We have seasonal summer pizza toppings and recipes for you to try

Summer Lovin’

Summer is the absolute best time to feature seasonal specials. With an abundance of summer harvest vegetables and fruits, creativity in America’s pizza kitchens will be at an all-time high.

We asked our Pizza Today social followers which summer harvest they were most excited about. We look at eight summer ingredients and summer pizza ideas to wow your customers with.

Highly Anticipated Summertime Tomatoes

Photo by Tony Gemignani

We can’t talk about summer pizza toppings without highlighting everyone’s favorite summer harvest, tomatoes.There is no better pizza to highlight summer tomatoes than a garden hearty pizza by Tony Gemignani.

Get the Summer Fresh Pizza recipe now.

Tomatillos

Try a unique tomato variety. The husked green tomatillos have a more acidic, tart flavor. Make a salsa verde for your Mexican pizza with tomatillo. Or go with something a little different. Slice tomatillos and spread on sheet. Sprinkle salt, pepper and Tajin seasoning and set aside to allow excess water to draw out. Infuse your olive oil with jalapeno and garlic to use as a base, then add a 60/40 blend of mozzarella and Manchego, pinch chorizo on top and spread tomatillos throughout pizza. Add grated Cotija cheese and bake. After baking, finish with cilantro and a sprinkle of Tajin and pepper.

Sweet Corn

Whether its Peaches and Cream, Jubilee or Silver Queen, sweet corn is a sought-after summer treat and found in abundance. Make a simple white pie featuring cherry tomatoes and sweet corn and finish with a whipped ricotta or goat cheese. If you want to add a protein, go with pancetta or bacon.

Zucchini

Zucchini is beautiful and flavorful on pizza. Start with an olive oil base and add fresh mozzarella. Slice zucchini ribbons and weave them throughout the pizza, add garlic slices and ricotta. Bake. Then finish with fresh basil, grated Parmesan and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Basil

No summer is complete without fresh basil. The bounty will be plentiful. Find ways to highlight this popular herb. Almost every pizza can be enhanced with a finish of fresh basil. If you want to go basil crazy, use a pesto base and top with fresh mozzarella, roasted tomatoes and garlic and bake. Finish with fresh basil and shaved Parmesan.

Radishes

Radishes are a surprising hit on pizza. Shave them thin and add a crunch to your pizza. Or try a quick pickle with carrots. You can even add some heat with slices of your favorite hot pepper. Make a traditional white pie and finish with thin sliced prosciutto, arugula, pickled radishes, shaved Asiago and a squeeze of lemon.

Berries

An uncommon pizza topping, berries give pizza a wow factor that other summer produce can’t provide. Berries will be so hot this season that our Editor-In-Chief Jeremy White is dedicating an entire Kitchen feature to berries on pizza. Read his article.

Figs

Figs are a culinary delight on pizza. A few years ago, the creative pizza master John Gutekanst dove into the topic of figs on pizza. You should definitely check out that article “Gettin’ Figgy with It” in our Menu Development archives at pizzatoday.com. This is one of the delectable recipes John provided:

Get the Fig and Gorgonzola Pizza with Prosciutto di Parma recipe.

Denise Greer is Executive Editor at Pizza Today.