I have to tell you that when I first set this Roasted Veggie and Ricotta Pizza down for dinner, my 9-year-old was not so sure. “Roasted zucchini and eggplant on a pizza? Why did you have to do that mom? Ugh, I don’t like roasted eggplant!” She thought she only liked eggplant breaded and pan fried. How can we blame her? (By the way, that super yummy recipe is on page 240 in my first cookbook, haha).
But, as I’ve shared before, when it comes to picky kids you simply cannot stop serving your child a food item just because they’ve previously claimed they don’t like it (you’ve gotta keep trying over and over again!). And this pizza is a perfect example of how all that effort can sometimes pay off in the end. I knew she didn’t like roasted eggplant the last time we had it, but she was hungry and even surprised herself with how much she liked it served this way on pizza! Converting picky eaters can take a lot of time and effort, but is often worth it in the end. :)
Sponsor Shoutout: Simple Mills
You can, of course, add these pizza toppings to any crust, but we were excited to once again try them with the grain-free almond flour/cauliflower pizza dough mix from Simple Mills. We are by no means a grain-free family, but it did feel kind of nice to know we were getting extra veggies into our system from the crust. And it tastes great, too. Plus, I love how super easy and simple this crust is to make. It only took a couple minutes to mix it up, and since it’s grain-free, no rise time is necessary! This is truly a great last-minute dinner idea that’s a healthy choice, too. If you want to try out the crust, you can find it on their site, on Amazon, or at a store near you.
Roasted Veggie and Ricotta Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant, trimmed and cut into 1/2" dice
- 1 zucchini, trimmed and cut into 1/2" dice
- 2 shallots, peeled and diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pepper, to taste
- 1 batch pizza dough, I used Simple Mills*
- 3/4 cup pizza sauce
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded (2 cups)
- 1/3 cup ricotta cheese
- 1 handful basil, fresh, leaves only, sliced
- parmesan cheese, freshly grated, for serving
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 425° F.
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On a baking sheet, toss together the eggplant, zucchini, shallots, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Roast until veggies begin to brown and are tender when pierced with a fork, about 20 - 25 minutes. Transfer veggies to a bowl and set aside.
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Change oven temperature according to directions for pizza dough. Roll out the dough into one large rectangle and place on the same baking sheet used for the veggies. Fold over a crust around the edges and pinch down with a fork. Pre-bake dough if pizza crust recipe calls for it.
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Smear the pizza sauce in one even layer on top of the dough. Sprinkle with the mozzarella and then about half the veggies (save the rest of the veggies for another day. I figured it's better to be left with cooked veggies than half a raw eggplant and zucchini!).
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Add the ricotta in dollops on top and bake according to pizza crust directions. At the end, broil on high for 1 minute to brown the ricotta.
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Sprinkle with fresh basil leaves and Parmesan cheese and serve.
Recipe Notes
1. Gluten free and egg free if using the Simple Mills Pizza Dough Almond Flour Mix.
2. We recommend organic ingredients when feasible.
5 Bad Food Habits to Break Now!
I abssssolutely love veggie pizza! How delicious can that be right? Lisa, I´ve inspired and tried to improve big time my cooking skills by following this sort of blogs and sited that promote healthy food as the above. Yesterday I actually cooked a veggie pizza as well! Source: Barilla Restaurants! I didn´t even know they had this cool recipes and explanations! Have you checked it? https://goo.gl/ekR8lb
Whaaaaaat? This is great! As a reformed picky eater myself, I can tell you that roasting vegetables has been THE way to make them appealing. This would be fun to try with butternut squash and sage…. Thanks for the new recipe!
Great combination of ingredients ! Thank you for refreshing our menues !
You just have to keep trying with kids! My super picky kid at a kale salad last night. She didn’t love it, but she helped make the salad and then decided to try it. Progress :)
I enjoy reading your blog posts, but are all the “ads” something new? Right in the middle of your recipe was an ad on why Mike and Molly was cancelled, other ad posts showing up are “crepey skin”, Aetna, “live with Kelly cancelled”, Oprah getting married? Is this something popping up on all your posts, or is this something on my computer? Really thought it was odd, when the ad was inserted in your recipe to print.
This sounds luscious! I love roasted vegs already!
This pizza was delicious! And a nice change of pace from my usual toppings. I used the leftover veggies in a sandwich with baby spinach, topped with a little goat cheese. Also super yummy!
Healthy food ideas. Thanks for sharing. Try different food recipes from Foodhall, including Vegetarian, Gluten-free, Baked and roasted recipes, Breakfast, Brunch. For more Food ideas visit, http://foodhallonline.com/