The key to a great pizza starts with the dough. Here’s our homemade pizza dough recipe. Making your own pizza dough from scratch may seem daunting, but it’s actually quite simple. All you need are a few basic ingredients: flour, yeast, water, salt, and olive oil. Once you’ve mastered the dough, the possibilities for toppings are endless. You can keep it simple with classic tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, or get creative with a variety of veggies, vegan cheeses, and herbs. We chose two topping combinations:

• Pesto Pizza – Ingredients include basil pesto, vegan ricotta, arugula and zucchini, olive oil, and salt. Pesto pizza is a type of pizza that is made using pesto sauce as a base instead of traditional tomato sauce. Pesto sauce is a mixture of fresh basil leaves, garlic, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, and olive oil, all blended together to form a flavorful paste. The pesto sauce is spread over the pizza crust and topped with cheese, vegetables, or meat toppings of your choice. Popular toppings for pesto pizza include roasted vegetables, chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, and goat cheese. Pesto pizza has a distinct and rich flavor profile and is often cooked in a wood-fired oven for an extra crispy crust. It is a popular alternative to traditional tomato sauce-based pizzas and is enjoyed by many pizza lovers worldwide.
• Margarita Pizza – Ingredients include red pizza sauce, vegan mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, fresh basil leaves, olive oil, and salt. Margarita pizza is a traditional Italian pizza that is simple yet delicious. It is typically made with a thin, crispy crust, topped with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese, and fresh basil leaves. The pizza is named after Queen Margherita of Savoy, who visited Naples in 1889 and enjoyed a pizza made with these toppings. The red tomato sauce represents the color of the Italian flag, while the white cheese and green basil leaves represent the country’s national colors. Margherita pizza is often considered the classic pizza and is popular all over the world. It is typically cooked in a wood-fired oven but can also be made in a regular oven or on a grill.

We LOVE these two pizza combinations. But, of course, there are endless options. Get creative! 

Half and Half Artisan Pizza Ingredients

We chose pesto pizza and margarita pizza toppings, but the options are endless.

Pesto Pizza

• • Pizza Dough – Our five-ingredient pizza dough is foolproof and in terms of flavor and freshness. You can count on this simple recipe every time! 
    We’d love to have you try our homemade pizza dough recipe, but if you’re in a pinch, you can easily pick it up pre-made at the market or grocery store.
  • Basil Pesto Sauce – Pesto replaces the traditional pizza sauce with basil pesto. Our fresh basil pesto recipe is perfect! 
  • Vegan Ricotta – We use our own vegan ricotta recipe. Simple, fresh ricotta has a mild, slightly nutty flavor. Its thick and creamy texture features tiny granules adding texture.

  • Arugula – Arugula adds a wonderful peppery flavor. It is a featured green in our organic garden – in the winter, we grow arugula inside under lights for a constant source of our favorite green.

  • Zucchini – Fresh zucchini adds some texture with a slightly sweet, slightly bitter flavor. Zucchini and arugula are a perfect pair on pizza
  • Extra-virgin olive oil – This adds moisture, texture, and flavor.
  • Sea Salt – Don’t skimp on the salt!

Margarita Pizza

• • Pizza Dough – Our five-ingredient pizza dough is foolproof and in terms of flavor and freshness. You can count on this simple recipe every time! We’d love to have you try our homemade pizza dough recipe, but if you’re in a pinch, you can easily pick it up pre-made at the market or grocery store.
  • Homemade Pizza Sauce – We use our chunky marinara sauce recipe for this. This is such a versatile recipe, and we use it for so many things! You can use an inexpensive store-bought pizza sauce which is good too. 
  • Mozzarella – We use Miyoko’s Creamery Organic Cashew Milk Mozzarella Cheese Ball, Italian Style This is by far the best dairy-free mozzarella. If you’re not following a plant-based, you can use any mozzarella you chose. 
  • Sliced tomatoes – We often use Compari tomatoes, but you can use whatever you have on hand. Fresh, sweet cherry tomatoes work well too! 
  • Fresh basil – Fresh basil adds a sweet, pungent, and slightly spicy flavor.
  • Olive oil – Olive oil adds flavor and texture
  • Sea salt – Sea salt makes all the flavors pop! 

How to Make Half and Half Artisan Pizza

Once you prep your toppings, you’re ready to make the pesto pizza.

• • The first step is pre-baking the crust. The fresh toppings on this pizza don’t need much baking time, so we like to give the pizza crust a head start. Baking it for a few minutes without toppings helps it become crisp and chewy. No one likes soggy pizza crust!
  • Preheat your oven to 425°F (218°C). Grease a pizza pan or baking sheet with olive oil.
  • Pre-bake the pizza dough for 5-10 minutes. We bake the dough BEFORE we add the toppings and bake a second time. Pre-baking the dough keeps the crust from getting soggy! 
  • Spread the tomato sauce over the pre-baked pizza crust. Leave a small border around the edge.
  • Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over the tomato sauce.
  • Add your desired toppings over the cheese. The options are endless. Be creative and have fun!
  • Bake the pizza for 12-15 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown.
  • Remove the pizza from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

Half-and-Half Pizza Variations 

We love both the pesto pizza and margarita pizza recipes as written, but it’s super easy to switch things up for variation. 

• • Switch out the tomatoes – We often use roasted broccoli, roasted tomatoes, or roasted cauliflower in place of the Compare tomatoes. 
  • Add other veggies – We pull veggies from our gardens, such as mushrooms, sweet peas, carrots, or garlic. All of these are a great addition to your pizzas. 
  • Add extra cheese – You know you want to! LOL! Load on the cheeses. After the pizza is out of the oven, add some freshly grated vegan pecorino or Parmesan cheese.
  • Use a different pesto – Kale pesto is wonderful, and cilantro pesto and pistachio pesto really shake things!
  • Vegan protein toppings – Tofu bites and shiitake back add a real depth to your pizza and appeases the appetites of your meat-eating friends and family. 
  • Use pickled veggies – Pickled veggies really bring another dimension of flavor to your artisan pizza. We use pickled radishes and pickled cauliflower. 

More Easy Summer Dinner Ideas

• • Pesto Pasta 
  • Cherry Tomato Pasta 
  • Simple Pasta Salad
  • Grilled Tofu 
  • Stuffed Shells 
  • Arugula and Peach Salad 
  • Cherry Tomato Couscous Salad
  • Cherry Tomato Tart

If you decide to try our pizza dough recipe, feel free to let us know in the comments below.