White Pizza w/Parsley Pesto Drizzle

Pizza is one of my favorite food groups! Yes, I said food group because pizza should be its own food group! I live for days where pizza is involved, but I'm usually ordering pizza out. It has taken me a while to search for a pizza recipe that I wanted to make at home. This new recipe was DELICIOUS and its somewhat healthy! I used square thin pizza crust from Kroger to minimize the carbs involved. I found myself wanting to eat the whole pizza it was that good! What made it even better is its really easy to make and clean up is a breeze. Enjoy!

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Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 10 mins

Total Time: 30 mins

INGREDIENTS

Garlic Oil

• 1 Tbsp olive oil

• 1/4 tsp garlic powder

Parsley Pesto

• 1 cup fresh parsley leaves, minced

• 1 clove garlic, minced or crushed

• 1 Tbsp grated Parmesan

• 1/4 tsp salt

• Freshly cracked pepper

• Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

• 1.5 Tbsp lemon juice

• 3 Tbsp olive oil

Pizza

• 1 14-16" pizza dough

• 4 oz. fresh mozzarella

• 4 Roma tomatoes

Cooking Instructions:

1. In a very small bowl or dish, stir together 1 Tbsp olive oil and the garlic powder. Let the mixture sit and infuse while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

2. To make the parsley pesto, finely mince 1 packed cup of fresh parsley leaves (about 1/2 cup once minced). Add the minced garlic, grated Parmesan, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Add the lemon juice and olive oil to the mixture, starting with just 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 2 Tbsp olive oil, and adding more if needed to create a mixture that is loose enough to drizzle over the pizza. I used 1.5 Tbsp lemon and 3 Tbsp oil total, but this will depend on the volume of your minced parsley. Set the parsley pesto aside.

3. Move your oven's rack to the top position and begin preheating the oven to 500ºF. Thinly slice the tomatoes and fresh mozzarella.

4. Stretch or roll your pizza dough out to a 14-16" disc. Place it on a pizza pan or baking sheet*. Stir the garlic and oil, then brush a thin later over the entire surface of the dough, including the outer crust.

5. Arrange the tomato slices evenly over the pizza dough, then top with torn slices of mozzarella. 

6. Bake the pizza in the fully preheated 500ºF oven for 10 minutes, or just until the outer crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted, but not browned. After removing the pizza from the oven, drizzle the parsley pesto over top, slice into eight pieces, and serve.