Written by Emma Carter

Like most of the world, my family and I have been social distancing and sheltering in place as much as possible to keep from catching or spreading COVID-19. This year, rather than traveling to spend the day with my mom in person, we decided to have a remote movie watch party and make green pizzas in our own kitchens. Cooking together even though we were miles apart ended up being a lot more fun than I thought it would be, and it was certainly a tasty way to celebrate Mother’s Day!

Try making this pizza with your kids, whether you’re side by side or connecting via Facetime/Zoom. It’s a great way to sneak in some healthy greens while still indulging in a fun, easy-to-make treat.

Emma’s White & Green Pizza (subbing sausage for ground turkey)

White and Green Pizza with Sausage

A simple and savory pizza highlighting seasonal greens.

Serves 4
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 10 min
Total Time: 30 min

Ingredients

1 to 2 half-pound bags of cooking greens, preferably 2 different varieties. Choose from whatever is available and looks good that week, including spinach, Swiss chard, mustard greens (green or red), kale, mizuna, broccoli raab, etc. If you’re just getting acquainted with cooking with greens you may find the mild flavor and tenderness of spinach and Swiss chard most appealing, and you may just want to use one bag of greens. Or if you love greens and like a heartier flavor use two bags of greens, and make one mustard greens or mizuna.

12-inch pre-baked pizza crust
1/2 pound mild Italian sausage or regular sausage, to taste (I’m using Crocker Farms sage sausage)
2 cups shredded mozarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese (you could also use Asiago or any similar cheese you have on hand)
1 to 2 teaspoons minced garlic, or to taste (Emma prefers a LOT of garlic)
Salt, pepper,
Red pepper flakes (optional, to taste)
Olive oil, about 2 tablespoons

Instructions

Wash and spin dry the greens and chop them up roughly. I like this pizza when it's piled high with tasty greens, so I use at least two bags, but if you're just easing into cooked greens you can use a single bag of spinach, which will make it more of a cheese pizza with greens.
Heat up a large frying pan or Dutch oven, add a drizzle of olive oil, and add the sausage, breaking it up with a spatula. (If I’m using big Italian sausage links I just squeeze the sausage out of the skin and cook it loose. Each sausage is usually a quarter pound.) Cook over medium heat until the sausage has cooked through, then drain the sausage grease or wipe it out with a paper towel, leaving the sausage in the pan. Add a tablespoon of the olive oil and let it heat back up, then add the minced garlic and saute for 30 seconds or so.
Turn the heat up to medium high and add the greens, then toss them in the olive oil with a large spoon or spatula and saute them until they’re a bit tender but still have some body, around 2 to 6 minutes depending on the type and maturity of the green. Add a little salt and pepper and take them off the burner. Sprinkle just one cup of the mozzarella over the greens and sausage in the pan and toss them together to mix.
Place your pizza crust on the pizza pan or cookie sheet. I like to brush or sprinkle some olive oil around the edge of the crust. Pile on the greens, sausage, and cheese mixture, then sprinkle the remaining cup of the mozzarella and the 1/2 cup of Parmesan to the top. Sprinkle with a bit of crushed red pepper if desired, then bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 10–12 minutes, or until browned and bubbling.

Notes

You can really add whatever you like to a pizza like this, including sautéed onions, sweet pepper, even tomatoes. I prefer my pizzas with a thick layer of greens so I go heavy on that ingredient.

Would you try this healthy green pizza? If not, how do you prefer your pizza? Let us know in the comments!