Beet Pesto Pizza with Kale and Goat Cheese

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!