Easy kale and mushroom pizza recipe

Kale and mushroom pizza recipe

What I love about kale and mushroom pizza is that it is very healthy and quite light to eat. I have made this to serve about two people. It all starts with healthy ingredients. If you love Italian food, this one is for you. Here is the kale and mushroom pizza recipe.

Ingredients for kale and mushroom pizza

Here is what you need to make this kale and mushroom pizza recipe. These are simple ingredients you can find easily.

Dough. You can buy this at most places like Coles or Aldi. This makes it a quicker recipe. If not, you can make the dough from scratch.

Tomato can. Do not just pick up any tomato can. You want a good one with a high percentage of tomatoes. Look for around 60 - 70% tomatoes in the can. Whole tomatoes are preferred or cherry tomatoes. From Italy.

Bocconcini. You can get this from any local supermarket.

Kale. I like to get my kale from healthy stores such as Harris farm. I also get my mushrooms there.

Parmesan. Do not buy a cheap one. Buy an expensive one from Italy. Good parmesan makes a real difference on a kale and mushroom pizza.

Ingredient quantities

Dough. One standard dough ball.

Bocconcini. About 5 pieces. Enough to cover about half the pizza when sliced up.

Tomato can. Blend the tomatoes in a blender. You only need about a teaspoon to a tablespoon spread around the pizza. Pro tip. You can freeze the rest.

Kale. About 3 bunches of kale.

Mushrooms. About 5 mushrooms. I like to slice them up nice and thin.

What equipment you need

Oven. Crank it up to 400 degrees for the kale chips and then up to 500 degrees for the pizza.

Blender. For the tomato base.

Pan. For cooking the mushrooms.

Baking paper and baking pan. For the kale chips.

Pizza pan with holes. The holes allow heat to go up through the base. If you only have a rectangular pan, just make a rectangular pizza instead.

Colander or sieve. For draining the mushrooms.

Spoon. For spreading the tomato base.

How to prep your kale and mushroom pizza

There are a few things you want to prep first before you put the pizza in the oven.

Making the kale chips

First, make the kale chips. This can take about 30 minutes. Stick the oven on at about 400 degrees.

Take the kale off the stem. Cut it up into little pieces so it is like chips. Line a baking pan with baking paper and drizzle oil over the kale. Make sure both sides are well coated like kale chips.

Stick it in the oven when it is ready. You are going to want to check on it often. It usually takes about half an hour. Shuffle the kale up and down during that time until it becomes nice and crispy.

Blending the tomato base

While the kale is in the oven, blend the tomatoes. You will probably only need about a quarter to half a cupful of tomato. It depends on how much you want. Because the vegetables are so wet, you want to use as little wet material as possible.

Cooking the mushrooms

Now for the mushrooms. You can overcook mushrooms in the oven or in a pan. I would recommend cooking the mushrooms on a pan. Once you start cooking them, it gets very wet and the water starts coming out. If you cook them on a pan, you can drain the water.

Cook your mushrooms up. Put some oil on them. Cut your mushrooms and then put oil on them.

Pro tip. I would not really wash the mushrooms unless you really want to. I would brush the dirt off them instead. Because you do not want water in there.

Cook the mushrooms. They will probably take about 10 minutes. They will start to shrink in size. Then drain the water from the mushrooms using a colander or a sieve.

If you enjoy cooking Italian-inspired food, you will love putting this pizza together.

Cook time

Kale chips. About 30 minutes at 400 degrees.

Mushrooms. About 10 minutes on a pan.

Pizza. About 6 to 10 minutes at 500 degrees.

Total time. Around 40 to 50 minutes.

How to assemble and cook your pizza

By now the mushrooms should be done. The tomato base should be done. The bocconcini is ready to slice. And when the kale is dried and going brown, that is when you take it out. That should be around the half hour mark.

Now crank your oven up to about 500 degrees. This is when you start making the kale and mushroom pizza.

Get your pizza dough. I would not worry about using anything else but your hands. Just start pushing the pizza dough out into a circle. Use your fingers to push the dough out and make it nice and thin. The best pizzas I have had in Italy are nice and thin.

Hopefully, you have got a pizza pan. While you are pushing out the dough, get some baking paper, put some little holes in it, and put it on a pizza pan. The thing about the pizza pan is that it has holes inside so heat can go up.

Once your dough is ready, circular or rectangular, put the tomato base on first. Use the back end of a spoon to spread it in a circular motion, going up to the edges. Leave a thin edge of just dough. Do not soak it. Just enough that there is enough tomato around the pizza.

Next, put the bocconcini on and spread it around.

Cooking the pizza step by step

Step 1. Once the oven is ready, put the pizza in for about 6 minutes. This will start to crisp it up nicely. The cheese will start to melt. If it is not starting to melt, do not worry. Put it in for another 2 minutes. The key is not to keep opening the oven all the time. Maybe shine a light in there and have a look at the pizza.

Step 2. Then put your mushrooms on for another couple of minutes. This will start to warm them up.

Step 3. Lastly, put the kale on. Because it is going to be so hot, the kale is more prone to burning. You only want to leave it in for about 2 minutes max. You will be able to see that. By now it should be about 10 minutes total.

How to know when your pizza is ready

Your pizza should be ready when all the cheese is melted. The mushrooms should be going brown in the oven. And the kale should be looking nice and crispy. So take the pizza out.

This is the kind of recipe I love making when I am inspired by my travels through Italy.

Finishing touches

The last step. Get some Parmesan and shave it all over the kale and mushroom pizza. That gives it that extra bite and a nice taste. Do not be scared to put more on. Put as much as you want on.