Guys, I am totally obsessed with this pizza recipe. It was so, so, so delicious (and nutritious!!), I already want to make it again.
Ever since I finished my smoothie and juice book, I’ve really been digging dandelion greens. They’re a great alternative to your usual spinach or kale, especially in green juice and smoothies, but also in other recipes, like homemade pesto… on pizza!
You might be surprised to hear that dandelion greens are actually really, really nutritious. (I had no idea!) Listen to this…
- Dandelion greens are loaded with calcium. Just one cup of chopped dandelion greens has 103 milligrams (10% of the recommended daily value) of calcium. That’s slightly more than kale!
- Dandelion greens have a high iron content. One cup contains 1.7 milligrams of iron.
- Dandelion greens are high in vitamin A and vitamin C. (Vitamin C helps facilitate iron absorption.)
- Dandelion greens are also good sources of vitamins B1 (9% RDA), B2 (11% RDA) and B6 (11% RDA), vitamin E (13% RDA) and vitamin K (357% RDA).
- Dandelion greens are rich in minerals. Besides calcium and iron, they are a good source of copper (10% RDA), manganese (8% RDA), phosphorus (5% RDA), potassium (5% RDA) and magnesium (5% RDA).
- Dandelion greens have more protein per serving than spinach. The greens themselves are 14% protein and contain all essential amino acids so it’s a complete protein. One chopped cup contains 1.5 grams of protein.
- The nutrients in dandelion greens may help reduce the risk of cancer, multiple sclerosis, cataracts, age-related macular degeneration and stroke. Dandelion contains anti-inflammatory properties which may provide benefit to those with asthma and other inflammatory diseases. [source]
Doesn’t all that make you want to try them? Clearly, dandelion greens are a nutritious food. Taste-wise, they’re a little bitter, but when mixed into pesto, spread on a pizza, and paired with crumbled feta, walnuts, and chicken, they’re absolutely delicious! This flavor combination is truly incredible, and I hope you try it and love it as much as I do!
Dandelion Pesto Pizza
Makes 8 slices
Ingredients:
Pesto (makes about 1/2 cup)
- 3 cups fresh dandelion greens
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1/4 cup walnuts
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan
- salt + pepper to taste
Pizza
- Pizza crust (approximately 200 g – I used Trader Joe’s Par-Baked Organic Crusts)
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta
- 1/2 cup cooked chunked chicken breast
- 1 tbsp crushed walnuts
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Combine ingredients for pesto in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth.
Using a spatula, spread pesto on pizza crust.
Top pizza with feta, chicken, and walnuts.
Bake pizza for 12-14 minutes or until edges start to lightly brown.
Allow to cool slightly and serve!
A behind-the-scenes shot for the Murphy-lovers”¦
53 Comments
Yum! This looks delicious, can’t wait to try it!
I love the bright green color. It looks so springy!
Wow I’ve never experimented with Dandelion greens before but now I must! This pizza looks fabulous and nice & light. A TJs is opening in Tampa in a few weeks and I am counting down the days!
Mouthwatering :O~
fresh, homemade pesto is always so pretty! have you tried kale pesto? yummm.
Yes, delicious!
this looks amazing!! i love dandelion greens, but i never thought to add them to a pesto. can’t wait to try this!
Wow, need to try this!! Add it to my new superfood list 🙂 Do they sell it at most stores you think? I would assume more Whole Foods type places but I wanted to see if you had any idea!
@Nicole: It depends on the grocery store. I found them at Whole Foods.
I saw dandelion greens at my local Kroger last night (a “conventional” grocery store also related to Fry’s King Soopers, City Market, and Dillons) @Nicole:
I never thought of using dandelions before. I’m going to have to be on the lookout for them!
So the dandelion greens look good – but ummm pesto on pizza – how come I have never thought of that before!?! YUM!!
What a sweet pouty face:)
This looks delicious!
Looks amazing! I read about dandelion greens recently in Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson (<–great read!!). Where do you get dandelion greens? Do you think I can find them at Whole Foods? If so, I'm going to make this tonight!
@Anna E.: Whole Foods will probably have them! 🙂
Wow, this looks so yummy! I can’t wait to try it!
wow, the dandelion greens are so vibrant when they’re blended up.
This looks intriguing! I have only had dandelion greens once and I think I suffer a little PTSD from that time and am scared to try them again. I was on an exchange trip in a foreign country in high school and my health food loving days were non-existent yet. The first night, my host mother who did not speak a lick of english made a dandelion leaf and brussel sprout salad and that was IT. I hated it and that is the story I tell everyone about that trip lol. I just recently got over my fear of brussel sprouts so maybe dandelions can be next!
This sounds like such an awesome recipe. Definitely going to make this!
Can I use the dandelions in my backyard? Cuz that would be awesome…
How do you resist that face? If my dog looked like that every time I was trying to work I don’t think I would ever get anything done!
I’m going to sounds completely stupid, but what do dandelion greens look like and where do I buy them? Ok, I guess I can google this too! Thanks for opening my eyes to something new!
@amanda: Whole Foods sells them! 🙂
I have an unrelated question to the Dandelion Pesto Pizza! I’m in Massachusetts right now for spring break and I keep seeing MaryLou’s coffee! I know you love them, so I want to stop by and get something. What’s your favorite thing they offer?!?
I love Peanut Butter Wonderful! 😄
The green looks so much like spring and I love it! Can’t wait to try this!
I’m trying this ASAP! Looks delish!
Such a clever twist! Love it!
We eat dandelion greens all the time! One of the yummiest ways to eat them is in an Indian dish where you saute chopped cooked-ish potatoes, onions, garlic and greens (we usually use dandelion greens, turnip greens, and/or spinach, usually in a 1:1 or 2:1 ratio with the ‘taters), with cumin, ginger, and garam masala. It is SO good and basically idiot proof.
I love pesto on pizza, too!! Going to try this soon. Thanks!
Wow I can’t believe how vibrantly green that looks! Almost too pretty to beat.
Pesto is one of my favorite foods – when I have it around it goes on just about everything!
Wow that’s one creative pizza – I dig it 🙂
That pizza looks fab! I need to find myself some dandelion greens so I can whip this up!
pesto + chicken is a heavenly combo. Make it into a pizza? Too good to be true!!
YUM I’ll have to try this out!! Perfect beause I have yet to make a pesto pizza myself and I can utilize my new nutri bullet!
Interesting! Are dandelion greens available in most stores? Where did you go to get your dandelion greens?
I found them at Whole Foods.
We buy dandelion greens for our rabbit, but never eat it ourselves. Now I definitely want to make him share his food with us!
I have yet to try dandelion greens, but love everything about pizza! This might be what inspires me to do it =)
This looks so good! I love using pesto sauce on pizza 🙂
Looks GREAT.
You have great easy delicious recipes. I made a big batch of the Turkey & Spinach sweet potato hash, and it was easy and delicious. I love Murphy’s pics. He’s is the cutest thing.
I’ve never tried dandelion greens before but hello trying them in pesto ON pizza? How can you go wrong?
WANT! What a great idea to incorporate dandelion greens on a pizza. Love this idea.
Can’t find dandelions in the stores here! Is there an alternative I could try?
Spinach, kale, pretty much any dark leafy green…
@Tina: Thanks Tina – will give spinach a try! 🙂
This looks really great. Must try it sometime.
I’ve made pesto from salad before, that was also really good. You’ve reminded me to make it again 🙂
Julia
http://stilblume.blogspot.de
Love the photos. You can make any food look good with those kinds of photography skills!!!
That looks so freaking good!!!!