Easy Summer Vegetable Pizzas

Flatbread pizza made with naan is quick, easy, and ready in less than 20 minutes. This version is loaded with fresh vegetables and herbs, but you can add any toppings you want. The sky’s the limit!

By
Sally Vargas
Sally Vargas
Sally Vargas

Sally is the author of four cookbooks and is a regular correspondent for the Boston Globe Wednesday Food Section. She also is a food photographer.

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Updated February 17, 2021
Sally Vargas
Easy Vegetable Pizza - flatbread pizza piled high with vegetables. Cut into slices on a parchment paper with a wooden handled knife nearby
Sally Vargas

This vegetable naan pizza is going to rock your weeknight. Or lunch. Or snack.

Here, creamy fontina, salty Parmesan, thin ribbons of zucchini and slivers of sweet red pepper get you started.

Once the pizza comes out of the oven, it's crisp at the edges and chewy in the center. Top it with some greens, cherry tomatoes, and fresh herbs, and presto! You have pizza and salad all in one!

Naan, an Indian oval shaped flatbread, is perfect for pizza because it has just the right chewiness of good pizza dough. It can be transformed into individual pizzas in less than twenty minutes.

What??? Yes, it’s true. When you start with naan, which is miraculously similar to pre-cooked pizza dough, you can assemble a smashing homemade pizza while your oven preheats.

What Is Naan?

Naan is a flatbread made with yeast, flour, and water, and sometimes yogurt or milk. It is slightly thicker than pita bread, with a softer texture.

Traditionally it is made on a hot clay oven called a tandoor, and it puffs up irregularly when it bakes. It’s widely available in most grocery stores, or you can make it from scratch using this recipe:

Summer Vegetable Pizza How to Make Flatbread Pizza -Flatbread pizza made with Naan, vegetables, and greens on a cutting board
Sally Vargas

How Do You Make Zucchini Ribbons?

Zucchini ribbons are perfect for this recipe. Although zucchini has a high water content, when thinly shaved and baked, the ribbons do not “weep” the way thicker slices might, and they soften quickly when baked on the pizza.

Look for small, young zucchini squash, since larger ones can be tough and watery and have big seeds. To make the ribbons, it’s easiest to use a Y peeler.

Start at the stem end and remove a wide lengthwise swathe of the outer green peel. Continue shaving off more ribbons until you reach the center seeds at the core. Turn it over and continue to peel off more ribbons.

Yellow and green zucchini add lots of color to your pizza.

Vegetarian Pizza - - flatbread pizza piled high with vegetables on a parchment paper with a wooden handled knife nearby
Sally Vargas

What Greens Go Well With This Pizza?

I happen to love arugula because its slightly spicy flavor contrasts with the sweet peppers and rich, melty fontina in this pizza. You could also use spinach, soft greens like Bibb, butter, or Boston lettuce, or a mix of baby lettuces.

More Pizza Ideas

The sky is really the limit on these pizzas. You can make them to order one at a time for a snack or personalize them using whatever floats your boat! But don’t stop with this recipe, we have many more linked below! If you can imagine it, you can make it. And in record time.

Easy Summer Vegetable Pizzas

Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 8 mins
Total Time 18 mins
Servings 4 individual pizzas

Ingredients

  • 4 individual baked naan, store-bought or homemade
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil + more for drizzling
  • 2 small green or yellow zucchini
  • 1 sweet red pepper, halved, seeded, and sliced into thin strips
  • 2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup)
  • 8 ounces fontina cheese, grated (2 cups loosely packed)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 large handfuls of arugula
  • 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1 small handful fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces
  • 1 small handful fresh mint leaves, torn into pieces
  • 2 to 3 teaspoons red wine vinegar

Method

  1. Preheat the oven:

    Set a rack on the upper shelf of the oven and preheat it to 500°F.

  2. Cut the zucchini in lengthwise ribbons:

    Using a vegetable peeler and starting from the stem and working to the bottom, peel off and discard the outer skin from one side of the squash. Peel off more ribbons until you reach the seeds. Turn the squash over and repeat. Discard the core.

    Flatbread Pizza with Zucchini, Peppers and Tomatoes - yellow and green zucchini on a white cutting board with a y-shaped vegetable speeler nearby
    Sally Vargas
  3. Warm the naan briefly:

    On a rimmed baking sheet, spread out the naan loaves. Brush the tops of each naan with 1 tablespoon of oil. Bake for 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the oven.

    Flatbread Pizza with Naan -Naan on a a baking sheet
    Sally Vargas
  4. Top the pizzas:

    Sprinkle each naan with about 2 tablespoons of Parmesan and 1/2 cup grated fontina. Top with 6 to 7 zucchini ribbons and several pepper slices. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with a little oil.

    Summer Veggie Pizza Recipe - naan on a baking sheet with zucchin, red and yellow sliced peppers and cheese.
    Sally Vargas
  5. Make the salad topper:

    In a bowl, toss the arugula, basil, mint, and tomatoes with 1 tablespoon of oil. Sprinkle with vinegar and more salt and pepper, to taste. Toss together. You’ll top the pizzas with this salad after the pizza bakes.

    Summer Vegetable Pizza - greens and tomatoes in a silver mixing bowl being tossed together with dressing
    Sally Vargas
  6. Bake and serve the pizzas:

    Place the pizzas in the oven and bake for 5 to 6 minutes, or until the cheese melts. Remove and drizzle with a little more olive oil. Top with the salad and serve.