Description
This veggie pizza combines a homemade flatbread-style crust, garlic and herb Greek yogurt cream cheese topping, and plenty of crisp and fresh vegetables on top. It’s a crowd favorite, and you can use whatever veggies you love. Make-ahead-friendly!
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 teaspoon active dry or instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (180ml) warm water, (between 100–110°F, 38–43°C)
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour or bread flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for hands and surface
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) melted butter, divided
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
Cream Cheese Topping
- 12 ounces (339g) full-fat or low-fat brick-style cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1/2 cup (125g) plain Greek yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill (or 1 teaspoon dried)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegetables & Garnish
- 3–4 cups (about 400g) fresh vegetables (such as chopped broccoli, pepper, cucumber, cherry tomatoes)
- 1/3 cup (25g) freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 1 Tablespoon chopped scallion
- optional: handful of shredded carrots
Instructions
- Prepare the dough: Whisk the yeast, sugar, and warm water together in the bowl of your stand mixer. Loosely cover and allow to sit for 5–10 minutes until foamy and frothy on top. *If you do not own a stand mixer, you can do this in a large mixing bowl and, in the next step, mix the dough together with a large wooden spoon/silicone spatula. It will take a bit of arm muscle. A hand mixer works, but the sticky dough repeatedly gets stuck in the beaters. Mixing by hand with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula is a better choice.*
- Add the flour, 2 Tablespoons (28g) melted butter, garlic powder, and salt. Mix on low speed with the dough hook attachment until combined, about 2 minutes. The dough should be thick, yet soft and slightly sticky. It should pull away from the sides of the bowl as it mixes. When it does, it is ready to knead. If, however, the dough is too sticky to handle, mix in more flour, 1 Tablespoon at a time. Make sure you do not add too much extra flour; you want a soft, slightly tacky dough.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 6-8 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 6-8 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- Place the dough in a greased bowl (I use nonstick spray) and cover with plastic wrap, aluminum foil, or a clean kitchen towel. Allow to sit and rest for 1 hour at room temperature. Once it has rested and slightly risen, you can continue with the recipe or place the covered dough in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. More instructions in the make-ahead Note below.
- Preheat oven to 450°F (232°C).
- Shape the dough: Punch the dough down to release any air. On a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 10×15-inch rectangle (doesn’t have to be exact), about 1/4-inch thick. Don’t worry if it’s not a perfect rectangle, just make sure the dough is very thin. Carefully transfer dough to a parchment paper- or silicone mat-lined baking sheet. (You can also shape/roll out the dough directly on a silicone baking mat or a large sheet of parchment and then just transfer the whole thing to the baking sheet.)
- Poke your fingers all over the surface of the dough to create dimples. Brush with remaining butter.
- Bake for 17–20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. It may have air bubbles—that’s ok. Remove from oven, and allow crust to cool completely or for at least 30 minutes as you prepare the toppings. As the crust cools, use the back of a spoon to press down on any large air bubbles to help flatten out the crust. As the crust cools, chop the fresh vegetables for the topping.
- Make the cream cheese topping: In a medium bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the cream cheese and yogurt together until smooth. Beat in the dill, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper. Taste, and then add more seasonings if desired. Spread onto cooled crust.
- Vegetables & garnish: Lightly press the chopped vegetables into the cream cheese topping. Arrange any way you’d like! Sprinkle with parmesan cheese, chopped scallion, and shredded carrots (if using). If desired, sprinkle lightly with freshly ground black pepper.
- Cut into squares immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours before cutting and serving. A pizza cutter isn’t ideal for this—just use a sharp knife.
- Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: The dough can be prepared through step 4, then, after it has risen, cover and place in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Continue with step 5. To freeze the dough, prepare it through step 4. After it has risen, punch it down to release any air. Wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer-friendly container for up to 3 months. When ready to use, thaw the dough overnight in the refrigerator. Then let the dough sit at room temperature for about 1 hour before rolling out/shaping. If the thawed dough keeps shrinking back as you try to shape it, lightly cover it with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let it rest on the counter or your work surface for 15 minutes, to give the gluten a little more time to settle.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Stand Mixer | Baking Sheet | Silicone Baking Mat or Parchment Paper | Handheld Mixer
- Yeast: You can use instant or active-dry yeast with zero changes. If you’re new to working with yeast, I recommend reviewing my Baking with Yeast guide. Note that 1 teaspoon is less than 1 standard packet.
- Vegetables: Use your favorite fresh vegetables, and keep the amount to about 3–4 cups (about 400g). Chopped broccoli, colorful bell peppers, cucumbers, and cherry tomatoes are crowd favorites. You can also use cauliflower, sliced olives, and/or radishes.
- Parmesan Cheese: I love using parmesan on this homemade cold veggie pizza, but you could substitute crumbled feta or shredded cheddar cheese.
Keywords: veggie pizza