My absolute favorite summer food is cold veggie pizza. I’m not sure what the real name of this dish is and I’m not going to research it. Although it doesn’t have a pizza crust and the vegetables are raw, not baked, it will always be cold veggie pizza in our house. It’s a 40 year tradition, a family favorite of all ages. It was a very popular dish in the 80s. At least one person brought it to every church potluck.
Recently I spent my birthday with my sister, Linda. She wanted me to choose where to eat and I chose to make my favorites rather than risk germy places during a pandemic. Linda made the cowboy caviar and I made veggie pizza. It’s one of her favorites as well, so it was a good choice. I’m m finally posting the recipe so she can make it as well.
Vegetable pizza starts with a can or two of Pillsbury Crescent rolls. No off brands or substitutes allowed. The dough is spread onto the bottom of 2 sheet pans. You could cut the recipe in half and use one can of crescent rolls.
I don’t turn up the edges of the dough, I make sure it’s all flattened. Bake the crust in a 375 degree oven for about 11 minutes. It will be golden brown, your oven time may vary.
While the crust bakes to an almost croissant-like deliciousness, soften the cream cheese in a bowl in the microwave for a minute or so. You’ll want it soft enough to stir smoothly to combine the sour cream.
Stir in the sour cream, dill, garlic powder, onion powder and salt until smooth. Originally we used a packet of Hidden Valley but have discarded that due to msg issues.
Spread the creamy mixture evenly over the cooled crusts.
Now you get to chop! You could choose whichever vegetables you like or have on hand. We’re picky and have agreed this pizza needs: broccoli, cucumber, cauliflower, tomatoes. green onion and black olives.
The vegetables need to be chopped finely, or it’s weird to try to eat the slices of pizza. It’s best to have a little bit of everything in each tasty mouthful. I quarter the cherry tomatoes if I don’t have larger tomatoes to dice.
When layering I start with green onions because as they sit, they’ll impart extra flavor to the cream cheese mixture.
Next I spread the broccoli and cauliflower, followed by the diced cucumbers.
My final layers are tomatoes and black olives.
Those were the veggie layers. Now we layer the cheese! Use your cheese of choice; ours is Colby Jack, just because it’s colorful. I go fairly light on the cheese, it’s not meant to detract from all the vegetable deliciousness!
The veggie pizza is done! I cover it well with plastic wrap or cut into pieces and store in a covered plastic container and let it sit for a couple of hours in the fridge. We like to eat it cold. It’s best cut into 2” squares so it can be easily eaten out of hand.
Veggie pizza is a meal in itself, but could be accompanied by a cowboy caviar with chips for even more vegetable goodness. That was our choice for the birthday get-together.
The pizza is good for several days, cut into squares and stored in a covered container in the fridge. The crust will get a little limp but the flavor remains excellent.
Lots of cleaning and chopping with this recipe but so well worth it. And so healthy! Even the grand kids loved this when I made it again the next day for my grandson’s 17th birthday. Kids approval is always a good sign!
Cold Veggie Pizza
- Servings: 6-8
- Difficulty: easy
A make ahead cold vegetable pizza that delights all ages.
- 8 oz cream cheese
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 rolls Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
- green onions; thinly sliced
- cauliflower; finely chopped
- broccoli finely chopped
- cucumber; finely diced
- cherry tomatoes; quartered
- large can sliced black olives
- finely shredded cheese (I use Colby jack)
Bake at 350 degrees for 11 minutes or until golden brown. Cool.
Soften cream cheese in a bowl for a minute or so and stir in the sour cram until smooth. Stir in seasonings.
Spread mixture onto cooled crusts. It doesn’t need to be smooth.
Sprinkle green onions, cauliflower, broccoli, cucumbers, tomatoes and black olives over pizzas. Sprinkle shredded cheese over top. Press your hand gently over the pizzas to flatten and condense toppings.
Cover with plastic or cut into pieces and place in containers with covers. Refrigerate for several hours.
Can keep for several days in fridge for optimum flavor but crust may get a bit limp.
