If you’re looking for ideas to make a meal special but still keep it guilt-free, this healthy recipe is for you. It brings together veggies and just the right amount of richness and flavour. And since they say a Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest around, even better!

This fun vegetarian pizza can be whipped up quite quickly, either as a meal for the family, or as party eats for a weekend get-together. Either way, if you’re looking to combine health and taste, this is a great way to go!

Also read: A simple, hearty, guilt-free salad: Broccoli and crispy potato with honey-mustard vinaigrette

Total time taken: 30-45 mins | Serves: 4 | Vegetarian: Yes | Vegan: No (contains cheese, but can be substituted)

Ingredients

These are the things you’ll need to make this fun and healthy pizza.

Tomato sauce

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4-5 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 4 medium tomatoes, chopped
• A pinch of dried basil (or, even better, two fresh leaves)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• Salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste

Remaining ingredients

• 200 gm broccoli, in small florets
• 200 gm button mushrooms, thickly sliced
• 2 tbsp cheese of your choice, grated (can be substituted with vegan cheese)
• A pinch of dried thyme or other herb of your choice
• Salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste
• Store-bought pizza base of your choice
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Putting it all together

Here’s how to bring this pizza together. It goes even quicker if you do all the preparation beforehand!

• Sauté the onion and garlic on low heat until the onion is translucent.
• Add in the tomatoes and dried basil and cook until soft (if you’re using fresh basil, add the leaves once the tomatoes are soft and cook for a minute).
• Add the salt and pepper and allow the mixture to cool.
• Once it’s cool, pulse in a mixer/blender until you get a chunky sauce.
• Spread about one heaped tablespoon of sauce on a pizza base (the amount depends on the size of the base, and how much you love tomato sauce!).
• Sprinkle a generous layer of grated cheese on the layer of sauce.
• Arrange the broccoli florets and mushroom slices on top, making sure they don’t overlap too much.
• Top the veggies with another light layer of grated cheese.
• Sprinkle over the herbs, salt and pepper, and end with a generous drizzle of olive oil.
• Bake the pizza in an oven at 250 C (480 F) for between 12 to 15 mins. If your microwave has a grill setting, then 15 to 18 mins of that should work too.

Tips

• The broccoli will dry out in the oven a bit and stay crunchy. If you want it soft, you could try par-boiling it for a minute or two.
• If you’ve got some tomato sauce left over, it makes for a great dip for chips, vegetable sticks or just plain bread.

So there you have it: a simple and easy recipe that’s healthy and full of flavour, and lots of fun too! If you’ve got any ideas about how to make this pizza even better, I’d love to hear them. Leave a comment and let me know.

Also read: 12 vegetarian dishes from all over India that you need to try