This Sautéed Tomato and Pepper Pizza is easy to make. Here’s what it entails:
Sauté the Veggies
The first step of this pizza is to sauté the tomatoes, mini peppers, and onion. The veggies caramelize a bit and get really flavorful. The juices from the veggies and the olive oil you cook them in become a “sauce” of sorts for this sauceless pizza.
Prepare the Beyond Meat Sausage
The Beyond Meat Sausage on this pizza is optional, so feel free to omit it. I used Beyond Meat Brat Original Style sausage in these photos, but I also make this pizza with Impossible Wild Nuggets. (I just cut them in thirds.). Whatever meat substitute you use, just lightly fry/cook it in another skillet while you sauté the veggies.
Tomato and Pepper Pizza Crust
I use Trader Joe’s Pizza Crust for this pizza. Two pizza crusts come in a package. I divide the veggies in half, and it’s the perfect amount to make 2 pizzas, one on each crust.
You could also make 4-6 pita or flatbread pizzas if you don’t have a Trader Joe’s nearby.
Freshly Grated Mozzarella and Parmesan
This tomato and pepper pizza isn’t overly cheesy. With all the flavor from the veggies, you just don’t need to overload the pizza with cheese. 1 cup of mozzarella and 1/2 cup of Parmesan divided between the two pizzas is perfect.
Of course, feel free to use more cheese if desired. But be sure to use freshly grated cheese! Read more about why here.
Finish the Sautéed Tomato and Pepper Pizza
After baking, finish the pizzas with a light drizzling of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, followed by a sprinkling of fleur de sel, and some basil chiffonade. These finishing ingredients add even more flavor to the pizza.
Make Sautéed Tomato and Pepper Pizza!
Pair this tomato and pepper pizza with a salad like this one, or just make this creamy balsamic dressing and toss it in some greens.
Either way, enjoy this easy, sophisticated, yet simple pizza for dinner any night of the week, or make it midday and treat yourself to a fancy lunch.
A Few Things
Fleur de sel is a French finishing salt that brings out the flavor of whatever you sprinkle it on. I always finish my pizzas with it. You can find fleur de sel on Amazon [aff. link] or in my Amazon store here.
Basil chiffonade sounds difficult, but it’s really easy. We’re just cutting the basil into “little ribbons.” Follow my step by step tutorial below for the easiest basil chiffonade:
Easy Sautéed Tomato and Pepper Pizza
Ingredients
For the vegetables:
- 4 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp sea salt
- ½ red onion, diced
- 8-10 mini sweet peppers, thinly sliced (or 1 ½ - 2 bell peppers, preferably different colors)
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in halves
For the cheese:
- 1 cup mozzarella, freshly grated
- ½ cut Parmesan, freshly grated
Everything else:
- 2 Trader Joe's Pizza Crusts (see photo above), or make 4-6 pita or flatbread pizzas
- 2 links Beyond Meat Sausage Brat Original Style, cut in half moons (or 4-6 Impossible Wild Nuggets, cut in thirds)
- ⅛ tsp sea salt
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
To finish the pizzas:
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
- basil, chiffonade
- Fleur de Sel, for sprinkling
Instructions
Cook the onion and the peppers
- Add the onion, ½ tsp salt, and 2 Tbsp olive oil to a skillet. Cook over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes, until the onion is translucent and starts to brown slightly.
- Now add the peppers and another 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Cook for 3 minutes, then turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes
- Now add the tomatoes, the remaining ½ tsp salt, and the remaining 1 Tbsp of olive oil. Turn the heat up to medium, stir everything together, and cook for another 7-10 minutes, until the tomatoes break down slightly and release their juices.
- If you taste a pepper, it should still have a slight bite to it.
- Remove the veggies from the heat, and divide in half.
Prepare the Beyond Meat Sausage/Meat Substitute
- If you haven’t already, you can prepare the Beyond Meat Sausage/meat substitute while the veggies cook. Add the sausage, ⅛ tsp salt, and 1 Tbsp olive oil to different skillet. Cook over medium for 4-5 minutes, until the sausage is lightly browned.
- Sausage is done, set aside.
Compile the pizzas
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Evenly spread ½ of the veggie mixture over each pizza. (Or divide the veggies evenly between however many pita pizzas you’re making.)
- Sprinkle half the mozzarella over the top of each pizza, followed by half of the Parmesan.
- Now evenly distribute the Beyond Meat Sausage or meat substitute over each pizza, if using.
Bake the pizza
- If using the Trader Joe’s Pizza Crust, bake one pizza at a time. One pizza will fit perfectly on a standard size baking sheet.
- Bake at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until the cheese has melted and bubbles slightly.
Finish the pizza
- Remove the pizza from the oven, and lightly drizzle olive oil over the top of the pizza (about 1-2 tsp).
- Now drizzle balsamic vinegar over the pizza (about 1-2 tsp).
- You can shake the baking sheet a bit to encourage the olive oil and balsamic to spread across the pizza.
- Sprinkle a little fleur de sel over the pizza, then garnish with basil chiffonade.
- Repeat the baking and finishing process with the 2nd pizza.
Serve and enjoy!
- Serve the pizza alone or with a salad like this one, or toss this dressing into whatever greens you have on hand.
2 Responses
That’s a great idea to use those Trader Joe’s crusts for homemade pizzas. It’s been a while since I’ve done a TJ run, so I might need to go soon! Also, you know me. I love (!!) pizza, so of course this one is calling my name right now. Can I have pizza for breakfast?? 🙂
Thanks David! Haha pizza for breakfast sounds like a great idea to me!