Green Pizza - A super fresh take on pizza made with a broccoli oat crust, a zingy herby green sauce, and topped with zucchini ribbons, chickpeas, crunchy kale and feta.
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I’m sure I don’t have to say this, but this isn’t your standard pizza. I certainly like my fair share of pizza, but sometimes it’s nice to enjoy “pizza” with a vegetable-heavy twist. I got the idea for this pizza from Green Kitchen Stories’ Hippie Pizza. It was a great way to keep the green theme for our #GoingGreenMarch green recipes collection!
I honestly couldn’t believe how good this pizza was. It’s one of those recipes that you look forward to eating for lunch the next day. Yum!
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Our broccoli crust pizza is filled with veggies, from the crust to the sauce. And it’s topped with even more veggies, but that doesn’t mean it’s tasteless and boring. It’s anything but!
This super healthy pizza recipe that can please even the toughest pizza snobs.
🧾 Ingredients
Broccoli oat crust:
- Broccoli - you’ll need about 2-3 heads of broccoli (about 3 cups). I like to chop up some of the stems to add onto the pizza, but save the rest of the stems for another recipe or use them in a food scrap stock.
- Oats - rolled/old fashioned oats are best. You’ll blend the oats into flour in a food processor, or you can use already blended oat flour.
- Eggs - the eggs bind the crust together. Look for pasture-raised eggs.
Herby Green Sauce:
- Parsley and cilantro - two cups combined, using both the leaves and stems. Save any leftover parsley stems for food scrap stock.
- Lemon - zest the lemon first and set aside the zest. Freshly squeezed lemon juice is ideal for this dish. Get a good juicer and skip the store-bought stuff.
- Jalapeno - it gives the sauce a slight heat, but nothing too crazy. I recommend removing the seeds and veins to keep it pretty mild, but if you’re all about the heat, feel free to leave them in.
- Olive oil - always get high quality extra virgin olive oil, especially so when making sauces.
- Spices - flavor, flavor, flavor! Don’t skimp on the cumin and feel free to add more (or less) of the red pepper flakes depending on your desired level of spice.
Toppings:
- Chickpeas - either drained and rinsed, or dried and cooked will work. We’re going to season the chickpeas with some of the sauce and a bit of lemon zest.
- Kale - massaging the kale will make it more tender and less chewy. We’re going to use both the leaves and stems. I like to use green curly kale for this healthy pizza recipe as the leaves get nice and crispy as they bake.
- Zucchini - use a vegetable peeler or mandoline to cut the zucchini into ribbons.
- Pepitas - a.k.a pumpkin seeds that have been hulled or grown from a variety of pumpkin that produces hull-less seeds. These add a bit of protein and healthy fats, along with a little extra crunch for our green pizza.
- Feta - a nice salty garnish. Don’t toss the feta liquid - add some to the water while you’re cooking grains or risotto.
🍕 How to make this healthy pizza
There are three main components to making this Green Pizza. Blending the sauce, making the crust, then topping the pizza and baking.
1 - Start by preheating the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. I generally recommend using silicone baking mats instead of parchment paper, but after trying both, I found the crust was crispier and didn’t stick with the parchment paper compared to the silicone baking mats.
2 - We’re going to start by making the sauce. I like to make the sauce first because then I don’t have to wash the food processor before making the crust and it adds some extra flavor to the crust.
Add all the sauce ingredients to your food processor and blend away, scraping down the sides until it’s blended smooth. Use the leaves and stems of the parsley and cilantro. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper as needed. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
3 - Next, we make the crust. Add your oats to the food processor and blend until it looks like flour. Then add the broccoli florets and blend until it looks like rice. Add the eggs and salt, blending again until it’s all combined. It should be loose and sticky.
Transfer the crust mixture to your parchment paper-lined baking sheet and form it into a pizza crust base. Use your hands to flatten it out, baking the edges slightly higher so you have a crust. Bake the crust alone for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
4 - While the crust is pre-baking, prep the toppings. Cut the zucchini into ribbons, separate the kale leaves from the stems and slice the kale stems. Rip or cut the kale into bite-sized pieces and transfer to a large bowl. Add some lemon juice, olive oil and salt to the bowl of kale and gently massage in the flavors. This will also help make the kale more tender.
Place the chickpeas in a small bowl and add the lemon zest and about two tablespoons of the Herby Green Sauce. Stir until the chickpeas are well-coated in the sauce.
5 - Once the crust is nice and brown, remove it from the oven and it’s time to add the toppings. Spread the herby green sauce on top. Then sprinkle on the kale stems and chopped broccoli stalk (optional), zucchini ribbons and kale. Add the chickpeas and pepitas.
6 - Lastly, sprinkle on some feta cheese and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the kale is crispy - don’t let it burn! Garnish with fresh cilantro, parsley, a bit more kale and enjoy!
💭 Tips, Tricks and Tools
Tools: food processor, baking sheet or pizza pan, mixing bowls
For a crispier crust use parchment paper, but opt for an eco-friendly parchment paper.
Save the broccoli stalks. I like to add some chopped broccoli stalks to this pizza, but don’t let the rest go to waste. Shred them for a slaw, chop and roast them for a quick veggie side dish, or add them to eggs or your favorite Buddha Bowl.
Storing and reheating: I find it easiest to cut and store slices individually, but you also can cover the entire pizza (or slices) with beeswax wraps. For maximum crispness, reheat in the oven. You certainly can reheat in the microwave, but like with regular pizza, the crust won’t crisp up quite the same.
🥬 Nutrition
This is one nutrient-dense pizza. It contains 14 grams of fiber per serving. It’s loaded with nutrients like vitamins C, K and tons of antioxidants that can help reduce risk of heart disease, cancer and many other inflammation-related diseases.
This pizza makes for a balanced meal as it contains protein (chickpeas, pepitas), carbohydrates (oats, veggies), healthy fat (olive oil, feta) and fiber (all the veggies, oats).
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Like I said, this is a balanced meal that makes four dinner-sized servings, but feel free to add a side salad if you want a bit more food with your meal.
More vegetable-forward meals:
Loved this Green Pizza?
Comment below! And rate the recipe to let us know how it turned out! Not cooking today? Save this healthy pizza recipe for later by pinning it to your Pizza Recipes Board and make sure to tag us on Instagram @crooked.carrot to show us your kale pizza creations!
This recipe is part of our Green Recipe collection – green in color and a great way to reduce food waste.
📖 Recipe
Green Pizza
Ingredients
Herby Green Sauce
- 1 cup cilantro leaves and stems
- 1 cup parsley leaves and stems
- ½ jalapeno pepper seeds and veins removed
- ½ cup olive oil
- 1 lemon juice and zest (save zest for chickpeas)
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
Broccoli and Oat Crust
- 2-3 heads broccoli (about 3 ½ cups) Cut into small florets. Use some stems on the pizza and save the rest for another recipe or stock
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 3 eggs
- ½ teaspoon salt
Toppings
- 1 bunch kale (2 cups) leaves and stems separated, stems thinly chopped
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ lemon, juice save the zest for chickpeas
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- ½ large zucchini cut into ribbons
- 2 tablespoons pepitas
- Garnish with feta and fresh parsley and cilantro
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (see note below), set aside.
- Prepare Herby Green Sauce: Combine sauce ingredients (cilantro, parsley, jalapeno, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, salt and red pepper flakes) in a food processor. Blend, scraping down the sides as needed, until it forms a smooth sauce. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- Prepare broccoli crust: Add oats to the same food processor (there’s no need to wash in between as any leftover sauce will just give the crust some extra flavor!) and blend until it looks like flour. Then add broccoli florets and blend until it has a rice-like texture. Add eggs and salt and blend until combined. It should be loose and sticky.
- Transfer the crust mixture to the lined baking sheet and flatten out the dough with your hands. Make the edges a little higher to make a crust. Bake the crust for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
- While the crust is pre-baking, prepare the toppings. Thinly slice the kale stems and any broccoli stems you’re using. Cut or rip kale leaves into bite-sized pieces and transfer to a large bowl. Add olive oil, lemon juice and salt, then massage the kale leaves until they’re tender, about 2-3 minutes. Set aside. Place chickpeas in a small bowl. Add 2 tablespoons of the herby green sauce and lemon zest from the lemons zested earlier. Stir until the chickpeas are well-coated, set aside. Using a vegetable peeler or mandoline, cut the zucchini into ribbons.
- Top the pizza: Once the crust is golden brown, it’s time for toppings! Spread the herby green sauce over the pizza. Add the kale stems, broccoli stems and zucchini ribbons. Spread the kale out over the pizza. Sprinkle the chickpeas, pepitas and feta over the top. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the kale is nice and crispy, but not burned. Cut into slices and garnish with fresh parsley, cilantro and any extra kale leaves. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
ONE MORE THING!
This recipe is part of our collection of green recipes. Check it out!
Catherine @ Peaches and Pennies says
Hi Libby! This pizza is beautiful and very unique. I never thought to make a broccoli crust. What is the texture like?
Libby Bloom says
Thanks Catherine! The broccoli crust is similar in texture to a cauliflower crust, though I find this broccoli crust holds better than a cauliflower crust. You can actually hold it like a slice of piece as opposed to eating it with a fork. The texture is a little chewy and a little crispy. Certainly different than a regular pizza crust, but so good - I actually like it better than most regular pizza crusts!
Milan Magan says
This, my friend, looks freaking INCREDIBLE. I've been doing finely chopped kale/greens mixed with chickpea flour and spices as my base. The topping is usually yoghurt/tahini lemon drizzled on top. I never thought of making it with oats and broccoli - wow! And to top it with veg and bake again. Awesome Thanks so much.
Libby Bloom says
Thanks so much - gotta love those veggies! I hope you enjoy it!
HYPERSTELLAR WONHEE says
Ate and left no crumbs
Eygmsugi 💀💀💀
I had it with caprese Salad and cherry limeade
Yessir I’m a big ol back