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Spring Detroit-Style Pizza
5 from 3 votes

Spring Detroit-Style Pizza

This Spring Detroit Style Pizza is a dream. The crust is thick and chewy with crisp edges similar to focaccia. It’s spring and veggie forward so a homemade arugula pesto steps in for marinara sauce and its topped with sliced radishes, frozen sweet peas, dollops of ricotta and so much melty mozzarella cheese. Using a premade Detroit-style pizza dough, this recipe comes together in just over 30 minutes. Serve with a Summer Rosé Sangria for the best pizza and wine night!

Prep Time
20 mins
Cook Time
12 mins
Total Time
32 mins
Servings: 8 slices or 1 (Detroit-style) pizza
Calories: 274 kcal
Course: Dinner
Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Pesto:
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup basil leaves plus more as garnish
  • 1 cup arugula leaves
  • 1/3 cup Parmesan Cheese grated, Reggiano
  • 1/4 cup pine nuts
  • lemon juice from 1/4 lemon
  • Pinch salt
  • Pinch crushed red pepper plus more as garnish
Assembly:
  • 1 pizza dough Detroit-style, batch
  • 1 1/2 cups mozzarella cheese low-moisture, shredded
  • 1 to 2 radish washed and thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • black pepper freshly ground
  • salt freshly ground
  • 1/4 cup peas thawed, frozen
  • 1/4 cup ricotta cheese

Instructions

To Make the Pesto:
    Cup of Yum
  1. In a food processor or blender, add the olive oil, basil, arugula, Parmesan, pine nuts, lemon juice, pinch of salt and crushed red pepper. Pulse until smooth, scraping down the sides as needed. Give it a taste and adjust the salt per your liking.
To Assemble the Pizza:
  1. Line a quarter baking sheet with a sheet of parchment. Rub the sides of the baking sheet with olive oil or grape seed oil. Transfer the ball of dough to the center of the baking sheet and push it and gently pull it until reaches the corners of the baking. If it’s a teeny bit shy of the corners, no biggie! Lightly cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for about 15 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F. After the dough has risen for a second and last time, add a few tablespoons of pesto and spread atop the pizza dough. (I had some pesto leftover so I ended up serving some with the pizza and keeping more in the fridge for later.)
  3. Top with the shredded mozzarella and make sure it reaches to the edge of the baking sheet (this part is important because it’ll give you those nice, crispy edges!). In a small bowl, toss the radishes with the olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Arrange the radishes atop the pizza.
  4. Transfer to the oven to bake for about 8 minutes. Add the peas to the top of the pizza and bake for an additional 4 to 5 minutes (for a total of 12 to 13 minutes), until the edges are crispy and the cheese has melted.
  5. Top with sprigs of dollops of ricotta and sprigs of fresh basil. Slice it up and serve (be careful the edges of the pan will be hot!).

Notes

  • Detroit-style pan: I used a quarter baking sheet lined with parchment paper so the crust doesn’t stick to the bottom and the sides of the pan. I didn’t want to buy a specific pan for Detroit pizza, you totally can if you want to!
  • Rub the edges of the pan with olive oil to keep the cheese from sticking and it makes cleaning easier.
  • Use this Detroit-style pizza crust recipe. I used the entire dough recipe for a quarter sheet pan, which is different than his recipe. He advises you to halve it. I found it to be too difficult to spread out and not thick enough. If you don’t have a quarter baking sheet use a 8×8-inch baking pan (think: brownie pan) as an alternative. So if you have that, use it!
  • “Brick cheese” is not very easy to find (unless you live in Michigan and/or Wisconsin). I was totally happy with tons of shredded low-moisture mozzarella (I say splurge and use a good quality mozzarella!).
  • Topping variations: classic marinara, mozzarella and pepperoni.
  • Don’t try to bake 2 or 3 pizzas in the same oven. They will steam and get soggy and won’t crisp up. If you are making multiple batches of pizza do them one at a time.

Nutrition Information

Serving 4g Calories 274kcal (14%) Carbohydrates 26g (9%) Protein 12g (24%) Fat 14g (22%) Saturated Fat 5g (25%) Polyunsaturated Fat 2g (12%) Monounsaturated Fat 5g (25%) Cholesterol 21mg (7%) Sodium 565mg (24%) Potassium 89mg (2%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 4g (8%) Vitamin A 426IU (9%) Vitamin C 3mg (3%) Calcium 230mg (23%) Iron 2mg (11%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8 slices or 1 (Detroit-style) pizza

Amount Per Serving

Calories 274

% Daily Value*

Serving 4g
Calories 274kcal 14%
Carbohydrates 26g 9%
Protein 12g 24%
Fat 14g 22%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Polyunsaturated Fat 2g 12%
Monounsaturated Fat 5g 25%
Cholesterol 21mg 7%
Sodium 565mg 24%
Potassium 89mg 2%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 4g 8%
Vitamin A 426IU 9%
Vitamin C 3mg 3%
Calcium 230mg 23%
Iron 2mg 11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.