Sun-dried tomato pizza with artichokes, banana peppers, and spinach – now that’s a powerful burst of flavor! Those of you who have been following The Kitchaissance Blog lately might have seen my Spinach Artichoke Pizza with a Mock Pesto Topping recipe. This sun-dried tomato pizza follows the same train of thought – a delicious homemade pizza that tastes like something you would order at an established pizza joint like the Mellow Mushroom.
Eating out, I’ve had several sun-dried tomato pizzas with pesto and really liked the combination of flavors. I wanted to create something similar at home, and I happened to have some leftover spinach and artichokes from my spinach artichoke pizza that I made last week. So I decided to combine these leftovers with the sun-dried tomatoes and make my mock pesto topping again. Then, to switch it up a bit more, I added some banana peppers to the mix. I chose banana peppers because I usually put something sort of like onions, shallots – that type of thing – on my homemade pizza. I just think it rounds out the flavors nicely.
Overall, this sun-dried tomato pizza came out really tasty! It has a really zesty taste with the banana peppers and everything. I almost think I could have used a bit less of the sun-dried tomatoes and banana peppers, and it still would have been pretty flavorful. But I like this pizza, and it spawned a whole bunch of other ideas for veggie combinations I think would be great on a homemade pizza like this.
What Goes in This Sun-Dried Tomato Pizza?
Pizza crust: Buy a pizza crust in the frozen food section, or make a homemade crust. I make the pizza dough for the Two-Cheese Pizza in Betty Crocker’s Best Bread Machine Cookbook. Click here to purchase this cookbook on Amazon, and I will earn a commission from your purchase as an Amazon associate. (I think mine was the 1999 edition.) While I will not give the exact recipe, I will say it calls for bread flour, olive oil, some salt, and a bit of sugar. I use King Arthur Bread Flour, which you can click here to purchase and I will earn a commission as a King Arthur Baking affiliate.
Tomato basil sauce: Just pick up a jar of tomato basil sauce at the grocery(affiliate link) store. I use Greenwise Tomato Basil sauce from Publix.
Mozzarella cheese, shredded: A 5 oz bag of shredded mozzarella should also be pretty easy to find at the grocery(affiliate link) store.
Parmesan cheese, shredded: Just a 5 oz bag of shredded parmesan from the store.
Sun-dried tomatoes: I bought a 7 fluid oz. jar of sun-dried tomatoes at the grocery(affiliate link) store. Plenty for a sun-dried tomato pizza. You might not even need this many.
Banana peppers: These act like onions in this recipe. I bought a 12 fluid oz. jar of mild, Italian seasoned banana peppers and used about 2/3 of it. Again, this is something you could probably scale back on.
Spinach: If you have leftover spinach, just use that. You only need about 2.5 oz. Get a small box, around 5 oz, if you have to buy it.
Artichoke hearts: Goes great with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. I got a 14 oz can of quartered artichoke hearts.
How to Make Homemade Pizza
Making homemade pizza can be fun, easy, and come out just as great as something from a gourmet restaurant! This spinach artichoke pizza is the perfect example.
Prepping the crust
First, you want to prepare the crust. As I mentioned earlier, there’s a lot of options for pizza crust in the frozen food section at the grocery(affiliate link) store. Prepping these crusts should be pretty straightforward; there should be instructions on the package. If you want to get fancy, though, you can make your own pizza crust from scratch. I make the dough for my pizza crust in a bread machine. You can make homemade pizza dough without a bread machine, but it’s a long process that requires a lot of attention. For the dough to rise, it needs to be in a bowl covered with foil or a towel and sit out at room temperature or in an oven that is preheated but turned off for at least half an hour or so.
If you’re interested in making homemade pizza more often, you might want to get a bread machine like the Zojirushi one that I have. I absolutely love mine, and I wrote a recommendation/review of it if you want to read it here.
You can purchase this bread machine at the King Arthur Baking site through the featured link below, and I will earn a commission from your purchase as a King Arthur affiliate.Click the name of the product or where it says “Buy Now” to view and purchase.
Or you can browse bread machines on Amazon, and I will earn a commission from your purchase as an Amazon associate when you purchase through this link.
Prepping veggies and toppings
While you’re in the waiting periods of prepping the pizza dough or crust, you can go ahead and start chopping the veggies as the next step. I always chop everything and rinse it thoroughly in a colander, then give it a good shake to make sure the water doesn’t get into the pizza. You can also use this time to make a special sauce for a topping like I did in this recipe.
Putting it all together
If you’re making homemade pizza dough, you’ll need to get out a round pizza pan. Coat the pan with olive oil or cooking spray, then spread the dough out evenly over the pan. Fold a bit of the dough over at the edges for the crust.
Once the pizza dough or crust is prepped, just pop open a jar of tomato sauce like the tomato basil sauce I use in this recipe and gradually pour. You don’t want to dump it all out on the pizza dough right away, but just keep a steady hand and eyeball it to see when you’re done. When the sauce is spread evenly over the whole thing, go ahead and stop before you overdo it.
After applying the tomato sauce, start layering the cheese and veggies. Whatever I’m using for the onion-type ingredient – onions, shallots, banana peppers, etcetera, I always scatter some of those directly over the sauce first. Next, I add a thin layer of cheese, usually mozzarella. Then, I alternate between veggies and cheese until everything is on there, and top it off with some parmesan. If I’m making a special sauce, I drizzle it on there after that.
Finally, you preheat the oven and stick your pizza in to let it bake! Now, I just use a regular oven and it works fine. However, a lot of people who make homemade pizza prefer to use a pizza oven because of the higher, more evenly distributed temperatures.
You can purchase a pizza oven online from King Arthur Baking at the featured link below, and I will earn a commission from your purchase as a King Arthur affiliate. Click the name of the product or where it says “Buy Now” to view and purchase.
Or you can browse pizza ovens on Amazon, and I will earn a commission from your purchase as an Amazon associate when you purchase through this link.
Making Sun-Dried Tomato Pizza
Sun-dried tomatoes are, of course, the star ingredient in a sun-dried tomato pizza. While I used an entire 12 oz. jar in this recipe, you might not need quite that many. Probably half the jar, or even a fourth of the jar, would have sufficed. I would recommend chopping the sun-dried tomatoes to stretch this ingredient further and make them a little easier to chew.
Although I used a simple tomato basil sauce as the pizza sauce in this recipe, some people prefer to use a sun-dried tomato pesto as the pizza sauce when making sun-dried tomato pizza. This is a great way to maximize the sun-dried tomato flavor without having to use so many sun-dried tomatoes as a topping. Here’s an examplefrom a food blog called The Almond Eater. It’s not vegetarian, but you could certainly tweak this recipe to be vegetarian if you wanted.
As far as my own sun-dried tomato pizza recipe goes, I now have several ideas for different variations on this recipe. I already mentioned scaling back on the sun-dried tomato topping a bit and maybe using a sun-dried tomato pesto as the sauce. In the intro and ingredients section of this post, I also mentioned scaling back a bit on the banana peppers. Those are all good thoughts. However, I also thought of some other variations on this recipe with a different assortment of veggies that I think would be really amazing!
One such variation I am imagining is a delicious homemade pizza with the same tomato basil sauce I used in this recipe and the same cheeses, spinach, artichokes, five to ten chopped sun-dried tomatoes, and a combination of red onion and bell pepper instead of banana peppers. This combination of veggies would probably also work well with the sun-dried tomato pesto as the pizza sauce. You could probably also do a basil pesto as the pizza sauce for this pizza or use a combination of olive oil and spices in place of a sauce, as in this White Pizza recipe from Damn Delicious. So many options!
Making the Mock Pesto
What is mock pesto? Basically, I took the concept of a pesto sauce and translated it into something that you can make in your blender. I don’t really like having to use a food processor that often. Something about the super bulky blades freak me out. That’s probably just a peculiarity specific to me, but I think it can be nice to just be able to throw something together in your blender instead. In order to do this, you need to eliminate any super bulky, solid ingredients that are too tough for your blender. While a lot of pesto recipes call for something like pine nuts, I left this out because that would probably ruin the blades of the blender. And you know what? I really didn’t miss them in this mock pesto pizza topping.
Olive oil: This is the base of your mock pesto. A certain amount of liquid base is necessary when making anything in a blender so you don’t ruin the blades.
Basil: Fresh basil really makes this mock pesto sauce. This is the main flavor. Just chop it and toss it in with the olive oil.
Parsley: A touch of fresh parsley, chopped.
Lemon juice: For a bit of a citrusy flair, add some lemon juice. I squeezed mine right from the lemon.
Garlic powder: A common pesto ingredient. Powdered form is easy to blend and a common staple you might have in your pantry.
Now, this mock pesto doesn’t go underneath the cheese on this spinach artichoke pizza. I just drizzle it on top of the pizza for a little extra pizzazz!
Health Benefits of Sun-Dried Tomato Pizza
While this sun-dried tomato pizza is definitely not a diet food, it’s packed with nutrients from all the veggies!
Tomatoes/Sun-Dried Tomatoes
In general, tomatoes are full of nutrients, and sun-dried tomatoes are no different. Here are some of the nutrients and health benefits of tomatoes according to Jolene Hart’s Eat Pretty:
Lycopene and beta carotene to protect the skin from UV damage and aging, and fight off cancer
Anti-inflammatory properties
Potassium for electrolyte balance and healthy circulation of nutrients
Spinach
Spinach contains the following nutrients and health benefits according to Jolene Hart’s Eat Pretty:
Vitamin A for cell renewal and healthy skin
Glutathione for detoxification and DNA protection
Vitamin C for antioxidant properties
Iron, manganese, and magnesium for blood-oxygenating chlorophyll and beauty
Vitamin K for strong bones
Lutein for eye health
Artichokes
Artichokes contain the following nutrients and health benefits according to Jolene Hart’s Eat Pretty:
Fiber for digestive health
Silymarin, a phytochemical that detoxifies the liver and gallbladder
Glutathione, for detoxifying and anti-aging properties
If you’re interested in learning more about nutrition and health benefits of foods as described above, purchase Jolene Hart’s Eat Pretty on Amazon. As an Amazon associate, I earn a commission when you make a purchase through the featured link below. Click the title of the product or where it says “Buy Now” to view and purchase.
Frozen pizza crust from the grocery store or ingredients for your favorite homemade pizza dough recipe.
Other Ingredients
12 oz tomato basil sauce
20 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2.5 oz spinach
9 oz canned artichoke hearts, chopped
8 oz mild, Italian seasoned banana pepper slices
5 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
5 oz shredded parmesan cheese
Mock Pesto
1/2 cup olive oil
0.75 oz fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
Pizza Crust
Follow the instructions on the package to prepare a frozen pizza crust, or follow the instructions online or in a cookbook for homemade pizza dough.
Putting the Pizza Together
While you’re waiting for your pizza crust to finish prepping, start rinsing and chopping the produce.
Take each sun-dried tomato out of the jar and place on a cutting board. Slice into thin strips.
Open the can of artichoke hearts, rinse and drain them, then chop them into small pieces on a cutting board.
Open the box of spinach, rinse it in a colander, and give it a good shake.
Measure out the banana peppers in a measuring cup, about one cup.
Once the pizza crust is prepped, open the tomato basil sauce and pour it on top.
Scatter some of the banana peppers directly over the sauce.
Add a thin layer of mozzarella cheese.
Add some of the spinach and bit more of the banana peppers. Then, add some of the chopped artichoke hearts and sun-dried tomato slices.
Add another layer of mozzarella cheese and a bit of parmesan.
Add the rest of the spinach, sundried-tomatoes, banana peppers, and artichoke.
Top off with the rest of the mozzarella and parmesan.
Making the Mock Pesto
If you haven’t already, rinse the basil leaves off in a colander, then chop them on a cutting board.
Next, rinse and chop the parsley.
Then, add the olive oil to the blender.
After that, add the basil and parsley.
Add the lemon juice and garlic powder next and blend until thoroughly combined. (You may have to stop and stir it a bit at times to avoid wearing down your blender.)
Baking the Pizza
Before you bake the pizza, use a spoon or salad dressing dispenser to drizzle the mock pesto sauce on top.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, then stick the pizza in to bake for about 16 minutes.
Once the pizza is done, take it out of the oven, let it cool for about five minutes, and use a pizza cutter and spatula to cut and serve.
Prep Time:3 hrs
Cook Time:16 minutes
Keywords: sun dried tomato pizza
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Nutrition Facts
This is the nutrition facts label I created for the sun-dried tomato pizza recipe, showing the nutrients per slice of this homemade pizza. Does not include the nutrition facts for the mock pesto sauce on top. (These are my own calculations and have not been reviewed by the FDA.)
This is the nutrition label I created for the mock pesto topping. (These are my own calculations and have not been reviewed by the FDA.)
