Say hello to the perfect slice of summer. This peach pizza, studded with creamy blue cheese and drizzled with a sweet, spicy chilli jam will be your new pizza night favourite. It’s vegetarian-friendly, easy to make and a serious flavour powerhouse.
Sweet, salty, spicy deliciousness. I’m coming at you again with my favourite flavour combination, this time in the form of a super summery pizza. I’ve been having a bit of a moment with peaches in savoury recipes and this pizza is another fab example. There’s just something about juicy peaches, combined with salty creamy cheese, nestled in delicious airy pizza dough that really hits the spot for me.
Biting into a slice of this instantly transports me to summer. And it’s easily customisable based on what you have to hand and what’s in season.
I’m using my go-to, sourdough-style pizza base recipe here (and have included it in the recipe card below for ease), but you can also use store-bought bases if you like. You could also try using naan or wraps as quick bases. Or go for my 5-minute pizza dough recipe if you’re ready to dip your toes into making your own base.
Ingredients
There are a couple of key ingredients you’ll need for this recipe, but none are hard to find and there are some simple swaps you can make if you don’t have something to hand.
- Peaches. Use nectarines if you can’t find peaches, or figs would be lovely too. You just want to make sure they’re lovely and ripe.
- Blue cheese. I never used to be a blue cheese fan, and I still find it a bit much sometimes. But, in small quantities and combined with sweet and salty ingredients, it’s gorgeous. Go for a creamy blue if you can.
- Asparagus. I love the crunch and pop of green the asparagus gives, but you could replace it with broccoli or broccolini, kale or spinach.
- Chilli jam. I’m using my easy chilli jam recipe here and I definitely would encourage you to give it a go, otherwise any sweet chilli sauce will work.
I also make a quick cheese sauce for the base of the pizza – that’s just a very standard roux (flour and butter) based sauce, with lots of cheddar and more blue cheese. I promise it’s easy and it really ups the cheesy quality of the pizza.
How to make the pizza
Start by making the cheesy white pizza sauce. Melt butter in a pot, then add flour and whisk into a ‘roux’ – a paste. Slowly whisk in 1 cup of milk and keep whisking until the sauce thickens up. This will take around 5 minutes. At this point, add your cheese (I’m using strong cheddar and creamy blue) and whisk to melt into the sauce. It’s ready when the sauce holds itself when you draw a line across it on the back of a spoon (see photo below). Set aside to cool.
If you’re cooking your pizza in the oven, get it preheated to its highest setting (that’s 250C/480F for me) at least 45 minutes before you want to cook the pizzas. If you’ve got an Ooni pizza oven or something similar, get that heating too. When I’m cooking pizza in the oven, I like to assemble my pizza on a piece of baking paper so it’s easy to move into the oven. If you’re using a pizza oven, sprinkle loads of polenta or semolina onto your pizza peel and then top your pizza directly on that. Smooth some cheesy white sauce onto your base, then top with the sliced peaches and asparagus. Dollop over the blue cheese.
Transfer to your preheated stone, pan or tray and cook for 10 – 15 minutes at the top of your oven. Check the pizza at 10 minutes – you may need to leave it in a little longer, depending on the heat of your oven and what you’re cooking it on. You want the pizza crust to be looking golden, crispy and blistered in spots and for the topping to be bubbling and oozy. At this point, remove it from the oven. Drizzle over the chilli jam or sweet chilli sauce and top with a handful of fresh rocket leaves. Slice and eat right away while the cheese is still hot and melty.
Got a question?
You don’t have to! I love it because it just makes the pizza even more cheesy and delicious, but you can just top the pizzas and leave off the base sauce. Or, dollop ricotta over the base to mimic the cheesiness of the sauce.
Use a strong cheddar, comté or gruyère – you just want something that has a nice strong flavour. Feta or goat’s cheese would also be lovely.
You could really use any crunchy, green vegetable – I love using broccoli, broccolini, kale or spinach in place of asparagus.
Any other ripe stone fruit would work well – plums, nectarines or apricots would be lovely.
Everything you need for pizza night
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Peach, Blue Cheese and Sweet Chilli pizza
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 2 pizzas 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Say hello to the perfect slice of summer. This peach pizza, studded with creamy blue cheese and drizzled with a sweet, spicy chilli jam will be your new pizza night favourite. It’s vegetarian friendly, easy to make and a serious flavour powerhouse.
I’ve also included my go-to pizza base recipe below – but you could just use a store bought base if you like. Or try my 5 minute homemade pizza dough (literally 2 ingredients and it’s so simple).
At least 45 minutes before you want to cook your pizzas, get your oven preheating to its highest setting (that’s 250C for me). Pop whatever you’re cooking the pizzas on, on the top shelf of the oven (pizza stone, cast iron pan or oven trays).
Ingredients
For the cheesy white sauce –
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon flour
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup grated cheese (I like using a combination of strong cheddar and 2 tablespoons of blue cheese)
Toppings for 2 pizzas –
- 2 ripe peaches, thinly sliced (or use nectarines)
- 4 asparagus spears, thinly sliced
- 4 tablespoons creamy blue cheese
- 2 tablespoons sweet chilli jam (try my easy chilli jam recipe)
- Handful of arugula leaves
For the dough –
- 500g flour (plain, bread or 00 flour)
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 375g lukewarm water
Equipment –
- Pizza stone, cast iron pan or oven trays to cook your pizzas on
- Baking paper to top your pizzas on
Instructions
For 2 pizzas –
- Make the cheesy white sauce. We’ll start by making a roux – the French term for the base of this sauce. Basically, it’s equal parts fat and flour cooked into a paste and will thicken the cheesy sauce. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat, then add 1 tablespoon of flour, whisking to combine into a paste (roux) and keep whisking to cook the raw flour for a couple of minutes. Turn the heat to low and slowly pour in the milk, whisking as you go. It’ll thicken up, then thin out as you keep whisking. Keep whisking as it thickens up and starts to bubble. This will take around 5 minutes. It should end up like a thick gravy. I like to do the ‘back of the spoon test’ to see if it’s at the right consistency. Grab a small spoon, and dip it in the sauce. Make a line through the sauce on the back of your spoon with your finger (be careful as it’s hot!). If the sauce holds the line without dripping off the spoon, it’s good to go. At this point, turn the heat off then add the cup of grated cheese, whisking as it melts into the sauce. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool a little while you prepare the bases.
- Top the pizzas. I like to top my pizzas on a layer of baking paper so they’re easy to transfer into the oven (it’s very disappointing if you try to move them with your hands and they fall apart!) Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the cheesy sauce onto the base of each pizza. Divide the sliced peaches between the pizzas, then follow with the sliced asparagus and dollop over the blue cheese.
- Cook the pizzas. Still on the baking paper, transfer the pizzas onto your preheated pizza stone/cast iron pan/oven tray and cook for 10 – 15 minutes (check it after 10 – this will depend on the heat of your oven) at the top of your oven. You want the bases to be looking golden, puffy and blistered and the cheese to be super oozy and melty. Remove from the oven, then drizzle over the chilli jam. Finish by topping pizzas with the rocket leaves then slice and serve while still hot and oozy.
If you’re making the dough –
- Mix the dough. Add the 500g flour, 1 teaspoon instant yeast, 2 teaspoons salt and 375g water into a large bowl. Mix with a spoon to form a rough, floury dough. Cover with a clean tea towel for 5 minutes. You’re now going to give the dough some ‘stretch and folds’ to help develop strength, without kneading. Start by wetting your hands, then with one hand in a ‘C’ shape, scoop your hand down the edge of your bowl, to reach underneath the dough. Pull the dough up with your hand, then fold it down back onto itself. Give the bowl a quarter turn, and repeat this process. Cover the bowl with cling film and let it rest for 10 minutes. After this time, repeat the stretch and fold process one more time, then cover the bowl again with cling film and leave to rise until doubled in size. PRO TIP: Take a photo of the dough with your phone as you cover it, so you can easily compare how much it’s risen. Watch the dough rather than the clock as the rising time will depend on the temperature of your kitchen.
- Shape the bases. Divide the risen dough in 2. Using as much flour as you need, shape each piece into a ball. The easiest way to do this is to gently pull up one side of the dough a little, then fold it back on itself. Repeat with the other 3 sides, then flip the dough over. With floured hands, cup your hands around the dough and rotate the dough in a circle so that it forms into a ball, gently pulling the dough against the surface of the bench to create a little resistance so that it tightens up.
- Stretch the bases. Prepare 2 pieces of baking paper large enough to fit your pizzas on. To make sure you get a super puffy and bubbly crust, you want to handle the dough gently when you’re shaping it into a circle. DON’T use a rolling pin – if you do, you’re just deflating all the lovely airiness you’ve worked so hard to create. Add a couple of tablespoons of flour to your surface, then gently press the middle of the ball out into a small circle, leaving about 1.5cm for the crust (don’t touch it!) At this point, with floured hands, pick up the dough and let it hang off your hands. You’re using gravity to help the dough naturally stretch. Carefully rotate the dough through your hands. As you do, the dough will stretch further.
Notes
Use nectarines, plums or figs in place of the peaches if you can’t find any. Just make sure they’re lovely and ripe.
Swap out the blue cheese if you’re not a fan (though I promise the minimal amount here isn’t too ‘blue cheesy’!) You could use a strong cheddar, comté, gruyére or parmesan.
I have a whole post about my go-to, easy, sourdough style pizza dough recipe if you’re looking for more information on how to make it, with photos of the whole process.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: fakeaways
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: italian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pizza
Keywords: peach pizza, summer pizza, blue cheese pizza, sweet chilli pizza
what a delicious and unexpected combination!! so creamy and addictive. we made the bases too and they were great
★★★★★