This Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto Pizza is perfect for pizza night at home. This healthier classic uses a whole wheat crust, herbed basil pesto, roasted heirloom tomatoes, and mozzarella to create a simple and satisfying vegetarian 30-minute meal.
Pizza night is a family ritual in our house. We spend the week talking about the pizza night possibilities and discussing which seasonal ingredients will make the cut. Our family gets excited about testing new flavor and ingredient combinations, and one of our favorites lately is a simple basil pesto pizza with roasted tomatoes.
Shake things up on pizza night this week!
While we love a good tomato sauce pizza base, this Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto Pizza flips the tomatoes from a sauce to a topping and uses a delicious herbed basil pesto sauce as the foundation. I love using flavored olive oils, sauces, and creams on pizza to break up the monotony of traditional pizzas. With a total cook and prep time of only 30 minutes, this vegetarian pizza is a surefire win for busy weeknights too!
While making my own pizza dough is fun from time to time, on a normal busy weeknight, I am not ashamed to turn to store-bought pizza dough. While we all like the idea of cooking entirely homemade 100% of the time, that’s just not feasible with work, school, sports, clubs, and all of the tiny to do’s that come with busy family life.
That’s why an easy and delicious pizza foundational recipe is key. Having a few easy weeknight meals in your back pocket that are not only simple, but also delicious, gets you off the hook from having to plan elaborate meals and prevents the last minute “let’s eat out!” decisions (and it’s easy on your wallet!).
Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto Pizza
This Basil Pesto Tomato Pizza recipe starts with store-bought whole wheat dough that is topped with a delicious parmesan basil sauce. It’s then topped with roasted and dried heirloom tomato slices and mozzarella before it is baked golden brown and topped with fresh basil leaves before serving. It’s simple yet bold flavors are sure to satisfy both vegetarians and meat-eaters alike and it is easily customizable to fit whatever vegetables you have on hand. Just roast and use as pizza toppings and you have a weeknight winner!
Ingredients
- 1 lb store-bought pizza dough
- 1/2 cup pesto sauce
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 3 heirloom tomatoes
- 6 oz mozzarella, sliced
- 1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped
- Salt, pepper, and red pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400ºF.
- Slice tomatoes very thin and place on an oiled cookie sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast until they begin to dry and brown, about 20 minutes.
- Roll the dough into a round or rectangular pizza shape. Top with pesto, roasted tomatoes, slices mozzarella, and salt and pepper. Bake 12 minutes, or until golden brown (longer if you like a crispier pizza).
- Remove pizza from oven and let cool 3-5 minutes. Top with chopped basil and serve immediately.
Notes
Home Chef Tip: Let the premade pizza dough come to room temperature before cooking. The dough will be more pliable and easier to mold into a pizza shape than if it's fresh from the refrigerator. Also, mozzarella naturally holds water and it will be released when cooking. To reduce this, slice mozzarella and squeeze pieces between a paper or kitchen towel to soak up as much water as possible to ensure a deliciously golden brown pizza.
We hope you enjoy this Roasted Tomato Basil Pesto Pizza recipe from SoFabFood Home Chef, Kristina from Fork in the Road, as much as we do. If you love this recipe, checkout our other pizza recipes for more Friday night meal ideas. For daily recipe inspiration, subscribe to our newsletter, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Pinterest. Enjoy!
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