Rainbow Pizza (Veggie Pizza with Cream Cheese)

A rainbow pizza recipe featuring raw vegetables, grated cheddar cheese, and seasoned cream cheese on a flaky puff pastry base. This veggie pizza with cream cheese works nicely as an appetizer, or as an accompaniment to salad or a bowl of soup.

Why Make This Rainbow Pizza?

June is Pride Month, which of course means I’m thinking about rainbow recipes. My ideas usually trend toward desserts and candies (see my rainbow gummy bears, slice and bake rainbow heart cookies, rainbow whoopie pies, and rainbow Rice Krispie treats, just to name a few!), so I thought it would be fun to switch things up and create a savory, rainbow-inspired recipe, especially while seasonal vegetables are nearing their summertime peak.

Vibrantly colored with contrasting layers of crispy pastry, creamy cheese, and fresh raw vegetables, I love this rainbow veggie pizza for its versatility (enjoy it for brunch, lunch, dinner, or breakfast, or serve small slices as an appetizer) and convenience (the whole thing comes together in about an hour and a half from start to finish!) With its neatly-arranged rows of colorful vegetables and crimped puff pastry edges, this pretty pizza looks impressive, but it’s actually super easy to make. Even kids and kitchen novices can help with the decorating!

Ingredients for Making a Veggie Pizza with Cream Cheese

This recipe starts with a flaky puff pastry base, made from a sheet of store-bought puff pastry. (If using frozen puff pastry rather than refrigerated, allow plenty of time for the pastry to thaw before rolling and baking.) If you enjoy the process of laminating puff pastry from scratch, feel free to make your own, but it’s definitely not required.

After baking, you’ll spread the cooled pastry with a topping made from cream cheese, sour cream, chopped fresh chives, and dried herbs (dried dill, dried parsley, garlic granules, onion powder) plus some kosher salt and ground black pepper to season. I recommend using full fat sour cream, and full fat, block-style cream cheese rather than UK-style soft cheese or spreadable cream cheese, which can make the topping too watery. I have not tested this recipe with vegan dairy products.

To decorate, you’ll need about 100 grams (3 1/2 ounces) of sharp cheddar cheese, grated on a box grater rather than a Microplane. I prefer to use white cheddar because I think it looks more visually appealing, but orange tastes just as good!

I decorated my rainbow pizza with cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, corn, broccoli, and cabbage, but you can use any rainbow-colored veggies you’d like. For more on selecting and preparing the vegetables, see my notes below.

Baking the Puff Pastry Base

To prepare the base, start by thawing the pastry (if using frozen—if your pastry came from the refrigerated section, you’re ready to go), then using a rolling pin to roll it to approximately 10 x 13 inches. Don’t worry if the pastry is slightly larger or smaller than these dimensions—no need to be perfectly precise—but remember that if you make the rectangle too small, you won’t have enough room for the toppings.

After rolling, dock the entire surface with a docking tool (see my notes below) then trim, fold, and crimp the edges with a fork.

Bake the pastry in an oven preheated to 400° F / 205° C, checking halfway through the baking time. If the surface looks overly puffy or bubbly, prick the top several times with a sharp paring knife to release some of the air. The pastry will continue to deflate as it cools.

If after cooling you still notice some flaky, loose pieces on top, use your fingers to carefully peel these away, or gently tip the tray and shake to release. Less flaky bits will make it easier and cleaner to spread the cream cheese topping.

Decorating Your Rainbow Pizza

For my pizza, I used cherry tomatoes (red); bell peppers (orange); corn (yellow); broccoli (green); and cabbage (purple). (Unfortunately there aren’t many blue vegetables to choose from—and blueberries won’t taste great on a veggie pizza—so I’ve skipped the blue color here.) I created a striped pattern to resemble a rainbow, or the stripes on a Pride flag:

This recipe allows lots of room for creative expression. You can create horizontal stripes rather than vertical, arrange the stripes on the diagonal, or make more rows of thinner stripes.

You can also skip the stripes and scatter the veggies in a freeform pattern instead. This method doesn’t look quite as Instagram-worthy, but it’s much easier to eat, and you get a little bit of everything in every bite:

In the recipe card below, I’ve provided vegetable topping quantities as a general guide. Precise amounts will vary depending on the size of your puff pastry base, the vegetables you’ve chosen (and how you’ve sliced them), and your preferred method of decoration. You might not need all of the veggies, or you might find that you want to add some extras. If you have a few bits and pieces left over, save them for an omelette, quiche, or tofu scramble.

Pizza Topping Variations

Feel free to adjust the toppings based on your taste preferences, decorating ideas, or local availability. Some colorful veggie ideas that fit with the rainbow theme include:

• Red – Radishes, red bell pepper.
• Orange – Carrots, orange tomatoes.
• Yellow – Yellow tomatoes, banana peppers, artichoke hearts, yellow beets, cauliflower, yellow squash.
• Green – Fresh peas, green bell pepper, spinach, asparagus, green beans, green olives.
• Purple – Red onion, beets, purple cauliflower, purple carrots, kalamata olives.

To season, you can add more salt and pepper, or sprinkle with Nature’s Seasons seasoning blend, homemade everything bagel seasoning, or chopped fresh basil or parsley.

Special Tools and Equipment

After rolling, it’s important to “dock” (poke small holes) in the raw pastry. Docking allows some of the steam to escape and prevents the pastry from over-puffing or bubbling as it bakes.

A docking tool (dough docker) is a spiked plastic or metal tool with a handle. Along with a lattice cutter, a docking tool makes an essential addition to any baking toolkit, especially if you frequently work with sheets of puff pastry. (I purchased my docking tool from Amazon for under $10.)

I love my docking tool, but if you don’t have one, a plain old metal dinner fork will also work in a pinch!

Ideas for Serving This Cold Vegetable Pizza Recipe

Cut into smaller strips or squares, this cold vegetable pizza works great as an appetizer for dinner parties, cocktail parties, or summer celebrations. You can also serve it for brunch or lunch, accompanied by a cold salad or a vegetarian soup.

I also enjoy eating the leftovers for breakfast the next morning!

Make-Ahead and Storage Suggestions

This rainbow veggie appetizer pizza tastes best on the day it is made, while the pastry is still flaky and crisp. Wrap leftovers in foil and store in the refrigerator for up to two days.

Other vegetarian puff pastry recipes you might enjoy:

Puff Pastry Pinwheels with Pesto
Vegetarian Sausage Rolls
Fig and Goat Cheese Tart
Puff Pastry Tartlets with Ricotta, Peas, and Mint
Asparagus Puff Pastry Tart

And if you do make these, or any of my recipes, don’t forget to tag me @bastecutfold or use the hashtag #bastecutfold on Instagram. I always love to see what you’re making!

Print