Homemade Southwest Veggie Pizza

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A customized southwest veggie pizza that takes everything about a traditional veggie pizza and throws it out the window to create a much improved, hearty, and super satisfying vegetarian pizza that everyone will love. All in less than 30 minutes.

In our opinion, traditional veggie pizzas have no reason to exist. They’re made with a random assortment of veggies that are frankly super polarizing. And that’s fine, it’s not for everyone, including us. 

But we wanted to make a vegetarian pizza that isn’t just a traditional plain or margherita pie. And we wanted it to be hearty, satisfying, and actually nutritious. So we came up with a theme – southwest cause it’s the best – and piled it high with many of our favorite veggies (plus beans for some protein!).

Key Ingredients

• Pizza dough – We think this pizza tastes best on a homemade, thin-crust, crispy-on-the-outside-soft-on-the-inside pizza dough. So we always make it on our favorite same day dough from the Flour Water Salt Yeast cookbook. If you’re not feeling up for making pizza dough from scratch though (it’s easy we promise!), store-bought dough also works well. 
• Pizza sauce – Again, we think almost everything is better when made from scratch. So we always use our own easy pizza sauce recipe for pizza nights. We love making large batches of pizza sauce and storing it in our Souper Cubes in the freezer for easy use any time we need it. 
• Black bean corn salsa – This is basically black beans and corn tossed together with a little lime juice and salt. But it’s a super easy recipe that makes a delicious and fresh topping for our veggie pizza. Plus it adds extra protein! 
• Peppers – We love the pop of color and heat that Fresno peppers give this pizza, but you can substitute them for jalapenos or even bell pepper if you want something more mild. We also use a poblano pepper which is a classic ingredient in southwest cuisine. 
• Avocado – This pizza was inspired by our time in Southern California, and we knew it wouldn’t be complete without some avocado. Look for avocados with dark green skin that have a slight give to them when pressed, but aren’t squishy. We want an avocado that can be easily sliced but isn’t underripe.

See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.

How To Make A California-Inspired Veggie Pizza

Step 1: Combine the Monterey jack and mozzarella cheeses in a bowl, and mix to combine. This is also the time to make the black bean corn salsa, chop the veggies, and make pizza sauce if you plan to do so.

Step 2: Assemble the pizza: Stretch the dough onto a 14-inch round pizza pan. Top it with sauce, cheese, peppers, onions, and finally, the black bean corn salsa.

Step 3: Bake for 10 to 12 minutes at 525 degrees F (or for the time and temp your pizza dough calls for; see our Expert Tips below for more information). The pizza crust should be golden brown and slightly crispy when it’s done and the cheese should be fully melted.

Step 4: Slice the pizza then top it with sliced avocado and fresh cilantro. Serve hot.

Variations

We used to be really opposed to the idea of veggie pizzas because we don’t like the traditional toppings. But that’s the beauty of pizza, you can use any toppings that you want! So we made our own using our favorite veggies. 

Here are some other ideas to help you make this veggie pizza your own:

• Make it spicy – Use our spicy pizza sauce with calabrian chilis to give this pizza a little extra heat.
• Lean a little more traditional – Substitute the fresno peppers for bell pepper and add sliced black olives. It’ll taste a little more like a traditional veggie pizza but still keep with the southwest flavor profile. 
• Simply make it your own – It doesn’t matter if the veggies go together or not if they’re your favorites. So chop up your favorite veggies, add them to a pizza, and give it a go. Maybe it’ll be your new favorite way to enjoy veggie pizza at home.

Serving Suggestions

This is the perfect pizza to serve with some easy vegetarian appetizers or side dishes. Here are a couple of our favorites for all occasions:

• Date nights: burrata toast and garlic parmesan eggplant fries
• Game days: buffalo artichoke dip, soft pretzel bites with beer cheese, and black bean southwest sliders
• Dinner parties: baked bruschetta dip and spanish fried cauliflower