This Gourmet Pesto Pizza with savory ham and briny black olives is the perfect choice for a pizza recipe that’s different from the usual. Make your own dough or use pre-made dough, swapping out traditional tomato sauce for a pesto base that makes an easy but unforgettable pizza night.
Ingredients
Once you have the pizza dough set, you’ll only need a few ingredients for this pizza. It’s a rather light pizza, so don’t be surprised if you eat more than your usual.
There are only four ingredients for the pizza toppings:
- Pesto. Homemade or jarred.
- Black olives. Buy them sliced or slice them yourself.
- Ham. I like to use thick sliced ham for chunky pieces.
- Mozzarella cheese. Or another cheese that you love.
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Making Fresh Pesto
Making pesto pizza sounded perfect since I love pesto so much. I can eat it straight out of the jar and be perfectly content. But, maybe I shouldn’t do that very often. Or, maybe I should! I’ll never tell.
I love fresh pesto and can usually get three large harvests of basil during our long summers. If I don’t have enough basil, I add baby spinach leaves to it to get the amount needed to make my own Basil Pesto recipe.
But, this Barilla brand of Creamy Genovese pesto is especially tasty. I try to make certain to have some in the pantry because I could run out of the fresh pesto I keep in the freezer.
Homemade Pizza Dough
I prefer the homemade pizza dough I make in the bread machine. Try my pizza dough recipe to make your dough in the bread machine. I recommend that you check out that recipe because it’s in the bread machine and SO EASY!
Use my pizza dough instructions or your own or even the pre-packaged completed dough, if you prefer. If you’re using homemade pizza dough, try to refrigerate it for at least 4 hours or overnight before rolling it out.
This recipe calls for one-half the pizza dough so you’ll be able to use the other half for another pizza.
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What is Pesto?
I did some research and discovered that pesto originates from Genoa, the capital city of Liguria, Italy. Traditionally, it’s prepared by crushing garlic, pine nuts, basil leaves and parmesan cheese.
I’ve made pesto with all sorts of varieties of basil. I’ve even mixed different varieties. I like to use Genovese or Sweet Basil, but I’ve also used Purple Leaf Basil. You can read more about some different basil varieties at Culinary Herb Garden.
Pesto is commonly used on pasta, but it’s terrific mixed with sauted vegetables. And, yes, it’s fantastic on pizza!
Sure, getting pizza delivered on a Friday night is easy, but there is nothing comparable to making it yourself. Try this one or browse through my many other Pizza recipes.
Recipe
Gourmet Pesto Pizza With Ham and Black Olives
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For more information, be sure to check the recipe details in the attached 24Bite® post.
Ingredients
- ½ recipe Pizza Dough, homemade or pre-made dough
- Cooking Spray, like Pam
- 6 ounces Basil Pesto, fresh or jarred
- 6 ounces Ham, cooked, thick sliced, chopped
- 2.25 ounces Sliced Black Olives, drained
- 6 ounces Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
Instructions
- If you are using homemade pizza dough, begin at least 3 hours before you plan to prepare the pizza to complete the kneading and rising process. It's better to refrigerate for 3 or more hours after that, but it's not entirely necessary, if you're in a time crunch. Halve the dough equally and roll out on a lightly floured surface.
- Preheat oven to 425℉.
- Spray pizza pan with cooking spray. Place crust on pan and pinch the edges a little, if you like. This helps to catch any oil from the pesto from spilling over.
- If using jarred pesto, when you open the jar, there will be oil accumulated at the top. You can either stir it up and use all of it or you can carefully spoon off some of the oil into a separate bowl and then spread it over the pizza dough. Taking off the excess oil at the top will reduce the calories and will make the pizza less messy, if you prefer that. Don't throw out the oil, though! Use it for dipping or a base for salad dressing later. Whether using jarred or fresh pesto, evenly spread the it on pizza dough with the back of a spoon.
- Evenly distribute ham and olives. Top with mozzarella.
- Cook for 15-20 minutes, or until done. Cool slightly and cut into 8 pieces.
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Important: Whenever possible, use a scale for measuring dry ingredients, like flour. This is the more accurate measurement. The scoop and level method of measuring is not accurate because you don’t know how packed your flour has become. If you don’t have a scale, stir the flour lightly then use the spoon and fill method instead. If you use too much flour, your recipe will be too dry and crumbly.
Notes
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet. All amounts are estimates and 24Bite® takes no responsibility for actual figures since calculations vary by packaging and supplier. Please calculate the amounts yourself based on package labeling if you have specific dietary requirements. 24Bite®, Kim Guzman or Christian Guzman shall not be liable for adverse reactions or any other outcome resulting from the use of recipes or recommendations on this website or actions you take as a result.
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