Wild garlic pizza with roasted chickpeas (in a pan)

This charming wild garlic pizza is everything spring should be – warm, fresh, vibrant, and irresistible. Baked in a cast-iron pan for that perfect golden crust, it comes out thick, fluffy, and packed with rustic charm (with hardly any fuss). Instead of the usual tomato sauce, it has a creamy base of sour cream, a layer of sharp cheddar, smoky bacon, and generous dollops of wild garlic pesto that melt into every corner.

Straight from the oven, it’s finished with a scatter of fresh wild garlic leaves, crunchy roasted chickpeas, and soft white cheese – tasting like a walk through the woods on a sunny spring day.

JUMP TO RECIPE

Wild garlic – bear’s spring treasure

​If you’ve ever wandered through the woods in early spring and caught a whiff of something garlicky on the breeze, chances are you’ve stumbled into a patch of wild garlic – also known as ramsons, wood garlic, or bear’s garlic. Its Latin name is Allium ursinum, loosely meaning “the garlic of the bears.” And yes, apparently, brown bears have a thing for it. You can’t blame them – after a long winter nap, who wouldn’t want a punchy, green superfood to wake them up for a new beginning?

Wild garlic is a cousin of onions and chives, and it grows in dense green carpets in deciduous woodlands, right before the trees fill in with leaves. Its broad, soft leaves look similar to lily of the valley (but they’re tasty and edible), and when it blooms, you’ll see delicate white star-shaped flowers in little puffy clusters.

And it’s not just pretty – it’s delicious. You can chop the leaves into a salad, blitz them into pesto, stir them into a delicious wild garlic risotto, knead them into luscious green pasta dough, or mix them into a rustic soup. Even the flowers and bulbs are edible.

Now, the science bit: wild garlic is loaded with healthy stuff. It has all the usual garlic-y sulfur compounds, flavonoids (especially those fancy kaempferol types), phenolic compounds, healthy fats like alpha-linolenic acid, and more.

Here’s the magic: it contains over 20 times more adenosine than your garden garlic bulb. That’s the stuff involved in cell energy production, so maybe bears really know what they’re doing. A wild garlic snack might be their version of an energy bite.

Let’s see how we can bake it into a delicious cast-iron pan pizza!

A little pizza with bold wild garlic flavor

Here’s why you’ll love it:

1. This pizza is surprisingly easy to make – and using a cast-iron pan takes all the stress out of baking. The pan gets nice and hot before the dough comes in, so you get a quicker bake and that gorgeous golden crust without any fuss.
2. If you’re a fan of a thick, fluffy base with a super crispy edge, this one’s for you. It’s quite the opposite of our porcini pizza – more rustic and hearty, but with a satisfying crunch in every bite.
3. And doesn’t it look pretty? Fresh wild garlic leaves, roasted chickpeas, and creamy white cheese are scattered on top – it’s full of bright, earthy flavors surrounded by a thick, golden, crunchy outer edge.
4. And, of course, it’s totally adaptable. You can swap in your favorite greens, keep it vegetarian, or try it with a different pesto – basil grana padano pesto is an excellent alternative if wild garlic’s not in season.

What you’ll need to make it

WILD GARLIC LEAVES – We used freshly foraged wild garlic to make a quick, punchy sauce for the base, and saved a bunch of leaves to scatter on top after baking. It brings that bright, garlicky flavor that just screams spring. So good!

FLOUR – Regular all-purpose flour works fine here. If you’re after a healthier or gluten-free option, feel free to swap in buckwheat, chickpea, or your favorite gluten-free blend.

CHEDDAR – Sharp cheddar melts beautifully; it’s a bolder, tangier choice than mozzarella. I love how it pairs with the wild garlic.

FETA CHEESE – We used fresh white feta cheese crumbled on the top. However, this can be replaced by goat cheese, parmesan, or even cottage cheese.

COOKED CHICKPEAS – Before baking, you’ll roast the chickpeas right in the pan – it’s a great way to preheat the skillet and get them all golden and crispy. Hint: They’re totally addictive – make sure you don’t eat all before using.

SMOKED BACON (optional) – Small slices of smoked bacon were added between scoops of wild garlic sauce. Leave it out if you’re going vegetarian – it’s still amazing.

SOUR CREAM – Instead of tomato sauce, we used sour cream as the base. – it pairs perfectly with cheddar and wild garlic.

OLIVE OIL – The more olive oil in your dough, the crispier those edges get. Go for a good cold-pressed, organic one if you can – it really makes a difference in flavor.

DRY YEAST – Quick and easy. You can use fresh yeast if that’s what you have, just remember to activate it in sweeted warm milk first.

SALT and BLACK PEPPER – A little salt in the dough, a little in the sauce, a little for the pesto, and a sprinkle over the chickpeas. Same goes for pepper. With so many bold flavors going on, you don’t really need anything else.

Easy wild garlic pizza recipe

STEP 1: In a bowl, combine the flour and dry yeast. Add the olive oil, salt, and 0.7 cups (1.6 dl) of warm water, then mix until a soft dough forms. Knead it by hand for at least eight minutes. Or, use a stand mixer with a dough hook and let it knead for the same amount of time.

STEP 2: Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough rest for at least an hour. If your kitchen is a bit chilly, place it in the oven set to 50°C (122°F) to help it along.

If you’ve got more time, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge overnight. A slow rise helps develop more gluten, giving you a stretchier, more flavorful dough.

STEP 3: While the dough is resting, get your toppings ready. Start by blending fresh wild garlic leaves with a splash of olive oil and a pinch of salt to make a quick, pesto-style sauce.

I’ve added a handful of cashews for a bit of crunch. You can make a whole pesto by adding some parmesan cheese (and use it later for a yummy pasta).

Don’t forget to spare a bunch of leaves for the final topping!

STEP 4: Slice the bacon into small pieces and crumble your cheddar cheese. In fact, cheddar is soft enough to break apart with your hands – no grater needed! Preheat your oven to 410°F (210°C) so it’s nice and hot when the pizza goes in.

STEP 5: Just before you’re ready to work with the dough, heat a little olive oil in a cast-iron skillet and toss in the cooked chickpeas. Add a pinch of salt and stir them often so they don’t stick. Toast until they look nicely golden.

You’ll use this same pan for the pizza when you remove the chickpeas. Since it’ll already be warm, the dough will rise faster once it’s in.

STEP 6: Place the pizza dough into the warm (but not too hot) pan and gently press it out to the edges. If you’re a fan of a crunchier bite, feel free to leave the edges a little thicker or slightly raised for that extra crispy crust.

STEP 7: Spread about two tablespoons of sour cream over the dough, then season with a pinch of salt and black pepper. It’s a simple base, but it pairs perfectly with the wild garlic and cheddar.

STEP 8: Add the shredded cheddar on top of the sour cream layer. Don’t be shy with it – even if it looks like a lot, cheddar melts down as it bakes, and a generous handful will give you that rich, cheesy bite.

STEP 9: Finally, add the bacon pieces and spoon small dollops of wild garlic pesto across the pizza. Space them out evenly – once the pizza bakes, the pesto will melt and spread over the cheddar, creating little pockets of wild garlic with a heavenly taste.

STEP 10: Place the baking rack on the lowest level of your oven and bake the pizza at 410°F (210°C) for about 20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the edges are golden-brown and crisp.

STEP 11:  Let the pizza rest for a minute or two after baking, then top it with freshly sliced wild garlic leaves all the way to the edges. This will give you that unforgettable fresh, garlicky finish.

STEP 12: Just before serving, sprinkle the pizza with crumbled fresh white cheese and scatter the roasted chickpeas on top for a perfect spring mix of melty, crispy, and downright delicious.

Tips and wild garlic pizza variations

• Let your dough rest. The longer it chills (literally), the better the texture. If you’ve got the time, pop it in the fridge overnight. You’ll be rewarded with beautifully stretchy dough and a really crispy crust.
• In a hurry? No worries. You can take a shortcut with premade dough or even use puff pastry to make pizza tarts. Actually, making mini pizzas instead of one big one is fun – perfect for serving as finger food or an eye-catching little appetizer.
• Whip up a batch of wild garlic pesto. Use what you need for the pizza, then save the rest for pasta or gnocchi, add it into a rustic soup, or spread it on warm homemade bread. Freeze leftovers in an ice cube tray to cook with wild garlic all year round.
• This pizza is so rich that it makes a charming dinner for two nature-loving people. If there’s more of you in the house, simply double the ingredients and grab another pan – I bet no one’s going to complain.
• Celebrate the arrival of spring by serving it with a bowl of dandelion salad with eggs and crispy bacon, and for dessert? A light, no-bake dandelion cake. Cheers to new beginnings, wild greens, and delicious things!

Storage

Your pizza will stay delicious for the rest of the day if you’ve got leftovers (lucky you!). For longer storage, pop it into an airtight container and keep it in the fridge for up to two days.

Want to freeze it? No problem – just do it before adding the final toppings. It’ll keep in the freezer for up to two months.

When you’re ready to enjoy it again, thaw it in the fridge, reheat it in the oven until the crust is warm and crisp, then top it with fresh wild garlic, roasted chickpeas, and a sprinkle of soft cheese. Just like new – maybe even better.

Wild garlic pizza FAQs

Wild garlic recipes

Wild garlic green pasta dough

Wild garlic risotto

More foraged food recipes

Porcini pizza

Green gnocchi with wild spinach

Black trumpet mushroom jam

Pear potato soup with black trumpets

Saffron milk cap mushroom pate

The recipe was featured at Melynda’s Scratch made food for hungry people.

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