Arugula Pizza with Roasted Grapes

This gourmet-style Arugula Pizza features roasted grapes, gorgonzola cheese, and a lightly dressed arugula salad.

This recipe is sponsored by Wewalka.

Several years ago, the best friend and I piled our overstuffed suitcases into my parents’ SUV, grabbed our passports, and headed to the airport for a European getaway.

On the way, we stopped for pizza.

She pointed to a pizza on the menu, and I agreed without paying much attention to where her finger had landed.  And then, our lunch arrived– and there was a salad gracing the top of a thin, cheesy fruit pizza.

There was a salad.  And fruit.  On our pizza.

Curious, I grabbed a slice, and after only one bite– I was SOLD.  That pizza shop is long-gone, but the memory lingers.  The savory cheese, the sweet fruit, and the bitter greens all melted together into a pizza paradise that I’ve been trying to replicate for YEARS.

This Arugula Pizza with roasted grapes is the answer to my pizza quest– it’s baked on thin, crisp dough, and topped with a savory gorgonzola cheese, sweet roasted grapes, and a lightly dressed arugula salad.

Dough: The Base of an Excellent Pizza

Repeat after me:  “There is no perfect pizza without high-quality dough.”

Anyone who’s tried to use pre-cooked, dried out pizza crust from the grocery store knows this.  Anyone who’s bitten into exceptional, delicious crust knows it too.

The dough, more than anything else, has left me frustrated with homemade pizza.  My attempts to make homemade dough without a stand mixer have been… sad, and time after time, store-bought doughs and crusts have left me unsatisfied.

And so, for years (yes– YEARS), I’ve been looking for a store-bought solution to my pizza dough woes.

And then I found Wewalka’s European Bistro Pizza Dough, and I did a little hop, skip, and a jump– this was the dough to make my arugula pizza happen!  Wewalka’s Bistro dough is made with only high-quality ingredients, and has both the flavor and texture I’d been looking for in a pre-made dough.

Quick Tip:  No pizza stone or pizza pan?  No problem!  Wewalka’s dough comes wrapped in parchment paper– simply line a baking sheet with the parchment paper, and the paper will help the dough crisp up while cooking.  (The paper will brown slightly while cooking.)

Want to try Wewalka?  Use their store finder, and then look for it with the refrigerated doughs at the grocery store.

Can I Use a Thicker “Original Crust” Pizza Dough Instead?

Yes, but I think it tastes best with thin crust!  The crispy texture of the thin crust provides a nice contrast to the roasted fruit and the greens.

Can I Skip the Gorgonzola?

If you can’t find gorgonzola cheese, you can swap it for blue cheese.

If you don’t like gorgonzola or blue cheese, you can swap it for extra mozzarella.

Can I Swap the Arugula for a Different Lettuce?

If you can’t find arugula, try swapping it out for other tender bitter greens, such as watercress, baby spinach, baby kale, or dandelion greens.

How to Make an Arugula Pizza

For this arugula pizza, start by roasting the grapes.  While they roast, brush the pizza dough with oil, and add the cheese.

Next, drain the juice from the roasted grapes into a bowl.  Add the grapes to the pizza, and slide it into the oven.

Whisk the reserved juice into a vinaigrette with a little olive oil and a shallot.  Toss the arugula in a little bit of the dressing, and set the rest of the dressing aside for your next salad.

Right before serving, add the arugula salad to the pizza, and dig in!

Want more PIZZA recipe ideas?  Try these:

• Campfire Pizza with Veggies
• Apple Pizza with Gorgonzola Cheese
• Gorgonzola Pizza with Jam Drizzle

Want more ROASTED FRUIT recipe ideas?  Try these:

• The Best Oatmeal Recipe: Roasted Grape Oatmeal
• Baked Brie with Roasted Strawberries from Striped Spatula
• Roasted Strawberry + Tipsy Cheese Crostini from Girl Heart Food

Arugula Pizza with Roasted Grapes

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Servings: 8 slices

Calories: 127kcal

Author: Champagne Tastes

This gourmet-style Arugula Pizza features roasted grapes, gorgonzola cheese, and a lightly dressed arugula salad.

Grapes can be roasted up to 3 days ahead of time to reduce total time to 25 minutes.

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Roasted Grapes:

• 1 cup red grapes
• 2 TB balsamic vinegar
• 1 tsp sea salt

Pizza:

• 1 11" thin crust pizza dough (NOT pre-cooked) Wewalka Bistro Pizza dough recommended
• 2 oz gorgonzola cheese
• 5 oz mozzarella (Just over half of one standard-size fresh mozzarella ball.)

Arugula Salad:

• 2 oz arugula (2 large handfuls)
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 shallot, finely sliced

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 425ºF. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil.  
• Add grapes to the baking sheet, and drizzle balsamic over the grapes.  Sprinkle salt over the grapes.  Bake 20 minutes.
• Line a pizza stone or baking sheet with parchment paper, and add the pizza dough.
  

  Note: If baking pizza on an air-flow pizza pan, you should NOT add parchment paper.
• While grapes roast, brush pizza dough with olive oil.  
• Use a fork to crumble apart both cheeses.  Add cheese evenly to the dough, leaving a small border for the crust.
• When grapes are done roasting, remove them from the oven, but leave the oven on.  Separate the grapes and the roasting liquid, keeping both.  Pour the roasting liquid into a small mixing bowl, and add the grapes evenly onto the pizza dough.

  Tip: Drain as much of the liquid off the grapes as possible, because excess liquid will make your pizza soggy.
• Cook the pizza for about 15 minutes, until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted.
• Allow pizza to cool for about 5 minutes.  Meanwhile, whisk the olive oil into the roasting liquid.  Stir in the shallot.  Taste, and add salt if desired.
• Toss arugula in about 1/4 of the dressing.  Add more dressing if desired.  Store the extra dressing in the fridge, and use on your next salad.
• Top pizza with the dressed arugula.  Serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

Nutrition information assumes 1/4 of the dressing was used.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 127kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 504mg | Potassium: 103mg | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 7.1% | Vitamin C: 2.2% | Calcium: 14% | Iron: 1.5%

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