Making a pizza at home can be a fun activity for all ages. And any homemade pizza is better than delivery or frozen. If you’re looking for a dish that the whole family will love, this super easy spinach pizza hits the mark.
Using a few store-bought items and pantry staples, spinach pizza makes a quick weeknight meal. Creamy Alfredo sauce, fresh spinach and boxed pizza crust mix or premade pizza dough are the stars here. But you can adapt the pizza to your taste with variations, such as switching the sauce, adding different toppings or making your own pizza dough. As with any of these pizza recipes, follow our lead and you’ll be slinging pies like the pros in no time!
Ingredients for Spinach Pizza
- Pizza crust: Using pizza crust mix makes this a really fast and easy meal to pull together. You can also use store-bought premade pizza crust, or go the extra mile with our homemade pizza dough or whole wheat pizza dough.
- Alfredo sauce: Instead of tomato sauce, use creamy Alfredo sauce for the base of this pie. It goes perfectly with the fresh tomatoes and spinach. Use your favorite brand from the store, or try your hand at homemade Alfredo sauce.
- Spinach and tomatoes: Get your greens in with chopped fresh spinach. If it’s baby spinach in the clamshell, you don’t even need to wash or chop it. If you’re buying fresh spinach by the bunch, make sure it’s very thoroughly washed so you don’t end up with gritty pizza. Fresh tomatoes can be thinly sliced or chopped to top the pizza.
- Cheese: Of course you need cheese for pizza, and using an Italian cheese blend hits all the bases for flavor.
Directions
Step 1: Prepare the dough
Preheat your oven to 450°F. Prepare the pizza dough according to the package instructions. Use floured hands to place the dough onto a greased 12-inch pizza pan or baking sheet.
Editor’s Tips: If you’re using frozen dough, make sure it’s thawed ahead of time according to the package directions. And it’s helpful to stretch any pizza dough instead of rolling it; if it keeps snapping back, let it rest for a few minutes and then go back to it. Stretch the dough a little more than 12 inches to account for shrinkage in the oven.
Step 2: Top the pizza
Thinly slice or chop your tomatoes. Spread the Alfredo sauce over the dough to within 1 inch of the edge, then top the pizza with the spinach, then the tomatoes and finally the cheese.
Editor’s Tip: A little sprinkle of salt on the pizza and the crust will do wonders for extra flavor.
Step 3: Bake the pizza
Bake the pizza for 10 to 15 minutes. The cheese should be totally melted and the crust should be golden brown.
Editor’s Tip: Around the halfway mark, rotate the pizza for a more even bake.
Spinach Pizza Variations
- Add garlic: A welcome addition to any pizza is garlic, and it can come in any form. Whether minced garlic, garlic oil or garlic confit, drizzle it over the spinach for some extra delicious flavor.
- Change up the toppings: The sky is the limit for pizza toppings. Try sliced oven-dried tomatoes in lieu of fresh tomatoes, or add some chopped canned artichoke hearts. You can also use different leafy greens, like sauteed kale instead of spinach.
- Try different cheeses: Spinach is wonderful with a variety of cheeses. Besides an Italian cheese blend, you could use fresh mozzarella, low-moisture dry mozzarella, grated Parmesan or even feta cheese.
How to Store Spinach Pizza
If you happen to have leftovers, you can store them in a food-safe container in the fridge for up to five days. You can also slice up any leftover pizza and freeze it as individual slices to pull as needed. To reheat pizza, use an oven, a toaster oven or even a hot skillet on the stove.
Spinach Pizza Tips
Do you need to cook the spinach before adding it to the pizza?
For this spinach pizza, you don’t need to cook the spinach. Simply chop it, if needed, and add it between the sauce and the cheese. Fresh is best here, as frozen spinach will have a different texture, but in a pinch you can substitute frozen spinach. Just make sure it’s thawed and then squeeze out any extra moisture before placing it on your pie.
How do you keep the spinach from drying out on the pizza?
Spinach contains a lot of water, which should keep it from drying out on the pizza. You can always add a drizzle of olive oil over the spinach before cooking the pizza to give the spinach a little extra moisture.
What can you serve with spinach pizza?
Pizza usually pairs best with some vegetables. It goes amazing with salad, whether it’s a Caesar salad or some leafy greens with a simple vinaigrette. Pizza also goes well with all sorts of roasted vegetables, or something simple like steamed broccoli.
