Salad Pizza! Is it a new concept? I don't think so! Am I 10000% obsessed and can't get enough... the answer is yes!
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I love pizza. That goes without saying. It's my love language and there's no changing that. I serve it up on a weekly basis with my moms cucumber salad from cookbook #2 on the side and it is truly my definition of perfection. What takes it up to a whole new level is when you put that salad ON TOP OF THE PIZZA.
Mind blown. I know, you're thinking Salad Pizza is weird. But let me tell you, that slightly acidic punch from the vinaigrette on top of melty gooey cheese and perfectly charred pizza crust - it's a match made in heaven.
Ingredients for Salad Pizza
- Pizza Dough - store-bought or homemade pizza dough works for this Salad Pizza
- Olive Oil & Garlic- this Salad Pizza is white pizza so the sauce is made from a combination of olive oil and freshly minced garlic which infuses the base of the pizza while it bakes
- Shredded Mozzarella Cheese - make sure to look for one labeled "low-moisture" to prevent ending up with a soggy pizza crust
- Goat Cheese - if you've never had goat cheese on a pizza get ready... it will rock your world
- Red Pepper Flakes & Lemon Wedges - a little heat and acid component to serving with the Salad Pizza
- Market Green Salad - use whatever market greens you can find like arugula, baby kale, or baby spinach and dress it with olive oil, red wine vinegar, minced garlic, chopped shallots, salt, and pepper
How to Make Salad Pizza
There are a variety of different ways to cook Salad Pizza, but here are the main three.
In the Oven
The first pizza I ever made was baked in our oven on a baking sheet, it was delicious and not that difficult to do. The hardest part was probably rolling out the dough. Let the dough come to room temperature before rolling it out. This makes it much easier to work with.
Once I got comfortable working the dough and getting my toppings dialed in, I invested in a pizza stone. This was a game changer for cooking pizzas in the oven. The texture of the crust completely changed for the good and my pizza got one step closer to tasting like proper restaurant style pizza.
On the Grill
One of my favorite ways to make pizza is cooking it on the grill. If you haven’t grilled pizza before, it’s really simple. Roll out your dough, and then give it a little brush with some olive oil. Next, gently transfer the dough straight onto the piping hot grill and let it cook for just a few moments on each side until there are grill marks and the dough starts to bubble.
Then take it off the grill carefully, top it with whatever you want, and throw it back on for a hot second to melt the cheese. It’s that easy! When using the grill to cook your pizza you can either put the dough straight on the grill or use a pizza stone on your grill.
Pizza Oven
I have used both counter top and outdoor pizza ovens. The key is that these ovens can reach temperatures of 750-900 degree range. That temperature is the sweet spot for making a perfect pizza. At those temps the pizza cooks in roughly 60-90 seconds.
The reason you want to cook pizza in this range is specifically for the crust and cheese. When you get into the 750-900 degree range the crust gets crispy without drying out on the inside, due to the speed at which everything cooks, it simply does not have time to over bake the inside. It also fully melts the cheese on top. A great pizza has a crispy crust, melted cheese and is light and airy inside.
Variations & Substitutions
Pizza Dough – I will admit, I don’t always have time to make pizza dough from scratch when I'm making Salad Pizza. And since I’m an equal opportunity pizza consumer, I’m not against buying pizza dough when I’m in a pinch. I’ve found Whole Foods and Eataly to have the best pre-made pizza dough that you can grab in the refrigerated section, but it’s also worth checking at your local Italian deli to see if they make and sell their own dough.
Goat Cheese - If you're not into goat cheese, that's okay, feel free to omit it from this Salad Pizza recipe.
Tips & Tricks
- Your pizza dough needs to be at room temp before you try and roll it out. If it’s too cold, it will seize up and not get big enough to really add the toppings for this Salad Pizza.
- Don’t OVERTOP your Salad Pizza. This goes for any recipe you’re making. If you add too much cheese, it will become watery. If you add too many toppings, it becomes too heavy and doesn’t bake as perfectly and evenly. Just something to keep in mind.
- A pizza stone is a game changer for making pizza at home in your oven, but if you don’t have one you can also use a baking sheet.
FAQ's
Can pizza dough be frozen?
Yes, pizza dough can 100% be frozen. When I buy pizza dough pre-made I will usually purchase 3 or 4 at a time. When I get home they go straight into our freezer until needed. One thing to keep in mind when freezing pizza dough is that it needs a long time to de-thaw. When it comes time to make your pizza, be sure to pull the dough out of the freezer first thing in the morning and let it come to room temperature.
How to make pizza dough?
Pizza dough is actually one of the easier things to make. I have an amazing recipe for how to make homemade pizza dough here. It requires 2 types of flour (00 flour and all purpose flour), salt, yeast, and olive oil. In my post I cover where you can get 00 flour and the proper measurements and steps to make an amazing homemade pizza dough.
Should I use a pizza stone?
If you have access to a pizza stone 100% use it. This will take your pizza game to the next level. When you use a pizza stone, the cook surface of the stone absorbs the temperature of the oven, which causes the crust to cook immediately upon entering the oven. This also helps cook your pizza crust evenly and will give you a faster cook time. If possible you want to get your stone up to a minimum 500 degrees.
How do pizza ovens work?
We just got an outdoor pizza oven and I will have to say it is AMAZING. Using a pizza oven feels like a very old school way of cooking, your basically heating your oven using fire, and working the fire to achieve an internal temperature of 800-900 degrees.
You start your fire like any campfire, using kindling to get a flame going. From there you add in your logs to build the fire. Pizza ovens do best with harder types of wood such as split logs from fruit trees. We use almond wood with our pizza oven. Once you get the fire going it usually takes around 45 min to reach the necessary temperature. The goal is to get the internal temperature as well as the stone surface of the oven between 800 and 900 degrees.
Once the oven is up to temp you want to make sure that the fire and coals are pushed to the side. This gives you a clear surface to slide in your pizza. The hot stones will cook the crust of the pizza from the bottom, and the indirect heat from the fire will hit the top of your pizza and melt the cheese and crisp up your toppings. If done properly and at the right temperatures the pizza will cook in 60-90 seconds.
Similar Recipes
- Basil Vin and Goat Cheese Pizza
- Three Cheese Pizza
- Garlic Mushroom and Spinach Pizza
- Pesto Pea Pizza
- Spicy Broccolini Sheet Pan Pizza
- Chicken Caesar Salad Pizza
- Green Pizza
If you tried this recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting today
Salad Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 lb pizza dough
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 8 cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup goat cheese crumbled
- red pepper flakes and lemon wedges for serving
For the Salad
- 2 cups market greens
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons shallot chopped
- kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Thirty minutes before cooking the pizza, put your pizza stone in the oven
- Divide the dough in half. Stretch each piece dough in a circular motion, then lay them out on a flat surface and flatten out using a rolling pin. If you have a pizza peel, sprinkle some flour on it and place the stretched out dough on the peel
- Once your pizza dough is flat and ready to be cooked, brush equal parts of the olive oil over the pizza and sprinkle with equal amounts of garlic. Pile with the goat cheese and mozzarella and season with salt and pepper
- Transfer the pizza into the oven and bake until the crust is golden
- Remove pizza from the oven. Season with red pepper flakes, and the dressed greens loaded on top
Curious about your pizza oven, what is the brand, or did you build yourself ? Pizza freak here too and am trying to talk Hubby into building or buying..
Fontana Forni!! We def didnt build it ourselves - but its amazing
Always put a rocket salad on a pizza
LOVE. I didn't find this recipe until Gaby released her magazine through BHG this winter. Which is unfortunate, only because I could have been making it so much sooner! It is quickly becoming one of my favorites, as well as my husband's. To quote him directly, "this is so good, it should be in a restaurant!"
We're currently researching outdoor pizza ovens. We've looked at Ooni, Alfa, and Forno Bella. Which one do you have and are you still happy with it?
Fontana Forni and I couldnt be more obsessed!
This pizza looks amazing!! I just recently purchased a pizza pan with the holes (i haven’t tried it yet) hoping the crust would be crispy- now I see I probably should have bought a stone instead!! . Have you by chance used the pan with holes and had success, or should I just skip it and buy the stone....(obviously the pizza oven is my NEXT obsession)
Thank you (and I love your posts)
I havent tried that one with holes - but I'm sure it totally would work!
Sooooooo delicious and I love the simplicity of this recipe. Perfect for a hot summer day! I will confess that I used store-bought pizza dough but it was so tasty and nobody noticed. Plus my 'meat and potatoes' husband really enjoyed it (I mean, who wouldn't). Thank you, Gaby. You are da bomb! XOXO
This is so yummy! I made it twice within like a week. I'm a big fan.
THRILLED to hear it! xx
Yes please!!! All the pizza!
I've been eating this way for years--I always ask for a side of mixed greens or arugula when dining out to layer on to pizza. Absolutely the best! Just like fries on a salad 🙂
Do you recommend/prefer a metal or a wood pizza peel?
I have a metal one here: https://whatsgabycooking.com/whats-gaby-cooking-master-list/ that i love
keep the summer pizzas coming!!!
Absolutely love salad pizzas! So simple yet so tasty! We love to add sun dried tomatoes and olives to the base! Fired oysters on top is delicious too
I have only had salad pizza from a pizza restaurant and loved it: never thought to make it at home. Thank you so much for this recipe and since its a hot summer, this is perfect on the grill
I used to order something similar at a local Italian restaurant when I lived in the DC area -- they used Arugula tossed with a simple balsamic and olive oil dressing to top the pizza. But this recipe looks even BETTER! I look forward to trying it this week.
Two Amy's! 🙂
Do you make your own pizza dough?
sometimes! https://whatsgabycooking.com/homemade-pizza-dough/