Every Helping
Sign in

Dinner recipe · from the recipe book

Roasted Garlic Ricotta Basil Pizza Pesto

A creamy, spreadable basil pesto with mellow oven-roasted garlic, toasted pine-like sunflower crunch from sesame and a soft ricotta body that holds up under the heat of a pizza oven.

Roasted Garlic Ricotta Basil Pizza Pesto

Ingredients

  • 6 cloves18 gGarlicwhole cloves, peeled
  • 3 tbsp40 gOlive oil
  • 2 tbsp20 gSesame seeds
  • 2¼ cups leaves55 gFresh basilleaves only
  • ⅓ cup80 gPart-skim ricotta
  • 2½ tbsp grated15 gGrated Parmesan
  • 1 tsp2 gLemon zest
  • 1½ tsp8 gLemon juice
  • ¼ tsp0.5 gBlack pepper
  • ⅛ tsp0.5 gSalt

Steps

  1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
  2. Place the garlic cloves in a small oven-safe dish, drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil (about a third of it), cover with foil and roast for 20 to 25 minutes until soft and golden.
  3. While the garlic roasts, spread the sesame seeds on a small baking tray and toast them in the oven for 4 to 5 minutes until fragrant and light golden; let them cool.
  4. Add the basil, toasted sesame seeds, roasted garlic and its oil to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
  5. Add the ricotta, parmesan, lemon zest, lemon juice, black pepper and salt, then pulse while drizzling in the remaining two-thirds of the olive oil until thick and spreadable.
  6. Spread the pesto over pizza dough in place of tomato sauce before adding toppings; refrigerate any extra, covered, for up to 3 days.

Contains: Milk, Sesame.

Cook mode Log it in Today

Made it

Made it? Share how yours turned out.

Saved in the Every Helping recipe book on October 24, 2026.

Want one that fits your numbers?

Pick the meal, the pan and your targets, and the Every Helping recipe generator writes a recipe with every number worked out. Free on the web.

Make a recipeMore from the recipe book