Broccoli Pizza — The Lunchbox Win That Fed All Three

Brayden is one hundred and twenty-seven weeks old. The pregnancy is at twenty-six weeks. The Pantry Rules series this Sunday is the small broccoli-pizza recipe that has unexpectedly become a small family-favorite for all three of us — Dustin, Brayden, me — eating the same dinner together.

The broccoli pizza is a small thin-crust pizza topped with broccoli, garlic, olive oil, mozzarella, and a small sprinkle of red-pepper-flakes. The pizza is the small vegetable-forward dinner that uses one head of broccoli and a single ball of pizza-dough to feed a small family. The cost-per-serving is about $1.95.

The technique question on a vegetable-pizza is the broccoli prep. Raw broccoli on a pizza-crust dries out during the bake and ends up chewy and slightly bitter. The fix is blanching the broccoli florets briefly in salted water (two minutes, then drained and shocked in cold water) before they go on the pizza. The blanch keeps the bright-green color and pre-cooks the broccoli so it does not over-cook during the pizza-bake.

Sunday I made one pizza for the family. Dustin had three slices. I had two. Brayden had one (his first full slice of pizza, age-appropriate-cut). The lunchbox win is that the leftover pizza traveled to Brayden’s daycare in his lunchbox Monday morning and was the small toddler-lunch-event-of-the-day per Wendy’s report.

Broccoli Pizza

Prep Time: 20 min | Cook Time: 18 min | Total Time: 38 min | Servings: 8 slices

Ingredients

• 1 lb pizza dough, store-bought or homemade, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups broccoli florets, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
• Cornmeal or flour, for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven. Place a baking sheet or pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 475°F (245°C) for at least 30 minutes before baking.
2. Blanch the broccoli. Bring a small pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli florets and cook for 90 seconds, then drain and pat completely dry with a clean towel. Set aside.
3. Make the garlic oil. In a small bowl, stir together 1 1/2 tablespoons of the olive oil and the minced garlic. Set aside.
4. Stretch the dough. On a lightly floured surface, stretch or roll the pizza dough into a 12-inch round. Dust a sheet of parchment paper with cornmeal and place the dough on top.
5. Top the pizza. Brush the dough evenly with the garlic oil, leaving a 3/4-inch border. Scatter the mozzarella over the surface, then distribute the broccoli florets evenly on top. Sprinkle with Parmesan, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes if using. Drizzle the remaining 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil over the broccoli.
6. Bake. Carefully slide the parchment with the pizza onto the preheated baking sheet or stone. Bake for 15–18 minutes, until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling with lightly browned spots.
7. Cool and slice. Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before slicing into 8 pieces. Serve warm, or cool completely before packing into lunchboxes.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 245 | Protein: 11g | Fat: 9g | Carbs: 30g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 420mg