Broccoli White Pizza
Broccoli White Pizza has amazing flavors from Italian seasonings, garlic, and extra crunch from onion and pine nuts. This easy pizza recipe is ready in 30 minutes and SO tasty you will want it time and again. Gorgeous color, incredible flavor and texture – this pizza has it all.
With pizza being my favorite food, I am so excited about this one! It is truly freaking tasty and probably my prettiest pizza yet.
Why this recipe works
This recipe for a glorious white pizza with broccoli works because it delivers (no pun intended). A couple months ago, I ordered a flatbread with broccoli at an Italian restaurant and it was very good – that was my inspiration, because I wanted to make that at home.
That said, I can also be lazy, so when I wanted broccoli pizza again I ordered a white pizza to be delivered and had them add broccoli. Well that was disappointing – there were like 2 teeny broccoli bits per slice. Just the kick I needed to finally make broccoli white pizza MY WAY.
This pizza is loaded with broccoli, it is beautiful, the recipe includes shortcuts for easier preparation, and holy hell are the flavors so good. This recipe rocks.
What is white pizza sauce made of?
White pizza does not have sauce. Instead, the cheese is layered right on the crust, then toppings are added. If you just can’t bring yourself to that fate of not having a pizza sauce, then you can brush your crust with olive oil or spread a thin (really thin, because of the strong flavor) layer of pesto. But generally, white pizza by definition is a sauceless pizza.
Do you cook broccoli before putting it on pizza?
Yes and no because it depends on a couple things. First, my recipe uses a precooked pizza crust which means a reduced cook time because the crust is already cooked. So if our broccoli were completely raw, we would want to cook it a bit first.
However, frozen broccoli is blanched before it is packaged for freezing to retain its vibrant color. That blanching, plus freezing and then thawing takes the raw edge off the broccoli. This broccoli will cook perfectly fine on the pizza in the oven even with the reduced time for the precooked crust
So, with a precooked crust and frozen broccoli (this recipe), the broccoli does not need to be cooked before putting it on pizza. If I had used fresh pizza dough and completely raw broccoli, the broccoli would need at least some precooking first.
White broccoli pizza ingredients
- Pine nuts. I tend to find these in the baking aisle or produce section rather than with the snacking nuts.
- Mozzarella cheese.
- Restaurant-Style Olive Oil Bread Dip seasoning. This recipe is so easy and so handy. You can substitute 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning blend plus a couple pinches kosher salt.
- A package of frozen steam-in-bag (microwave) broccoli cuts or florets. Preferably thawed, but if your broccoli is not thawed (like, you forgot to thaw) you can thaw quickly by zapping in the microwave for 1 minute less than the lowest cook time option from the directions.
- Garlic.
- Extra virgin olive oil.
- Kosher salt.
- Fresh cracked pepper.
- Red onion.
- A precooked thin pizza crust. I order mine online (Google “wood grilled pizza crusts” for my hookup), but you can make your own with this pizza crust recipe.
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese. Omit if you are strict vegetarian since parmesan contains animal rennet.
- Fresh basil. Basil and broccoli are one of those rare combos that are indescribably amazing together.
How to cook this pizza
Heat the oven
This is where we shine, because this recipe is so easy. First, we heat up the oven to 450 degrees F (232 degrees Celsius) and we do so with the pizza stone in the oven. Then we heat some more, another 15 minutes. A fully heated pizza stone is key to making great pizza at home.
Prep the toppings
While the stone and oven are heating, we prep our ingredients.
- Toast the pine nuts.
- Slice your onion.
- Toss the cheese with a tablespoon of my Restaurant-Style Olive Oil Bread Dip – this is a handy, tasty seasoning blend with so many uses.
- Toss the broccoli with the olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. The olive oil on the broccoli is what will make the broccoli reach its full potential in the oven.
Assemble the pizza and bake
Carefully take out that super hot pizza stone and place the pizza crust on top. Layer the seasoned cheese, sliced onion, and broccoli. Bake at temperature for 10 minutes. The pizza is ready when the crust is crispy and the broccoli is slightly charred.
Top with the toasted pine nuts, parmesan, and fresh basil. Slice and enjoy.
FAQs
The answer to this will be dictated by the directions for your precooked pizza crust. Some call for a sheet pan, others say to place directly on the oven rack. In the absence of a pizza stone, simply follow the recommendations for your specific pizza crust.
Italian seasoning plus a couple pinches of kosher salt.
This recipe calls for a premade pizza crust, but if you are looking for a pizza dough recipe, check out my Sam Adams Beer Pizza Dough. Also see my Homemade Pizza Sauce with wine and garlic.
Broccoli White Pizza
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup pine nuts
- 8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 Tbsp Restaurant-Style Olive Oil Bread Dip
- 1 (10.8 oz) bag frozen steam-in-bag (microwave) broccoli cuts or florets thawed
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 pinches kosher salt
- 1 pinch fresh cracked pepper
- ½ small red onion thinly sliced
- 1 precooked thin pizza crust
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 Tbsp chopped fresh basil leaves
Instructions
- Heat oven to 450 degrees F (232 degrees Celsius) with the pizza stone in the oven to heat as well. Once the oven reaches temperature, continue to heat an additional 15 minutes to thoroughly heat the stone.
- Meanwhile, toast the pine nuts in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat, tossing often until toasty golden.
- In a bowl, toss the mozzarella cheese in the Olive Oil Bread Dip seasoning blend and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, toss the broccoli with the garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
- Remove the hot pizza stone from the oven. Layer, in order, pizza crust, cheese, onion, and broccoli. Bake at 450°F (232°C) for 10 minutes or until crust is toasty and broccoli is slightly charred.
- Remove pizza from the oven and top with pine nuts, basil, and parmesan. Slice and serve.
