellow straight neck squash, cut thinly and patted dry (water will release after cutting)
- ⅓ cup broccoli, cut into bite size pieces
- ⅓ cup red onion, cut thinly
- ⅓ cup mushrooms, cut thinly
- ⅓ cup fresh spinach
- ½ cup marinara sauce or pizza sauce
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 Tbsp butter, I used dairy-free butter for the crust
Pesto
- 1 cup fresh basil
- ⅓ cup pine nuts or walnuts
- 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- ¼ tsp salt
- ⅓ cup olive oil, add more to thin
Directions
- In a small bowl mix the warm water and yeast and set aside. The yeast should start to foam after 2-3 minutes. Be careful not to make your water too warm or you can damage (kill) the yeast. * If your yeast doesn’t foam it might not be bad. I recommend dumping it out and trying again.
- In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, and salt together. Slowly pour the yeast water and 1 Tbsp olive oil with the dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough has formed.
- Knead dough for 3-5 minutes forming it into a ball. Add an additional tablespoon of water if your dough is too dry.
- Place the dough in an oiled glass bowl. Cover the dough with a kitchen linen and place in a dark and warm place for 1 hour. Allowing the dough to rise almost doubling in size.
- Meanwhile, prep your pizza toppings. Cut all of your summer veggies very thinly into bite size pieces and place them in one bowl.
- Preheat your oven to 500 degrees F (260 C). Once the dough has risen, punch the dough. Prep your counter for rolling your dough. You can do this by cleaning it or laying a large piece of parchment paper down.
- Roll out the dough using a rolling pin. If you notice the dough sticking add 1 tsp of flour to the surface. You want to leave the edges of the dough thicker than the middle of the pizza.*see the tip section for more details. Using a fork gently poke the middle of the dough multiple times, without breaking the dough.This will make sure the dough will not bubble.
- Place the rolled out dough with the parchment paper directly on a large baking pan. If you do not have parchment paper spray your pan with oil.
- First top your pizza evenly with marinara sauce and nutritional yeast. Then evenly top your pizza with the chopped veggies. Bake for 10-12 minutes.
- Combine all the pesto ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth.
- Take pizza out and brush the melted butter on the crust and veggies. Bake for an additional 2 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
- Sprinkle with additional nutritional yeast (optional) and dollop with pesto.
- Slice, eat, and enjoy! Leftovers will last in the refrigerator for 3 days wrapped up.
- Substitute unbleached all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour .
- Don’t have a round pan? Make a rectangle size pizza, it still is pretty and taste as yummy as the round pizzas.
- Be creative with the vegetables that you use. Top your pizza with what you have on hand at home.