Polenta Pesto Pizza Bites

*This recipe has been modified since it was first posted. (Don’t worry, it just got extra yummy.)

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Polenta Pesto Pizza Bites

Healthy pizza bites that will please the whole family and make great party appetizers!

Course Appetizer, Healthy Junk, Snack

Cuisine American, Italian

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 22 minutes

Total Time 32 minutes

Servings 10 pizza bites

Author Brewing Happiness

Ingredients

• 1 package of pre cooked polenta
• 1/3-1/2 cup creamy basil pesto (see below)
• 10 grape tomatoes, sliced thin
• 5 sun dried tomatoes, chopped
• 1/4 cup pineapple, diced
• 1 cup arugula
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt & pepper

Creamy Basil Pesto Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cup basil leaves
• 1 cup pine nuts
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1/3 cup non dairy milk
• 1 tablespoon garlic, minced minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Start by blending all of the creamy basil pesto ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Set aside.
3. Then open the polenta roll packaging, and slice it into 10 1/2 inch thick slices.
4. Place the polenta discs on a greased baking tray or a tray lined with parchment paper.
5. Brush the top of your polenta discs with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil.
6. Bake for 10 minutes, flip, bake for another 10 minutes, then turn the heat up to broil and broil for 2 minutes.
7. Take your polenta "pizza crusts" out of the oven and top each one with 1/2-1 tablespoon of creamy basil pesto.
8. Then layer each pizza with arugula, tomatoes, pineapple, sun dried tomatoes and finish them off with a dash of salt and pepper.
9. Eat up!

I’ve been on a polenta kick lately. I don’t know why exactly, but I’d say probably for the reasons that it is: (a) cheap and (b) delicious. And I don’t think food should be anything but those two things.  Another reason why polenta is great is because you can buy it already cooked. So then your process is like 85.36% easier. And I’m ALL about simplifying the process. ‘Cause that means that pizza bites get into my belly faster than ever! WOO. Polenta makes a great base for pizza bites because it’s sturdier than you think, it keeps the pizza nice and light, and it’s gluten free!

These lil’ pizzas are topped with some delicious pesto (which I’ll talk about in just a sec), arugula, fresh tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes, and pineapple! It’s an amazing flavor combo, and if you’ve never tried it I’m going to bet that you will LOVE it. It’s what I get on every pizza I order. But if you are intensely opposed to some topping, then obviously I’m not going to come in your kitchen and force your hand. You should enjoy every baby pizza to maximum capacity, and if that means changing out an ingredient or two then freaking DO IT! (Insert Shia Labeouf video here.)

Let’s talk about this pesto… OH BUDDY. I generally am not even a fan of pesto cause it’s thick and heavy and the taste lasts in your mouth for like a million years. But boy oh boy something about smelling the fresh basil as you put it into a blender, and making the pesto with clean ingredients changed everything for me. It’s savory, it’s sweet, it’s light, it’s fresh, it’s everything. And it pairs PERFECTLY with the polenta crust and with the toppings.

Essentially, you are about to make magic and put it in your mouth.