This easy vegan pesto pizza is made with homemade dairy-free pesto. It has the best bold flavor you can imagine. This recipe is ready in less than 30 minutes, too. Does it get better than that?
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Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Vegan pesto: Easy Dairy-Free Pesto Recipe that is so delicious you won’t even miss the cheese.
- Plant-based: Every ingredient contributes to your daily value of nutrients, showcasing how delicious pizza can be healthy, too.
- Filling: This simple pesto pizza is incredibly filling. Add your favorite toppings and pair it with a salad for a classic pizza night meal.
Nutrition For Mental Health
Basil is a good source of vitamin K and contains smaller amounts of calcium, iron, manganese, and vitamin C.
When I was in graduate school for nutrition, I focused a lot on how your diet can impact your mental health. An animal study found that basil can have an antidepressant-like effect.
Ingredients + Notes
This basil pesto pizza uses the best plant-based ingredients.
- Pizza dough: Homemade pizza dough with a warm, fluffy base that rises to perfection! Alternatively, a store-bought pizza dough will work just as well.
- Pesto: This pizza uses an Easy Vegan Pesto as its base. If you have a store-bought pesto you like, that will work well too.
- Pine nuts: Sticking with a classic, pine nuts are perfect on top of pizza with pesto.
A full list of ingredients with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
Recipe Variations
Enjoy the best pesto pizza as is, or make some swaps if needed.
Base Swaps
- Dough: If you are looking for convenience, many grocery stores offer premade raw pizza dough, often found near their deli section, surprisingly.
- Pesto: This recipe uses fresh pesto, but for convenience, you can use your favorite premade pesto, too.
Topping Variations
- Tomatoes: Swap grape tomatoes with cherry tomatoes or thinly sliced vine tomatoes. Each of these options would be delicious.
- Artichoke hearts: This recipe calls for marinated artichoke hearts. However, frozen artichoke hearts would also work well.
How To Make Vegan Pesto Pizza
For best results, follow these easy, step-by-step instructions.
- Preheat oven to 400°F/205°C.
- Add oil to a skillet and sauté onions.
- Roll out vegan pizza dough on a floured surface and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Spread pesto over pizza dough.
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- Place onions, tomatoes, artichokes, and pine nuts on the dough.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges of the crust turn golden.
Serving Ideas
Here are some tasty serving ideas for your dairy-free pesto pizza!
Additional Toppings
- Red sauce: I don’t know about you, but in my opinion, the more sauce, the better. So, I love adding globs of this San Marzano Tomato Sauce to the top of this easy vegan pesto pizza!
Chili flakes: Add a punch of spice with red pepper flakes. - Arugula: Gives a fresh, light, peppery note.
- Cheese: Vegan mozzarella or parmesan cheese would both taste incredible on top of this pesto pizza recipe. Alternatively, this Homemade Vegan Ricotta would also be tasty on top. (I would recommend adding this cheese after the pizza is done baking.)
- Pesto: Is it possible to have too much pesto? I don’t think so. Drizzle some extra pesto on top and enjoy!
- Balsamic Glaze: Drizzle some balsamic glaze over your pizza with pesto. You won’t regret it. Trust me!
Sides
- Green salad: Serve with a homemade Vegan Caesar Salad (without nuts) for a refreshing start to this tasty meal!
- Fruit salad: For a cooling side, try this Cucumber Salad With Strawberries or Melon Ball Salad.
Storage Tips
- Fridge: Use an airtight glass container to store leftovers. This keeps the pizza fresh longer than plastic containers do. Store in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Reheat: This pesto pizza recipe can be reheated in the microwave or the oven for an extra crispy crust.
FAQ
Yes, pesto pizza is common in Italy.
Pesto is typically used in pasta dishes or potato gnocchi.
Vegan mozzarella cheese, cherry tomatoes, marinated artichoke hearts, and balsamic vinegar glaze are all divine on a pesto pizza.
Pesto brings a fresh, herby, and slightly garlicky flavor to pizza. It’s so tasty!
More Vegan Pizzas
If you tried this Dairy-Free Pesto Pizza Recipe or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Recipe
Pesto Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 Pizza Dough, or a store-bought pizza dough
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 1 red onion, sautéed
- 1 cup Pesto
- 1/3 cup marinated artichoke hearts, spread apart
- 12 grape tomatoes, halved
- 2 tablespoons pine nuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F/205°C.
- Add oil to a skillet and sauté onions.
- Roll out vegan pizza dough on a floured surface and place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
- Spread pesto over pizza dough.
- Place onions, tomatoes, artichokes, and pine nuts on the dough.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until the edges of the crust turn golden.
Notes
- Fridge: Use an airtight glass container to store leftovers. This keeps the pizza fresh longer than plastic containers do. Store in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Reheat: This pesto pizza recipe can be reheated in the microwave or in the oven for an extra-crispy crust.
Nutrition
Did you make this recipe?
We’d love to see! Tag @raepublic on Instagram!
Reference
Ayuob, N. N., Firgany, A. E. L., El-Mansy, A. A., & Ali, S. (2017). Can Ocimum basilicum relieve chronic unpredictable mild stress-induced depression in mice?. Experimental and molecular pathology, 103(2), 153–161. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yexmp.2017.08.007
Delicious! It was quick, easy, and a hit with my family of 5 — including my pickiest eater! P.S. I used a store-bought pizza dough to make it even easier.
Yay! So glad you enjoyed it! Using store-bought dough is a great idea!