My Favorite Cold Veggie Cream Cheese Pizza

Some recipes immediately take you back to your childhood. The recipe I am sharing today, my favorite cold veggie cream cheese pizza is one of those recipes.

The first time I had this recipe was at a family picnic. My grandmother, my dad’s mom, dragged me along with her to this renunion of sorts. I’m not sure why my parents didn’t go. Nor how we got there. My grandmother didn’t drive, so maybe we took the bus?

The party was held at a park pavilion that had seen better days. I didn’t know a soul there, save my grandmother. She kept encouraging me to go play with the other kids. But being the introvert I was, that sounded like he**. Plus, those kids were primarily playing Lake Monster and taking turns submerging one another in the murky, seaweed infested lake. One thing you should know about me . . . I was not then nor am I now a lake girl. Especially when I can’t see the bottom. Yuck!

I recall my grandmother getting annoyed at me. But I didn’t care, because I was also annoyed at her.

And then everything changed. “I brought a piece of pizza,” she said.

My face lit up, I was never a fan of hamburgers and the hot dogs had already run out. So in aaddition to being hot and bored, I was also hungry. Pizza sounded divine.

Then she handed me the plate. What I saw was not pizza. It was some kind of crust covered with a creamy white spread, broccoli, carrots, and tomatoes. I was incensed! I grew up in NJ for goodness sake, no-one in their rightmind would call this pizza.

But, hunger won out and I tried the cold veggie cream cheese pizza. It was amazing. I’m not sure if it was the crunch of the fresh veggies, the tanginess of the cream cheese or the soft, subtly sweet crust, or the fact that I was starving, but that pizza hit the spot. I went back for seconds. And thirds.

I think iy’s fair to say that the cold veggie cream cheese pizza made the whiole awful day worth it.

And to this day, whever I eat cold veggies cream cheese pizza, I can feel the hot breeze and smell the musty lake and my grandmother’s Jean Naté powder.

Why You”ll Love It:

I think we’ve already established that this cold veggies cream cheese pizza is not pizza. But it is delicious. And there are lots of reasons to love it.

It’s super easy to make. The crust is simply a couple of tubes of Pillsbury crescent dough or crescent sheets (if you can find them). And the most time consuming part of this recipe is chopping the veggies.

Cold veggies cream cheese pizza is the perfect meal on a hot day. It’s also a great appetizer and the perfect addition to parties all year long. Even though this pizza is served cold, it uses standard ingedients that are available all year long.

Plus, it’s a fan favorite. I’ve served this cold veggies cream cheese pizza at children’s birthday parties,holiday soirees, and tailgates, and it is always the first dish to go!

This pizza is also vegetarian. So it’s a dish sure to please a crowd.

How to Make Cold Veggie Cream Cheese Pizza:

The first step to make this cold veggies cream cheese pizza is to bake the crust. Crust:. Preheat your oven to 375℉ and line an 11 X 15 baking pan with parchment paper.

Unroll the crescent rolls dough into full sheets (do not separate into individual rolls). Push the seems together. You can skip this part if you use the crescent sheets becasue they don’t have any seems.

Bake the dough at 375 degrees for 9-11 minutes until lighty browned. Allow to cool.

In the meantime, you can make the cream cheese. There are lots of varieties of this cream cheese layer. Some call for sour cream or Greek yogurt. Some add mayo. I’m a purist, so this recipe just use two packages of cream cheese. I think the cold veggie cream chese pizza lasts longer and the crust doesn’t get as soggy when you stick wit cream cheese. Be sure to remove your cream cheese from the refrigerator at least two hours prior to prepping the recipe. Soft cream cheese spreads easier.

Place 2 blocks of cream cheese in a medium bowl. Add 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 2 teaspoons garlic salt, 1 teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon dried dill, 1 teaspoon dried parsley, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper and blend well with a hand mixer.

When the crust has cooled, used a spatula to evenly spread the herbed cream cheese mxture over the crust. Top with diced red pepper (I use 2), 1 cup broccoli chopped florets, 1 cup grated carrots, 1 seedless cucumber, diced, and 1 cup grape tomatoes, halve. Then sprinkle 1/4 cup finely shredded cheese over the top. Lightly push the toppings into the cream cheese layer.

Cut the cream cheese veggie pizza into 24 pieces and serve.

Store cold veggie cream cheese pizza covered in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Enjoy!

This recipe is totally customizable. I’ve included my favorite veggies, but feel free to swap out for your favorites to make thi cold veggie cream cheese pizza your own. You can always sub cauliflower for broccoli or hot peppers for red peppers. Add olives, onions, or even diced zucchini. The options really are endless.

Cold veggie cream cheese pizza is also a great recipe to cook in college. It’s [relatively[ inexpensive, easy, and full of fresh veggies that are quite filling. If you are just cooking for one or two, you can halve the recipe. Just use one can of crescent dough and one block of cream cheese. be sure to halve all the spices and veggies too.

I’m making this cold veggie cream cheese pizza this weekend for our Gamecocks watch party. And probably this Greek Yogurt Spinach Dip too.

Off we go!

And then . It was hot, buggy, and filled imagine we took the bus, becasue she didn’t drive,