Recipe: Vegetarian Pesto Pizza
Check out this healthy and delicious pizza from IIN graduate Lauren Chambers. If you're hungry for more, check out IIN's Recipe Blog Roundup!
Serves: 4
Ingredients
Crust Ingredients:
- 2 cups tapioca flour (or sub 2 ⅓ cups Bob’s Red Mill Paleo Baking Mix)
- ⅓ cup coconut flour
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 egg
- ½ – 1 cup water
Pumpkin-Seed Pesto Ingredients:
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 2 cups basil
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup arugula
- ¼ cup sprouted pumpkin seeds
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tsp sea salt
- cracked black pepper
Topping Ingredients:
- 2 cups butternut squash, peeled and chopped
- ½ sweet onion, thinly sliced
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1-2 cups fresh spinach or arugula
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- Almond Milk Ricotta Cheese
- ¼ cup pomegranate seeds
- Extras – Sea Salt, Chile Flakes, Black Pepper, olive oil + more garlic
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees and roast chopped butternut squash and sliced onion for 30 minutes with some olive oil, garlic, sea salt, and pepper, flipping halfway through.
- While veggies are roasting get your crust ready by first lining two large baking pans or cookie sheets with parchment paper.
- In a bowl mix together the crust ingredients, adding enough water until the consistency is thick and doughy
- Sprinkle additional coconut flour on a new piece of parchment paper, then spread out half of the dough mixture. Place another sheet of parchment on top and roll out until very thin with a rolling pin (or wine bottle, which is fo reals what we do ;)). Repeat with the other half of the dough. It should make two large pizza crusts.
- Place on the parchment lined pan and bake at 450 for 15 minutes (you can keep the veggies in at this heat for a bit if they’re still roasting).
- Drink some of the wine you used as your rolling pin or mocktail of choice.
- While crust is baking add all of your pesto ingredients into a food processor or high speed blender and mix, then set aside.
- When crust is done, remove from oven and immediately turn oven down to 400 degrees.
- Top crusts with olive oil, garlic, pesto sauce, roasted butternut squash, caramelized onion and cheese. Leave out the pomegranate seeds and arugula + lemon until the end, you don’t want it to cook. Put pizzas back in oven and cook at 400 for about 30 minutes or until lightly brown and caramelized.
- Drink more wine or mocktail. Toss arugula lightly in olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Top on pizza with pomegranate seeds when done cooking.
Lauren Chambers is a nutrition and healthy lifestyle coach on a mission to inspire others to eat well, feel well and live well. After struggling with health issues, Lauren developed a passion and deep curiosity for health and wellness. Once she experienced the immense benefits of shifting her health and happiness, her life’s purpose transformed. She knew she wanted to help others feel this too and became a holistic Health Coach. She’s the creator and food and culinary nutrition blogger for SofreshNsogreen.com. Find her on Instagram @sofreshnsogreeeeen.
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