Artichoke Spinach Pizza with White Beans
One thing that I love about pizza for dinner, is you don’t have to have a set recipe. It’s fun to think outside the box. Look at what you have in the fridge and how you can put that together into a new recipe.
Getting Creative with Pizza Recipes
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Crust
- Add herbs or cheeses, such as Parmesan to your pizza crust dough
- Experiment with different flours
- Use items like Whole Wheat Naan, Crackerbread, Bagels or English Muffins instead of traditional pizza crust
Sauce
Who said the sauce has to be Italian tomato sauce? Or that you even have to have a sauce on your pizza. We love the creamy white bean sauce featured in this recipe, but there are lots of fun ideas for sauce:
- Pesto (and it can be any kind of pesto – basil, or not)
- Alfredo sauce
- Hummus, such as Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
- refried beans or pureed black beans
- Garlic and oil
Toppings
We usually just take a peek in our fridge and pantry to see what potential ingredients we have and what items might taste well together.
The Flavor Bible is also a great resource for flavor matching if you have a hard time doing this intuitively, or just want extra inspiration.
Some of our favorite combos:
- Italian Sausage + Roasted Pepper + Olives
- Spinach + Artichoke + White Bean
- Medley of roasted vegetables + Garlic
- Black Bean Spread + Mexican Veggies + Cilantro
Spinach and Artichokes are an obviously match in this pizza. I had leeks in the fridge and I like their milder flavor compared to onions, so I threw some of those on for good measure.
I knew I wanted a white sauce, and rather than preparing a fatty alfredo (we’re trying to be a little healthier after all those Christmas sweets), I experimented with a white bean based sauce. Since there were extra beans from making the sauce, I sprinkled them on top of the pizza for added fiber and protein.
All in all, this recipe was a success! And I made it start to finish (pizza dough was already prepared) in less than 30 minutes.
What are your favorite ways to get creative with your pizza recipes?
Artichoke Spinach Pizza with White Beans
One thing that I love about pizza for dinner, is you don’t have to have a set recipe. It’s fun to think outside the box. Look at what you have in the fridge and how you can put that together into a new recipe.
Ingredients
For the Pizza:
- 1 recipe for your favorite pizza crust
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 1/2 leeks, cleaned and chopped
- 2 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 recipe creamy white bean sauce, recipe follows
- 1/3 cup white beans
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 1 - 14.5 ounce can quartered artichoke hearts
- salt and pepper, to taste
- sliced fresh mozzarella cheese
For the Creamy White Bean Sauce:
- 1/3 cup cream cheese
- 1/2 cup white beans, such as cannellini
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 1 - 2 drops, pure rosemary oil or 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh rosemary
- 1 clove garlic
- pinch salt and pepper, or to taste
- 1 - 2 tablespoons milk, to reach desired consistency
Instructions
- Prepare pizza crust according to your favorite recipe's instructions. I like Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day Crust.
- Preheat your oven to 550 degrees F (or 500 if your oven doesn't go up to 550). Place a pizza stone on the upper-middle rack.
For the Sauce
- Prepare the creamy white bean sauce by adding all of the ingredients into a small food processor, I like my Cuisinart 4-Cup Chopper for jobs like this, and puree until smooth. Be sure to scrape the sides as needed. Set aside.
- In a cast iron or saute skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the cleaned (see: How to Clean Leeks) and chopped leeks and saute until tender. About 3-5 minutes. Add the chopped spinach and saute until wilted, about 3 minutes.
To Assemble the Pizza
- Lay out a sheet of parchment paper. Roll the pizza crust out on top of the parchment. Spread your desired amount of creamy white bean sauce on top of the pizza dough (reserve any extra for another use).
- Top with the leek and spinach mixture. Sprinkle with the dried Italian seasoning, 2 tablespoons parmesan, 1/3 cup white beans, and quartered artichoke hearts. Top with several slices of fresh mozzarella cheese.
- Transfer the pizza with parchment paper to the pizza stone and bake for 5 - 10 minutes, or until the crust is as crispy as you'd like and the cheese is melted.
- Serve immediately.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 788Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 1127mgCarbohydrates: 115gFiber: 18gSugar: 6gProtein: 30g
GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.
Molly says
Oy Vey! This looks soooo good! And the pictures are amazing! I love spinach on anything – recently tried this eggs florentine pizza – next time I’m going to add some artichoke!
April says
Thank you for this!!! I made it tonight, using whole wheat pitas as the crust and adding sun-dried tomatoes. It was fabulous! Husband and kid approved!
Betsy says
Love this twist on pizza. Sounds delish! We’d love it if you’d link your recipe up at seasonalpotluck.com March is artichoke month! http://www.seasonalpotluck.com/?page_id=32
snixykitchen says
I LOVE artichokes…and I love white beans – I can’t wait to try this idea.
kellypea @ sass & veracity says
I love this, and so would the resident mister and assorted other menfolk near and dear to my heart. I keep dough balls in the freezer just to whip up something like this. You’ve chosen some wonderful flavor combinations.
Kat says
I love the idea for this pizza – artichokes are one of my favorite toppings although I’ve never tried white beans before, I bet it’s delicious
TidyMom says
Thanks for linking up to I’m Lovin’ It Katie! I featured your post in my wrap up http://tidymom.net/2012/great-ideas-10/ Have a great weekend!
Frugal Jen | Frugal, Freebies and Deals says
So I am going to be needing to make white bean pizza now!!
jenetta
Deborah says
I made a pizza that had ricotta for the “sauce” and then it was topped with roasted root veggies. It was divine. I love this idea of using white beans!