Vegan Artichoke Pesto Pizza

This Vegan Artichoke Pesto Pizza was a recent weeknight creation I loved so much I knew I had to share it with you! A truly delicious pizza dough topped with homemade pesto, seasonal vegetables, and tender baby artichokes is waiting to be made by you!

How to make a homemade artichoke pesto pizza

One of my favorite weekday dinners is hands down "Make Your Own Pizza Night". Sometimes we'll make the dough homemade, sometimes we buy it pre-made. Whichever dough we choose, we always have so much fun shaping our vegan pizza dough, adding on our pizza toppings, and of course, eating our personal pizzas!

This Pizza Can be Made with Homemade Or Store-Bought Dough

The best thing about homemade pizza is just how easy it actually is to make. You can easily use store-bought pizza dough or you can use the dough recipe from my Vegan Pizza Rolls if making a homemade dough is in the cards (though you have to make it 24 hours ahead of time for the best flavor!). Beyond that, all you need is some sauce (or pesto!), fresh vegetables, vegan mozzarella (Miyoko's is my favorite), and a good pizza stone.

While this vegan pesto pizza uses shaved asparagus, canned baby artichokes, and mushrooms you can also substitute peppers, onion, snap peas, or really any vegetable you prefer. As a final touch, make sure to top with arugula or other fresh greens!

 How to make pesto for pizza

This recipe features my absolute favorite Homemade Vegan Pesto! Normally, pesto is made with Parmesan cheese. To make pesto vegan, this recipe calls for soaked cashews which, when blended, add the same creaminess you get from cheese. It also calls for nutritional yeast which adds the "cheesy" flavor to the pesto.

What is Nutritional Yeast?

If you've never had nutritional yeast before, it's a yeast specifically grown for consumption and the yeast cells are not "alive" in the final product. Most of the time, nutritional yeast is fortified with additional Vitamin B, but even if it is not it still is high in B vitamins, all 9 essential amino acids, and even 2 grams of proteins. I'm a huge fan of incorporating it into my diet as a plant-based eater! If you're looking for a few other recipes to try out nutritional yeast, check out this Vegan Lemon Pasta or this Creamy Truffle Mushroom Pasta.

One key tool: a blender or food processor

Besides the cashews and nutritional yeast, the rest of the ingredients stay pretty similar to a non-vegan pesto! Basil, pine nuts, olive oil, lemon, garlic, salt, and pepper are all included. Plus, I even added some greens to make this pesto secretly healthy. The best part? All you need is a blender or food processor to make this delicious sauce tonight!

I hope you love this Vegan Artichoke Pesto Pizza! 

-TSG

If you're looking for other vegan dinner ideas, check out these recipes on the blog!

Vegan Stuffed Acorn Squash

 Eggplant  & Lentil Curry

Cauliflower Gnocchi with Butternut Squash Sauce & Roasted Veggies

Vegan Fried Rice

Vegan Puttanesca Lasagna

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Vegan Pesto Artichoke Pizza

Yield: 8 slices

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

A perfect homemade vegan pizza topped with delicious pesto, asparagus, mushrooms, vegan mozzarella, arugula, & tender baby artichokes.

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Ingredients

Pizza Ingredients

• 16 oz pizza dough
• 1 can Edward & Sons baby artichokes
• 3 button mushrooms (thinly sliced)
• 4-5 asparagus (shaved thinly)
• 3-4 Tbsp vegan pesto (*recipe below)
• ½-3/4 cup vegan mozzarella (shredded)
• ¼ tsp red pepper chili flakes (*optional)
• salt & pepper

Pesto Ingredients:

• ½ cup raw cashews (*soaked for 30 minutes in warm water)
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 Tbsp pine nuts
• 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• ½ cup tightly packed fresh basil
• 1 cup loosely packed greens (*arugula or spinach work well)
• 3 Tbsp water
• salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

First, Make the Pesto

1. *Before making your pesto make sure to soak your cashews in warm water for 30 minutes to soften*
2. Once your cashews have soaked, add them to a blender along with the garlic and pine nuts. Blend for about 30 seconds until minced. Then, add in the nutritional yeast, oil, and lemon juice. Blend for another 30 seconds until smooth, scraping down the sides as need be.
3. Next, add in the basil and greens and blend until thoroughly mixed. As a final step add in the water and season with salt & pepper to your liking. Blend until completely smooth.

Making the Pizza

1. Preheat your oven to 450F. Then, roll out the pizza dough and place it onto a pizza stone or baking sheet. Top the dough with the vegan pesto and spread into a thin layer.
2. Once the pesto is on the pizza, sprinkle on ½ cup of the vegan mozzarella cheese. Layer on the sliced mushrooms, shaved asparagus, and baby artichokes. As a final step, top the vegetables with the additional ¼ cup mozzarella cheese, chili flakes, and salt and pepper.
3. Place the pizza in the oven and bake for 14-16 minutes until the crust is browned and vegetables are cooked. Remove from the oven and let cool. Use a pizza wheel to cut into 8 slices and serve. Enjoy!

Notes

• pizza can be stored in a closed container in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, heat in the microwave for 30-60 seconds or reheat in the oven at 220F for 10-15 minutes.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 435Total Fat: 28gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 19gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 526mgCarbohydrates: 35gFiber: 4gSugar: 3gProtein: 14g

ShortGirlTallOrder occasionally offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site. This information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although shortgirltallorder.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.

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