Spinach Artichoke Crostata

Imagine all the flavors of your favorite spinach artichoke dip wrapped up in pizza crust.  Sounds amazing, right?  This Spinach Artichoke Crostata does just that and combines the two for a warm, cheesy, and savory dish that’s perfect for a light lunch or dinner.

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A savory, open-faced spinach artichoke crostata with four types of cheese, spinach, and artichoke hearts

I like to serve the crostata with a Fennel And Orange Salad, Italian Amaretti Peaches, and an Italian Aperol Spritz for a sophisticated, vegetarian meal.

WHAT IS A CROSTATA?

A crostata is an Italian open-faced pie that can be either sweet or savory.  The crust is often a pastry-type crust, but for this recipe, we are using pizza dough.

WHAT INGREDIENTS ARE NEEDED?

  • Pizza dough – you can use the kind in a tube or from your deli or pizza shop.  If you’re feeling ambitious, you can also make your own.
  • Mayonnaise – low or full fat will work
  • Ricotta cheese – if your ricotta is watery, place it in a fine-mesh sieve and allow it to drain in the sink for about 20 minutes.
  • Goat cheese, Asiago cheese, mozzarella cheese – because you can never have too much cheese.
  • Chives, fresh thyme
  • Black pepper
  • Olive oil
  • Garlic
  • Frozen spinach – thawed and squeezed until as dry as possible
  • Marinated artichoke hearts – drained and chopped
  • Egg

HOW IS THE SPINACH ARTICHOKE CROSTATA MADE?

First, press out the pizza dough.

Second, make the sauce by stirring together the mayonnaise, ricotta, goat cheese, Asiago cheese, chives, thyme, and pepper.  Then slather it on the pizza crust.

Next, sautee the garlic, artichokes, and spinach together and press it into the sauce on the crust.

Fold the crust up over the filling, brush it with egg and bake until golden.

Pretty easy, right?

A savory, open-faced spinach artichoke crostata with four types of cheese, spinach, and artichoke hearts

MORE VEGETARIAN MEAL IDEAS

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SPINACH ARTICHOKE CROSTATA


  • Author: Millie Brinkley
  • Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes
  • Yield: 8 Servings 1x

Description

Spinach Artichoke Crostata is your favorite dip wrapped in a pizza crust.  It makes for a delicious, satisfying, and easy vegetarian dinner.


Ingredients

Scale

All-purpose flour, for rolling out pizza dough

1 pound pizza dough

¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup ricotta cheese

½ cup goat cheese, room temperature

1 cup grated Asiago cheese

1 tablespoon finely minced fresh chives

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup olive oil

4 large garlic cloves, finely minced

½ of a 10-ounce box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

1 cup (7-ounce jar) marinated artichoke hearts, drained and chopped

4 ounces low moisture mozzarella, cut into a small dice

1 egg, beaten


Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Brush a large baking pan or pizza pan with olive oil. Set aside.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the pizza dough out into a 14-inch wide circle. As you roll the dough, be sure to keep the surface where you are rolling the dough well floured.

Careful roll the dough around the rolling pin and transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet or pizza pan.  Set aside.

Make the filling.  In a medium bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, ricotta cheese, goat cheese, asiago cheese, chives, thyme leaves, and pepper until well combined.

Spread the mixture on the pizza dough, leaving a 2-inch border around the edges.

Pour the olive oil into a skillet and warm over medium-high heat.

Add the garlic and thawed spinach.  Stir to coat everything with the oil.

Saute until the garlic is fragrant, but not browned – about 3 minutes.

Add the artichoke hearts and stir to combine.  Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

When the mixture has cooled to room temperature, stir in the diced mozzarella.

Spoon the mixture into the center of the pizza crust.  Gently press the spinach mixture down into the sauce, spreading it out evenly over the sauce, taking care to leave the 2-inch border without sauce or vegetables.

Very lightly brush the border of dough with water.

Pull and fold the border of dough up around the spinach-artichoke mixture, pinching the folds together.  Leave the center open.

Brush the outside of the dough with the beaten egg.

Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown, 40-45 minutes.  Check the bottom of the crust by gently lifting up a side with a spatula and ensuring that it isn’t getting too brown.  Lower the temperature if the bottom of the crust gets too dark.

Carefully transfer the crostata to a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes.

Cut into wedges and serve warm or room temperature.

  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 hour
  • Category: Main Dish - Vegetarian
  • Method: Bake
  • Cuisine: Italian

Keywords: spinach artichoke crostata, spinach artichoke, pizza, vegetarian, cheese, Italian recipes, light dinner ideas, weeknight dinners

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