This Pizza Salad with Homemade Tomato Basil Dressing is the perfect way to use up homegrown garden tomatoes! Combining all your favorite pizza toppings in a fun summer salad!
Tomato season is upon us and I’m pretty sure this homemade tomato dressing is my new favorite way to use them.
I honestly wasn’t sure how I was going to feel about this dressing when I first started jotting down ingredients I wanted to include. I knew I liked all of the ingredients on a pizza, but I wasn’t sure how that pizza flavor was going to translate to a salad dressing.
Guys. It translated.
It smelled amazing. It tasted amazing. And it stored in the fridge so well!
I was so anxious to try it, that I had my first serving while the dressing was still warm. I’m usually not much of a fan of warm dressing, but I loved the way this slightly softened the mozzarella and pared with the “croutons”.
The next 2 days, I had this salad for lunch with the dressing cold, straight from the fridge. I’m not sure which way I liked it more! I think warm might have slightly won out, but I might just need to make it again to do another taste test!
Homemade Pizza Croutons
For the croutons, I wanted to try something a little different than your standard crouton you buy at the grocery store. Since this is a Pizza Salad, what better to use for croutons than a pizza shell??
I used a pre-made shell from the grocery store and lightly brushed it with olive oil. Then I sprinkled on parmesan cheese and broiled it for about 4-6 minutes at 450.
You could easily leave off the parmesan cheese, but I always like my food a bit extra. Just keep an eye on it as it broils and take it out when it’s done to your preference. Just like with pizza, some might like it a little softer while others prefer it crunchier.
What Toppings to Add to Pizza Salad
Again, just like pizza, the toppings you want to add are going to vary! I went with the standard pepperoni and mozzarella for this basic version. You could easily add banana peppers, olives, cooked sausage, spinach or whatever else you love to include on your pizza!
How to Make Homemade Salad Dressing
This dressing is the perfect chance to use the fresh tomatoes you’ve been growing in your garden! I used a medium-sized, juicy tomato for this dressing, because it’s what I had on-hand. You could also use 2-3 plum or Roma tomatoes as well.
Just make sure your tomato is seeded and then chopped. Place your chopped tomatoes, olive oil and garlic in a small saucepan. Heat it over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.
Transfer your tomato mixture to a blender or food chopper and then add vinegar, salt, sugar and fresh basil (grab them from your container garden too!). Pulse until it is smooth and thoroughly combined. Then set aside while you prep your salad ingredients.
You Might Be Interested in these Other Recipes:
- Healthy Green Goddess Salad Dressing
- Summer Caprese Orzo Salad
- Grilled Chicken Cobb Salad with Marinated Veggies
Pizza Salad with Homemade Tomato Basil Dressing
Pizza Salad with Homemade Tomato Basil Dressing
This salad contains all of your favorite pizza ingredients with a delicious, homemade dressing made with garden-fresh ingredients! Leave the pepperoni out if you want for a meatless meals!
Homemade Tomato Dressing
- 1 Tomato (medium-sized)
- 1/2 cup Olive Oil
- 3 cloves Garlic (sliced or minced)
- 3 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
- 3/4 tsp salt (1/4)
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 1/4 cup Fresh Basil (loosely packed)
Pizza Salad
- 2-3 Tomatoes (medium-sized)
- 5-7 cups Spring Lettuce Mix
- 1/2 lb Mozzarella Cheese (cubed)
- Pepperoni
- 1/2 Pizza Crust flatbread (pre-cooked)
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 3 tbsp Parmesan Cheese
Homemade Tomato Dressing
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In a small saucepan, combine chopped tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. Cook over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. You can use your spoon to smush the tomatoes and blend everything together.
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Transfer the tomato mixture to a blender and add remaining dressing ingredients. Pulse together until smooth and well-blended. Set the dressing aside until ready to use.
Salad Prep
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Heat oven to 425. On a cookie sheet, place pizza shell. Brush shell with olive oil and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for about 4-6 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and use a pizza cutter to cut into crouton-size pizzas.
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In a large salad bowl, combine lettuce, chopped tomatoes, cheese, pepeproni and croutons. Toss with prepared dressing and enjoy!
You can add your favorite pizza toppings to this salad: black olives, banana peppers, cooked sausage, other cheese, etc.
You can also substitute the homemade dressing with a store-bought dressing for convenience (but I think you should try it at least once!).
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Sandra
Saturday 23rd of June 2018
What a fun and delicious salad! I even got my niece and nephew to eat a salad... my sister-in-law was impressed!
Sandra
Thursday 21st of June 2018
What a fun dinner! I even got my niece and nephew to eat a salad, my sister in law was shocked!
Christina
Thursday 21st of June 2018
What a unique recipe with so much flavor! My family loved it!
Gloria
Thursday 21st of June 2018
OMG I love the sound of this salad. My husband LOVES pizza, like he can eat it every day. This salad will help curb his pizza craving.