Pizza. Need I say more? How about if I add, “sweet red pepper pesto” or “goat cheese and arugula?” Give this low sodium pizza a try if you are looking for a new way to shake up your dinners.
I’m calling this my welcome back post. Yes, yes, I know that I posted something just a couple of days ago. But that doesn’t count. That wasn’t about food. So this is my welcome back post. And it is a doozy. Yes, I said doozy. Just call me AJ (aka Mom). Please stop me if I start saying other mom-isms (“slicker than snot” and “tickled pink” come to mind). But back to this pizza. Where to start? I saw some sweet red pepper pesto in the store one day and decided it would make amazing pizza sauce. It was a great alternative to basil pesto because the sodium was a bit lower (about 340 mg in a quarter cup compared with 400-500 mg in the same serving). Pizza was the first thing that came to mind (but let’s be honest – pizza is never very far from my mind).
The recipe includes a homemade crust, but if you have a favorite low sodium pizza crust that you love, by all means give that one a try! I have not found one locally that we can use, and I enjoy making bread so I will keep on making it. If you choose to make the dough yourself, you can mix it up a day or two ahead and refrigerate it. I mix up dough on Sunday, which makes for easy weeknight dinners. If you have the crust made ahead, this dinner comes together in no time.
That’s all for my blabbity blah blah now. Leave me a comment or shoot me an email if you have questions. Happy cooking!
PrintSweet Red Pepper Pesto & Goat Cheese Pizza
SODIUM COUNT: 155 per serving; 619 mg in the entire recipe
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 ¼ tsp quick rise yeast
- ¼ tsp brown sugar
- ¾ cup warm water ((110°F to 115°F))
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp powdered milk
- 1 ½ to 2 cups flour ((or as much is needed to make a firm dough))
- Additional olive oil for shaping the crust
Toppings:
- 4 Tbsp sweet red pepper pesto*
- 6 ounces goat cheese**
- 2 cups arugula ((coarsely chopped))
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the yeast, brown sugar, and water. Whisk in the olive oil and powdered milk.
- Add the flour, ½ cup at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once you have added enough flour to knead the dough (about 2 ½ cups), place the dough on a floured surface and continue to work in the remaining flour. Knead the dough for about 3-4 minutes.
- Place the dough into a bowl coated with cooking spray and set aside in a warm place covered with a light towel. Let the dough rise until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. If you are using a baking stone, prepare it by preheating it with the oven. If you are using a baking sheet, prepare it by spraying it with cooking spray.
- After the dough has doubled in size, punch down the dough and let it rest for about 3-5 minutes.
- Coat the dough with a bit of olive oil and slow stretch it to the desired size. Place the stretched dough onto the baking stone (or sheet). It is easiest to stretch it on a sheet of parchment paper. You can move the entire sheet of parchment to the baking stone (or baking sheet).
- Top the crust evenly with the sweet pepper pesto and top with the crumbled goat cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese begins to melt.
- Remove the pizza from the oven and top with fresh arugula. If you put the arugula on before you bake it, it will wilt.
Notes
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION – Yield: 4 servings, about 2 slices each
Sodium: 154.7 mg, Calories: 409.0, Total Fat: 15.1 g, Saturated Fat: 6.3 g, Cholesterol: 30.0 mg, Carbohydrates: 51.8 g, Fiber: 2.4 g, Sugar: 1.6 g, Protein: 15.1 g.
* For nutritional information I used Napoleon brand pesto, which has 170 mg sodium per two-tablespoon serving.
** For the nutritional information, I used goat cheese with 40 mg per ounce.
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