Spring Pizza with Asparagus, Potatoes, and Goat Cheese

This spring pizza is perfect for celebrating the season! It’s super cheesy with a mix of creamy goat cheese and mozzarella, and is topped with thinly sliced potatoes and asparagus. This vegetarian pizza is perfect for a weeknight meal.

Spring Pizza with Asparagus, Potatoes, and Goat Cheese

My black car is officially yellow, so it’s time to break out the asparagus recipes, starting with this spring pizza with asparagus, potatoes and goat cheese!

Pizza is a favorite food of mine and I eat it at least once a week. This past week I had it twice, first with the pizza recipe I’m sharing today, and next with impromptu takeout when we were celebrating a friend’s last day at his job.

For a lot of people, pizza is a fear food, but really it’s just carbs, protein, fat and sometimes a little veg if you use tomato sauce and/or veggie toppings. Our body doesn’t really know the difference between pizza and other foods that are biologically similar, but (generally speaking) have lower emotional intensity, like cheese and charcuterie plates, or sandwiches. By the time the glucose, amino acids and fatty acids are absorbed into our blood stream, our body doesn’t know where it came from.

What makes a food scary are the beliefs we have about it, which are formed from often inaccurate and misleading information from diet culture or the experiences we’ve had with those foods. And of course, the beliefs we have about food can often drive our experiences with it. For example, late night pizza is a pretty standard college tradition. Perhaps you feel like you can’t control yourself around pizza, because you’ve had multiple experiences eating pizza to a point that didn’t feel very physically or emotionally good. If you didn’t believe pizza was a “bad” food, or that your inhibitions had to be lowered before eating it, would you still eaten pizza in the same way? Or felt the same level of guilt afterward?

Spring Pizza with Asparagus, Potatoes, and Goat Cheese

To make fear foods less scary, it’s important to neutrally plan in fear foods throughout the week - you might need the help of a non-diet dietitian for this. Intentionally planning to eat a food at times when you’re not experiencing an intense craving for it will help normalize that food, and prove that you can eat it in a way that feels good for you. So put this spring pizza on the menu, so you can enjoy tasty pizza for dinner, instead of reserving it for the days you’re exhausted and ravenous after a long day at work. I have a feeling it will be a lot more pleasurable of an eating experience - plus I personally think this pizza tastes better than takeout!

While I am usually adamantly pro-tomato sauce on pizza (this is an ongoing ordering argument between me and my pro-white pizza husband), I love this spring pizza pie topped with garlic oil, two cheeses, crisp-tender asparagus and thin slices of Yukon gold potatoes. Don’t be skeptical of potatoes on pizza - the crispy rounds of potato are so good!

Spring Pizza Ingredient Notes

Pizza Dough

When I make pizza, I like to use refrigerated dough. I’m not a fan of the pre-baked crusts you find in the freezer aisle. If you decide to make your own dough, I’m a big fan of Jim Leahy’s no-knead dough recipe, which also happens to be relatively easy and hands off.

Goat Cheese

I love a nice creamy chevre in this recipe, especially from Vermont Creamery and Laura Chenel. Purchase it as a log, which tastes better than the pre-crumbled goat cheese IMHO.

Mozzarella

While fresh mozzarella balls are absolutely delicious, it’s a bit too wet for making pizza. Use a low moisture mozzarella, like Polly-O. It tastes like fresh, you can grate it for even distribution over the pizza, and it won’t leave the crust drippy and wet.

Fresh Asparagus

Look for thin or medium-thickness asparagus spears, as thicker ones will take longer to cook.

Yukon Gold Potatoes

Yukon gold potatoes are my favorite, with a rich flavor and firm texture. Thinly slice them on a mandolin slicer so they cook through.

Spring Pizza with Asparagus, Potatoes, and Goat Cheese

Spring Pizza Recipe Tips & Adaptions

  • When rolling out your pizza dough, make sure you let it come to room temperature first otherwise it can be difficult to get it nice and thin. Leave it out on the counter for at least 30 minutes.

  • For a crispy crust, cook this spring pizza on a pizza stone that’s been pre-heated in the oven. If you don’t have one, a baking sheet will work just fine.

  • Make sure you very thinly slice the potatoes, otherwise they’ll still be raw. If you don’t have a mandolin slicer, boil your potatoes first until al dente, then slice as thin as you can. That’s what I did in the pictures because I couldn’t find my mandolin slicer anywhere!

  • If you want to add even more spring produce to this recipe, I love this spring pizza topped with grilled or sauteed garlic scapes.

  • This spring pizza is also absolutely delicious topped with prosciutto, bacon or pancetta!

I hope you love this recipe as much as I do! Be sure to share it on Pinterest! Spreading my recipes helps introduce new people to intuitive eating and non-diet wellness, especially people who might not otherwise come across these approaches. And be sure to follow my favorite pizza recipes Pinterest board for more cooking inspiration.


Spring Asparagus and Goat Cheese Pizza

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 bunch asparagus, woody ends snapped off

  • 1 ball pizza dough plus flour for rolling

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling

  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

  • 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

  • 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

  • 2 small-medium waxy potatoes, very thinly sliced

  • 2 scallions, sliced

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

  2. Steam asparagus for 1 minute until crisp-tender. Set aside to cool, then chop into bite sized pieces.

  3. Dust pizza dough with a little flour then using a roller or hands, spread into a large round on a pizza stone or baking sheet.

  4. Mix olive oil and garlic in a small bowl, then spread evenly across the dough. Top with crumbled goat cheese and mozzarella. Spread potato slices evenly across the pizza, then top with chopped asparagus. Drizzle with olive oil and crack a little black pepper over the top. Place in the oven and bake 15-17 minutes until cheese is bubbly and crust is lightly golden.

  5. Serve hot, garnished with scallions.


If you like this spring pizza, you might also like:

Caramelized Onion Flatbread with with Prosciutto and Figs

Caramelized Onion Flatbread with with Prosciutto and Figs

Pita Pizza with Grilled Zucchini and Ricotta

Pita Pizza with Grilled Zucchini and Ricotta

Pumpkin Pear and Gorgonzola Pizza

Pumpkin Pear and Gorgonzola Pizza



Spring Pizza with Asparagus Recipe