Prosciutto, Pesto and Goat Cheese Pizza is a fast and easy but elevated recipe. A simple sauce made from chopped cherry tomatoes sweetened with honey sets the stage for dollops of pesto and goat cheese. Sliced jalapeños bring the heat, and prosciutto brings an added layer of bite. Prosciutto, Pesto and Goat Cheese Pizza comes together in less than 15 minutes and is perfect for staying in on a Friday night. I make this homemade pizza using a sourdough crust that I get from my local farmer’s market.
When Whole Foods Let Me Down
Anyone who reads my blog knows I’m a fan of Whole Foods and tend to sing their praises. But I recently experienced a huge let down from my favorite grocer when they discontinued a product I was addicted to.
We’ve all been there — You try a new product, love it, get obsessed and then take for granted it will always be there. Until it’s not.
This Sweet and Spicy Prosciutto pizza was the best frozen pizza ever. I discovered it when I was living in California and working at Whole Foods. It had a very light amount of sweet marinara (I don’t like a lot of red sauce on my pizza), almost like it was a white pizza but not quite. After you baked it, you added the sliced prosciutto so that it was still nice and chewy. There were just enough jalapeños to give a nice kick. It was the perfect size for personal pizza eating, and it paired well with Netflix binging.
When I moved to Dallas, it was the first thing I looked for when I walked into my new Whole Foods. And it was there. Relief! But then just a few weeks later, I saw a “Last Chance” sticker next to my precious pizza. NOOOOOOO!
Panic and Hoard
I panicked. I asked the store manager if it was really going away and he confirmed my fears.
So I didn’t what any crazed and obsessed fan would do. I bought every pizza they had. And then I systemically hit every Whole Foods in Dallas (there are only like 6) and bought all of theirs too. And yes, I wrote a letter to Whole Foods begging them to bring it back. Still waiting….
I threw away anything else in my freezer that prevented me from storing my stash. I think I fit 12 boxes which is a lot for a upright side-by-side refrigerator/freezer unit.
Initially I thought I would covet them for emergency comfort food nights, but I also knew that freezer burn is a real evil. So I picked my pizza nights carefully until the day came when it was time to bake the last one.
I kept the box like a treasured childhood stuffed animal and still have it. I also decided that I would figure out how to recreate it and probably make it even better (although when it comes to pizza, making it yourself isn’t always better).
Prosciutto, Pesto and Goat Cheese Pizza
This version of my former favorite pizza is a little variation on the original. I made a light tomato sauce by pulse-chopping cherry tomatoes and mixing them with honey. I was using up some of Jenny’s Homemade Basil Cashew Pesto when I attempted this, so I added a few dollops of that along with a generous amount of goat cheese. Once it comes out of the oven, finish with torn strips of prosciutto and a few basil leaves. Prosciutto, Pesto and Goat Cheese Pizza isn’t quite the same, but it’s close.
I will be working on perfecting the OG recipe in the coming weeks, so this Prosciutto, Pesto and Goat Cheese Pizza recipe will have to tide you over.
Ingredients
- 1 10-inch prebaked pizza crust
- 1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
- 2 tsp honey
- 1 tsp olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1/4 cup basil pesto
- 6 oz goat cheese (almost a whole small-log package)
- 1/2 jalapeño, thinly sliced or diced
- 2-3 slices prosciutto
- 1 handful fresh basil, torn
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 475℉.
- In a small food processor, pulse the cherry tomatoes until finely chopped. If they get too watery, drain in a fine mesh colander. Place in a small mixing bowl, stir in honey and olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
- Spread the sauce on your prebaked crust. It will be a thin layer. Add dollops of pesto and chunks of goat cheese. Bake directly on oven rack for 6-9 minutes or until crust begins to turn golden. Carefully remove pizza from oven using a large spatula and transfer to a cutting board. Tear prosciutto into strips and place on top. Sprinkle torn basil leaves over top. Slice and serve.
Nutrition
There is a sister pizza to the Sweet and Spicy Wood Fired that Whole Foods is still carrying and that is worth trying. Read about the Zucchini and Rapini pizza in my blog post Falling Back in Love with Whole Foods where I review 13 products that are worth the splurge and how to use them. They’ve now replaced my beloved Sweet and Spicy with two new options (one has pesto and burrata but it’s not anywhere near as good).
Oh, and if you were surprised that I didn’t make my own pizza dough, don’t be. Even I need a shortcut now and then!
I found this amazing sourdough pizza crust from Joy Artisan Bakery at my local farmer’s market in Coppell, Texas, I’m now hoarding those in my freezer :).
