The perfect late summer/early fall pizza with beet pesto, caramelized onion, fennel, zucchini, and cheese! This healthy vegetarian pizza is a nice change from the classic tomato sauce and cheese pairing.

Hard to believe it’s the middle of the week. I feel badly for my recipe posts being less frequent in the last little while. I have had to put this little blog of mine on the back burner, so to speak, as I figure out some life stuff. I’m in a season of change- it’s all positive!- but it’s leaving much less time for this passion project of mine. I will share more about that in more of a “life lately” post in a few days; for now, I just want to talk about this pizza!

I made pizza for the first time in a long while last Sunday. That reminded me to post this recipe, which I developed over the summer. Beet pesto, caramelized onion and fennel, thinly sliced zucchini, cheese, lots of hot red pepper flakes, and herbs make for an extra special homemade pizza experience.

why you’ll love this pizza recipe

The crust: I have been making Jim Lahey’s famous no-knead pizza dough for the past couple of months, and it’s so much better than any other homemade pizza dough I’ve made. It’s slightly fermented, so it has a somewhat tangy flavour, and it has a strong gluten structure (not dry in the least, like some 2-hour pizza doughs I’ve made). And it’s so simple; just mix up flour, yeast, salt, and water in a large bowl, stir, cover it with a towel, and let it rest for 18 hours or so. (Do this the night before you plan to make your pizzas.) When it’s time to make your pizzas, you just generously flour your counter, divide the dough into four portions, stretch them out to fit your preheated pizza stone, and you’re good to go. You can certainly use store-bought pizza dough for this recipe, too, if that’s what you prefer.

The beet pesto: Tomato pizza sauce is a classic base, but I like to change things up. Beets have been a staple in our CSA share all summer, so I’ve come up with some novel ways to enjoy them. This beet pesto consists of beets, almonds, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil. It’s bright, flavourful, and quite the sight to behold. And it makes more than you need for your pizzas, so you can enjoy it on pastas, sandwiches, and the like in the coming days.

It’s easy to make: You only have to prepare a few simple elements- the pizza dough, the beet pesto, and the caramelized onions and fennel. Then, simply slice up a zucchini and grate some cheese.

It’s healthy: This is not your average greasy American pizza. Beets are packed with folate, fibre, iron, potassium, vitamin C, and nitrates, which convert to nitric oxide in the body and are believed to enhance endurance. This pizza is the perfect meal to enjoy the night before a long run!

ingredients you’ll need

For the beet pesto:

Beets
Almonds
Garlic
Lemons
Extra virgin olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Sea salt
Pepper
Red pepper flakes

For the caramelized onion and fennel:

Extra virgin olive oil
Red onion
Fennel
Salt and pepper
Red pepper flakes
Dried basil and oregano

For assembling the pizzas:

One batch of No-Knead Pizza Dough (or enough pizza dough for 4 pizzas)
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Shredded Pecorino cheese
Zucchini

how to make this healthy beet pesto pizza

Make the pesto: Combine all of the beet pesto ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer into a jar or container until ready to use. Note: This pesto can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for up to five days.
Make the caramelized onion and fennel: Warm the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and fennel, plus a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, or until very soft and caramelized. In the last five minutes, add the pepper, herbs, and red pepper flakes.
Preheat the oven to 500 F if using pizza stones (or 450 F if you’re using baking sheets). If using pizza stones, place them in the oven for at least 20 minutes to heat up.
When ready to make your pizzas, divide the dough into four equal portions. On a generously floured surface, stretch out the dough into a rather thin oval or circle shape, depending on the shape of your pans.
Carefully transfer the dough onto the pre-heated pizza stone. Spread with desired amount of beet pesto (I used about ⅓ cup per pizza). Top with sliced zucchini, caramelized onion and fennel, cheese, and olives. Repeat with the remaining dough and toppings.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and browned to your liking.

more pizza recipes

Finally, I hope that you love this beet pesto pizza! If you make it, let me know how you enjoyed it by leaving a comment and rating below the post. And if you share a photo to Instagram, tag it @upbeet.kitchen and #upbeetkitchen. I love seeing what you’ve made.

Enjoy!