It’s nearing that time of year when brussel sprouts are in season and everyone brings them as a side dish to a Thanksgiving meal. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy brussel sprouts, especially when they are paired with bacon. So recently there was a plethora of brussel sprouts at the grocery store and I decided to pick up a handful. I had no idea what I was going to do with them, with the exception of sauteing them, or roasting them in the oven and offering them up to my wife and kids, and then I thought, well, let’s make a pizza!
Ingredients:
- 6 slices of bacon, chopped, Â cooked until just slightly crisp
- 7 brussel sprouts, sliced in half
- 1 batch of your favorite pizza dough
- 1 cup of your favorite pizza sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- pinch of salt
- 2 tbsp reserved bacon grease
Start by heating a large cast iron skillet on medium heat. Add the chopped bacon and cook just until the bacon is just slightly crisp as we will finish cooking the bacon on the pizza in the oven. Pour the bacon grease into a bowl and set it to the side.
Wipe out the skillet with some paper towel being careful not to burn yourself.
Return the skillet to the stove and place it back on medium heat. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of the reserved bacon grease into the skillet, and then add the brussel sprouts. Season with a bit of salt, and cook on medium heat just until slightly tender.
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
Remove the brussel sprouts and wipe out the skillet once more time.
Drizzle in more of the bacon grease into the skillet. Take your pizza dough and gently stretch it into the skillet. Spread the pizza sauce onto the dough, season with the cracked black pepper, salt, and Italian seasoning. Top with the mozzarella cheese, lay the brussel sprouts on top, and shower with the bacon. Lay the red onion on top as well.
Place the skillet in preheated oven, and cook for about 20 minutes or until the top is nice and melted.
Using a spatula, lift the pizza out of the skillet, and slice and serve.
The flavor combination is awesome. It’s everything you expect with the bacon and brussel sprouts but in pizza form. The red onion and the tomato sauce really adds that perfect punch to the pizza as well, and if you have never made pizza in a cast iron skillet before, well, I highly recommend it. Hope you enjoy!