Pistachio Pesto Pizza
Featuring nutty pistachio pesto, lemon ricotta, and topped with any of your favorite pizza toppings, this recipe is sure to be a hit with everyone who tries it.
Ingredients
For the pesto
- 1 cup roasted salted pistachios
- 1 cup fresh basil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 lemon juiced
- 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
- 1/2 cup olive oil I always use extra-virgin olive oil
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
For the pizza & lemon ricotta
- 1 pizza crust I love to use my homemade sourdough pizza dough for this recipe. But you can also use regular homemade pizza dough, or your favorite store-bought pizza dough or crust.
- 1 cup full-fat ricotta cheese
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon zest
- 10-12 small asparagus spears See notes on different ways to prep the asparagus for your pizza.
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese shredded
Additional Topping Ideas. - I’m usually pretty basic when topping this pizza, but any of the following would make a delicious addition!
- sweet grape tomatoes
- salty prosciutto
- shallots
- fresh peas, or thinly sliced snow peas
- Bell peppers a roasted red bell pepper would be especially good!
- thinly sliced baby bella mushrooms
- baby spinach or arugula for topping the cooked pizza!
Instructions
If you are making homemade pizza crust, be sure to start it ahead of time. You’ll want your crust ready to roll out and use before starting the rest of the recipe.
- Prepare your pizza dough or crust according to recipe or package directions. And place on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, set aside until ready to use.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- In a food processor, combine all of the pesto ingredients and blend on high until you reach a coarse pesto consistency. This pesto should look and have the same texture as a basil pesto made with pine nuts. If you are having trouble getting it to mix, add a splash of water at a time until you reach the desired consistency.
- Taste the pesto and season with salt and pepper if needed, then transfer to a small bowl and set aside until ready to use.
- In a small bowl, combine the ricotta cheese and lemon zest and mix well. Prep your asparagus as desired (see notes).
- Now, to assemble your pizza. Spread a generous amount of pesto over your prepared pizza crust. (You don’t have to use all the pesto, but feel free to if you want!)
- Dollop the lemon ricotta mixture over the pesto, and spread it out using the back of the spoon. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese over the ricotta, then top with the asparagus and any additional desired toppings.
- Finally, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese over the top, and place your pizza in the oven.
- Back for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly. At this point, I like to switch my oven to broil and broil the pizza for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese on top is golden brown. But this step is completely optional.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and allow it to cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Any leftover pistachio pesto pizza can be stored in an airtight container or wrapped in plastic wrap in the fridge for up to 5 days. Any leftover pistachio pesto can be stored in an airtight container or glass jar in the fridge, and is best eaten within 3 days.
For the asparagus on this pizza, you can pretty much make it any way you like, raw, roasted, blanched, and sliced all work perfectly in this recipe. There are just a few tips I’d like to share.
I love to roast my asparagus for this pizza, but roasted asparagus is definitely best eaten the day it is made, so I would suggest not roasting the asparagus if you are planning on having leftovers.
Raw asparagus will work perfectly for this pizza, but you may want to consider slicing it instead of leaving the spears whole, as thicker pieces may not become tender in the amount of time the pizza is baking.
For the best results, both for baking and leftovers, I would recommend blanching the whole spears and then adding them to the pizza. But personally roasted apsguars is by far my favorite!
I love using mozzerall and parmesan cheese for this recipe, but feel free to use any of your favorite cheeses. Feta cheese, fresh mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, Gouda, and even sharp cheddar would all be delicious!
Nutrition
Serving: 1sliceCalories: 489kcalCarbohydrates: 33gProtein: 18gFat: 33gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 551mgPotassium: 288mgFiber: 3gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 694IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 324mgIron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!