Top to Bottom Vegetable Pizza
Top to Bottom Vegetable Pizza is the fourth feature in our Five Pies in Five Days series. With vegetable toppings piled on a Cauliflower-Mozzarella Crust this pizza is a vegetable extravaganza from top to bottom.
Whenever we call for pizza delivery, the great compromise ensues. It’s impossible to order a single pizza everyone is excited about unless it is a half this and half that crust-confusing hybrid, which is guaranteed to arrive in 30 minutes and totally messed up.
Kids: Gluten-free or hand-tossed crust, pepperoni or pepperoni with bacon (nobody argues about bacon)
Matt: Thin crust, pork sausage and mushroom (not kid-friendly)
Me: Happy someone else is making it, Hawaiian or lots of vegetables (did you see the looks?)
See what I mean? The advantage to making homemade pizza is how easy it is to customize, but even then it’s hard to please everyone at the same time all the time. Occasionally, I just make what I like and let the chips fall where they may.
Today is that day.
Don’t get me wrong, we are all serious carnivores around here, but local produce is at its peak of fresh-tasty-ripeness and who doesn’t need more ways to use zucchini? The question remained whether everyone else would go along in this summertime indulgence.
As expected, the questions and comments from the family went something like this:
Matt: What’s for dinner?
Me: Vegetable pizza.
Matt: Oh. Anything else?
Me: No, that’s the beauty of it.
Matt: Oh. No meat?
Me: No, it’s a meatless meal.
Matt: Why?
Me: Variety. It’s for my pizza series. And I like it.
Matt: Oh.
Did you notice the lack of enthusiasm?
Our daughter wanted to try the Cauliflower-Mozzarella Crust, so when she came in from work I let her know it was on the menu and would be ready in just a few minutes.
Kayla: Sweet!
Then it was time for dinner …
Everyone at the table: “Mmm!” (I love that sound!)
Matt: This is really good. You can make this again, maybe with some grilled sausages on the side.
Me: Thanks. I’m glad you like it. Kayla, what do you think?
Kayla: Really yummy, it would be great with chicken sausage on it.
Sometimes they gang up on me.
They may not have been as excited as I was, but thoroughly enjoyed it just the same. Like I said, “Mmm” is music to my hears. 🙂
One of the goals for this series was to offer different crust possibilities and inspired toppings. Cauliflower-Mozzarella Crust does not have the texture of bread, but its flavor and texture does not disappoint—everyone gave it a big thumbs-up. It is also a desirable alternative for anyone gluten-free or those looking to reduce grain consumption in general. It might feel awkward patting it out on the pan instead of rolling or pulling it into shape, but most things new feel a little awkward at first. Be sure to use a non-stick pan or parchment paper, it does tend to stick to the pan otherwise.
Another goal was to use the juice that remained from the whole San Marzano tomatoes I used on the Italian Sausage, Prosciutto, Peperoncini, & Smoked Cheddar Pizza. That jar of tomatoes is pricy, so you want to use every drop!
Any favorite pizza sauce will work here, but if you happen to have a jar of leftover juice from stewed tomatoes, this is another way to get the most out of it.
It’s summertime, so your options are wide open for fresh vegetables you can use here, this is simply a delicious guideline.
Keep in mind, vegetables have a high water content and don’t have strong flavors to stand out among gooey cheese and tomato sauce.
In order to intensify the vegetable flavors and prevent soggy pizza, it is important to “wilt” vegetables and mushrooms in a skillet to release some of the moisture before using them for toppings.
Regardless the combination of vegetables, garlic and fresh herbs superbly complement the garden theme.
Vegetable lovers can scheme to their heart’s content and maybe even the carnivores in your life will appreciate Top to Bottom Vegetable Pizza—of course, you could always throw some sausages on the grill too. 😉
Check out the other pizza pie recipes included in our Five Pies in Five Days series:
-
BBQ Chicken Pizza
-
Italian Sausage, Prosciutto, Peperoncini, & Smoked Cheddar Pizza
-
Fig, Chevre, & Arugula Pizza
-
Pesto, Chicken, Caramelized Onion and Fennel
Top to Bottom Vegetable Pizza
Ingredients
For the Pizza Sauce:
- 28 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup tomato paste
- 4 cloves garlic
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon granulated onion
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
For the Pizza Toppings:
- 2 tablespoons butter or extra-virgin olive oil
- 8 ounces mushrooms -- sliced
- 2 cloves garlic -- minced
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or butter
- 1 small zucchini -- sliced into rounds
- 1/2 can artichoke hearts [in water] -- drained and quartered
- 1/2 large red bell pepper -- sliced 1/4" thick
- 1/3 cup fresh basil or fresh oregano (or both)-- coarsely chopped
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese -- grated
- 1/2 cup grated Romano cheese
For the Crust:
- 2 cups grated cauliflower
- 1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 whole egg , lightly beaten
- Olive oil
- non-stick pizza pan or parchment paper
Instructions
For the Sauce: If using already prepared pizza sauce, skip this step.
- Drain tomatoes and retain liquid to add to soups or other recipes. Process the drained tomatoes with the remaining ingredients in a food processor or an immersion blender until smooth, about 30 seconds. Taste and adjust seasoning, as desired. Transfer to bowl or container and refrigerate until ready to use. (Extra sauce can be frozen.)
For the Toppings:
- Warm oil or butter over medium heat in a medium sized skillet. Sauté mushrooms with garlic in the butter long enough to allow mushrooms to release moisture and soften, about 5 minutes.
- Remove mushrooms from the skillet and add the zucchini rounds to the same pan. Cook over medium heat until zucchini softens slightly and lightly brown in some spots (it is okay if the pan seems dry, that will help the zucchini brown a little).
- When done, remove zucchini from skillet and set aside until ready to top pizza.
For the Crust:
- Preheat oven to 450° and position rack in the lower third of the oven.
- Using a box grater, shred fresh cauliflower until you have a little more than 2 cups (it will shrink as the moisture evaporates). Spread cauliflower in the bottom of a dry cast iron skillet and cook on medium heat for 6-8 minutes, stirring frequently, as cauliflower moisture evaporates.
- Cauliflower will lightly roast and turn light brown in spots, but that is okay. Pour cauliflower out of skillet onto paper towels and let cool. Once cooled, squeeze any additional moisture out of the cauliflower within the paper towels.
- Mix cooled cauliflower, cheese, coconut flour, oregano, garlic, and salt until well blended. Stir in egg until all ingredients are combined.
- Lightly brush olive oil on a non-stick pizza pan or line other types of pizza pans with parchment paper. With fingertips, press crust mix out on pan to form a 9"-11" crust. (Size can vary.) Trim the parchment to about 1-inch around crust.
- Place crust in the oven and bake 12-15 minutes in the lower part of the oven (this will help the crust brown on the bottom), until the crust is a light golden brown.
- Remove crust from oven, reposition oven rack to the middle, and turn oven on broil.
Finishing the Pizza:
- Top crust with enough sauce to cover, leaving a small margin at the edge and level with the back of a spoon. Add as much sauce as you prefer—a thin layer or a thick, saucy base works too.
- Spread 3/4 to 1 cup of mozzarella cheese on top of the sauce and then layer the remaining vegetables so that each slice will have a nice combination of each.
- (It's okay if you have vegetables left over, use them to make an omelet the next day.) Top with the basil, Romano cheese and a drizzle of olive oil.
- Return pizza to the oven and broil to melt cheese and meld flavors. Remove from oven once top starts to lightly brown and edges of crust are golden brown.
- Slice and serve from the pan unless using parchment paper. If using parchment, allow pizza to rest 2-3 minutes, then slide onto a cutting board. Gently roll parchment paper under toward cutting board to remove it from under the pizza and discard. Slice pizza and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
This photo caught Matt’s eye as I was editing and he said, “Wow, that’s a great looking pizza.” Followed by, “Is there any meat on there?” He hadn’t yet read this post to know I was highlighting his very vocal meat-loving tendencies … made me laugh (and shake my head).
April @ The 21st Century Housewife says
Your pizza is gorgeous, Judy! The vegetables you have used are wonderful – so fresh and delicious for summer. I think it’s absolutely perfect without any kind of sausage 🙂
ChgoJohn says
A cauliflower pizza crust? Now that’s a new one on me. But look at how good that pizza looks. This is a great series, Judy!
Mom Photographer says
This sounds amazing! I just made flax-seed meal pizza crust a few days ago and I’m in love. The cauliflower crust sounds SO GOOD!!! I wonder if I could make it with broccoli, as well… What do you think?
Judy Purcell says
Hi, thanks for stopping by and taking time to comment. I’ll bet the flax meal pizza crust had a nutty flavor I would like too. One of the reasons I think cauliflower works in this recipe is its mild flavor and lower water content. If you did use broccoli, it would be important to dry it out enough so the crust wasn’t soggy; doing so would concentrate the stronger flavor even more, which would be a personal preference. If you do try it, please let me know how it turns out for you! 🙂
Joanna @ plus other good stuff says
I can totally relate to the meat-lovin’ family! I’ve heard comments like those from my hubby many-a-time. 🙂 This pizza looks great!
Judy Purcell says
Thanks Joanna, glad to hear someone can relate to having a carnivore clan. Thanks for stopping by, it was good to discover your blog too! Hope to see you around here in the comments more and more. 🙂
mjskit says
Love this pizza! Summertime is a perfect time for these fresh veggie pizzas! Luckily, Bobby loves them and so do I. We would both love this one for sure! Interesting use of cauliflower in the crust. Have a marvelous weekend!
Judy Purcell says
Ah, the harmony of loving the same kind of pizza — you are a blessed woman! 🙂
Maureen @ Orgasmic Chef says
That pizza looks so good. I could cheerfully eat a whole one all by myself. 🙂
Judy Purcell says
Me too! All the while telling myself not to feel guilty because of all those veggies! Oops, vegetables! 🙂
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
Your pizza would make me totally happy…it is a real beauty.
Hotly Spiced says
That’s a wonderful looking pizza Judy. And we have conversations just like that too. I haven’t made a cauliflower pizza dough before. It looks really good and I’m sure recipes like this are so necessary these days with so many going gluten-free. Love the look of your pizza – so delicious. Would love a slice! xx
Judy Purcell says
Not only gluten-free, but a growing trend of grain-free, so this pizza is ideal for that too. For me, it is all about flavor and it delivers on that too!
Charlie, it would be such a treat to share a slice with you. 🙂
Christina @ Sweet Pea's Kitchen says
Yummy!! Cauliflower in the dough?! Sounds interesting! 🙂
kitchenriffs says
Good stuff. The crust is brilliant. I love a good sausage or pepperoni pizza, but a vegetable topping is great, too. But then, I’ll eat anything. 😉 Nice post – thanks.
Judy Purcell says
Thanks! Good to discover your blog as well, beautiful photography, I’m a new subscriber. 🙂
Jed Gray (sportsglutton) says
This is the second time today that I’ve read about cauliflower pizza crust, so I guess I need to get with the program and give it a try. Thanks for enlightening and sharing a wonderful looking recipe Judy!!
Judy Purcell says
If you do try it, I’d love to hear your opinion and how it turned out for you.