Tangy goat cheese, tender apples, and crispy kale leaves are the perfect fall trio of flavors in this apple goat cheese pizza.
Fall is here and it’s time for your next pizza night to be looking like it! Apples hanging out on pizza might seem like a strange concept at first glance, but HEAR ME OUT.
Paired with tangy goat cheese, apple butter on the crust, and a little crispy kale action on top and it just works. This pizza is the ultimate sweet-and-savory topping lovers dream!
If you’ve never tried your hand at homemade pizza before, consider this your sign to give it a try! While I love my homemade pizza dough, you can easily speed up prep for this pizza by using premade dough and I share all my best tips for how to bake a good pizza at home.
Trust me, your go-to pizza place hasn’t got anything on this fall goodness!
This Pizza features…
- Sweet apples sautéed in warm spices
- Smooth apple butter serving as the sauce
- Tangy goat cheese and crispy kale leaves baked on top
Making the Pizza
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Unsalted butter
- Apples
- Spices
- Pizza dough
- Apple butter
- Mozzarella cheese
- Kale
- Goat cheese
- Thyme
Choosing Your Pizza Dough
This pizza recipe works great with a variety of pizza crusts. You can use a pre-made dough, homemade dough, or a pre-formed crust. You will need enough dough for a 12-inch pizza crust.
Be aware that cook time may vary depending on the crust recipe you use. Always watch your pizza carefully throughout cook time to prevent overbaking.
Tips for Perfect Pizza
- Pre-cook apples – sauté the apples in a little bit of butter + spices for a few minutes to get them crisp-tender before baking.
- Use a pizza stone – for a crispy, tender crust texture you can’t beat baking this pizza on a stone. However, if you don’t own a stone, a 12-inch pizza pan will work just fine.
- Bake pizza at a high temperature – a high temperature of 450F is essential for getting a golden-brown, crispy crust exterior.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on this pizza.
- Use another cheese – replace the goat cheese with feta, sharp cheddar, or gouda.
- Try another fresh herb – use fresh rosemary, sage, or parsley in place of the thyme.
- Add meat – top pizza with crispy bacon, prosciutto, or browned sausage.
- Use another green – replace the kale with fresh baby spinach.
Storing and Reheating Pizza
This pizza stores well in refrigerator up to 6 days. I recommend reheating pizza in a 375F oven 10-15 minutes or in a 375F air fryer 6-8 minutes.
All the flavors in this pizza work to perfection together! The sweet apples balance the rich goat cheese so well and the little bit of leafy goodness from the kale adds an incredible crispy element.
Pizza night, fall-style is officially on!
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
More loaded pizzas you’ve got to try next!
- Three Cheese Pizza
- Asiago Shiitake Mushroom Artichoke Pizza
- Chicken Alfredo Roasted Red Pepper Pizza
Kale Apple Goat Cheese Pizza
This recipe may included paid links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 medium honeycrisp or gala apples, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Pizza dough for 1 (12-inch) crust
- 1/2 cup apple butter
- 1-1/2 cups shredded low-moisture mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup firmly-packed chopped fresh kale
- 3/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
Instructions
- Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg and sauté 3-5 minutes until apples are crisp-tender. Remove from heat and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 450F and adjust oven rack to middle. Place a pizza stone on oven rack to preheat (if you have one)
- Turn pizza dough onto a floured surface and shape/stretch dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer to a well-floured pizza peel if baking pizza on stone or to a greased 12-inch pizza pan.
- Spread apple butter in a thin layer over pizza crust to within 1 inch of edges and fold edges of crust over to create a 1/2-inch border. Top with mozzarella, kale, sautéed apples, goat cheese, and thyme.
- If baking pizza on stone, use the peel to slide pizza onto stone. If baking in pan, place pan in oven and bake pizza at 450F 10-15 minutes until pizza is a deep golden brown.
- Remove pizza from oven. Let stand 5 minutes then cut pizza into wedges and serve warm. Enjoy!
Cherie says
Hi Sarah
I have downloaded many of your recipes and have modified many to make them gluten-free, and I will definitely try this one out, perhaps this week. I’ll be using a cauliflower crust and will let you know how that works out for me. I’m also lactose intolerant; however, with Lactaid I still do regular cheese and as it happens I have all the ingredients for this in my fridge or in my garden so it should be an easy pizza night. I think I will add some fresh basil, too. Many cheeses one can also get gluten free, including mozzarella.
Sarah says
That’s amazing to hear, Cherie! Feel free to report back how it goes modifying this one to be gluten-free. 🙂