I don’t have a Valentine’s dessert recipe this year, unlike all the other years of this blog’s existence so far, but I do have a great pizza idea for you! It’s packed full of garlic, which not only makes it super delicious but also gives you the perfect chance to test your sweetheart’s true feelings. 😀

The other components of this yummy combination are pesto, spinach, cherry tomatoes, red onion and vegan parmesan.

This post is more inspiration than recipe, since the measurements are all approximate and the quantities you’ll need will depend on the size pizza you want to make.

Ingredients

• 1 pizza base, whatever size you like
• Vegan pesto – I used half a jar of Barilla’s new vegan pesto (find it at Monoprix), but you can alternatively make your own
• Garlic cloves, as many as you like – I used four!
• Fresh spinach leaves – I used approximately three or four cups (it cooks way down, so don’t be stingy)
• Cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• Red onion, diced roughly
• Vegan parmesan to sprinkle on top (I used Nurishh, also from Monoprix)

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to a pizza-baking temperature (usually 400°F/200°C). You may wish to prebake the pizza base since there’ll be so many thick toppings on it during the main baking.
2. Chop the garlic finely and sautée it in some oil for a minute or two over low to medium heat, stirring frequently.
3. Add the fresh spinach and stir occasionally until it has cooked down (see photos below).
4. Spread your pizza base generously with pesto.
5. Top that with the cooked spinach plus the (raw) cherry tomatoes and onion.
6. Bake the pizza for 10 to 15 minutes or more, depending on the thickness of the base.
7. Remove from oven, sprinkle with vegan parmesan, slice and serve!
   

Sautée the garlic over low to medium heat, stirring frequently and making sure it doesn’t get too brown.

Add the spinach (keep adding more until you think you have enough to cover your pizza base). Stir the mixture occasionally so that the garlic gets mixed in with the spinach rather than resting on the bottom of the pan, where it could burn. The spinach will release moisture as it cooks which should help prevent this also.

When it’s ready, it’ll look something like this.

While the spinach is cooking, prepare your pizza base. You may wish to prebake it a bit first since the spinach topping is so thick. Once it’s ready, spread it generously with the pesto.

Now add the spinach and garlic mixture.

Finally, top all of that with the tomatoes and red onion, and pop it in the oven! 10 to 15 minutes should do the trick, but baking time can vary greatly depending on the thickness of the crust you use and your oven. Keep an eye on the crust to gauge whether it’s done. You may want to move it up to the top rack for a minute at the end to make sure the tomatoes are nicely cooked.

It’ll look something like this.

Top with some vegan parmesan for a nice cheesy and salty final touch. If you can’t find any at a store, a nice homemade alternative is ground almonds + nutritional yeast + salt (and optional garlic powder).

Have you ever seen a more delicious looking pizza? 🙂

So feel free to make this your Valentine’s Day dinner, for yourself and your favorite person, or even just for you!

But don’t forget dessert! Check out my Valentine’s dessert recipes from past years.