Rainbow Veggie Pizza

Rainbow Pizza with a sweet potato crust, bell peppers, corn, butternut squash, eggplant, and broccoli

Have you heard that eating the colors of the rainbow is beneficial to your overall health? Well it is!

Phytonutrients determine the color of fruits and vegetables. These phytonutrients are natural chemicals or compounds produced by plants. They keep plants healthy, protecting them from insects and the sun.

Every color indicates an abundance of specific nutrients, plus health benefits – as shown below in the diagram. 

Color Wheel for Food

Red fruits and vegetables contain phytochemicals, including lycopene and ellagic acid. These powerful nutrients have cancer-fighting effects in addition to other health benefits.

Orange and yellow fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamin C and carotenoids, including beta-carotene. Carotenoids are a class of phytonutrients and are found in the cells of a wide variety of plants, algae and bacteria. They help plants absorb light energy for use in photosynthesis. They also have an important antioxidant function of deactivating free radicals and offering cancer-fighting properies.

Rainbow Pizza with a sweet potato crust, bell peppers, onion, corn, butternut squash, eggplant, and broccoli 

Green fruits and vegetables the healthiest of colors is rich in lutein, isothiocyanates, isoflavones, and vitamin K — essential for blood and bone health.

In addition, they’re rich in folate – a nutrient important for pregnant women to consume aiding in the prevention of congenital disabilities. Cruciferous vegetables, (such as broccoli), help improve immune function, while dark leafy greens like kale are know for improving one’s mood.

Rainbow Pizza with a sweet potato crust, bell peppers, corn, onions, butternut squash, eggplant, and broccoli

Other green fruits and vegetable have been proven to alleviate symptoms related to the common cold, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Insomnia and even repair damage to your DNA.

Blue and purple fruits and vegetables are rich in:

  • phytonutrients, 
  • anthocyanins 
  • resveratrol,

These offer positive effects on anti-cancer and anti-aging properties.

White and brown produce while not the liveliest of colors, are still considered a healthy choice, and have phytonutrients. 

In a nutshell, both fruits and vegetables regardless of color will do the body good.  Fresh & Healthy plant based foods are key! The learn more about the benefits of eating a rainbow of foods simply “google” it.  There’s a world of information to digest and produce at your market.

Rainbow Pizza with a sweet potato crust, bell peppers, corn, onions, butternut squash, eggplant, and broccoli

While this recipe as shown, for Rainbow Veggie Pizza is not vegan, you can easily make it vegan, by using dairy-free cheese, and replacing the egg in the crust, with 1 tbsp. ground flaxseed or Chia seeds, to 2 ½ tbsps. water, and blend.. The full recipe is below.

I served this Rainbow Veggie Pizza to my family, a cooking class of twelve, in addition to our neighbors, and everyone loved it!  Loaded with fruits and veggies the colors of the rainbow, this pizza will satisfy even the carnivore.  

If you create this recipe or a version of it, please share your photos and comments on my Instagram page @vickibensinger.

Rainbow Veggie Pizza

Loaded with fruits and veggies the colors of the rainbow, this Rainbow Veggie Pizza will satisfy even the carnivore.  

Ingredients:

Crust:
  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 1 cup oats or oat flour
  • 1 tsp. dried Italian Seasoning (or spices of choice)
  • 1 egg (see note for vegan version)
  • pinch of salt
  • parchment round
Toppings: Note: You will need approximately a 1/4-1/2 cup of each vegetable if using all those listed here. Feel free to substitute with your favorite veggies:
  • ¼ cup Red onion, chopped and rinsed
  • ¼ cup Broccoli, chopped
  • ½  orange bell pepper, chopped
  • ½  yellow bell pepper, chopped
  • ½  red pepper, chopped
  • ½ cup mixed colored cherry tomatoes, halved
  • ¼ cup purple Japanese eggplant, cubed or purple cauliflower, grated
  • 1 fresh sweet corn from the husk, kernels removed or (1/4 cup frozen)
  • ½ cup shredded Cheese (or dairy-free alternative for Vegan)
1/3 cup tomato puree (or spread to your liking

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
  2. Mise en place (cut up) all topping ingredients and set aside.
  3. Poke sweet potato with the tip of a knife in various places and microwave on Potato setting. Allow to cool.
  4. Coat pizza pan (or sheet pan) with oil or non-stick spray. Line with parchment.
  5. In a food processor/blender grind the oats to a flour consistency. Mix in the spices, egg, and meat of cooked sweet potato. Blend until smooth.
  6. Spread sweet potato crust onto the pizza pan. You may need to hold the parchment slightly so it doesn’t move. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
  7. Remove pan from oven. In this order add: tomato puree, and shredded cheese.
  8. Then starting on the outside working towards the center add chopped: tomatoes, corn, peppers, eggplant and onions, broccoli. Be sure to fill each row with the same veggie, then moving on to the next row until the center is filled.
  9. Bake (or convection bake) 10-15 minutes until veggies have softened.
  10. Remove from oven – slice and serve.
 
Note * To make this recipe Vegan use dairy-free cheese, and replace the egg in the crust with a 1 tbsp. Ground flax or Chia seeds to 2 ½ tbsps. water and blend..  Feel free to change the veggies used to suit your taste.

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