Extra Cheesy Spinach Artichoke Pizza Recipe

Ah, pizza — one of life's best comfort foods. No matter your food preferences, there's guaranteed to be a pizza out there for everyone. That's just one of the many things that make pizza so great. Though we traditionally think of pizza as a dough base topped with a rich, red, tomato-based sauce before being smothered in cheese, our understanding of what a pizza can be has evolved over the years, and for the better. Though less common, white pizza sauce is just as delicious an option for your pizza, and it's ideal for those who adore creamy and cheesy flavors.

This extra cheesy spinach artichoke pizza recipe, created by Tasting table recipe developer Jennine Rye, is packed full of creamy, cheesy goodness and is topped off with light, fresh tasting spinach and artichoke. The addition of these green veggies provides balance to the richness of the cheese combination in this recipe: cream cheese, blue cheese, and mozzarella for that perfect, gooey, stringy pizza finish. This recipe is a decadent option for vegetarians or anyone who can't get enough cheese in their life; once you've tried this extra cheesy spinach artichoke pizza recipe, you won't be able to look at pizza the same again.

To begin this extra cheesy spinach artichoke pizza recipe, first you will need to gather the ingredients. You will want butter, a shallot, garlic, heavy cream, cream cheese, blue cheese, thyme, salt and pepper, fresh spinach, all-purpose flour, prepared pizza dough, fresh mozzarella, artichoke hearts, and pine nuts.

Preheat the oven to 425 F.

Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat.

Add the shallot and garlic clove to the pan, and saute for 3–4 minutes.

Add the heavy cream, cream cheese, blue cheese, and thyme. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.

Stir to make a creamy, cheesy sauce.

Add the spinach to the pan and allow it to wilt into the creamy sauce.

Once the spinach has completely wilted, remove the sauce from the heat and set to one side.

Dust a clean surface with the flour and add the pizza dough.

Divide the dough into two evenly sized balls.

Stretch or roll out each ball of dough to form a roughly circular pizza base.

Transfer each of the pizza dough bases to a baking sheet or pizza pan.

Divide the cheesy spinach sauce between the two pizza bases, spreading it out nearly to the edge of the dough.

Top each pizza with half of the artichoke hearts and the mozzarella.

Bake the pizzas in the oven for 12–14 minutes, until the base is golden and the cheese is melted. Top with pine nuts and serve straight away.

When you discover a recipe that you really enjoy, it's always great to find different ways to switch it up and keep things fresh. This extra cheesy spinach artichoke pizza can be adapted in a host of different ways according to your preferences. Firstly, the base of the pizza can be changed up however you prefer it. Sourdough pizza crust will up the artisanal feel of your homemade pizza, or, if you prefer your pizza crust thick, you do your thing. And, if you simply can't get enough cheese, you could always add even more by making yourself a mozzarella-stuffed pizza crust.

Speaking of cheeses, this is where you can really change up the flavor of the pizza. For a completely different finish, you can always swap out the blue cheese for a different variety. Similarly, the mozzarella on top could be substituted or supplemented with a harder cheese, such as cheddar or Gruyère. To add to the toppings, zucchini makes a great option if you want to keep the pizza vegetarian, or, if you are serving this to a meat lover, chicken, turkey, or sausage all make for delicious additions.

If you haven't come across an artichoke before, or you've only seen fresh ones in the supermarket, they can seem intimidating. These big, tough, leafy balls are actually edible flower buds from a type of thistle. Their thorn-tipped leaves encase a tender, earthy-tasting heart that is showcased in this pizza recipe. Although this tough green flower bud may seem like a trendy new vegetable on the market, it has actually been enjoyed since Roman times, where it was prized for its health properties. And, don't make the mistake of mixing up this artichoke with a Jerusalem artichoke when you go shopping: Though they both have "artichoke" in their name, and both are delicious in their own right, they are very different vegetables.

These days, you'll most often find artichokes ready prepared and tinned, which is perhaps the cheapest — and definitely the easiest — way of enjoying them. If you fancy a challenge, though, or you like to learn new things, you'll definitely want to look up a guide on how to prepare these mysterious green vegetables. The most important steps to remember are that you need to trim the tough outer layers off, and you definitely will need to remove the choke from the inside (the fluffy innermost section). If you would like to use the fresh variety for this pizza, we recommend preparing the artichoke and then boiling the heart until it's soft before transferring it to the pizza for your topping.