Healthy Veggie Pizza for kids, and adults!
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The Veggie Pizza episode started when Brody was given a Breville Pizza Cooker from his auntie for Christmas. Brody loves pizza, but what child doesn’t? He asked me if we could make pizza for the show. I thought it was a great idea!
The first thing that came to my mind was a traditional style Italian pizza, since we are Italian. Also, we wanted to make it healthy with lots of veggies. Although we make a lot of treats on the show, Brody is such a great eater and loves his veggies. Making a Veggie Pizza is a great way to get your kids to eat vegetables. They seem to taste better on a cheesy pizza, with a tiny sweetness of the sauce, and the dough.
Bryce was a really good choice for the show. He and Brody had a really great chemistry together, and had so much fun. They laughed through both rehearsals, and the shoot day. They were super silly, but when I said “action”, they were real pros and got the job done.
We love the Breville Pizza Cooker, and we made several different types of pizzas. First the veggie pizza, a garlic shrimp pizza with arugula, chicken with broccoli, and a tex mex style pizza. They were all delicious.
Click an image below to view larger.
Veggie Pizza
A classic, a favorite, get the kids to eat more veggies!
Here’s a perfect example of the boys enjoying themselves, they were super focused and giggling the whole time. This is what makes me love to teach the kids to cook.
They added beautiful color to the pizza with the tri-color bell peppers which I use a lot with my cooking, fresh broccoli, zucchini, and black olives.
I make this pizza for the kids school lunches, and they’re always so happy. Click here for more school lunch ideas.
If you make this, would you leave us a comment below. Thanks! 
Veggie Pizza
Ingredients
- 16 ounce pre-made pizza dough (we used Trader Joe's brand, and makes two 10-12 inch pizza's depending on thickness.)
- 10 ounce pre-made pizza sauce (we used Trader Joe's brand)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/2 large zucchini
- 3/4 cup medium chopped tri colored bell peppers (we used red, orange, yellow, and green)
- 1/2 cup chopped broccoli (remove most of the stem, using the florets)
- 1/4 cup sliced black olives (in can)
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese (sprinkle this on top after all ingredients are layered onto the pizza dough)
Instructions
PIZZA COOKER 2 (10-12-inch pizzas)
- Divide the dough in half. One pound of dough makes 2 (10-inch thick crust), or 2 (12 inch thin crust) pizzas. Or make 1 (13-inch medium crust) pizza if you're baking in the oven.
- Measure and chop all the ingredients, and set aside.
- If you're using a pizza peal as we did, place half of the dough in the middle of a floured peal shaping your dough into a disk with your hands. ( If you don't have a pizza peal, a baking sheet works as well. Sprinkle flour, or cornmeal under the dough to keep from sticking.)Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough until it is 1/4-inch thick or less. Give the peel a shake as you shape the dough to make sure the dough isn't sticking.
- Spoon half of half of the sauce onto the center of the pizza and use the back of the spoon to spread it out to the edges. Spread half of the cheese, half of the toppings, and the parmesan cheese over the top. (Don't add too many veggies as you may end up with a soggy pizza. They retain a lot of water)
- Slide your pizza (with the cornmeal) onto the baking stone. If it sticks, give it a little shimmy/shake, and it should slide right off. Bake until the crust is golden-brown and the cheese is melted and browned in spots, 12-15 minutes.
- Remove form cooker, and let rest and cool for 2 -3 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, and slice. Make the second pizza with the remaining dough, cheese, and toppings. (If you don't want to cook both, freeze one for a later time. Make the pizza with sauce, cheese, toppings, wrap in plastic wrap then freeze.)
IN THE OVEN 1(13-inch pizza)
- Preheat oven to 400º F. Adjust the oven rack in the lower-middle part of the oven (if you have a baking stone, place it on the rack) and heat the oven to 400°F or higher. The higher the heat the crunchier the crust. Let the oven heat for at least 30 minutes.
- Measure and chop all the ingredients, and set aside.
- If you're using a pizza peal as we did, place the dough in the middle of a floured peal shaping your dough into a disk with your hands. (If you don't have a pizza peal, a baking sheet also works well. Sprinkle flour, or cornmeal under the dough to keep from sticking.) Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough to the size of the stone in the cooker. Give the peel or baking sheet a shake as you shape the dough to make sure the dough isn't sticking.
- Spoon the sauce onto the center of the pizza and use the back of the spoon to spread it out to the edges. Spread the cheese, the toppings and the parmesan cheese over the top. (Don't add too many veggies as you may end up with a soggy pizza. They retain a lot of water)
- Slide your pizza (with the cornmeal) onto the baking stone, non-stick pizza pan, or a baking sheet. Bake until the crust is golden-brown and the cheese is melted and browned in spots, 12-15 minutes. Make sure to check the pizza at 8 minutes, as the cheese can brown very quickly
- Remove form oven, let rest and cool for 2 -3 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board, and slice. Makes 8 large slices, or 18 thin slices.
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