I always feel kind of embarrassed to say that my favorite food is pizza because it sounds so generic, but like, it’s truly one of the most flexible foods out there. You can get so creative with it! And I absolutely love coming up with new flavor combos for my pizza. This week it was a Broccoli Cheddar Pizza with a super creamy, herb-filled white sauce. SO GOOD.
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Pizza Crust Options
You can use any type of pizza dough or pizza crust for this recipe. I used my super quick Thin & Crispy Pizza Crust recipe, but you could also use store-bought dough, store-bought pre-baked pizza crust, or even something like naan or tortillas.
Can You Use Fresh Broccoli?
Yes, absolutely. I used frozen broccoli because it’s par-boiled before freezing, so it’s already tender and ready to go, but if you prefer fresh broccoli you can certainly use that. You can either leave it fresh for extra crunch, or you can steam or par-boil it first to make it more tender. If using broccoli fresh without any pre-cooking, I suggest tossing it in a little bit of oil to prevent it from drying out when in the oven.
What Else Can I Add?
I’m a huge advocate of checking your pantry, fridge, or freezer for leftover ingredients that you can toss into your meal. Pizza is one of the best recipes for using up random ingredients. Here are some ingredients that would go awesome on this pizza, if you have them:
- Red onion
- Bacon
- Grape tomatoes
- Feta
- Pesto
- Cooked chicken (rotisserie, grilled breast, etc.)
- Ham
Broccoli Cheddar Pizza
Servings 4 2 slices eachIngredients
- 1 large pizza dough* ($0.30)
Herby White Sauce
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.11)
- 4 oz. cream cheese ($0.40)
- 1/2 cup milk ($0.15)
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- 1/4 tsp onion powder ($0.02)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.01)
- 1/8 tsp freshly cracked black pepper ($0.01)
Pizza Toppings
- 12 oz. frozen broccoli florets, thawed ($0.89)
- 6 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded ($1.27)
Instructions
- Prepare the herby white sauce first. Combine the butter, cream cheese, milk, garlic powder, onion powder, basil, oregano, salt, and pepper in a small saucepot. Heat and stir over medium until the cream cheese has fully melted and the sauce is thick and creamy.
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Stretch your pizza dough over a pizza pan. Spread the herby white sauce over the surface of the pizza dough.
- Chop the thawed frozen broccoli into smaller pieces. Sprinkle the chopped broccoli over the herby white sauce on the pizza. Top with the shredded cheddar cheese.
- Bake the pizza for 10-15 minutes, or until the pizza crust is golden brown and the cheddar on top is melted. Cut into eight pieces and serve!
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Broccoli Cheddar Pizza – Step by Step Photos
Start with the herby white sauce. Add 1 Tbsp butter, 4 oz. cream cheese, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ¼ tsp onion powder, ½ tsp dried basil, ½ tsp dried oregano, ⅛ tsp pepper, ¼ tsp salt, and ½ cup milk to a saucepot (photo is before adding the milk).
Heat and stir the sauce ingredients over medium until the cream cheese is fully melted and the sauce is thick and creamy.
Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Stretch your pizza dough onto a pizza pan, then spread the herby white sauce over the surface.
Chop 12 oz. of thawed frozen broccoli florets into smaller, bite-sized pieces.
Add the chopped broccoli on top of the white sauce.
Finally, top with 6oz. shredded cheddar.
Bake the broccoli cheddar pizza in the preheated 450ºF oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheddar is melted.
Slice the pizza into eight pieces, then serve!
The best veggie pizza we’ve ever had. We made this one and the BBQ pizza one night for pizza night. Both pizzas were destroyed
Awesome! I used jiffy pizza dough mix with some cornmeal on the pan to firm up the bottom of the dough. I loaded it up with broccoli. Only real change I made was to add some crushed red pepper and green onion to the pizza after it finished cooking (which really kicked it up). Delicious!
I made this last night for dinner and I am still thinking of it! 10/10 I cannot believe how delicious this was. I will be making it next week again for sure.
For the broccoli – do you microwave or steam it first so that the water can be drained? Or do you just thaw under some water in the sink and add that way?Â
I thawed using the defrost setting in the microwave. :) I’m not sure I’d use running water to thaw it just because the broccoli will probably get extremely wet and might make your pizza soggy.
Has anyone told you lately that your pizza recipes are amazing? Unconventional, maybe, but getting this much deliciousness out of things I have on hand is awesome! This pizza caught my eye because it reminds me of Riley’s pizza in Inside Out, but after making it tonight, my husband and I agree that we need a repeat!
Haha, thank you! I’m glad you liked it because people on social media were horrified by it. Hahahah
This rules. Excellent recipe! Made using your thin crust recipe and threw some on a flour tortilla (cast iron on stove top and then transferred to oven) as there was a little extra. Definitely a hit for my two girls under 3.
It seemed like I had a lot more broccoli than the photos, I could have probably used 8 oz. We added crumbled bacon per the suggestions.
Oh heck yes, I just finished eating this and daaaaang it’s so good! I added chicken and shallots. I’m usually a pizza purist. Red sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella. But this has changed me. Thank you Beth!
did you cook the shallots before hand or just placed it on top of the pizza before putting it in the oven?
Has anyone tried this the next day? Either cold or reheated. I’m cooking for only me but this looks amazing.
I am looking to purchase a perforated pizza pan = could you tell me which one you have? a 12″ or larger? Thank you!
It’s a 12″ and it’s called a “pizza screen”. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite, though. I prefer a metal pan with holes instead of this wire screen, which can be difficult to get in and out of the oven (it doesn’t slide on the oven rack).
This was absolutely delicious! I’m thinking about adding more protein with some chicken next time I make it–probably grab a rotisserie chicken at the store.
Made this yesterday and it was simply divine. That creamy white sauce is stellar! I used a baking sheet and the pizza still came out super crispy. I also added shallots along with the broccoli for the extra punch of flavor.
Definitely will be making this again :)
This looks SO good! Do I need a pizza pan for making homemade pizza, or will a large baking sheet/pan work?
You can bake pizza on a baking sheet, but the bottom doesn’t get as crispy. :)