Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese and Kale Pizza with Balsamic Drizzle

Keep Pizza Night interesting with this vegetarian recipe for Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese and Kale Pizza with Balsamic Drizzle. These toppings are the perfect combinations of salty, sweet, and savory! 

Let's address the elephant in the room right away: Kale on pizza is freaking delicious!  And now that I have it in my life, I honestly prefer making pizza at home than ordering in. Because most pizza deliveries don't have kale pizza. Don't get me wrong. I love the Pizza Classics and would never turn down a slice of my Healthy Pizza Margharita.  However, I have been craving white pizza lately. Yes, tomato sauce-less pizza can be delicious, and this recipe is proof.

What is White Pizza and how to make it delicious:

For the uninitiated, white pizza is typically covered in at least one kind of cheese, like ricotta and mozzarella, instead of tomato sauce. It might even be topped with Alfredo sauce. Needless to say, it's often heavy, and unfortunately, it's sometimes a bit dull. One of those foods that 7-year-olds who only eat "white things" would eat.  This white pizza though passes the test and definitely deserves your attention.  

Guys, creamy, tangy goat cheese, topped with piles of sweet caramelized onions and marinated kale. As is this pizza is already stellar, but add a little balsamic drizzle and we achieve pizza perfection. These toppings are the perfect combination of salty, sweet and savory!

Every good pizza begins with a fool-proof, easy, and delicious pizza dough, which can be storebought or homemade. Don't worry, I have just what you need. My homemade gluten-free pizza dough recipe will start you on the right track to making any pizza in general and this one in particular!

My Almond Flour Pizza Crust is healthy and gluten-free but you can still eat it with your hands just like it should be! No soggy bottom crust, and no forks needed.

Let's talk about toppings. This one has

• Mozzarella cheese as a base
• Fresh kale – chopped into bite-size pieces and marinated
• Goat cheese – one of my favorite cheeses ever
• Caramelized onions - OMG, so good paired with the tangy goat cheese
• Balsamic glaze – yes, you can purchase balsamic glaze at the grocery store, but I really recommend you make some yourself. The balsamic glaze really rounds out the pizza so don't skip it.

How to make Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese & Kale Pizza with Balsamic Drizzle

How to caramelize onions:

Prep: Prepare a small vessel with 1 cup of water and a tablespoon.

Step 1 & 2 - In a large stainless steel skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add sliced onions and cook, stirring often -about 5 minutes.  Once you begin to see slight browning, add 2 tablespoons water, using a wooden spoon to scrape brown bits off the sides.  Continue to cook, stirring often, until browning begins to form on the pan again, then add water while scraping brown bits off the pan. 

Step 3- Continue with this method for 10-12 minutes or until onions are dark brown and caramelized.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Step 4 - Make balsamic drizzle. In a pot, heat balsamic vinegar and honey over medium-high heat.  Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium-low heat for about 8-10 minutes or until mixture thickens and becomes syrupy but not too thick. Keep an eye on it because it can burn quickly.  Remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 400C/200C. Spray a pizza pan/stone with cooking spray (or a baking sheet if you don’t have a pizza pan). Roll pizza dough on the pan and pre-bake for 10 minutes without any toppings. Reduce oven temperature to 320F/160C.

Step 5 -7 - Top pre-baked dough with shredded mozzarella, caramelized onion and goat cheese pieces.

Step 8 & 9 - Place the kale in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and massage the kale with your fingers for 2-3 minutes. Top pizza with kale.

Bake your pizza for 10 minutes or until mozzarella is beautifully melted and kale is crispy but not burnt. Remove from the oven, drizzle with a few tablespoons of balsamic reduction and serve.

I really hope you will give this beauty a chance! The combination of warm goat cheese, salty-sweet caramelized onions and kale on a thin and crisp pizza crust is simply hard to beat.

Tips for making this recipe:

• You can use store-bought pizza dough but as I like to keep things healthy, I used my gluten-free dough. You could also use my Quinoa Pizza Crust.
• For this recipe, I prefer standard curly kale to lacinato or other straight-leafed varieties. I just love how the curls twist up and get extra crispy in the oven.
• Leftover Balsamic Drizzle tastes absolutely amazing on veggies like my Baked Sweet Potato Wedges.

5 from 1 vote

Print

Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese and Kale Pizza with Balsamic Drizzle

Keep Pizza Night interesting with this vegetarian recipe for Caramelized Onion, Goat Cheese and Kale Pizza with Balsamic Drizzle. These toppings are the perfect combinations of salty, sweet, and savory! 

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Italian

Keyword gluten-free pizza, goat cheese pizza, pizza with kale

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 55 minutes

Servings 4

Author Marie

Ingredients

• 1 serving pizza dough homemade or store-bought (I used my gluten free dough - recipe link in notes)

Caramelized Onion:

• 1 tbsps olive oil
• 1 large onion thinly sliced

Balsamic Glaze:

• ⅔ cups balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon honey

Topping

• 1 tbsps olive oil
• 1 cup torn kale leaves
• 3 oz goat cheese (the soft kind)
• 8 oz mozzarella, shredded a little less than 2 cups
• Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Caramelize onions:

1. Prepare a small vessel with 1 cup of water and a tablespoon.
   

2. In a large stainless steel skillet, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.  Add sliced onions and cook, stirring often, about 5 minutes.  

   Once you begin to see slight browning, add 2 tablespoons water, using a wooden spoon to scrape brown bits off the sides.  Continue to cook, stirring often, until browning begins to form on the pan again, then add water while scraping brown bits off the pan. 

    Continue with this method for 10-12 minutes or until onions are dark brown and caramelized.  Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
   

Make balsamic drizzle:

1. In a pot, heat balsamic vinegar and honey over medium high heat.  Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium low heat for about 8-10 minutes or until mixture thickens and becomes syrupy but not too thick. Keep an eye on it because it can burn quickly.  Remove from heat.

2. Prepare kale: Place kale in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and massage kale with your fingers for 2-3 minutes. Set aside.

Build pizza:

1. Preheat oven to 400C/200C. Spray a pizza pan/stone with cooking spray (or a baking sheet if you don’t have a pizza pan).
2. Roll pizza dough on the pan and pre-bake for 10 minutes without any toppings.
3. Reduce oven temperature to 320F/160C.
4. Top pre-baked dough with shredded mozzarella, caramelized onion, goat cheese pieces and kale (in that order).
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until mozzarella is beautifully melted and kale is crispy but not burnt.
6. Remove from the oven, drizzle with a few tablespoons of balsamic reduction,  and serve.

Recipe Notes

• You can use store-bought pizza dough but as I like to keep things healthy, I used my gluten-free dough. You could also use my Quinoa Pizza Crust.
• For this recipe, I prefer standard curly kale to lacinato or other straight-leafed varieties. I just love how the curls twist up and get extra crispy in the oven.
• Leftover Balsamic Drizzle tastes absolutely amazing on veggies like my Baked Sweet Potato Wedges.

If you tried this Recipe for Kale Pizza, don’t forget to rate the recipe below and let me know how it went in the comments – I love hearing from you! You can also follow me on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook for more deliciousness and behind-the-scenes!

 More recipes you will love: 

• Healthy Salmon Patties
• Cauliflower Rice Chicken Biryani
• Best Bana Ganoush Recipe
• Easy Quinoa Pizza Crust