Fact: if you put salad on top of a pizza, you will instantly feel like you’re eating healthy.
Okay, so I don’t know if everyone will agree with the statement above, but I think that just about everyone will agree that there is something undeniably delicious about a warm pizza topped with a cold, crisp salad.
When we lived in Pittsburgh, there was a little Italian restaurant that opened near us and one of their specialities was wood-fired pizzas. One of the pizzas on their menu was a pizza insalata. To put it mildly, I was obsessed. I remember being in the hospital after my daughter was born, basically demanding that someone bring me that pizza. Haha!
Sometimes it’s the simplest things done really well that end up being the most tasty. And that’s what this pizza was- something simple, executed really well. So when I first saw this recipe from Danae at Recipe Runner (she called her recipe White Pizza with Bacon and Arugula), it instantly trasported me back to that little Italian restaurant in Pittsburgh. However, I wanted to change the recipe so that it was more reminiscent of the pizza that I had fallen in love with a few years ago. Admittedly, the Pittsburgh pizza did not have bacon, but I decided to leave in the bacon because- well, it’s bacon.
So let’s get this started…
Let’s talk about pizza crust for a second. I’d recommend using a flat crust recipe for this pizza, but a thicker crust would be fine too. If you have a great pizza crust recipe, by all means please use it, but sometimes you need to use some shortcuts. So use a good store-bought crust or…
TIP: call a good local pizza place. A lot of good pizza places will sell their pizza crust dough for about $5- which is about the same price as a crust at the grocery, only this one is fresh.
Once you have the crust settled, preheat your oven to whatever temperature is needed for your crust. Now make the lemon vinaigrette. To a mason jar, add the lemon juice, lemon zest, EVOO, salt, pepper and sugar. The amount of sugar that you need to use will be determined by the tartness of the lemon juice, so add a teaspoon at a time, taste and add more if needed. Then put the lid on the mason jar, give it a good shake and set it aside.
Cook the bacon until crispy, remove to a paper towel-lined plate and then reserve at least 1 tablespoon of bacon grease. Dice up the bacon when cool.
Now make the white sauce. Add the tablespoon of reserved bacon grease to a saucepan over medium heat and then add the garlic. Cook the garlic for about 1 minute until it is fragrant, then add the flour and stir constantly to cook the flour, about 30 seconds to 1 minute. Slowly add the milk while whisking constantly. Let the sauce cook until thickened slightly and then add the salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir until it is melted and then remove from heat.
Now let’s assemble the pizza. Spread the white sauce over the pizza crust, using as much or as little as you like.
Top with the smoked mozzarella, the regular mozzarella and the diced bacon.
Bake in the oven until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 10-15 minutes.
Grab a few handfuls of baby kale and toss it in a bowl with some of the lemon vinaigrette. If you can’t find baby kale, you can use whatever greens that you like. Here is the package of the kale that I used 👇🏻
Top the warm pizza with the dressed kale and some freshly shredded parmesan. Enjoy!
| Prep Time | 20 Minutes |
| Cook Time | 10-15 Minutes |
| Servings |
Servings
|
- 1 Tbsp Reserved Bacon Grease
- 1 1/2 Tbsp AP Flour
- 3/4 Cup Milk (I used 1%)
- 2 Garlic Cloves, finely minced
- 1/2 Tsp Salt
- 1/4 Tsp Black Pepper
- 1 Tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1/3 Cup Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 Cup Fresh Lemon Juice Fresh Lemon Juice
- 1 Tsp Grated Lemon Zest
- 1/2 Cup EVOO
- 1 Tsp Salt
- 1/2 Tsp Black Pepper
- 1-2 Tsp Granulated Sugar (Depending on tartness of lemon)
Ingredients
For the White Sauce-
For the Lemon Vinaigrette-
For the Pizza-
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|
- Preheat oven to necessary temperature for pizza crust. To a mason jar, add all of the lemon vinaigrette ingredients, top with a lid and give it a good shake. Set aside.
- Cook the bacon slices until they are crisp, set on a paper towel-lined plate and reserve at least 1 tbsp of the bacon grease. Dice the bacon when cool.
- Now make the white sauce. Add 1 tbsp of bacon grease to a sauce pan over medium heat, add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute, until soft. Add the flour and stir constantly for about 30-60 seconds to cook the flour. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly.
- Cook until it has thickened slightly and then add the salt, pepper and Italian seasoning. Add the Parmesan cheese and stir until the cheese has melted. Remove from heat.
- Spread the white sauce onto the pizza crust (use as much or as little as you like). Then top with the shredded cheese and diced bacon. Put the pizza in the oven and bake until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly, about 10-15 minutes.
- Add some of the vinaigrette to the baby kale and give it a good toss. Top the warm pizza with the cold greens and then top the greens with some freshly shaved Parmesan cheese and serve.
Welcome to Cupcakes and Sarcasm! My name is Maggie and I am the creator of C & S. I am a wife and mom of two beautiful kiddos. I grew up in Columbus, Ohio and now live in Northeast Ohio with my family. I have been cooking and baking since I was a kid. I decided in 2017 that I wanted to share my passion (and recipes) with all of you! On this site, you’ll find easy and delicious recipes- both savory and sweet. I’ll also sprinkle in some stories of parenting and our adventures along the way.