Pesto Cocktail Pizza

This pesto pizza is built for entertaining. Homemade basil pesto goes straight onto pre-made pizza shells, bakes for five minutes until it bubbles, then gets sliced into small wedges for a cocktail-sized appetizer.

The pesto blends fresh basil, parsley, olive oil, Parmesan, garlic, and pine nuts in a processor. The parsley does more than add color: it mellows the basil’s peppery bite and stretches the sauce further. Two cups of tightly packed basil is quite a lot, so the parsley keeps the flavor balanced rather than overwhelmingly herbal.

Most of the Parmesan goes into the pesto, but reserve a quarter cup to scatter on top after baking. That final sprinkle melts into salty, nutty patches on the hot surface.

Pro Tips

• Pulse the food processor in short bursts rather than running it continuously. You want a slightly textured pesto, not a smooth puree. Those tiny bits of basil leaf and pine nut give it character.
• Spread the pesto right to the edge but leave a ½-inch border. Pesto that drips over the edge burns and smokes.
• Watch the oven closely. Five minutes at this high heat goes fast, and the difference between bubbling and burnt is about 60 seconds.
• Slice the pizzas immediately out of the oven while the crust is still crispy. Letting them sit makes the pesto soften the crust underneath.

Variations

• Add thin slices of fresh tomato on top of the pesto before baking for color and acidity.
• Scatter toasted walnuts over the finished pizza instead of pine nuts for a more affordable option.
• Dot with small pieces of fresh mozzarella before baking for a cheesier version.