Homemade Pizza with Veggie Faces for Toddlers

5.00 (7)
⏱ 40 mins 🍽 Makes 4 pizzas ✅ Easy 🏷 Breads

This engaging toddler recipe keeps little hands busy and bellies full. Children can decorate their own homemade pizzas, creating fun faces with colourful vegetable toppings. The activity helps them pack in four portions of their recommended five-a-day. The simple dough comes together quickly and can be used immediately for a thin crust. It makes four individual pizzas, perfect for a family cooking project.

Homemade Pizza with Veggie Faces for Toddlers

Ingredients

  • 150g wholemeal spelt flour
  • 350g strong white flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp dried fast action yeast
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes
  • 1 small garlic clove
  • pinch of dried thyme
  • 160g grated cheddar and mozzarella cheese
  • 1 red pepper cut into strips
  • 1 yellow pepper cut into strips
  • 1 courgette cut into rounds or spiralized
  • 1 small pack cherry tomatoes halved
  • handful pitted olives
  • 1 can salt-free sweetcorn drained

Method

  1. For the dough, combine both flours in a large bowl and mix in the yeast and salt. Create a well in the centre, pour in 400ml warm water and the olive oil, then stir with a wooden spoon to form a soft, fairly wet dough. Bring it together with a brief knead in the bowl before turning it onto a lightly floured surface. Knead the dough for 5 mins until smooth, cover it with a tea towel, and set it aside. Allowing it to rise is optional for a thin crust.
  2. Prepare the sauce by blending the tomatoes, garlic, thyme, and a little seasoning together. You can use a food processor or a hand blender for this.
  3. Preheat your oven to 240C/fan 220C/gas 8. Arrange all the vegetable toppings in separate bowls so children can easily access them for decorating.
  4. If the dough has risen, give it a quick knead in the bowl before dividing it into four balls. On a floured surface, roll out two of the balls into wide circles using a rolling pin. Roll the dough very thin, as it will puff up during baking. Transfer the rolled bases onto two floured baking sheets or pizza trays.
  5. Spread the sauce over the pizza bases with the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top, then begin creating the faces. Use courgette rounds for eyes or cheeks, halved rounds for ears, and spiralised courgette for hair. Pepper strips work well for eyebrows and mouths, while olives and halved cherry tomatoes can be eyes or earrings. Sweetcorn is perfect for teeth or freckles. Encourage creative designs.
  6. Bake the pizzas for around 10-15 mins until they are crisp. For even cooking, swap the trays to a lower shelf halfway through the baking time.
  7. Follow the same process to make the remaining two pizzas. Alternatively, freeze the two extra balls of dough in separate freezer bags and store any leftover sauce in a sealed container.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories719 kcal
Fat17 g
Saturates8 g
Carbs105 g
Sugars14 g
Fibre11 g
Protein29 g
Sodium552 mg
Salt1 g

Recipe details

Skill levelEasy
CategoryBreads