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Harvest Apple Pizza

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Savory harvest apple pizza has juicy sliced apples, a cranberry garlic base, Monterey Jack cheese, toasted walnuts, and is served with fresh arugula on top after you bake it in the oven.

The finished savory apple pizza has a golden brown crust, sliced apples, and fresh arugula scattered over the top.

I love to sample unique pizzas whenever I get the chance. This amazingly delicious savory harvest apple pizza is inspired by one I enjoyed at a local restaurant a few weeks ago.

I made it at home with a whole wheat crust and the easy fresh toppings are everything delicious about fall.

This would make a fantastic dinner for pizza night but I would absolutely consider serving it sliced into smaller squares as a unique holiday appetizer for Thanksgiving or even Christmas.

Why This is the Best Recipe

I'm a huge fan of unique pizza toppings. I think this is the best harvest apple pizza recipe because:

  1. Savory Fall Ingredients: The fresh apples taste amazing with toasted walnuts, goat cheese, and peppery arugula. The cranberry-garlic base adds even more flavor and takes just a minute to prep.
  2. Flexible Options: You can mix these ingredients up and just keep the ones you love. You can use whatever pizza crust you prefer. Don't miss my options below!
  3. Delicious Warm or Room Temperature: This makes a great appetizer because it still tastes great at room temperature!

Ingredients

The ingredients to make the pizza are on the counter.

This fun fall pizza has really unique toppings and ingredients:

  • Fresh Apples: I used red delicious apples because they are what I had on hand. You could use Granny Smith, honeycrisp, or any good baking apple you love.
  • Dried Cranberries: These are used instead of tomato sauce for the pizza base.
  • Minced Garlic & Olive Oil: These season the cranberries for the "sauce."
  • Monterey Jack Cheese: I hand-grated a brick because it melts so much better than the pre-shredded cheese that comes in bags.
  • Goat Cheese Crumbles: These add a huge flavor punch but if you don't love them, you can skip them.
  • Red Onion: I wanted to use some caramelized onions but I ran out of time. If you have them already prepped, I highly recommend!
  • Chopped Walnuts: These bake right on the pizza top and get nice and toasted in the oven. SO GOOD. But if you need the pizza to be nut-free, just skip them.
  • Fresh Arugula: You won't add this until after the pizza is baked so it stays fresh.
  • Dried Thyme

Then you will also need a pizza crust. You have several easy options you could choose:

  1. Whole Wheat Pizza Crusts: I made homemade whole wheat pizza dough in my bread machine in 5 minutes. It was amazing with this pizza and is what you see in the finished photos on this post.
  2. Regular Pizza Dough: You could use any prepared pizza dough you love. You can find it at many grocery stores in the bakery section in a refrigerated case. Or you could make homemade bread maker pizza dough.
  3. Prepared Pizza Crusts: You can buy a pre-baked pizza crust (like Bobboli).
  4. Naan Flat Breads: I love to use a packaged naan bread as a flatbread pizza crust in a pinch. They have fantastic texture.

Prep the Pizza Dough

If you're making homemade pizza dough, get that started 2.5 hours before you plan to bake your pizza so the dough has time to rise properly.

Prep the Cranberry Garlic Base

The savory olive oil base for this pizza is flavored with sweet dried cranberries.

Simply mince them with a large chef's knife and place them in a small bowl. Add the minced garlic, dried thyme, and olive oil and stir it all together.

The chopped cranberries and minced garlic are in a mixing bowl.

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Prep the Toppings

Shred the Monterey Jack cheese brick if that's what you bought.

Then chop your red onion.

Place the cranberry-olive oil sauce, shredded cheese, chopped onions, chopped walnuts, goat cheese, and arugula near your work station.

The toppings to build the pizza are prepped in bowls on the counter.

You'll want to thinly slice your fresh apple last so the apples don't brown before they bake.

I had my crust rolled out and all the toppings ready to go before I sliced the apple.

The apple has been thinly sliced on a cutting board with a large knife.

Assemble the Pizza

Brush the outer edge of your pizza crust with olive oil so it browns nicely as it bakes.

Then spoon the olive oil-cranberry mixture over the center of the pizza. You may find that scattering the cranberry pieces is easiest to do with your fingers.

Sprinkle the shredded Monterey Jack cheese over the top. Then add the chopped onion and chopped walnuts.

Scatter the apple slices evenly over the top.

The step by step photos show how to place the toppings on the pizza.

Now you'll bake your pizza according to the instructions below. When it comes out of the oven, immediately add the goat cheese crumbles so the warmth of the pizza softens and melts them.

Let the pizza cool for up to 5 minutes and then add the fresh arugula. This helps the leaves to stay nice and fluffy. The warmth of the pizza will eventually wilt them, but this gives it a nicer presentation to serve it fresh.

Baking Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450ยฐF.

Bake the pizza for 12 - 15 minutes or until the dough is golden brown and crispy and the cheese is melted and bubbling.

I have very detailed instructions for baking a perfect homemade pizza crust that you may want to reference. It includes a special trick with a hot pizza stone.

If you're interested, you can see all the step by step photos for how to bake pizza dough in the oven here.

Serving Suggestions

The savory apple pizza has fresh arugula and cranberries on a whole wheat crust.

If you used my whole wheat pizza dough recipe to make the crust, you could use the second half of the dough ball to make 8 of these whole wheat breadsticks to pair with it.

If you want to serve this as a holiday party appetizer, I recommend cutting the baked pizza into small 3-inch squares instead of traditional pizza wedges.

The pizza will taste amazing warm from the oven or even at room temperature as your party goes on.

This savory apple pizza makes an amazing meatless dinner for your family, it still has tons of protein from the cheese and walnuts.

However, if you prefer your pizzas with meat, the apples, cheese, and arugula would taste amazing with bits of leftover bourbon chicken, crumbled turkey sausage, or even seasoned pork chops diced over the top.

My hot honey chicken would add a little bit of heat to the pizza or you could just drizzle some hot honey over the top for more sweetness.

More Pizza Recipes

If this fun pizza recipe got you excited to try some more unique pizza toppings, you won't want to miss some of my personal favorites:

๐Ÿ“– Recipe

The finished savory apple pizza has a golden brown crust, sliced apples, and fresh arugula scattered over the top.

Harvest Apple Pizza

Please Rate this Recipe
This savory apple pizza has all the best flavors of fall including a sweet cranberry and savory garlic base, tangy goat cheese, sweet onions, and crispy walnuts on top. Serve it warm or room temperature with fresh peppery arugula sprinkled over the top.
TOTAL TIME 27 minutes
PREP TIME 15 minutes
COOK TIME 12 minutes
YIELD 8 slices

Ingredients
  

  • 1/2 batch whole wheat pizza dough use the other half to make breadsticks or a second pizza, see notes below
  • 6 tablespoons dried cranberries minced
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  • 1/2 cup caramelized onions I substituted 1/4 cup diced red onion, either one would be delicious options
  • 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 apple thinly sliced, we prefer red delicious or granny smith
  • 1/4 cup goat cheese crumbles
  • 1 cup fresh arugula

Instructions

Prep the Toppings

  • If you're using a homemade pizza dough, get it started 2.5 hours before you want to bake the pizza. If using a pre-made dough or crust, this is not a concern.
  • To make the cranberry-garlic base, chop the dried cranberries into a fine mince and add them to a small mixing bowl. Add the minced garlic, olive oil, and dried thyme to the bowl and stir everything together. Set aside.
  • Shred the Monterey Jack cheese brick and set aside. Prep the caramelized onions or chop the red onion. Set the chopped walnuts in a bowl by your working station.
  • The last topping you should prep is the apple. Slice it just before you're ready to assemble the pizza so the apples don't turn brown before they bake.

Assemble the Pizza

  • Brush olive oil around the edge of your pizza crust. Spoon the prepared cranberry-garlic base over the center. Scatter the cranberry pieces evenly, this may be easiest to do with your fingers.
  • Sprinkle the shredded cheese over the top. Top with the onions and chopped walnuts. Then scatter the apples evenly over the top.

Baking Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 450ยฐF. Bake the pizza for 12 - 15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Add the Final Toppings

  • When the pizza comes out of the oven, immediately sprinkle the goat cheese crumbles on top. The warmth of the pizza will soften and melt them. Let the pizza cool for at least 5 minutes before adding the arugula or the heat will immediately wilt it.
  • Serve the pizza warm or at room temperature. Once the arugula leaves have been added, the pizza will not warm up well. If you prefer to make it in advance, leave the arugula off until after you've warmed the pizza up.

Recipe Notes

How to Use the Other Half of Homemade Pizza Dough:

If you make my homemade whole wheat pizza dough for this recipe, you will only use half of the ball of dough from that recipe. You can use the other half to make:
  • Whole Wheat Breadsticks
  • A second pizza with toppings of your choice
You can keep that ball of dough in your fridge for up to 3 days, you don't need to bake it all at once.
COURSEMain Dish
CUISINEAmerican

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The photo collage shows the baked pizza next to the ingredients needed to make it.

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