Ultimate Veggie Pizza
Make the BEST veggie pizza at home! This mouthwatering vegetarian pizza recipe features tomatoes, bell pepper, artichoke, spinach and more.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on September 2, 2024
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As a vegetarian for over a decade, I’ve eaten quite a few veggie pizzas. Truly fantastic veggie pizzas are few and far between. So, I combined all of the elements I’ve enjoyed over the years to create my own “ultimate” veggie pizza recipe. This is the best homemade veggie pizza I’ve ever had, and I hope you’ll say the same!
This vegetarian pizza recipe will delight vegetarians and carnivores alike. It’s fresh and full of flavor, featuring cherry tomatoes, artichoke, bell pepper, olives, red onion and some hidden (and optional) baby spinach. You’ll find a base of rich tomato sauce and golden, bubbling mozzarella underneath, of course.
The trick with loaded veggie pizzas, as many pizza shops seem to forget, is that they require a few extra minutes in the oven to develop full flavor and structure. Don’t stop baking until the cheese is deeply golden in spots. Otherwise, you might end up with floppy pizza that doesn’t live up to its true potential.
Start with my easy whole wheat pizza dough, and this recipe is ready in about 45 minutes, start to finish. This vegetable pizza is quicker and healthier than delivery!
Watch How to Make Veggie Pizza
Veggie Pizza Toppings
This pizza starts with a base of my whole wheat pizza dough. As an alternative, use one pound of store-bought pizza dough, which you can divide by two to follow my recipe exactly (or just make one large pizza—that also works with store-bought dough).
Then we’ll add the following. This recipe is truly very flexible—you can skip any of them if you don’t like ’em or don’t have ’em. Use more of one for less of another. Easy!
Pizza Sauce
You have a few options here. You can use my go-to pizza sauce recipe, which is truly so easy! Or, use your favorite marinara sauce, homemade or store-bought.
Baby Spinach
Layer some fresh spinach between the pizza sauce and mozzarella to sneak in some greens.
Part-Skim Mozzarella
I love part-skim mozzarella here because it turns more golden and bubbly than fresh mozzarella.
Artichoke
Canned or jarred marinated artichoke is an easy addition here. I sliced my jarred quartered artichokes in half again to make bite-sized wedges.
Bell Pepper
Fresh bell pepper becomes nice and tender during the pizza’s short stint in a high-heat oven.
Red Onion
Red onion mellows significantly in the oven, but you omit it for sensitive palates.
Cherry Tomatoes
Halved cherry tomatoes offer reliably sweet tomato flavor and texture.
Olives
I particularly love Kalamata olives, which become a little shriveled and condensed in flavor.
Sliced Almonds
Ever had sliced almonds on your pizza? It’s a trick I’ve learned from a couple of local pizzerias. The almonds offer some toasty flavor and crunch. I’ve heard from some readers who really love this addition, and a few who don’t—it’s up to you!
Optional Garnishes
Hot from the oven, I like to top this veggie pizza with red pepper flakes, fresh basil leaves and finely grated Parmesan.
More Vegetarian Pizzas to Enjoy
Love this recipe? Here are more creative vegetarian pizzas on Cookie and Kate:
- Arugula-Almond Pesto Pizza
- Barbecue Pineapple, Jalapeño and Feta Pizza
- Broccolini Almond Pizza
- Brussels Sprouts Pizza with Balsamic Red Onions
- Greek Pizza
- Kale Pesto Pizza
- Strawberry, Basil and Balsamic Pizza
Please let me know how your pizza turns out in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Ultimate Veggie Pizza
Make the BEST veggie pizza at home! This mouthwatering vegetarian pizza recipe features fresh cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, artichoke, spinach and more. Recipe yields two 11-inch pizzas or 1 large (about 6 to 8 servings).
Ingredients
- 1 batch easy whole wheat pizza dough or 1 pound store-bought pizza dough
- 1 cup pizza sauce or marinara
- 2 cups baby spinach
- 2 to 3 cups (8 to 12 ounces) shredded low-moisture part-skim mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup jarred or canned artichoke, cut into 1” pieces
- ½ cup fresh red or orange bell pepper, cut into narrow 2″ strips
- ½ cup red onion, cut into thin wedges
- ½ cup halved cherry tomatoes
- ½ cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved lengthwise
- ½ cup sliced almonds (optional)
- Optional garnishes: Fresh basil (small leaves or torn), red pepper flakes and/or finely grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees Fahrenheit with a rack in the upper third of the oven. If you’re using a baking stone or baking steel, place it on the upper rack. Prepare dough through step 5.
- Spread pizza sauce evenly over the two pizzas, leaving about 1 inch bare around the edges. Evenly distribute the spinach on top of the sauce, followed by the cheese (use all three cups if you want a cheesy pizza as shown here).
- Top the pizzas with artichoke, bell pepper, red onion, tomatoes, olives and almonds (if using).
- Bake pizzas individually on the top rack until the crust is golden and the cheese is golden and bubbly, about 10 to 12 minutes (or significantly less, if you’re using a baking stone/steel—keep an eye on it).
- Transfer pizzas to a cutting board and sprinkle with with fresh basil, red pepper flakes and Parmesan, if using. Slice and serve! Leftover pizza keeps well in the refrigerator for 4 days, or for several months in the freezer.
Notes
Make it nut free: Omit the almonds.
Change it up: On top of the mozzarella, use any combination of the suggested toppings (up to 3 cups t0tal). The spinach and almonds are not essential.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Amazing!! So good. I left off the peppers because I don’t like them, but left everything else and it was so tasty. The almonds were a great addition
Can I use a lesser temperature for my pizza besides 500 degree f.
This is best as written. I hope you try it!
Hello, thank you for making this recipe, i will follow it next week when i have the ingredients, please could you list the measurements in mls and grams for those of us in the UK please? As its difficult to keep going to chart and im not great with technology and currently dont have the option to print and add notes myself sadly. Thanks
Delicious Veggie Pizza recipe! Love how the vibrant flavors and fresh ingredients make it a perfect choice for a healthy and flavorful meal.
I’ve made a number of recipes that I’ve really enjoyed from this website.
This recipe was ok. The flavors didn’t meld the way I’d hoped. I’d use the recipe as a starting point and adjust ingredients.
Hi Kate, I love your recipes and can’t wait to try your pizza dough but I’ve lately developed a huge attraction to semolina flour so I’m planning to use it in your recipe. I’m wondering if you have thoughts or tips about that? Thanks a million!!
I haven’t tried it, sorry!
This was definitely the ultimate veggie pizza! Perfect mix of umami, tang, sweetness and crunch. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Thea! I’m glad you loved it.
I recently visited to the similar restaurant in Feltham which has good food taste , I will recommend you to visit it once in your life !
The dish is so amazing
KATHRYNE TAYLOR,
You look like Clark’s kid, if so tell your dad to send an email, there is much to do
Anyway, wow,veggie pizza, and thus is way beyond you,
Anyway, sure, every Wednesday you can drop off a veggie pizza, thick crust, heavy pasta sauce, cheese to the edge, tomato, peppers, olives, onions, well roasted, oh yeah, I’m suddenly hungry again,
Thanks for the appetizer thought,
This pizza received rave reviews from our friends. I doubled the recipe and made 2 large pizzas, and had enough sauce left over to freeze for later use.
I used unbleached white flour and the crust was fluffy not the least bit tough. I had forgotten to buy the spinach so I omitted that. I’ll def be making this again!
I loooooooooooooooooooovvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvveeeeeeeeeeeee it
This sounds (and looks!) SO yummy! I will try it without peppers as they don’t agree with me). When I make a veggie pizza I like to add cut up pickled pepperoncini for a savory kick, too! Try it!
Kate, another fabulous recipe! I made as described (dough and sauce, too) and loved it. Almonds — what a great addition!
I can taste the difference in flour in the crust. To please a different crowd, would regular white flour work the same way? Thanks for all you do.
Absolutely wonderful! I made it last night for dinner and not only did it look beautiful with all the colorful ingredients but it was so delicious! I sent photos to my sister and she is going shopping today for the ingredients to make it as well. I made the homemade pizza sauce as well. Just dumped everything into the blender at the same time and did not make the sauce real smooth – make it sort of corse and it was great! So easy!
Just delicious! Thank you for the wonderful recipes!
I’m glad you loved it, Marilyn!