This veggie supreme pizza walks the line between indulgence and culinary restraint. It's vibrant and satisfying, with tons of flavor and freshness.
Why we love this recipe
Sometimes you want a pizza with toppings galore. With so many wonderful vegetables to choose from, it's easy and delicious to keep it vegetarian. This veggie supreme pizza has lots of thinly sliced vegetables that cook up quickly and beautifully in the time it takes to bake your pie. It's got:
- Razor-thin slices of mushroom, green pepper, and red onion
- Tiny broccoli florets that get a bit charred and crisp-tender
- Black olives (for a classic supreme pizza vibe), if you're into that sort of thing
- So much flavor, with so little fuss
Please note: If you're looking for the mushroom and asparagus pizza recipe that used to be posted at this URL, you can find it in the comments section below.
What you'll need
Here's a glance at the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe.
- You can start with purchased pizza dough or make your own. I've linked my favorite recipe for New York-style crust below. This recipe works with any size and style of pizza you'd like to make.
- You'll make a nice, thick sauce by stirring together equal parts marinara and tomato paste. This gives you tons of flavor and no unwanted moisture.
- A combination of shredded low-moisture mozzarella and good-quality grated parmesan provides a gently amplified version of that classic cheese pizza vibe. This combo is easy to work with as long as you don't overdo it. Shred and grate the cheeses yourself to avoid additives that will prevent your pizza from tasting and behaving its best.
- You'll cut the broccoli into very small (¼- to ½-inch) florets and toss them with olive oil and salt. This method allows them to get a bit charred and perfectly crisp-tender in the time it takes to cook the pizza, without having to parboil in advance. It also prevents the broccoli from weighing down your slice.
- Cremini mushrooms (baby bellas) are low in moisture and high in flavor. My preferred method is to slice them razor-thin and use them raw. Thin slices cook nicely in the time it takes to bake the pizza. If you prefer thicker slices, sauté the mushrooms in advance.
- Green pepper and red onion, sliced very thin, feel imperative on a supreme pizza, as do good old sliced black olives from a can, drained well. Of course, no topping is ever really imperative — so omit or swap as you see fit.
- An equal mixture of cornmeal and semolina flour works beautifully to help your pizza slide onto and off of the peel.
How to make it
Here's an overview of what you'll do to make a fabulous veggie supreme pizza. You can see the steps in action in the video that accompanies this post, and get all the details in the recipe card below.
- Prep your work surface, stretch the dough, and spread on some sauce.
- Top with the cheeses, then the sliced vegetables.
- Toss the broccoli with the olive oil and salt, then add to the pizza.
- Bake until dough is cooked through, then slice and serve right away. That's it!
Pizza protips
Here are a few secrets to success with homemade pizza.
- You can use purchased or homemade pizza dough. Here's my favorite recipe for New York-style crust. It makes two 14-inch pies or four 10-inch pies.
- Use thick sauce. Mixing one part marinara with one part tomato paste creates a spreadable, rich-tasting sauce that won't slosh around.
- A combination of shredded low-moisture mozzarella and really good grated parmesan adds tons of flavor and classic cheesy vibes. If you'd like to work with fresh mozzarella, keep in mind that it adds a lot of moisture, and use it sparingly.
- Top your pizzas judiciously. If you share my more-is-more inclinations, this can be harder than it sounds. But it's important to exercise a bit of restraint to yield the best possible pizzas.
- Transferring your pizza onto a peel and into the oven takes a bit of practice, and that's okay. You can use a mixture of cornmeal and semolina flour or, if baking in a regular home oven, a piece of parchment. The process gets easier over time. I recommend this metal peel or this wooden one.
- If using your oven, crank it up as high as it goes (typically 500-550°F), with a rack in the center. Consider investing in a pizza stone, which retains heat like a dream and helps you create crisp, tender crust.
- If you're looking for a countertop pizza oven, I recommend the Breville Smart Oven Pizzaiolo. It's pricey and takes up quite a bit of counter space, but it gets much hotter than a home oven and really enables you make pro-level pizza at home.
Expert tips and FAQs
Sure thing. You can top a veggie supreme pizza with any vegetables that you like, as long as you're thoughtful about it. Slice everything thin or cut it small, think about whether your veggies need to be cooked in advance, and keep the overall topping quantity about the same, and you'll be fine.
Easily. Simply swap in your favorite vegan cheeses for the dairy versions called for in the recipe. You don't need to change anything else.
If making your own dough, you'll need to start at least 24 hours in advance. You can prep the toppings up to about 24 hours in advance if you like. Assemble and bake the pizza right before serving.
Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days. By far my favorite way to reheat and re-crisp pizza is in the toaster oven. You can use a regular oven if that's what you've got.
More favorite pizza recipes
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Veggie Supreme Pizza
This veggie supreme pizza walks the line between indulgence and culinary restraint. It's vibrant and satisfying, with tons of flavor and freshness. Quantities listed here are for one 10-inch pie (which feeds one to two people). Double them for a large pie.
Ingredients
- 1 6-ounce (170-gram) dough ball
- 2 tablespoons (30 ml) marinara sauce
- 2 tablespoons (33 grams) tomato paste
- 2 ounces (57 grams) low-moisture mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 2 tablespoons (10 grams) grated parmesan cheese
- 2 medium cremini mushrooms, sliced ⅛-inch thick
- 1 ounce (28 grams) green bell pepper, sliced ⅛-inch thick
- 1 ounce (28 grams) red onion, sliced 1/16-inch thick
- 2 tablespoons (16 grams) sliced black olives, drained and patted dry
- 2 ounces (57 grams) broccoli, cut into ¼-inch mini florets
- 2 teaspoons (10 ml) olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
For the work surface
- 1 tablespoon (12 grams) coarsely ground cornmeal
- 1 tablespoon (12 grams) semolina flour
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 550°F (or as high as it goes) with a rack in the center. If you have a pizza stone, preheat it on the center rack. (If not, you can use an overturned half sheet pan.)
- Stir together the cornmeal and semolina flour. Distribute half of the mixture over your work surface.
- Stretch the dough into a 10-inch round and place on prepared work surface.
- Stir together the marinara sauce and tomato paste, then spread evenly over dough, leaving a border around the circumference.
- Sprinkle on the mozzarella and then the parmesan in an even layer.
- Distribute the sliced mushrooms, bell pepper, onion, and olives over the pizza.
- In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the broccoli, olive oil, and salt until evenly coated. Distribute broccoli over pizza.
- Sprinkle remaining cornmeal mixture over peel. Nudge peel under pizza and use it to transfer pizza to preheated stone.
- Bake until dough is cooked through, about 6 to 10 minutes depending on your oven.
- Slice and serve right away.
Notes
- You can start with purchased pizza dough or make your own. I've linked my favorite recipe for New York-style crust above. This recipe works with any size and style of pizza you'd like to make.
- You'll make a nice, thick sauce by stirring together equal parts marinara and tomato paste. This gives you tons of flavor and no unwanted moisture.
- A combination of shredded low-moisture mozzarella and good-quality grated parmesan provides a gently amplified version of that classic cheese pizza vibe. This combo is easy to work with as long as you don't overdo it. Shred and grate the cheeses yourself to avoid additives that will prevent your pizza from tasting and behaving its best. If it's important to you that this recipe be vegetarian, be sure to use a parmesan not made with animal rennet.
- Cremini mushrooms (baby bellas) are low in moisture and high in flavor. My preferred method is to slice them razor-thin and use them raw. Thin slices cook nicely in the time it takes to bake the pizza. If you prefer thicker slices, sauté the mushrooms in advance.
- Green pepper and red onion, sliced very thin, feel imperative on a supreme pizza, as do good old sliced black olives from a can, drained well. Of course, no topping is ever really imperative — so omit or swap as you see fit.
- You'll cut the broccoli into very small (¼- to ½-inch) florets and toss them with olive oil and salt. This method allows them to get a bit charred and perfectly crisp-tender in the time it takes to cook the pizza, without having to parboil in advance. It also prevents the broccoli from weighing down your slice.
- An equal mixture of cornmeal and semolina flour works beautifully to help your pizza slide onto and off of the peel.
- If making your own dough, you'll need to start at least 24 hours in advance. You can prep the toppings up to about 24 hours in advance if you like. Assemble and bake the pizza right before serving.
- Leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for a couple of days. By far my favorite way to reheat and re-crisp pizza is in the toaster oven. You can use a regular oven if that's what you've got.
Nutrition Information:
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 546Total Fat: 15.5gCarbohydrates: 81.9gFiber: 9.8gProtein: 20.5g
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Jessica says
This link used to give me a recipe for the asparagus mushroom pizza is there anyway I can get that recipe?
Thank you!
Carolyn Gratzer Cope says
Hi, Jessica! Thanks for reaching out. Here's the previous recipe.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
1 lb. cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
Big pinch salt
1/3 cup dry white wine
¼ cup heavy cream
1 bunch thin-stemmed asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1-inch lengths
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh tarragon
1 ball pizza dough (about 22 ounces)
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 ounces good Gruyere cheese, shredded
¼ cup grated pecorino romano
¼ cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Plenty of freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
Preheat oven to 500°F with a rack in the center. If you have a pizza stone, preheat it on the center rack. (If not, you can use an overturned half sheet pan.)
In a 12-inch nonstick frying pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms, garlic and salt and raise heat to high. Toss mushrooms to coat with butter. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes, until they are beginning to brown in spots and have significantly reduced in volume. Add wine and cook until all the liquid is gone. Stir in heavy cream, asparagus and tarragon, reduce the heat to simmer briskly, and cook for an addition couple of minutes, until the cream has thickened to coat the vegetables without dripping.
Rub pizza dough with olive oil and divide into two equal portions. Stretch each portion into a 12-inch round. I like to place each round on a piece of parchment to make transfer to and from the oven much easier. Top each with half the vegetable mixture, half the gruyere and half the pecorino. Bake for about 1o minutes, until dough is crisp on the underside and cheese is bubbly. (I bake one pizza at a time, putting the second one in the oven as we sit down to eat the first.) Sprinkle with parsley and pepper. Cut into slices and serve.
pomoc prawna says
Das war wie ein hilfreicher Artikel! Ich bin gerade erst mit meinem Blog und ich hoffe, es wird so gut wie Ihre. Grüße!
Michelle says
Amazing post Carolyn! I stumbled across it looking for a pizza with lots of mushrooms. I'll be making something similar tonight, thanks for the inspiration!
Carolyn says
Hi Wilma, thanks for visiting! I'm so glad you liked the pizza.
Wilma Klinedinst says
I was hungry for pizza last week. After spotting the fresh asparagus in the fridge, I started wondering if anyone had some inspiration for an asparagus pizza. That google found the best pizza my husband had ever had and your website, which I adore. Humor and good food are my favorites!
Carolyn says
Welcome, new commenters, and thank you!
Bic, I love the IFA. So glad you're enjoying this site as well.
Anticiplate, I saw that recipe in BA after posting this and almost made it on Mother's Day. Next time! Thanks for the link.
Anticiplate says
I am making a version of this tonight! But instead of mushrooms (which I somehow don't ever think I will like unless they are soaked in butter) I am adding goat cheese and fingerling potatoes (inspired by BA Mag). Glad I found your site:) You can thank Maggie from Pithy and Cleaver.
Bic says
Came here for the first time via IFA.
Great site, Carolyn. I've bookmarked it.
That pizza sounds delicious--and looks beautiful! I plan on making it very soon.
Jude says
That's a nice little pizza for grown ups. Not too keen on the heavily laden soggy calorie bombs anymore.
Slow-1 says
Hi Carolyn, our storage for our stone is easy. We just leave it in our oven all the time at our studio.
One problem though is it always smells like dough or pizza when we pre-heat the oven for "other" foods. Oh what a let down when looking in oven expecting a pizza.
BTW, nice looking pizza
Carolyn says
Oh, thank you so much for all the nice comments.
Terry, the fact that something I wrote reminded someone of Dylan, for whatever reason, probably means I should close up shop right now while I'm ahead. Also, that way I wouldn't have to worry as much about the impact on my credibility when I say that we like that frozen Whole Foods pizza dough a lot, too, and use it sometimes. I'd even go so far as to say that we were pretty proud of ourselves for discovering it. Shh.
Terry B says
Great story, Carolyn, and beautiful pizza! You may have just shamed me into making my own crust instead of letting Whole Foods do it [although at $2.50 a pop to save the time, effort and preplanning, maybe not quite yet]. Regarding your signs of maturity sneaking up on you, the judgmental young woman in the pizza place reminds me of a great line in an old Bob Dylan song: "But I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."
Jill says
C -
I don't really know what to say except that I LOVE YOU! 🙂 I LOVE your post... I LOVE your Pizza! I want your Pizza... NOW... for breakfast! I refuse to grow up! LOL!
See you soon!
J
Elizabeth says
hello - my first time on your site....loving it! And this pizza looks fantastic...will be making this!
Ginger says
Your pizza looks amazing!! I love the white wine and fresh tarragon. Of course your photos are awesome!!
Laura Flowers says
I love putting asparagus on my pizzas! What a beautiful post.
Pizzas are by far my favorite food to create. A blank canvas of dough fuels my imagination. This creativity is such a non-linear process for me that it makes these pizzas my least favorite recipes to write out.
MomVee says
FWIW, although I'm not big on my stone for pizza, it's outstanding for making naan.
Carolyn says
Maggie and MomVee, thank you! I love it so much when people talk to each other in comments. Although now I'm sort of sad to have a pizza stone. Maggie, I would say they're fun to register for but a real bitch to store. Last night I preheated the broiler forgetting the stone was in the oven and ended up broiling some eggs in ramekins, on a pan, on the stone, about 2 feet from the heat. So there's that in the "con" column.
Michaela, I have yet to make it to the Herbfarm, but I am becoming increasingly obsessed with the Pacific Northwest and love taking food-inspired vacations. So it's only a matter of time.
MomVee says
I _lurrrve_ this post.
Maggie, my large family obliges me to make two pies every time I make pizza: one in my wedding-present cast iron pan and one on the stone. Psst! I like the pan pizzas better.
michaela says
we've been making pizza almost every week with what we've got for spring like toppings!
i noticed you like the herbfarm cookbook. have you been there? i was there a couple months ago and it was amazing.
maggie (p&c) says
Not having acquired a pizza stone (or several other trappings of adulthood), I've done a little pizzamaking in a cast iron pan. It works ok and probably gets hotter than a sheet pan. Should I spring for the stone?
This pizza looks lovely, and the post is beautifully written. Tarragon on a pizza sure is grown up.