Naan pizzas, three ways (30 minute dinner)

Whipping up a satisfying vegetarian dinner of naan pizzas is as easy as: what are your favorite toppings?

It is this easy because the greatest thing about this recipe is that you don’t have to worry about making or shaping a crust.

If you are anything like me, a homemade crust is a big obstacle to having the pizza that you love more often.

You don’t need a homemade crust for this recipe (unless you really want to), and in that case this is a great recipe.

For most of us, to make naan pizzas, all you need to do is purchase some naan flatbread—which is available in all the grocery stores these days—and maybe some pizza sauce, and you are good to go.

Naan breads gives you a thin crust pizza, and similar to how it is with any type of pizza, if you cook it right (which you will!) it will definitely be crispy.

So, the only decision standing in your way of tonight’s dinner is what to put on top of the naan.

I’ve got three ideas for you to get your brain juices flowing.

Actually, although I didn’t realize it at the time, the first recipe is my style, the second my hubby’s, and the third is my dad’s favorite.

Then at the very end of the post, I have a different idea for the crust that comes from my mom.

Guess that makes this an all-out family naan pizza party. Hope you’ll join in!

1. Italian-style naan pizza

Italian Style: tomato pizza sauce, burrata cheese, rosemary, and pine nuts, garnished with fresh basil and balsamic glaze

This first naan pizza is an embellished classic, similar to a pizza Margherita.

The Margherita (reputedly named after the Queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy), is so popular, that almost every pizza joint in America offers this pizza flavor on their menu.

A Margherita is made with tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, and fresh basil.

Our version changes up the fresh mozzarella for burrata. The two are very similar cheeses, and you can totally use fresh mozzarella for your pizza, as it is easier to get.

Burrata is just really cool to behold if you can find it. You’ll find little balls of burrata sold in a container, because it is a little delicate.

Each ball of burrata consists of soft, stringy curd and cream encased in fresh mozzarella. So when you cut into it, the delectable mess will ooze out and either thrill, or frighten you.

No worries. All that awesomeness will just bake into your pizza, and make it better.

Next, I added some extra fresh rosemary for flavor. I don’t find enough ways to enjoy rosemary in life, so included it on our pizza. Totally not needed.

The basil, however, is essential to have. It is best to add the basil to the Italian style naan pizza as a garnish at the end to keep its flavor fresh and zippy to counteract the richness of the cheese.

The pine nuts are added for three reasons. First, because of their crunch. Second, their beauty. Third, I imagined a bit of sweet pine flavor would delight my soul.

In fact, I resisted buying pine nuts in the past due to their rarity and expense. Now I am keeping them in the freezer for future fanciful ideas. You totally don’t need them.

I can’t think of any replacement for pine nuts to suggest either, because every other kind of nut feels too crunchy or dominant that I think it would ruin the experience of the burrata. Sorry.

Balsamic on pizza is the best!

Finally, I highly recommend trying balsamic glaze on your pizza as a drizzle garnish.

Balsamic is just the bomb in my opinion. Balsamic starts as a tangy vinegar, but it gets so sweet when simmered down into a glaze that it is hard to believe it isn’t sugar.

Balsamic on this naan pizza—or any pizza that involves tomatoes—is spectacular.

(I’ve also started using quality balsamic as a straight-up salad dressing, to great satisfaction.)

2. Pepper lovers naan pizza

Pepper Lovers: tomato pizza sauce, grated mozzarella, green peppers, sliced onions, and pickled hot peppers, garnished with fresh tomato slices

These pizza toppings are all because of my hubby. He is a crazy spice lover, and peppers on pizza make him happy, so I designed this one for him.

You may have a jar of pickled jalapeños in your fridge right now like I did.

These are really nice on pizzas, because pickling reduces the intensity of the spice and brings out more of the flavor.

Of any hot pepper, I think jalapeños are the most flavorful, but you may also have those multi-colored hot pepper rings, or pepperoncini, or peppadews, or hot cherry peppers. Any of these would work.

I added fresh green peppers for variety, flavor, and nutrition, and fresh onions for the same reasons.

A note about the onion. I generally don’t eat onions unless they are really well cooked, except in circumstances like this.

In this case, the onions will serve as a flavor cutter for any richness in the pizza from the mozzarella cheese, and as a foil for the hot peppers.

What I mean by a foil, is that the peppers will play back and forth in your mouth with the onion, and create a pleasing complexity of pungent flavor. One note has become two.

The final garnish of fresh tomatoes is again for nutrition, but also for a fresh element to balance the preserved peppers, as well as to bring in an element of sourness and brightness to the taste.

Veggie beef naan pizza

Veggie Beef: tomato pizza sauce, fresh rosemary, grated mozzarella, green pepper, sliced white onion, fake beef crumbles, and tomato slices, garnished with grated parmesan and red chili flakes

This veggie beef naan pizza is actually an ode to my dad, who loves ground beef and green peppers on pizza.

“No mushrooms on that,” was always a familiar refrain at our Friday night pizza dinners since dad's favorite pizza came with them. The mushroom thing was a running family joke, since the cooks messed up his pizza so many times by putting mushrooms on it.

Haha. Sorry dad, but mushrooms would be good on this pizza too.

I didn’t end up making this pizza and photographing it for this post, but I still wanted to include the recipe for you.

You can purchase fake meat beef crumbles almost everywhere these days, and you can use it straight up as a pizza topping.

I added some minced fresh rosemary to this pizza to brighten up the flavor.

The green peppers, onions, and tomatoes all have a similar brightening effect on this particular naan pizza.

A garnish of grated parmesan, and maybe some red chili flakes at the end, will bring it all together for you.

I will be making this very soon!

No naan? Use pita

I have to admit that I thought I would be posting about pita pizza for you, because that’s what I grew up eating.

Pita pizzas were one of my favorite dinners that mom made.

Pita bread is even thinner than naan, and it gets even crispier in the oven than naan.

You can put all the same toppings on it as you do with naan crusts, and bake it in the same way according to the instructions below.

I decided to go with naan pizzas because of my flair for Indian cooking, and the connection through my husband.

I also thought it would be something new for you to try.

So I really hope that you enjoy these naan pizzas.

I encourage you to be super creative with your toppings, and let me know in the comments below how it went for you!

With naan pizzas, you can have a tasty dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes. You got this!

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