The Recipe: Vegan Apple Pizza

This apple pizza with walnut pesto is a little crispy, a little sweet and a little savoury.

If you start with a prepared crust and make the pesto ahead of time, you will have a really quick preparation time. All you would have to do is slice the apples and the onions, and your delicious dinner will be on the table in about 20 minutes.

When the pizza pie comes out of the oven, finish with a drizzle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar and freshly ground pepper.

Bonus, if you have apples leftover, you could always make candy apples for dessert.

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R E C I P E

Autumn Apple Pizza with Walnut Pesto
The dairy-free pesto that is made with a combination of basil and spinach, making it super green and super healthy.
Serves: 2-3 as a main entree or 4-6 as an appetizer.

For the Pizza Dough:

• Use any pizza dough recipe you like, store-bought or homemade.  I used a whole grain crust for this recipe.

Pesto ingredients:

• 1/2 cup walnuts
• 2 cloves garlic or 1 large
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 cups fresh basil
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp lime juice

Pizza ingredients:

• 1 apple, sliced, (I like using a tart apple)
• 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
• olive oil to brush on the outside crust of the pizza
• Salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:

• A drizzle of balsamic vinegar
• A drizzle of olive oil
• Freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Blend all the ingredients for the pesto in a food processor, taste and adjust seasoning.
3. Roll out the pizza dough into two crusts or one big one.  (I find it is easier to roll out 2 smaller crusts).
4. Spread the pesto evenly on each crust.
5. Layer the apple slices on the pizzas.
6. Top with the sliced red onion.
7. Brush the crust lightly with some olive oil.
8. Bake the pizzas at 425 degrees F for at least 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden.
9. Garnish, cut and serve.

Cooks Notes:

• If you don’t have time to make your own pizza dough, store bought is perfect to use in this recipe
• Feel free to use any kind of apple
• You could also use a flat bread, naan bread or gluten-free crust
• This recipe is vegan but you could add cheese, such as buffalo mozzarella, chèvre or go with classic cheddar
• Store any leftover pesto in a glass jar in the fridge