Pesto Pizza with Goat Cheese, Kale, and Mushrooms

Can I eat pesto pizza every day for the rest of my life?

Please?

Specifically this one, with sauteed mushrooms, wilted kale, and (my favorite part) creamy, dreamy goat cheese? Please tell me yes!

I’ve been really into quick and easy meals lately, so I took the easy way out on this and used store-bought dough, pesto, and sliced mushrooms. Talk about shortcuts – you could even buy bagged kale already washed and chopped, too!

However, if you want to make your own pesto sauce and dough, then go for it. We have all the recipes you’ll need for a homemade dinner made entirely from scratch.

For twice the fresh kale flavor, you can even use our cool recipe for kale almond pesto!

The goat cheese is super important here, so buy some good stuff that is preferably not pre-crumbled. I’ve found these to be too dry and they don’t melt as well. Look for a fresh chevre, which is often sold plain or with additional flavorings, like truffles and fresh herbs. Play around with some fun flavor combinations.

We know that a warm slice of this particular dish is ALL about the warm, divine, melty cheese!

The hardest part about making it will be shaping the dough. If you’ve ever made pizza at home, you know what I mean – it’s not the easiest task in the world, but also not the hardest. Follow my advice, based on your level of experience:

• If you’re new to pizza-making, use your rolling pin as a helpful tool to shape the dough.
• If you’ve done this a few times, try doing it with just your hands and press it out on the counter.
• If you’re a pro, toss it in the air and send us pictures for proof (and also be prepared for some kitchen cleanup).

Whichever method you choose, the dough will get a little elastic, and will spring back a lot as you’re shaping it. When this happens, let it rest for 10 minutes to relax the gluten. Prep your other ingredients, and come back to it later.

We’ll get delivery on another busy day – tonight we’re having cheesy fun in the kitchen!

Pesto Pizza with Goat Cheese, Kale, and Mushrooms

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★★★★★

5 from 1 review

• Author: Raquel Smith
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: 1 pizza 1x

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Description

This vegetarian pesto pizza has mushrooms, goat cheese, and kale. With store-bought dough, it’s an easy and delicious meal to make at home.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 pound prepared pizza dough
• All-purpose flour, for dusting
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 1 bunch kale
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 1/3 cup pesto
• 1/3 cup crumbled goat cheese
• Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

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Instructions

1. If the dough is cold, let it sit out at room temperature for 1 hour before shaping.
2. Preheat oven to 500°F. If using, place a pizza or baking stone in the oven until hot.
3. Dust a flat work surface with flour. Place the dough on top, and dust it with more flour. Shape it into a circle using your hands or a rolling pin.
4. Remove the thick stems from the kale, then roughly chop the leaves. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms. Cook, tossing often, until the released juices are mostly evaporated, about 7 minutes. Add the kale and cook for 1 minute, just until softened. Mix in the salt. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Place the shaped dough on a piece of parchment paper. Use a pastry brush to spread the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over the entire surface.
6. Spread the pesto on the dough. Scatter the mushrooms and kale over the pesto. Top with the crumbled goat cheese.
7. Transfer with the parchment paper onto the hot pizza stone. Alternately, place with the parchment paper on a baking sheet pan. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned and the cheese has melted.
8. Remove to a cooling rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into slices.

• Prep Time: 30 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Category: Pizza
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: Vegetarian

Keywords: pizza, baking, vegetarian, goat cheese, kale, mushrooms

It’s Not Delivery…

It’s something SO much better! Pesto, kale, mushrooms, and goat cheese – a tasty vegetarian combo you can enjoy together, all on top of one homemade ‘za.

What do you prefer? Thick or thin crust? Stretch out the dough to make a larger pie with a thinner crust – perfect for adding even more toppings. A smaller circle will mean a thicker, doughier crust.

Shape however you like!

This recipe fed my husband and myself for one night, so double the recipe if you’re feeding more people.

If you don’t have a baking stone, just bake it on the parchment on a baking sheet. You can even shape it into a rectangle to make it fit better, if you want.

And one last thing before you go make dinner…

Can we talk a little bit about how ROUND I actually got the dough to be this time?! It’s a miracle. It’s…. it’s almost a perfect circle.

No matter the shape of your creation (circle, rectangle, square, or misshapen mass), it’s going to taste amazing with this recipe. And the same can be said if you use our gluten-free dough, Neapolitan dough, kefir-soaked spelt flour, or cauliflower crust as the base.

Or go for convenience, and use a pre-cooked bread like naan as a base. It’s requires less effort than rolling out dough, and tastes great with any toppings, like Foodal’s Caprese-inspired grilled flatbread.

I think I really am meant to just eat pizza forever. It’s my calling. And maybe it’s yours, too. Let’s do it!

Do you like this combination of fun flavors? What is your preferred method of shaping the dough? Newbie or expert, we’d love to hear from you in the comment section below. And remember to rate my recipe!

Love this recipe? You’ll enjoy our other pizza recipes, too:

• Peach, Basil, and Ricotta Flatbreads
• Pizza Bites
• Grilled Zucchini Pizza

Photos by Raquel Smith, © Ask the Experts, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. See our TOS for more details. Originally published on February 1, 2016. With additional writing and editing by Nikki Cervone. Last updated: October 18, 2020 at 21:45 pm.

Nutritional information derived from a database of known generic and branded foods and ingredients and was not compiled by a registered dietitian or submitted for lab testing. It should be viewed as an approximation.

About Raquel Smith

Raquel is a whole foods enthusiast, an avid mountain biker, and a dog lover. She works by day at Food Blogger Pro and formerly maintained her food blog "My California Roots" (now merged into Foodal).

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