Gluten-Free Beet Pesto Pizza with Kale and Goat Cheese is a nutrient-dense healthier pizza recipe, packed with vitamins and flavor! This colorful superfood pizza is packed with antioxidants!
I know…a vegetable-forward pizza may sound like a snooze, but heavens-ta-Betsy, it’s good.
We simply whip up our favorite pizza dough, pre-bake it, then slather it in my amazing superfood Roasted Beet Pesto sauce.
Topping the pizza with kale is our insurance policy and justification for eating the entire thing and using two cheeses instead of just one because we know how to party.
Due to the micronutrient density of kale and the pesto recipe, we can call this a healthy pizza, right? Right.
Speaking of two cheeses…
The goat cheese. Have you ever eaten baked goat cheese?
Something magical – nay, fantastical – happens to goat cheese in the oven.
It gets an outer layer of crisp and becomes bombastic on the inside. There are no words to describe the magnanimity that is baked goat cheese.
It is truly a wish granting factory.
I use a gluten-free pizza dough for the crust because that’s how I roll, but you can go with any kind of pizza dough, be it store-bought or homemade.
All of this to say, the fresh ingredients in this gluten-free pizza recipe bring us a flavorful, uplifting experience. Beets lift us up where we belong.
Let’s discuss the wholesome ingredients for this delicious gluten-free pizza.
Beet Pesto Pizza Ingredients:
Pizza Dough: Pick your favorite pizza dough and whip it up! You can make homemade pizza dough or buy pre-made pizza dough from the store.
I like using Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix, but any store-bought or homemade crust will do. See more crust options below!
Beet Pesto: Rather than going with traditional red sauce or even traditional pesto sauce, we’re whipping up a superfood sauce using beets.
This sauce is comprised of red beets, garlic cloves, walnuts, olive oil, parmesan cheese, and lemon juice.
This combination of ingredients makes a rich, sweet and savory sauce that is perfect on anything from sandwiches to pizzas.
Fresh Kale: Because incorporating leafy greens into pizza is our ultimate excuse to go to town on it, we add fresh chopped kale leaves to the pizza.
There’s no need to sauté them first, although you can if you’d like. You can use baby spinach or Swiss chard instead of kale, or leave out the leafy greens altogether.
Goat Cheese and Mozzarella Cheese: The combination of goat cheese and mozzarella cheese really makes a swoon-worthy pizza!
It’s ultra creamy, tangy, and cheesy, with so much flavor your mouth will hardly know how to behave. Swap this cheese combo out for any of your favorite pizza cheeses.
Recipe Adaptations:
- Make my Beet Green Pesto using beet greens instead of roasted beets.
- Switch out the cheese for any of your favorites. Feta cheese and raw milk cheddar are great here too.
- Omit the kale or replace it with spinach or chard.
- Add any of your favorite pizza toppings, such as olives, artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, etc.
Now that we’ve covered the basic ingredients, let’s make this amazing homemade pizza recipe!
How to Make Beet Pesto Pizza:
Prepare the Roasted Beet Pesto and the pizza dough.
Chop the beet and wrap it in a foil packet. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the beets are very soft when poked with a fork.
​Allow the beets to cool enough to handle. Once cool, remove them from the aluminum foil packet.
Transfer the cooked chopped beet to a food processor along with the rest of the sauce ingredients (walnuts, parmesan, olive oil, fresh lemon juice, salt and black pepper).
Process until a thick, smooth spreadable sauce forms. Taste the pesto for flavor and add more parmesan, lemon, or salt to your personal taste.
Preheat the oven to 415 degrees F.
Dust gluten-free flour (or cornmeal) on a baking sheet and press or roll the dough to desired thickness.
Bake the dough for 5 to 7 minutes with no toppings.
Remove the crust from the oven and spread the beet pesto over it.
Add the kale leaves, followed by the goat cheese and grated mozzarella.
Note: the kale will cook down in the oven so don’t be alarmed by its volume. If you’d like, give the pizza a drizzle of olive oil before baking it. This makes the crust extra crispy.
Bake pizza for 20 to 25 minutes or to desired crisp.
Allow pizza to cool 5 minutes before serving.
Store leftover pizza in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Looking for recommendations for pizza crusts? I’ve got your back when it comes to gluten-free and grain-free options.
Crust Options:
You can prepare your favorite pizza crust to be the caravan of this superfood pizza. Whip up an Almond Flour Pizza Crust , Cauliflower Pizza Crust , or even a Kale Pizza Crust.
I use Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten-Free Pizza Crust mix which is a real pleasure cruise given its simplicity.
If you don’t need the crust to be gluten-free, make Sally’s Homemade Pizza Crust Recipe.
​Pizza stone owners, now is a great time to utilize your pizza stone!
Love homemade pizza recipes? Also try out these gems.
More Pizza Recipes:
- Caramelized Onion Fig Ricotta Pizza
- Asparagus and Pancetta Pesto Pizza
- Prosciutto Artichoke Heart Sun-Dried Tomato Pizza with Pine Nuts
- Roasted Chicken and Mushroom Pesto Pizza
Put this bombastic pizza in your face trap!
Beet Pesto Pizza with Kale and Goat Cheese
Ingredients
- 1 lb gluten-free pizza dough
- 1 cup beet pesto
- 2 cups kale leaves thinly sliced*
- 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese grated
- 2 to 4 ounces goat cheese to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the beet pesto and the pizza dough.
- Preheat the oven to 415 degrees F.
- Dust gluten-free flour (or cornmeal) on a baking sheet and press or roll the dough to desired thickness.
- Bake the dough for 5 to 7 minutes with no toppings.
- Remove the crust from the oven and spread the beet pesto over it. Add the kale leaves, followed by the goat cheese and mozzarella. Note: the kale will cook down in the oven.
- Bake pizza for 20 to 25 minutes or to desired crisp.
- Allow pizza to cool 5 minutes before serving.
Yes, yeah and yes!!! This looks awesome and I love all the color!
Oh Tiegs, I hope you try the beet pesto! I know you’re not a huge beet fan, but it’s a great Intro to Beets course! I promise 🙂
This might just be my favorite pizza ever! And I LOVE pizza! So obsessed with that gorgeous beet pesto!
Thanks so much, love!! The pesto really is a beaut, isn’t it? xoxo
Oh my this pizza looks amazing! I love kale and goat cheese on pizza, and now I’m intrigued by your beet pesto. I never would have thought of that myself! The color is just beautiful!
Thanks, Kristine! Let me know if you try the pesto and/or the pizza! If you like beets, I definitely recommend trying the pesto! It’s so tasty and lots of fun to spread on everything ever…or to just eat…with a spoon…or your finger…no judgements 😉
Yay! I’m looking forward to your book being released!! Eat all the kale!! I think I’ll plan on wearing my kale t-shirt on that day. You know, to celebrate. I really know how to party! Let’s eat kale pizza!!
Oh, you just gave me a great idea with your kale t-shirt comment! Thank you! Thank you for the great idea you elicited 😉 Let’s do some kale-iiiiing!
Your roasted beet pesto is one of the most favourite thing in my life right now. I make it all the time. Beet pesto on pizza is definitely brilliant!!!
I could squeeeeeze you, Rebecca! I’m so happy you like the pesto. I feel like I need to make a quadruple batch and freeze it so that I can always have a constant supply. Glad you like the pizza 🙂
I love, love beet pesto. It makes anything it touches look amazing! Plus baked goat cheese – I want this on my lunch plate!
Yahooooo! So happy to hear you’re a fellow beet pesto lover, Grace! I completely agree that it makes all foods wonderful. Can we eat baked goat cheese at every meal? Please and thank you.
This looks so good! I love the combo of beets and goat cheese! Delicious!
Thanks, Maria! Let me know if you try it 😀
I’m all over the idea of a beetza (haaaa, get it???). I for some reason forget how much I love beets, and then go crazy and look for every possible way in the world to get them into my mouth. I sense one of those epidemics coming up!
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG Beetza! Why did I not thing of that?!!! You slay me, my dear!
For some reason I have always said that I don’t like beets, but you are making me wonder if I should rethink that opinion. 🙂
Beets definitely aren’t for everyone, but I feel like there’s got to be a way of making them that pleases even the most beet-averse. Beet pesto is definitely great for those who can’t handle beets in their raw or roasted form. Also – beet chocolate cake…have you had it? Freaking amazing!
Girl, I’m already slapped silly just by the pictures!! My saliva glands are crying to me right now. You should see the tears, it ain’t pretty.
I can’t wait to get my hands on your book and a slice of this pizza!!
Haha! I doubt you have un-pretty tears, but am so glad you like the pizza! And I’m thrilled you’re excited about my lil’ booklet, too!
This looks absolutely delicious and I LOVE Bob’s Red Mill GF pizza crust! That was the first GF pizza dough mix I’ve ever tried, and though my mom and I had our challenges, it turned out crazy yummy! Your’s is making me crave pizza again! 🙂
http://caseythecollegeceliac.blogspot.com/2014/05/mastering-magic-of-gluten-free-baking.html
BRM GF Pizza crust lovers unite! I find I need to add a little more GF flour for kneading when I follow the instructions they put on the back. When you follow the instructions, you end up with a sticky dough, so I just dust the crap out of it with their gluten-free all-purpose flour, and it all works out magnificently 🙂
Literally all I could think looking at this way, “Oh my god, yes, now, beets, YAY!” Thanks for sharing 🙂
Wahoo!!! You got it, Kate!
Ooooweeeeee! This looks amazing. I adore goat cheese and beets. They are the perfect pair 🙂 Really looking forward to your new book!!!
Thanks, love! I’m so glad to hear it you like the pizza and that you’re excited for the book!
I love the combination of goat cheese and beets and you are correct—something magical happens to goat cheese when it is baked.
YES! What is that?! It’s like goat cheese becomes and entirely new specimen after it’s been baked. LOVE it.
That beet pesto, gah, I just… no words. Love it!
You’d love it, Abs! Let’s put it on our To-Make list when we eventually hang together! 🙂
OMG, this looks amazing and I REALLY love all the colour! I also love the beet pesto. Beautiful 😉
Thanks, Olivia! Let me know if you try one of the beet pestos. They’re seriously addicting 😀
So I’m going to pop some major cherries when I get home today.
1. Beet pesto. gotta have it.
2. Goat cheese on pizza. need to try it.
I fully plan on photographing this journey.
(!) excitement!
Beet pesto on pizza with Kale?!
WON. OVER.
Will your book ship internationally? 🙂 I wants it!
Amazon ships internationally!! But you can email me your mailing address, and I’ll have one shipped to you. 😀
Holy molyyyyy. What a beaut!!! I may have to make this first when I get my little paws on your cookbook. I’m gonna be like that one girl who cooks her way through Julia Child’s cookbook except it’ll be YOUR fantastical cookbook!! WEEEEEE!
I would die if you became the Julie Powell of Let Them Eat Kale. I would just die. 🙂 xoxo
So I made one, because you know… what if I didnt like it?
Then I made another.
And now I’m eating this beet pesto with a spoon.
sooo… success!
Wahoooooooooooooooooooooo! I can’t tell you how happy I am you made the pizza! Isn’t the pesto amazing?! I always eat the majority of beet pesto with a spoon right up until some lucky bread gets smeared with it.
Thank you for this recipe!!!! I got a whole bunch of beets in my door to door organics box and have no idea what to do with them! I just bought some goat cheese and am thawing out the dough. This is on the menu for tomorrow!
I AM SO EXCITED FOR THIS COOKBOOK AND THIS PIZZA. Goat cheese is my current life obsession, and my fridge is packed with it. Pizza, goat cheese, kale….gettin’ NOM CENTRAL up in hur’ girl! Pinned!
I need this pizza right now! It is funny because when I was a kid, I think I disliked all of the toppings on this pizza and now they are three of my absolute favorites! This is going to be my weekend project and I think I need to make about 10 of them because I know I won’t be able to stop eating it! Congrats on your book coming out soon 🙂
Book number two–how exciting. I’m extremely giddy about this book. I love me some greens. This pizza looks amazing. That beet sauce is so pretty.
BeetpestosayWHAT?! Seriously could this ‘za be any more gorgeous?! CONGRATS to you and your second book!!! I CANNOT WAIT TO HAVE IT IN MY HANDS!! sorry to shout, just super excited! Xxo
I am a huge proponent of putting as many superfoods as possible on my pizzas! So YES to this. In a major way.
My mind is blown with this combo! It’s like all of the foods that I once hated but now can’t live without have teamed up to make the pizza of my dreams! It’s a super pizza 🙂 And I giggled because my 4 year old is always walking around saying heavens-ta-betsy!
I ate this for dinner tonight, and it was killer!! I used beet greens instead of kale, because I had them leftover from the pesto-making. That pesto is stellar! I’m going to have the leftover pesto spread on some toast topped with avocado tomorrow. So great and colorful and delicious, and, please, anything with goat cheese is the bomb.
This looks delicious…along with the pizza recipe to which it was attached. Silly question – will the beets permanently stain the inside of my food processor bowl?
So glad you like the beet pesto idea. As long as you don’t let your food processor bowl sit too long before washing it, the color should come out completely. I’ve put all sorts of pigment-y vegetables in my food processor and haven’t had a problem 😀 Let me know how you like the pizza!
i tried this out a couple of days ago for a simple supper. The only additions I made were bacon and red pepper chile flakes. it turned out great! Thanks for sharing! I now know another new use for beets 😀
OOF Bacon sounds amazing! So glad you liked the pizza and thanks for the note, Sujatha!
Wow, this might just be the most beautiful pizza I’ve ever seen! I’ve been putting beets in everything lately, this was just the icing on the cake! I didn’t make the pesto because I was a bit lazy, just used sliced beets instead, but I’ll definitely give it a try soon! Thanks again!! 🙂
How much of the beet pesto recipe do I need to make to get 1 cup? Is it just one serving of the recipe? Or will I need to double it?
Hi Theresa, you’ll have enough beet pesto for the pizza (and will likely have some leftover), if you follow the recipe as is 🙂 Let me know how you like the pesto and the pizza!
I made this recipe and it was really good.
Julia,
Thanks for this recipe! I’ve added it to the Farm Fresh Feasts Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks who love to eat from the farm share.
I appreciate it!
I’ve made this twice now. It is fantastic!
Hi Julia. We made your pizza tonite…so so good. Did a review on my blog, with a link back to you. Many thanks…it was delish! Found your blog looking for beet recipes…so happy I searched and found you!
I’ve never left a comment on recipe blogs before but I couldn’t resist. This was amazing. Beet pesto?? Who knew! Best part? My 2.5 yr old daughter kept asking for more!
That’s awesome! I’m so happy to hear it, Grace! Thanks for the kind note!
I noticed that almost everyone replying was female. I read an interesting study that said, women most often describe beets as sweet, while men say they taste like dirt. This describes hubby and me. I LOVE BEETS!!
This is the best pizza I’ve ever had in my life! I used your beet pesto recipe. Yum! Thank you so much!
I’m so happy to hear it, Heather! Thank you for letting me know! xo
Wow. This beet pesto pizza with kale goat cheese looks is a pure combination of taste, I love healthy food.
You and me both, sister! The pizza is sooo tasty! 😀
I made this last night and it was delicious. I used Flat Out bread instead of using pizza dough, which made it a little lighter. The beet pesto was tasty.
Oh my! This looks delicious and healthy. Beet pestos with kale goat cheese, yummy! I must try this for my kids.
Hope you and your family loves it! Thanks, Kathleen! 😀
You’re making me want to cry with that beet pesto! Goat cheese and beets are always a great combo and I’m thinking this pizza is a perfect rememdy for any bad day.
An unlimited supply of beets sounds pretty ideal! I’ve made your beet pesto & kale pizza a few times now, and will definitely be trying out this version!
Super psyched to hear it, Susan! Enjoy!! xo
I made this last night and it was fantastic! Also, I was eating the beet pesto with a spoon. Love it! This was such a unique pizza and I’ll definitely be making it again.
I’m so happy to hear it, Richard! Glad you love the pesto as much as I do. Thanks for the sweet note! xo
Beets are the greatest underrated superfood, gotta try this.
I made this last night and it was tasty. I utilized Flat Out bread as opposed to utilizing pizza mixture, which made it somewhat lighter. The beet pesto was delicious.
Brilliant! Glad you love the pesto! xo
good post
Beet pesto in my pizza? Oh-some. Whether I prepare a breakfast or snack it will fit in to my table. Kale and goat cheese are my family’s favorite.
Wow, what a gorgeous dish, the colour is stunning!!
You’re making me need to cry with that beet pesto! Goat cheddar and beets are constantly an extraordinary combo and I’m thinking this pizza is an ideal rememdy for any terrible day.
Beets and goat cheese! How could this not be good! Going to give it a try. Thanks so much!
I hope you love it, Malissa! xo
This is amazing. I don’t like beets, this is part of my bid to change that. I used good quality vegan cheese, but a premade (uncooked, in a bag) crust for convenience. It is awesome!
I’m so happy you enjoy it, Sophie! Welcome to the wonderful world of beets! xo
Delicious! But the pesto was quite oily..and it soaked into my pizza. But still, I enjoyed it a lot!
Delicious and easy. It also looks impressive.
It’s it pretty?? So happy you like it, Lori!
I really like pizza. Now I will be able to make more. thank you very much.!!!!
This dish is suitable for a party, I will make it for my family.
A simple but great pizza. It looks so delicious. It would be great to enjoy it
very nice post dear
Look yummy! One of my favorite Beet Pesto Pizza, nice to see your recipe, easy to follow, will cook this for family this weekend. Thanks you!
You’re very welcome, Thomas! I hope you enjoy!
A fan of pizza like me would certainly devour in this sumptuous flavor. Who would not want the taste of goat cheese and what in pizza? And just by reading the article makes me imagine how heavenly it would taste but believe me, it truly it is. Tried it, tasted it and burp!
I’m so thrilled you like it, Cole! Thank you for the thoughtful comment! xoxo
Somethign to do with all the beets I’ve grown this summer.
Hi Julia,
I ever baked goat cheese though I tasted it several times. I will try to prepare your beet pesto pizza with kale and goat cheese.
It’s Looks Really yummy! One of my favorite Beet Pesto Pizza, nice to see your recipe, easy to follow, will cook this for the family this weekend.
Thank you!
I’m so happy you like the idea of the recipe! It has been a big hit! Enjoy! xoxo
I love pizza and this article is really great guide to make the tasty pizza. Love this article and reading. Thank you for sharing it.
My pleasure! Hope you enjoy. xo
Helllo JULIA,
This is a best article for me about beet pesto pizza kale goat chees . keep your good job.
Thank you
Hello there,
This is really so informative article about beet pesto pizza kale goat cheese.
Be continue…
Hi Theresa, you’ll have enough beet pesto for the pizza (and will likely have some leftover), if you follow the recipe as is 🙂 Let me know how you like the pesto and the pizza!