Posted Aug 18, 2019, Updated May 10, 2024 In our house, Sunday night is homemade pizza night! All the kids gather in the kitchen and we make dinner together. It’s a really fun tradition, and my husband has mastered how to make homemade pizza himself, so it even gives me a night off from cooking every now and then! Since we eat pizza every week, I wanted to try to find a way to sneak a little nutrition into our family’s time in the kitchen, so I created this zucchini pizza crust recipe! I use my Vitamix blender to add zucchini to the pizza dough in a way that makes it completely undetectable. I’ve tried getting on board with making pizza crusts out of only vegetables (mainly cauliflower), but I just can’t. I don’t like it, my family definitely doesn’t like it, and it isn’t as satisfying as a real pizza crust. So this zucchini pizza crust is the best of both worlds, a fluffy delicious homemade pizza dough that tastes amazing, is easy to make and contains added nutrition because of the of zucchini! Win win win!
How to Make Zucchini Pizza Crust
Much like my famous homemade pizza dough recipe and our whole wheat pizza dough, this zucchini pizza crust is easy to make! You don’t even have to let it rise if you are short on time (although it is the best when it rises once)! I’ll walk through this recipe with you step-by-step to ensure your zucchini pizza making success! Let’s get started! The first step in making this zucchini pizza crust recipe is proofing the yeast. Please note, only combine half of the water with the yeast and sugar. The other half of the water needs to be blended with the zucchini. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes to proof while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. While the yeast is proofing, blend the zucchini, remaining water and olive oil in the container of a Vitamix blender! I like to blend it until it’s completely smooth for the best results, but if you would like some pretty flecks of green zucchini in your pizza dough, then blend for a shorter time! Next, combine the blended zucchini mixture with the proofed yeast mixture and stir gently to combine until the mixture is homogenous (uniform throughout). Next add the flour and sea salt to the wet mixture and stir until the mixture is loose but becoming firm. Turn the mixture out onto a floured surface and knead until a smooth, but slightly tacky dough ball forms. You may need to add more flour as you knead, just be careful not to add too much.
Rise
Put the zucchini pizza dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover with a damp towel and let it rise. I recommend letting it rise for at least 10 minutes, and for the best results wait until it has doubled in size (about 1 hour). The rise is actually optional, and you’ll get a delicious zucchini pizza crust if you don’t. However, I enjoy how light and fluffy the crust is after it has risen!
Roll the Dough
Next, it’s time to roll out the zucchini pizza crust! If you are going to be transferring it to a pre-heated pizza stone, I recommend rolling it on a piece of parchment paper. If you’ll be baking it on a baking sheet then roll it on a well-floured surface and transfer it to the baking pan before adding the sauce and toppings.
Assemble the Pizza
This is where it gets fun! We usually double the recipe and make two pizzas! That way the kids can enjoy their favorite toppings (cheese and pepperoni) and mommy & daddy can enjoy some more grown-up flavors, like the classic margarita pizza! We always use this homemade pizza sauce recipe on our zucchini pizza! It only takes 5 minutes to make and is worlds better than anything you can purchase in the store!
Bake
There are two ways to bake this zucchini pizza crust! On a pizza stone (preferred method) or on a baking sheet! Pizza Stone Baking Sheet
Cool & Serve
Remove the zucchini pizza from the oven and transfer it to a wire rack to cool for about 10 minutes. It’s best not to cut pizza straight from the oven. If you let it cool slightly it will be easier to cut!
Zucchini Pizza Crust: Ingredients & Substitutions
Let’s chat about the ingredients as well as possible substitutions in this recipe!
Sugar. The sugar in this zucchini pizza crust recipe is used to help the yeast proof. Feel free to use honey, maple syrup, or your favorite granulated sugar. I do not recommend using sugar substitutes! All-purpose flour. Bread flour and pastry flour also work well in this recipe. You can substitute 1/2-1 cup of the flour with whole wheat or white whole wheat flour, just be aware you will likely need to use less flour overall if you make this substitution. Zucchini. There isn’t a substitution for zucchini in this recipe, except for maybe yellow squash since it’s so similar. You do not have to shred or finely chop the zucchini, since the Vitamix is powerful enough to blend it well. However I do recommend at least cutting it into large chunks for ease of blending and for measuring! Olive Oil. Any neutral oil works well in this recipe! I have used canola oil and avocado oil with great success! You can also used a flavor-infused olive oil (like garlic, herb, etc.) to add a special flare! Sea Salt. If you are using iodized table salt then you will likely need to decrease the amount of salt to 3/4 tsp. I always cook and bake with pure sea salt!
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