Cold Vegetable Pizza (Made With Hidden Valley Ranch)
There’s so much to love about this cold veggie pizza: A no-fuss crescent roll crust, a seasoned cream cheese + Hidden Valley Ranch base, cheddar cheese, and a variety of fresh cut vegetables on top. This is the perfect recipe for a potluck or social gathering.
If you’ve never had cold veggie pizza, you’re in for a treat. It’s comprised of:
- A crescent roll crust, baked to golden brown
- A layer of herb cream cheese seasoned with Hidden Valley ranch dressing mix is spread over the cooled crust
- Topped with cheese, chopped vegetables, and olives
It’s the perfect food for a potluck dinner, family gathering or informal get-together.
You can customize the toppings to your liking. This is a good chance to use up vegetable odds and ends in your fridge – and save money while you’re at it.
It’s a very easy recipe to make, and can be made ahead of time if you’re planning for a family gathering, baby shower, birthday part or other event. Simply cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge until ready to serve.
What You’ll Need To Make Cold Vegetable Pizza
Just a few simple ingredients are needed to make this recipe, keeping in mind that the fresh vegetable toppings are customizable. This is a good chance to use up fresh vegetables you already have on hand.
- Crescent roll pizza crust – Purchase an 8-ounce package of refrigerator crescent rolls (the kind sold in a tube)
- Cream cheese – Regular cream cheese or Neufchâtel cheese will work (some recipes call for sour cream instead of cream cheese – either will work but sour cream is much runnier than cream cheese so a combination of both mixed together would be best)
- Seasonings – The cream cheese is seasoned with Hidden Valley Original Ranch Salad Dressing & Seasoning powder (you can substitute actual ranch dressing)
- Cheese – Shredded cheddar is sprinkled on top of the cream cheese mixture
- Vegetables – Cut up vegetables into bite-sized pieces
What Kind Of Vegetables Go On Cold Vegetable Pizza?
You can choose from a wide variety of fresh (uncooked) vegetables:
- Carrots
- Celery
- Radishes
- Bell peppers (red, orange, yellow or green)
- Mushrooms
- Broccoli
- Cauliflower
- Grape tomatoes (leave whole)
- Red onion, sliced thin
- Green olives or black olives
- Green onions
- Fresh dill weed
To make this ranch veggie pizza extra budget-friendly, choose affordable vegetables like carrots, celery, radishes or whatever vegetable is most affordable in your local grocery store.
Cold Vegetable Pizza: A Family Favorite
Growing up, every Sunday evening was spent at my grandma and grandpa’s house. We would get together and play board games and writing games, talk about life – and eventually have a nice big “lunch” near the end of the evening.
My grandma would often make this vegetable pizza, and if we were lucky, there would be a fruit pizza served as well. These were two of her favorite recipes.
I thank God for all of those Sunday evening get-togethers. I wish I could go back in time and experience just one of them again – with my grandma, grandpa, and aunt still living.
But life doesn’t work that way.
We have to be thankful for TODAY. For the holidays spent with family. For the food. For the people we are blessed to have in our lives today.
Veggie Pizza FAQs
Here are some answers to questions about making veggie pizza:
Can I use standard pizza dough for the crust?
This is not recommended. Part of what makes this veggie pizza appetizer so delicious is the use of buttery crescent rolls. This results in a flaky crust that tastes great warm or cold. The same cannot be said about a standard pizza crust. The crescent roll dough makes the pizza.
What is the sauce made of?
The sauce on this pizza is more like a spread. Ranch dressing mix is combined with softened cream cheese to form a thick ranch spread that the veggies will stick to. You can substitute liquid ranch dressing for the powdered kind – start with 2 tablespoons per 8 ounces of cream cheese, taste, and add more if desired. You want the spread to be a thick paste so it sticks to the crust – and so the vegetables stick to it.
What toppings go on crescent roll veggie pizza?
Veggie pizza is most delicious when it’s topped with a variety of vegetables. To keep it affordable, include budget-friendly vegetables like carrots, celery, onion, and bell pepper. But lots of fresh veggies would taste great here, from mushrooms to sugar snap peas to cauliflower. This is the ideal appetizer pizza for veggie lovers!
Can this be made ahead of time?
Yes. This easy appetizer can be made up to a day ahead of time. For best taste and texture, start by baking the crescent roll dough until golden brown, top with the Hidden Valley Ranch topping, and cover with plastic wrap until ready to serve, when you’ll top with the chopped veggies.
More Great Appetizer Pizza Recipes
If you’ve never tried crescent roll veggie pizza, I encourage you to try it! You can also check out these other easy appetizer pizzas:
Cold Vegetable Pizza
Feel free to use your favorite vegetables for topping. Consider purchasing vegetables, cheese, and olives from the grocery store salad bar.
Ingredients
- 1 package crescent rolls (8 count - 8 ounces)
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons ranch dressing (or 1 tablespoon dry ranch dressing mix)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 3 cups chopped/sliced vegetables of choice (radish, carrots, pea pods, bell pepper, broccoli, cauliflower, etc.)
- 1/3 cup chopped green or black olives
Instructions
- Unroll crescent rolls onto a large baking sheet, to make one large flat pastry. Fill any gaps in the dough. Bake according to package directions until golden brown. Remove from oven to cool completely.
- Mix cream cheese, ranch dressing, and garlic powder. Spread mixture on the cooled crescent roll crust.
- Top with cheese, vegetables, and olives. Slice and serve cold.
