I’m starting a difficult challenge tomorrow where I’m going to attempt to eat only $4.50 worth of food per day. I remember how hungry I was last year during the SNAP challenge, so I kind of wanted to have one last indulgent hurrah just before I started the challenge. What’s the best indulgent food, IMHO? Pizza, of course. Creamy Spinach Artichoke Pizza, to be specific.
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What’s In This Spinach Artichoke Pizza:
This isn’t just any pizza. This is a thick crust, crispy edged, pan pizza topped with a rich and creamy spinach sauce, chopped up artichoke hearts, and a final layer of melted mozzarella cheese. Think pizza topped with spinach artichoke dip, then baked to melty perfection.
What Kind of Pizza Dough to Use:
I decided to make this pizza with the no-knead pan crust, which needs to be started the night before, but you could always do this on a regular pizza crust, or even a super fast thin crust. The toppings on this pizza are so good that you can literally put it on any crust.
Do I Have to Use A Cast Iron Skillet?
No, that is only one option for this pizza. I used a 10-inch lodge skillet, but these toppings are enough for a 12-inch pan pizza, or even a 14-inch regular crust pizza. You can bake your pizza on a regular pizza pan, a pizza stone, or even on a square baking sheet.
Creamy Spinach Artichoke Pizza
Servings 3 (2 slices each)Ingredients
DOUGH
- 2 cups all-purpose flour ($0.30)
- 1 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1/8 tsp instant yeast ($0.02)
- 1 Tbsp olive oil ($0.16)
- 3/4-1 cup water ($0.00)
CREAMY SPINACH SAUCE
- 1/2 lb. frozen chopped spinach ($0.85)
- 1 Tbsp butter ($0.10)
- 1 clove garlic ($0.08)
- 4 oz. cream cheese ($1.00)
- 1/2 cup milk ($0.19)
- 1/4 tsp salt ($0.02)
PIZZA
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.02)
- 1/2 15oz. can artichoke hearts ($1.30)
- 1 pinch crushed red pepper (optional) ($0.05)
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella ($1.00)
Instructions
- Begin the dough the night before. In a large bowl stir together the flour, salt, and yeast. Combine the olive oil and 3/4 cup water, then pour it into the bowl with the flour. Stir until a single (slightly wet and sticky) ball of dough forms with no dry flour left on the bottom of the bowl. Add one to two tablespoons more of water, if needed, to form a ball of dough. Loosely cover the dough and let it sit at room temperature for 12-18 hours.
- The next day let the spinach thaw and then squeeze out as much moisture as possible. Preheat the oven to 450ºF and pour 1 Tbsp of cooking oil into a 10 or 12-inch cast iron skillet. Spread the oil around the skillet, including up the side walls.
- To make the sauce, mince the garlic and add it to a small pot along with the butter. Sauté the butter and garlic for 1-2 minutes over medium-low heat, or until the garlic is soft and fragrant. Add the cream cheese, milk, and salt to the butter and garlic. Whisk and cook over medium-low heat until the cream cheese has melted into the milk and a thick sauce forms (3-5 minutes). Finally, stir the squeeze-dried spinach into the sauce, breaking up any clumps as you stir. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside.
- Use the excess oil from the skillet to coat your hands, then scrape the fermented dough out of the bowl. Gently press and stretch the loose dough into the skillet until it evenly covers the bottom.
- Spread the creamy spinach sauce over the dough, covering from edge to edge. Drain the artichoke hearts, give them a rough chop, then sprinkle over the creamy spinach sauce. Add a pinch of red pepper flakes, if desired. Finally, top the pizza with the shredded mozzarella.
- Bake the pizza in the fully preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are sizzling and the top is golden brown. Remove the pizza from the oven and slide a butter knife around the edges to loosen any melted cheese. Either slide the whole pizza onto a cutting board or carefully slice the pizza in the pan. Cut into six slices and serve.
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Equipment
- Cast Iron Skillet
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make Spinach Artichoke Pizza – Step by Step Photos
If you’re using the pan pizza dough that I used above, begin the night before. In a large bowl (or pot) stir together 2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp instant or “bread machine” yeast. Combine 1 Tbsp olive oil and 3/4 cup water, then pour it into the bowl with the flour. Stir until a sticky ball of dough forms with no dry flour left on the bottom of the bowl. If needed, add one to two more tablespoons of water to help it come together in one single piece of dough.
Loosely cover the dough (that’s why I like using a pot, I just set the lid on slightly crooked) and let it sit at room temperature for 12-18 hours. As it ferments it will spread out and get very bubbly. It will still be quite sticky compared to most bread doughs.
On the day you’re making the pizza, take 1/2 lb. of frozen spinach out of the freezer to thaw (thaw at room temp, or in the microwave for a faster thaw).
Once the spinach is thawed, squeeze as much moisture out as possible. I just grab a handful and squeeeeze until no more liquid comes out.
Next it’s time to make the sauce (and begin preheating the oven to 450 degrees). Mince one clove of garlic. Add it to a small pot along with 1 Tbsp of butter. Sauté the garlic in the butter over medium-low heat until the garlic is soft and fragrant (about 1-2 minutes).
Add 1/2 cup milk, 4 oz. cream cheese, and 1/4 tsp salt to the butter and garlic. Continue to cook over medium-low heat, while whisking, until the cream cheese has melted in and a thick sauce has formed.
Add the squeeze dried spinach to the cream sauce and stir until it’s combined (break up any clumps of spinach as you stir). Remove the sauce from the heat and set it aside.
Spread 1 Tbsp vegetable oil in a 10 or 12-inch cast iron skillet (including up the sides). Use the excess oil in the skillet to coat your hands, then scrape the dough out of its bowl. Carefully stretch and press the dough into the skillet until it evenly covers the bottom.
Spread the spinach cream sauce over the dough from edge to edge.
Drain one 15oz. can of artichoke hearts. Take half of the can and give them a rough chop (the other half can be frozen or used for a second pizza).
Sprinkle the chopped artichoke hearts over the pizza. If you like things a little spicy like me, sprinkle on a few red pepper flakes.
Finally, top with one cup of shredded mozzarella.
Bake the Creamy Spinach Artichoke Pizza for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are sizzling and the top is golden brown. Use a butter knife to loosen around the edges where cheese may have melted onto the skillet. Slide the pizza onto a cutting board or carefully slice it while in the pan.
Cut the Creamy Spinach Artichoke Pizza into six pieces and serve! This is pretty rich and filling, so two pieces go a lot further than you think. ;)
this is so good and easy to make! ive made this twice and both times i used hearts of palms instead of artichoke hearts but it comes out delicious. the leftovers taste just as good
Can you make this with fresh spinach?
You could. Just cook about 1lb fresh spinach and make sure you squeeze/drain away all liquid before adding.
Beth your recipes are fantastic!!! I just read this one after reading your spinach artichoke dip recipe in the most recent I received.
I made this vegan with all non-dairy products and it still came out great!
Hi,
I’m going to make this tonight/tomorrow. I was wondering if I should use warm, cold or room temperature water to make the dough?
Thank you!
I use room temperature water. :)
Great Spinach & Artichoke Pizza !!!!!!!
Oh my this was good. My husband was not super excited about this when I described it to him, but after finishing his half he threw down his napkin and said “DAMN that was good.” So, I think this one’s a winner! I forgot to start the dough the night before and started it in the morning instead. I put it in the oven with the light on all day to rise, and I think it worked out. It might not have been quite as fluffy as if I had started it at the right time, but it was still great.
I strayed a little and added some grated parmesan to the top, but I wouldn’t do that again. It got quite brown and dry before the pizza was done, but that was my fault.
I’m so excited to try more of your pizza recipes!
This is one of my absolute favorite meals to make and hands down my favorite pizza. My meat-eating roommate complained when he realized it was meat-free but shut up after a couple of bites. This is also really good the next day! I make this regularly but ended up using a Mexican cheese blend tonight because I was out of mozzarella. I am excited to see how it turns out!
Thank you for all of your amazing recipes!
Oh man, that sauce is amazing. I made this with the thin crust recipe (linked to above). And since I don’t have a cast iron skillet, I just used a regular baking sheet and cooked it for only 7 minutes or so. It was awesome! A nice change from regular pizza.
I think I’ve finally found a way to marry my desire to save money and eat home cooked meals with my husband’s undying love for pizza. He says if this is the kind of pizza we can make at home, he’s totally done with inferior delivery pizza. :D This dish was rich and surprising filling. I “budgeted” for us to have two pieces each, but we were both pretty stuffed after one each (cut it into six pieces). We had it with your Tomato Herb Soup, and they were delicious together. I’m even more excited at how versatile this recipe will be in the future. I’m already planning another pizza with similar toppings to your Italian Flat Bread. Thanks again for your amazing recipes. I’ve never given much thought to making pizza at home on my own. If I had known it was this easy I’d have done it ages ago!
Awesome! That makes me so happy to hear, Courtney! :D
I posted earlier but don’t see my comment so am posting again. Can the dough rise longer then 18 hours? If I make dough at 8pm and want to bake next day at about 5pm that is about 21 hours. Is that too long?
Yes, the best thing to do is pop the dough in the refrigerator in the morning. That will slow down the last hours of rising so that it doesn’t over proof. :) It’s like pressing pause.
Can the dough sit a little longer then 18 hours? If I made dough at 8 pm and cooked at about 5 pm next day that’s about 21 hours. Too long?
How can I make the dough without it taking 12 hours? Can I use a standard pizza dough recipe?
Yes, here is my regular pizza dough recipe. Because it has a different texture and volume, the baking time in the cast iron pan may be slightly different.
Excellent recipe, added sun dried tomatoes, caramelized onions like Kate suggested, used mâche instead of spinach, roasted artichokes in oil, and used greek yogurt mixed with an aioli instead of cream cheese, the result was delicious. Very simple recipe that makes every ingredient stand out. Well, it did cost more like 20$ than 5$ for mine but it was definitely worth it for 3 portions of fine pizza.
Can you use fresh spinach instead of frozen?
Yes, just sauté it down until it is wilted first.
This was a huge hit! My boyfriend adored this, maybe even more than the cilantro lime drumsticks I made last night. I used your regular pizza crust recipe (don’t have a skillet large enough), and caramelized some red onion to put on this too! Definitely one of my favorite pizza I’ve made!
As a busy grad student, who is also on a pretty slim budget, your recipes keep me on track and eating healthier. I recommend your blog to anyone I know who has an interest in cooking.
This was absolutely delicious! I used a different crust recipe and i cook the crust alone for 5 mins before i added rest of ingredients on top.
Oh and i used a regular pizza pan, not a cast iron skillet.
I made this tonight and followed the recipe exactly. Unfortunately the crust stuck terribly and took 15 minutes to scrape off. I used the oil in the pan and if anything I may have used a little too much. This is the first time I’ve used a cast iron skillet. I received it as a gift and it’s le creuset. I read the brochure that came with it and it had no special prep instructions other than washing with warm soapy water. I’m such a fan of your recipes and really want this one to work. Any ideas what might have gone wrong?
Hmm, the only thing I can think of is that because the pan was new it’s natural non-stick properties just were not that great yet. If you used a liberal amount of oil that should have created a really good barrier between the dough and skillet, so I’m not sure how it ended up sticking. :(
Look online how to season your skillet, you have to put work into them, and don’t use soap! I usually don’t bother just because I feel the work outweighs the rewards unless you’re cooking over a campfire.
The Creamy Spinach Artichoke pizza is absolutely DELICIOUS!!! I pre-baked the pizza crust for ten minutes using a cookie sheet. When I added the toppings, I baked the pizza for another ten minutes. The crust wasn’t soggy. I cut the pizza into twelve squares, so I can have left overs for the next several days. Now that I have some left over artichokes, spinach and mozzarella cheese, I can make the pizza again later. Thank you so much for the recipe, Beth!!! :-)
I’m interested in making the Creamy Spinach Artichoke Pizza for dinner sometime next week. I don’t have the cast iron skillet available in my kitchen, so is it possible that I can use a cookie sheet or a casserole pan to make the pizza? Thank you, Beth!! :-)
You can, but it won’t have quite the crispness on the outside that it gets against the hot cast iron. This dough is super wet/loose, too, so it might be difficult to shape. You can try working just a bit more flour into it to make it more manageable.
I bought a Lodge pan today specifically to try this out! I’m starting the dough tonight and will make the pizza tomorrow. I’m looking forward to it!
If you aren’t used to using cast iron you won’t know to season it. Remember the old cowboy cooks, never used a scrubber on their pans. To season you should wash it with soap and water and then make sure it’s dry, put some lard or shortening in it and put it in the oven at 500 degrees for about an hour, let it cool in the oven and then take it out and wipe it with a paper towel. Never use soap on cast iron it will take the seasoning away, the more you use it the better. I’ve used cast iron for over 20 years and would never use anything else. The longer you have it the better it cooks.
I should have said the only time you use soap on iron is the first washing. After that only hot water and a paper towel.
This is an excellent recipe and the first I’ve tried from this site! It was very forgiving… I completely missed using only 1/2 can of the artichokes and used the whole can but it still tastes great! I can’t wait to make it again!
tasty! wanted to share my foibles for those coming after: I used neufchatel cheese instead of cream cheese, and it worked fine. Because I live in the land of bizarro grocery stores, the only spinach I could find was the 10oz cube and I put all of it in and it was too much! I ended up having to thin the sauce with a few tablespoons of cream. I also made it in a 9″ skillet (all I had) and so I only used 2/3 of the dough and toppings, and made a tiny “sheet pan pizza” with the other third. The skillet worked fine (baked 15 min), but I froze the tiny guy for later, so can’t say.
Can I use cottage cheese instead of the cream cheese?
No, unfortunately that won’t melt into the sauce the same way as the cream cheese.
This was a total HIT! My boyfriend and I loved it big time. I don’t have a cast iron skillet yet, so I just precooked the dough on a cookie sheet at about 425 F for 10 mins and it worked great. Definitely did not need the whole can of artichokes (gonna have to make some spin/artichoke dip!), and the creamy spinach sauce was THICK, but boy was it delicious. I also didn’t have milk so I used alfredo sauce instead…..sooooo good. My gas oven runs hot, so I only cooked this bad boy for about 15 mins and it came out perfect.
I made half with bacon chunks layered in and half with pepperonis and BOTH tasted awesome.
Seriously, this pizza is amazing. Make it. No cast iron required!
And it reheats super well!
I’m going to follow your cooking suggestion, which is a great idea. I’m going to make the pizza for dinner this week!! :-)
I made this tonight and it was delicious! I subbed 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour into the no knead dough and it turned out fabulous. I almost skipped the pepper flakes but I’m glad I sprinkled a few on there. This is definitely going into my pizza rotation!
I love everything about this website!
Made this last night with dough I bought from the store (Sprouts) and it was so good! Substituted mushrooms and olives for the artichoke hearts since I am avoiding acidic foods at the moment. Next time I’m definitely going to try making the dough as well.
Oh my goodness. You created a recipe that made my two year old eat spinach. And artichokes. Not to mention the crust, which was better than any pan pizza we’ve ever purchased at a restaurant. Bless you.
Made this for dinner last week and it was unbelievably good. As in I couldn’t believe I’d just made pizza at home, by myself, that tasted so delicious!
We had this last night. Used whole wheat flour and baked it in a stone platter. Deee LISH USSS!!! This is going to be a common meal in our house! Can’t wait to add to the recipe with a little roasted red pepper or other tasty veg.
Thank you!
OMG, this sauce…amazing. While the taste was outstanding, the middle of the pizza got really soggy and fell apart. The crust was pretty crisp. Any ideas on how I can get the middle to stay crisp as well? I drained the spinach really well.
Hmmm, and you used a cast iron skillet? Maybe you can bake the crust in the skillet for a few minutes, then top it (but the crust might get kind of puffy).
I made this last weekend and it was yummy, though I accidentally added too much oil to the dough and forgot to add salt to the creamy spinach mixture. I set aside about 1/2 c of the spinach planning to use it in a fritatta (but that didn’t come to fruition).
So, I made it again today and needed some filler since I only had the 1/2 c spinach. I roasted a small onion and the last few cloves from a sad looking bulb of garlic. Oh my goodness. Soooooo good!
Beth, you are a woman after mine own heart when it comes to pizza and your recipes are just awesome. I rave about your recipes on facebook every chance I get. I appreciate the hard work that goes into this site. Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes!
P.S. I live alone so I always have leftovers…this pizza reheats beautifully! I had leftovers twice for lunch last week. I stick a piece or two right on the oven rack and slowly it heat at about 200 degrees for about 15 minutes. Delicious!
This was soooo good! Didn’t think anything could top your carmelized onion and mushroom white pizza but this comes close. I made a double batch of the sauce, added a carton of mushrooms and half an onion, then froze half for later (it defrosted just fine by the way – I was a little worried). Also didn’t have an iron skillet, so just used a regular crust recipe and a pizza stone. Yum!
This looks so amazing! How do you stop the pizza from sticking to the cast iron?
You spread a good amount of oil all over the skillet before you put the dough in. That gives the dough a nice crispy almost fried texture on the outside and keeps it from sticking. My whole pizza could be lifted right out after I ran a butter knife around the edges. :)
This looks delicious!
Man another winner! I made this in a skillet pan and it worked out just fine, maybe the best out of any of the crusts I’ve used from this site. I’m going to add onions if I make this again.
I’m looking forward to trying this. May I suggest Jim Lahey’s No Knead Pizza dough which is ready to go in only 2 hours. Best Dough I’ve ever had!
So want to make this. Are the artichokes marinated or in water?
You can use either, but mine were in water.
This overnight crust technique is so intriguing! I’m definitely going to have to give it a try. And of course the classic spinach and artichoke combination sounds amazing. I hope your SNAP challenge is going well so far!
Another winner. I have all the ingredients to make this pizza for the holiday. I have to check if my yeast is instant though.
I just completed a challenge to only spend $100 on food for the month. I think it would have been much more difficult if I had to start from scratch and didn’t have a bunch of staples on my shelves and in my freezer. I need to use that stuff up before it expires anyway. Good luck with your challenge.
A solid 5 star recipe. Everyone loved it! I only have a 10 inch iron skillet, so I cooked the dough on the stove top for about 5 minutes before adding ingredients and putting it in the oven. I thought it might be too thick to cook all the way through. It was fantastic.
I am really looking forward to your new challenge. I have found so many recipes to use for our budget cooking class and am looking for more! thanks for giving us permission to raid your site.
Looking forward to reading your challenge “challenges” again this year! I really enjoy your recipes and blog! Thank you!
Spinach artichoke pizza is one of our favorites, but this is a whole new level of yum! I love the idea of a no-knead pizza crust, too. Stretching regular pizza dough is super frustrating for me as it always seems to rip. Definitely giving this one a try!
Good for you for doing the challenge again! I also really enjoyed last year’s challenge and your chili mac is part of our regular rotation because it’s so delicious and filling.
Can’t wait to read the updates and find new inspiration!
Hi!!
I know you probably used a cast iron skillet for a reason, but is that totally nessecary? I have glass pie dishes or normal frying pans. Would either of those work?
Cast iron definitely works best for this one. It distributes the heat much better than glass or ceramic. A regular skillet is definitely too thin to heat it evenly.
Ooooh, I love your No Knead Pan Pizza and can hardly wait to try this version…will try this weekend. I’ll come back to give my rating but I bet if I could give it 10 stars, I would!
This looks absolutely amazing! I pinned it pretty much as soon as I saw it.
This looks all kinds of amazing!
Yum! This looks delicious.
This looks so delicious. I have already put the ingredients on my shopping list for this week. Thanks!!!
When I lived on foodstamps with two children I found that you can’t just shop weekly because you run out of most staples each month. To have all the materials you practically need as a base you must purchase with most of the month in mind, then buy fresh things like milk as needed. I hope that idea helps. I feel sorry that try to do the challenge for one week because with a one week budget you can’t buy enough staples to make it work well and not go hungry. I was never starving–I just didn’t always have a variety of food and it was heavily biased towards grains and beans and starches.
I’m chiming in rather late, but I totally agree with this. I’m not on food stamps (and they don’t even exist here in Canada), but I do feed my family of 6, including my bottomless pit long distance runner husband, 2 growing teens, an 11yo who sometimes tries to out eat her 16yo brother, and an 8yo, on a budget that is the equivalent of $4.40Cdn/day/person. It is a challenge, and one of the ways I do this is by thinking long term for purchases, not on a weekly or bi-weekly basis. When one of our staples is on sale at a great price, I buy enough to last at least a month or two. I resent having to pay regular price for things like pasta, butter, canned tomatoes, tuna, cheese, frozen vegetables, etc.
This pizza looks absolutely AMAZING, to where my mouth is watering right now. I LOVE spinach, artichokes, creamy stuff, and cheese. These ingredients will be perfect with ground Italian sausage (my sister likes meat, and anything that’s meatless, she’s NOT going to eat it).
I’m looking forward to see how the SNAP challenge goes this year. I really enjoyed the challenge from last year, despite the judge mental comments. You have my support, Beth!!! :-)
This looks amazing!
Your SNAP challenge posts from last year were some of the best things I’ve read about food insecurity in a long time. Also some of your best posts to date (IMHO!). I’m really looking forward to reading your experience this year.
This looks so good! I’m pretty much a fan of anything with artichokes though. And anything creamy. And anything cheesy. I’m easy to please.
Can’t wait to see how the challenge goes this year! Really enjoyed last year’s and thought you did an awesome job.