This Tomato Arugula Pizza is easy to make, flavorful, and just feels good to eat. Topped with fresh greens and ripe tomato slices, this recipe is like enjoying a delicious salad and pizza at the same time.
My favorite veggie tends to change with the seasons and, with the warmer weather rolling in, I am currently having a love affair with arugula, friends. And I am currently SMITTEN with this pizza.
This Tomato Arugula Pizza is like the delicious lovechild of pizza and salad. The rich, warm, melty cheese on the perfectly cooked crust compliments the bright tomatoes and peppery fresh arugula so well. It is so tasty, naturally vegetarian, bakes up in 15 minutes, and can be made with either homemade or store-bought pizza dough. The perfect veggie-loaded twist for the classic pizza night fare!
Tips and Tricks
- Use baby arugula. This is important. Standard arugula is sold in bunches, has large leaves, and has a serious bite to it. Baby arugula has small, bite-sized leaves, is much more tender, and has a a mild peppery flavor.
- Don’t skip the lemon juice, oil, and salt on the arugula. Dry arugula on top of this pizza will kinda leave you blah. Just give the greens a quick toss with the lemon juice, oil and salt while the pizza cooks up to a crispy perfection in the oven and you’ll be so happy with the end results.
- Use store-bought pizza dough to make this pizza extra easy to make. I made my own because I had the time, it is literally my job, and because I wanted to. But store bought dough (usually found near the cheese in the refrigeration section at many grocery stores) is a GREAT way to make this pizza extra easy.
- Let the pizza cool a bit before adding the fresh arugula. The arugula salad will wilt slightly when you put it on top of the hot pizza –that’s ok. If you aren’t going to serve the pizza right away, leave the arugula off until you are ready to eat.
Suggested Adaptations
Use whatever pizza dough you want. This pizza works well with any kind of pizza dough that you like, balls of whole grain, whole wheat, or white doughs are available at most grocery stores.
Make it gluten free. Just use a gluten free pizza dough!
Skip the tomatoes. If you don’t want to use tomatoes, you can leave them off or replace them with any other pizza toppings that you like, including mushrooms, olives, peppers, and/or meat like crumbled sausage or bacon.
Add more veggies. Just pile them on. Own that salad-meets-pizza vibe.
Homemade pizza dough recipe
You can use either store-bought pizza dough from the refrigeration section of the grocery store or make your own. There are many different pizza dough recipes out there, so use whatever recipe you enjoy the most. Here is my personal favorite that I use often:
- 1/4 ounces (7 grams) dry yeast
- 1 tsp honey or sugar
- 3/4 cup warm water (not hot, about 110℉)
- 2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour (plus a little extra)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 Tbsp avocado or olive oil
- Place yeast, honey/sugar and warm water in a medium bowl. Mix and let sit for 5 minutes until the mixture looks a bit foamy.
- Add flour, salt and oil to the bowl. Mix until the dough is well combined.
- Lightly flour a clean surface. Knead the dough on the surface, folding and pressing it onto itself for 2 minutes.
- Place the dough back in the bowl and cover it with a clean towel and set it in a warm place (I like on top of the fridge!). Let the dough rise for about 1-2 hours. It should double in size. If you are prepping this for future use, transfer dough to an air-tight container and store in fridge for up to 3 days AFTER it has risen for 1 hour.
Other veggie-loaded dinner recipes that you will adore…
- Veggie-Loaded Turkey Tacos
- Cauliflower Chicken Nuggets
- No-Boil Creamy Vegetable Pasta Bake
- Healthier Hamburger Helper (with veggies!)
- Lentil Vegan Shepherd’s Pie
- Black Bean Sweet Potato Quesadilla
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Tomato Arugula Pizza
Ingredients
- 16 ounces pizza dough store-bought or homemade
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil divided
- 1 clove garlic pressed, grated, or finely minced
- ½ cup ricotta cheese whole milk or part-skim
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 3-4 roma or plum tomatoes cut into ¼-inch slices
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano or dried Italian seasoning
- 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese plus more for garnish
- 3 cups baby arugula
- 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450℉. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper or grease lightly with oil.
- Lightly flour or spread corn meal out on a clean surface. Roll your pizza dough out into a large rectangle,about 15-by-9-inches. Place the rectangle on your prepared baking sheet.
- Measure 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a small bowl then stir in the garlic. Set aside to marinate.
- Evenly spread the ricotta cheese in the center of the pizza crust, leaving a 1-inch boarder all the way around the pizza. Sprinkle the mozzarella evenly over the ricotta then top the cheese with the tomato slices, placing them in rows of 3 or 4.
- Sprinkle the tomatoes with salt and pepper, to taste. Brush the pizza crust with the garlic oil, then drizzle the remaining garlic oil over the entire pizza. Sprinkle the dried oregano and parmesan cheese over the whole pizza.
- Bake pizza until very golden brown and bubbly, 12-15 minutes (cook time will depend on the thickness of your crust).
- While pizza bakes, add arugula to a large bowl. Drizzle with remaining tablespoon of olive oil, lemon juice, and a big pinch of salt. Toss to coat arugula with the dressing.
- Once cooked, allow pizza to cool on the pan for 5 to 10 minutes. Transfer pizza to a large cutting board then top with the arugula salad. Sprinkle with more grated parmesan, if desired. Cut pizza into squares then serve.
Nutrition
The nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and may vary based on the product type, servings and other factors. If you are following a diet, please consult with a professional nutritionist or your doctor. Stay healthy!
This is so good! Light and refreshing but comfort food at the same time. Love it.
I 100% agree!
I don’t see mozzarella in the ingredient list. So i used monterey jack because it was what I had. Delish! The arugala on top just added so much taste!
Whoops! Thanks for catching that, Julie! Fixed and I am SO glad it was delicious despite you having to wing it with the cheese!
This was really tasty! Tasted like summer with the Arugula. Left overs for my lunch tomorrow. We used store bought dough as a time saver and added bacon. Highly recommend! Thanks Taesha! 😊
Oh yum! I will need to try it with bacon next time!
This is as good as it looks! And so easy. Will for sure be making again!
So glad you enjoyed it, Annie! Thanks for taking the time to leave a review!