As you’ll hear me say in today’ video, I ain’t Irish. However, I am a very festive individual, and I love going all out for holidays.
There is an exception, though. In the past, I haven’t given much love to St. Patrick’s Day, which is silly. Just because I don’t normally go all out on St. Patty’s Day doesn’t mean I shouldn’t have some awesome recipes for those of you who do.
Forget the same old corned beef and cabbage; we’re chowing down on pizza this St. Patty’s Day! Not just any old pizza of course, but a Shamrock Spinach Pesto Pizza. From its shamrock shape to its vibrant green color, this pizza is the definition of festive.
I bet you didn’t know pizza could have such Irish pride. And I bet you also didn’t know something so cute could be so easy to make. We start with a store-bought crust then cut out a simple shamrock shape: literally 3 circles stuck together. Then, to make up for the store-bought crust, we make our smooth Spinach-Basil Pesto from scratch. Don’t be afraid! All that means is you toss some fresh spinach, basil, garlic, nuts, olive oil, and a sprinkling of parmesan into the food processor and let it do its thing. You’ll save a ton of money not buying store-bought, plus homemade is so fresh and flavorful.
The only thing better than an adorable shamrock-shaped pizza topped with made-from-scratch robust Spinach-Basil Pesto is topping all that good stuff with ooey, gooey fresh mozzarella cheese. It’s got to be fresh mozz, not the pre-shredded mozzarella. If you’ve never had it, fresh mozz is a whole new world of stringy, mellow mozzarella heaven, creating melty, mile-long ropes of cheese straight out of your dreams.
I don’t know about you, but I’m drooling over this cheesy, flavorful St. Patty’s Day pizza. No need to wait until the actual holiday to make this cutie pie; get in the kitchen now!
A Few tips Before You Get Cooking:
- You don’t have to make this for St. Patrick’s Day; just shape it like a normal pizza and eat it any time of year.
- This pesto is absolutely delicious, and it’s good for more than just pizza. Serve it over pasta instead of the same ol’ marinara, dip bread in it, top grilled chicken with it, and more.
- You will have some extra pesto, so try some of the suggestions above to use it up.
- If you get a shamrock-shaped cookie cutter, you could make a bunch of mini shamrock pizzas.
- Make sure you watch my video for helpful how-to tips.
Shamrock Spinach Pesto Pizza
By The Smart Cookie Cook
Ingredients:
- 1 store-bought pizza crust (I used Boboli Thin Crust)
- 2 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
- 3 generous cups fresh spinach
- 1 2/3-oz. package fresh basil, stems removed
- ¼ cup walnuts
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 3 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
- 6 tbsp. olive oil
- About 12 oz. fresh mozzarella, sliced
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
- Place the crust on a cutting board. Use a toothpick to trace the shamrock shape: draw three circles overlapping in the center and a small stem on the bottom, taking up as much of the crust as you can. Use a sharp knife to carve out the shape. Gently remove excess crust and discard. Carefully transfer crust to an ungreased pizza pan.
- Add the garlic, spinach, basil, and walnuts to a food processor. Pulse until the contents are finely chopped. Add the salt, parmesan, and 2 tbsp. of the olive oil. Pulse until well-combined and smooth. Stream in 2 more tablespoons of oil until smooth, and finish with the remaining oil. Pulse until completely smooth. Taste-test to make sure it’s to your liking. It should be smooth and spreadable.
- Spread pesto onto the crust, leaving about 1/2-inch space around the edges. You will not need all the pesto; you’ll probably only want 2/3 of it.
- Arrange mozzarella slices in an even layer, using more or less to your liking. Fresh mozz goes a long way, so you don’t need to completely bury the pizza.
- Bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Let sit for 2 minutes then slice and enjoy.
