Strawberry Fruit Pizza

A fruit pizza recipe that's refreshingly light.

May 12, 2007

A healthy fruit pizza recipe with strawberries, ricotta cheese, cream cheese and powdered sugar.

When strawberries are in season, this recipe for fruit pizza is the perfect way to enjoy them.

Sweet and refreshing, but never cloying, this fruit pizza gets its flavor from a light sweetened cream cheese topping and fresh, unsweetened strawberries.

As a breakfast pizza, serve this strawberry fruit pizza as is. For a dessert pizza, serve it drizzled with the chocolate sauce for an extra treat. Or simply sprinkle with a little powdered sugar. Never use frozen strawberries for this fruit pizza recipe. They are too watery, and they'll make the crust soggy.

Choose either a regular homemade pizza dough, a store-bought pizza shell (such as a Boboli), or a homemade chocolate pizza dough for the crust. If you making the chocolate pizza crust and you want a bagel-like breakfast texture, make one large 14-inch round pizza. If you want a thinner, more dessert-style texture, make two 12-inch round pizzas or make one and freeze the other.

Strawberry Fruit Pizza Recipe

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Make pizza dough according to directions and stretch to fit a 14-inch pizza pan or a large cookie sheet. Or, place a store-bought pizza crust on a cookie sheet. Brush with melted butter. Bake 5 to 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from oven and allow to cool a few minutes.

Meanwhile, with an electric hand mixer, beat ricotta cheese, Neufchatel cheese and powdered sugar until fluffy. Spread this sweetened cream cheese mixture over the pizza crust, leaving a 1-inch border all around. Bake 5 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely. Top with sliced strawberries.

For Optional Chocolate Sauce:

Heat milk and chocolate chips in a microwave safe container on 50% power for 45 seconds. Stir well. Heat again in 30-second increments, at 50% power, and stir until mixture takes on a sauce-like consistency. Be careful not to overheat! The sauce will not immediately look smooth upon coming out of the microwave, but after you stir well, it will begin to come together.

Per serving (with homemade chocolate pizza crust): 135 calories, 6 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 12 mg cholesterol, 29 g carbohydrate, 2 g fiber, 6 g protein, 3% vitamin A, 14% vitamin C, 5% calcium, 9% iron

The copyright of the article Strawberry Fruit Pizza in Heart Healthy Cooking is owned by Stephanie Gallagher. Permission to republish Strawberry Fruit Pizza in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.