Cold Veggie Pizza Appetizers

I’m not going to lie to you guys— I’m not much of a football fan. I’m a basketball girl living in Basketball Country, USA, but even I can appreciate the fun that is the Super Bowl. Well, more accurately, I can appreciate all the delicious food that makes an appearance on Super Bowl Sunday!

We have a lot of healthier game day recipes on Wholefully (you can check them out here), but this one holds a special spot in my heart for exactly three reasons. 1) It’s delicious, really delicious. 2) It’s all make ahead—no work during the game. 3) These veggie pizza appetizers have roots in my childhood.

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Growing up, my parents always threw a big rager of a 4th of July party every year for all of our friends and family (think 50+ people pitching tents all over the property and spending all weekend drinking, eating, and swimming).

And one of our family friends always made a big batch of veggie pizza appetizers for us to snack on during the weekend. It was a crowd-pleaser. It even satisfied the veggie-hating kids at the party.

The original version uses canned crescent rolls as a crust and a ton of cream cheese and sour cream for a sauce (hence why the kids would tolerate the veggies), but my version has a homebaked multi-grain crust and an herbed sauce that is healthified thanks to my beloved Greek yogurt. It’s just as yummy, but even healthier!

For a crowd, I like to pre-cut these cold veggie pizza appetizers into easy-to-grab squares. It looks so beautiful on a platter (especially when it’s up against all the brown-colored food that is typical of the Super Bowl buffet), and I think it’s a fun alternative to your standard veggie and dip tray.

Trust me, no one will miss the dried out tray from the grocery store if you’ve got these flavorful squares in your offering.

You can mix-and-match whatever raw veggies you like for your topping. Here, I used a combo of broccoli, peppers, carrots, and red tomatoes. This is a great mixture of textures (crunchy, smooth, watery) and flavors (sweet, tart, mild), plus it’s a whole rainbow of pretty colors! Other options: sliced green onions, chopped cauliflower, sliced olives, chopped celery, corn kernels—anything!

The best part of this game day recipe? You can make all the components ahead of time and just assemble it right before kick-off. In fact, the longer the sauce sits and melds, the more flavorful it gets. So go ahead, bake up the crust, mix up the sauce, and chop your veggies the day before the game. Then just assemble your veggie pizza appetizers and cut right before your guests arrive. I’m definitely not one of those game day hosts who wants to spend her time in the kitchen while everyone else is enjoying the game. I want to get a chance to enjoy the game, too! And a make-ahead recipe like this makes it easy to cheer along with your guests. Enjoy!

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Cold Veggie Pizza Appetizers

Yield: 12-16 pieces

Prep Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

The best part about making these Cold Veggie Pizza Appetizers for your game day party? You can prepare all the components ahead of time and assemble them right before kick-off!

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Ingredients

For the Crust:

• 1/3 cup (79 grams) hot water
• 1 teaspoon (5 grams) sugar
• 1 packet (7 grams) active dry yeast
• 2 cups (275 grams) whole wheat flour
• 1 cup (125 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon (5 grams) kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon (3 grams) baking powder
• 2 sticks (226 grams) cold unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
• 1 cup (280 grams) low-fat plain Greek yogurt
• Olive oil, for greasing the pan

For the Sauce:

• 1 cup softened cream cheese
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons ranch dressing
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

For the Toppings:

• 3 cups chopped fresh vegetables (cauliflower, cherry tomatoes, carrots, broccoli, celery, cucumbers, bell peppers, etc.)
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

Instructions

1. To make the crust, mix the water and sugar in a small bowl and stir until the sugar dissolves. Sprinkle the yeast on top. Set aside until the yeast becomes foamy.
2. Meanwhile, add the whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, salt, and baking powder to a food processor and pulse briefly to combine. Add the butter and pulse several times until the butter is in very small pieces and the mixture resembles coarse sand.
3. Add the Greek yogurt and the foamed yeast mixture and pulse a few times.
4. Dump the dough into a large bowl and knead with your hands until it comes together into a ball. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rise in a warm place for 45 minutes (the dough may not increase much in size).
5. Preheat the oven to 375°F and grease a large baking sheet with olive oil. Place the dough in the pan and pat it out into an even layer that reaches the edges of the pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown around the edges and the middle springs back when you press on it. Let the crust cool completely before adding the sauce and toppings.
6. To make the sauce, mix the cream cheese, Greek yogurt, ranch dressing, lemon juice, dill, salt, pepper, and garlic in a large bowl until smooth. Spread the sauce evenly across the cooled pizza crust.
7. Sprinkle the chopped vegetables and chives on top of the pizza. Cut into squares and serve cold or at room temperature.

Notes

• Make this pizza your own by using your favorite veggies or whatever is in season near you.
• The pizza dough can be baked up to two days in advance and stored covered on the counter. The sauce can be mixed up to two days in advance and stored covered in the refrigerator. If you chop your vegetables in advance, too, you’ll only need to spend about five minutes putting this together the day you’re serving it.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 16 pieces Serving Size: 1 piece
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 210Total Fat: 9gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 22mgSodium: 189mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 8g

At Wholefully, we believe that good nutrition is about much more than just the numbers on the nutrition facts panel. Please use the above information as only a small part of what helps you decide what foods are nourishing for you.