Grilled Veggie Pizza with Easy Homemade Tomato Sauce

We love making homemade pizza. It’s the perfect Friday night dinner after a long week, and when you make it at home it can be as healthy as you want it to be.

We will eventually attempt making our own dough for the crust, but for now we love using the fresh organic whole wheat dough we find at Whole Foods. We have, however, started making homemade tomato sauce because it’s so easy!

With the base of the dough, we spread it out thin on a large baking sheet, and top it with our fresh roasted tomato sauce, tons of veggies, and a little bit of parmesan and feta cheese.

We then grill our pizza on our Weber Kettle (mostly because our oven is too small for a normal sized baking pan), and we love how crispy the crust comes out from cooking it on the grill.

Easy Roasted Tomato Sauce:

• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Pinch of red pepper flakes

Heat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Spread out the tomatoes on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper and drizzle with oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss tomatoes around on the sheet to coat them in the oil and spices, then roast them in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until the skins start to separate.

Transfer tomatoes to a blender and add the minced garlic and pinch of red pepper flakes. Blend on low until smooth.

Grilled Veggie Pizza:

• 1 package Whole Foods whole wheat pizza dough
• 1 batch Roasted Tomato Sauce
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1 zucchini, diced
• 1 pint cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3 cups spinach
• 1 heirloom tomato, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese + extra to top
• 5-6 slices prosciutto (optional)
• Pinch of red pepper flakes to top (optional)

Set out prepared dough if it’s refrigerated to reach room temperature. Heat your grill as high as you can (500+ degrees) to cook the crust quickly without overdoing the veggies. If you have a pizza stone, give it at least 20 minutes to warm up on the grill while it’s heating. A cookie sheet also works well.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add diced onion and cook until soft, about 5-8 minutes. Add diced zucchini, mushrooms, salt and pepper, and cook until all veggies are softened, about 6-8 more minutes. (These will cook a little more on the grill so they don’t have to be completely done). Add the spinach during the last 2 minutes of cooking, and saute until the leaves are just wilted.

Roll out your pizza dough evenly on a well floured surface, using a rolling pin to make a large square that will fit your baking sheet. We do this directly on our clean kitchen counter.

Transfer dough to the baking sheet and pour on your homemade sauce. Spread the sauce out in an even layer with a spatula or back of a large spoon.

Top pizza with the cooked veggies, then add the crumbled feta cheese, slices of heirloom tomato, and shredded parmesan.

Cook on the grill for at least 10 minutes, until the crust is crispy. Cut into slices with a pizza cutter and serve hot with extra parmesan and a pinch of red pepper if desired. Throw on some proscuitto during the last few minutes of cooking if you’re feelin’ saucy.