Merah Hati Cintaku: Spinach Artichoke Pizza

Why not take all that’s great about spinach artichoke dip and put it on a pizza? This spinach artichoke pizza is a total crowd pleaser.

What’s not to love about the iconic spinach artichoke party dip? We haven’t met anyone who could resist it: that creamy, gooey cheese and tang from the artichokes make it some kind of addicting substance. This recipe is a little nostalgic for Alex and me because one of our first big “hits” when we started A Couple Cooks was this spinach artichoke grilled cheese. This was back in 2010, which seems like eons ago now. So now, 9 years later, we’re here to riff on concept and make it into a pizza. Please meet, our spinach artichoke pizza. And it’s damn good, if we say so ourselves. Keep reading for the recipe!

How to make spinach artichoke pizza

If you take the dough out of the equation, spinach artichoke pizza is even easier to make than spinach artichoke dip. For the pizza topping, all you’ve got to do is saute a bit of minced garlic, add spinach leaves, and heat for about 3 minutes. Then add chopped artichokes (the canned kind), and cook one more minute. As far as filling prep, that’s it! Spread it onto pizza dough, top with mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, and throw it in the oven. It comes out gooey and savory, just like the dip! Except even easier to eat, because the bread you’d dip has transformed into pizza crust.

For the toppings, we’ve also specified that you can use Pecorino Romano cheese instead of Parmesan. What is Pecorino Romano cheese? Pecorino cheese is a hard Italian cheese similar to Parmesan, but with much sharper flavor. Alex and I prefer Pecorino cheese to Parmesan because of the unique, super savory flavor. You can easily use Parmesan cheese here, but Pecorino puts it over the top.

Of course you can use storebought pizza dough for this recipe. BUT if you have time, we highly recommend that you make our homemade pizza dough! Keep reading for a few pointers about it.

How to make pizza dough

To make the best spinach artichoke pizza, you’ve got to start with a great pizza dough. Alex and I have been working on our recipe for over 10 years. Our best tip for next level Italian pizza dough is to use great flour! The flour we uses is called Tipo 00 flour; it’s what Neapolitan pizza restaurants use. It makes for a beautiful, supple and fluffy dough. We buy our Tipo 00 flour online.

Another tip is to use a pizza stone! A pizza stone is what makes Italian pizza crust crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Here’s the best pizza stone we recommend, and a bit more on pizza stone care. And to pop the pizza dough right onto that blazing hot stone, we use a pizza peel! We recommend this Standard pizza peel or this Conveyor pizza peel. You can also use the bake of a baking sheet (or a rimless baking sheet), but it’s a little bit trickier. The pizza peel is the best tool for the job!

We have a few pizza dough recipes that you can make depending on your tastes and equipment. Our Best Pizza Dough is what we used for this spinach artichoke pizza. We make it using stand mixer, but you can also knead it by hand. Our Easy Thin Crust method is similar but makes a thinner dough that you roll out — it would also work well here! Below is a video of Alex showing how to make and stretch the pizza dough. Fast forward to 1:45 minutes to watch the stretching process!

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And that’s it! All you need to know to make a killer artichoke pizza at home. Let us know: have you tried this recipe? Any questions on pizza technique? Tell us in the comments below!

Looking for artichoke recipes?

We use artichokes quite a bit in our recipes: usually canned artichoke hearts and not the fresh artichokes, which can be hard to find! Outside of this artichoke pizza recipe, here are a few more of our favorite artichoke recipes!

Looking for more pizza recipes?

Outside of this Italian pizza recipe, here are some of our favorite pizza recipes:

This artichoke pizza recipe is…

Vegetarian.

Spinach Artichoke Pizza

(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)

5 from 2 reviews

Author: Sonja
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 7 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 7 minutes
Yield: 8 slices

Print Recipe

Description

Why not take all that’s great about spinach artichoke dip and put it on a pizza? This spinach artichoke pizza is a total crowd pleaser.

Ingredients

1 ball Best Pizza Dough (or Food Processor Dough or Thin Crust Dough)
1 garlic clove
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 cups spinach
1/2 cup chopped artichokes
3/4 cup mozzarella
2 T Pecorino
1 pinch salt
Semolina flour or cornmeal, for dusting the pizza peel

Instructions

Make the pizza dough: Follow the Best Pizza Dough recipe to prepare the dough. (This takes about 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes to rest.)
Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. OR preheat your pizza oven (here’s the pizza oven we use).
Prepare the toppings: Mince the garlic. In a small skillet, heat the olive oil, then add the garlic and saute for about 30 seconds. Add the spinach and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until wilted. Add the chopped artichokes for 1 minute. Remove from the heat.
Bake the pizza: When the oven is ready, dust a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour. (If you don’t have a pizza peel, you can use a rimless baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet. But a pizza peel is well worth the investment!) Stretch the dough into a circle; see this video for instructions. Then gently place the dough onto the pizza peel.
Spread the spinach artichoke mixture onto the crust in an even layer. Add the mozzarella cheese. Top with the Pecorino or Parmesan cheese and a few pinch of kosher salt.
Use the pizza peel to carefully transfer the pizza onto the preheated pizza stone. Bake the pizza until the cheese and crust are nicely browned, about 5 to 7 minutes in the oven (or 1 minute in a pizza oven). Slice into pieces and serve immediately.

Category: Main Dish
Method: Baked
Cuisine: Italian