Making this Christmas pizza recipe with pesto and veggie ornaments is the perfect holiday time tradition, especially with kids!
When the holidays come around, one of our favorite traditions ever is to make Christmas pizza: that is pizza in the shape of a Christmas tree! We’ve had this tradition with our nieces and nephews, and after we’ve become parents, it’s a tradition we’ve continued with our son Larson! Make your dough into a Christmas tree, top it with pesto and mozzarella “snow”, and add veggie ornaments. There’s nothing we love more than getting in the holiday mood with this tasty dinner (while watching the movie Elf, of course!).
How to make Christmas pizza: a few tips
Making Christmas pizza is pretty simple, but it does require some finesse with the pizza dough to make the Christmas tree shape! Here are a few notes:
- Roll out the dough into a triangle shape, and then add a small rectangle of dough for a trunk.
- If you have a pizza stone, take care sliding it into the oven! Our favorite pizza peels are this standard pizza peel or even better, a conveyor pizza peel. If you’re making a large Christmas pizza like the one in the photograph, the conveyor pizza peel works very well for sliding it into the oven without sticking. If you have a standard peel or if you’re trying it with a well-floured flat surface (like a baking sheet), consider making a few smaller Christmas pizzas, which are easier to slide onto the pizza stone.
- Or, build it on a baking sheet. If you don’t have a pizza stone, it’s easy to build right on a baking sheet. It doesn’t get quite as crispy, but it’s still delicious!
- Decorating it is fun and customizable! You can use any veggies you like to decorate. Here we’ve used basil pesto for the green in the tree, red pepper as ornaments, and sliced red onion as garlands.
Looking for more pizza recipes?
And that’s it! We hope you love this Christmas pizza recipe. When you’re in the mood for more, here are some of our favorite other artisan pizza recipes to make at home:
- Margherita Pizza
- Best-Ever Sheet Pan Pizza
- How to Make Artisan Pizza
- The Best Focaccia Pizza
- Easy Cast Iron Pizza
- Ultimate Spinach Pizza
- Perfect Pan Pizza
- Easy Pizza Sauce Recipe
Christmas Pizza
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 large trees (8 small) 1x
Description
Making this Christmas pizza recipe with pesto and veggie ornaments is the perfect holiday time tradition, especially with kids!
Ingredients
- 1 ball Best Pizza Dough (or Food Processor Dough or Thin Crust Dough)
- 1 red pepper
- 1/2 red onion
- ½ cup basil pesto (purchased, homemade or vegan pesto)
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- Kosher salt
Instructions
- Follow the Best Pizza Dough recipe to prepare the dough. (This takes about 15 minutes to make and 45 minutes to rest.)
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F. If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can build the pizza on a baking sheet.
- Prepare the toppings: Dice the red pepper. Thinly slice the red onion, then rinse it under cool water and pat it dry (which removes some of the bite).
- Place the dough on the pizza peel: When the oven is ready, dust a pizza peel with cornmeal or semolina flour, or do so on a baking sheet. (If you want to use a pizza stone but don’t have a peel, you can use a rimless baking sheet or the back of a rimmed baking sheet to slide it onto a stone, but the tree shape can be difficult to slide. A conveyor pizza peel works very well for larger trees like the one pictured.) Roll out the dough into a triangle shape, adding a small rectangle for a trunk. Place the dough on the pizza peel, or onto the baking sheet.
- Quickly top the pizza: Spread a thin layer of pesto, then sprinkle with cheese. Add the “decorations” of red onions and peppers. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
- Bake the pizza: Transfer the pizza to the pizza stone using the pizza peel, or place the baking sheet in the oven. Bake until the cheese is melted, about 5 to 7 minutes. Allow to cool slightly, then serve.
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian
- Diet: Vegetarian
Keywords: Christmas pizza
I cried reading this. And not just because I’m delirious from studying corporate taxation and econometrics for 12 hours today, but because YES. THANK YOU. We are on the same team and we can live and love together. Our faith doesn’t have to alienate and justify hate. It’s not hard to love others as Jesus loves us.
Isn’t Facebook unbearable these days? gah.
Erica, you are so sweet! I cried writing this so that makes two of us, haha! Thank you for your kind and thoughtful comments. Praying for unity :)
I love this post and your capture the flag story is beautifully written. I feel like I’m on the same page with you on wanting unity. I’m also praying that more people would take the time to celebrate what the season is truly about, God’s gift of Jesus to this world. Thank you so much for boldly sharing your faith and I hope you have a blessed Christmas!
This is fabulous. I make pizza once a week, and my boys are going to LOVE this! Thank you!
I love your message of capture the flag. It was a beautiful story and so perfect for this time of year. And this Christmas tree is adorable!
How cute are these ? It brings out my inner kid at heart :)
i love this idea! thanks for your words, too.
Gonna try to make this happen for this Friday’s pizza night! So cute! Love hearing about your faith in Jesus too. Wishing you so much joy this season.
Ooo I hope these worked out! Let us know what you think — and wishing you so much joy right back!
It was so perfect! Kids loved it. My daughter squealed with delight when I told her we were shaping the dough into a Christmas tree. Shape makes all the difference. :) Merry Christmas!
YES! So glad to hear this — this is exactly why we created the recipe. Except that I am really excited about the shape too, so I think it works for all ages :)
I love that you recreated the Christmas tree pizza! It’s inspiring to watch your blog [and business] grow. Thanks for setting a good example for young bloggers :) Also! I finally convinced my picky eater to try roasted cauliflower and it got a big thumbs up!!
Thank you so much, Jo! :) It’s so fun to hear about your picky eater’s palate — keep us posted as the horizons expand!