In our house, homemade pizza is not only a weekly staple it’s kind of well, become our thing. Okay. Maybe one of our things.
And while I find the way we make pizza to be completely nutritious (and freaking delicious), I still find myself craving some variety. You know?
That’s why when I found this unique and inspiring concoction via the A Beautiful Mess blog I did a little upper body happy dance and added it to the following week’s meal plan.
Luckily my boys were willing to indulge me and there were no complaints to be had. I think they both enjoy a pizza with a tomato based sauce much more (as opposed to the bbq sauce used in this recipe) but even my 19 month old ate an entire slice without batting an eye. And seconds were had by my pizza connoisseur husband. #score
I personally loved it and will most definitely make it again. I’m always looking for different ways to get all different kinds of veggies into our diet (as a hardcore veggie lover) and I feel like this was a great way to do it!
And you’ll be proud of me, I really didn’t change to much of the original recipe! Shocker, I hear ya! The original indicated that ingredients called for were enough to make two pizzas… I suppose we just make big pizzas because I only got one out of the deal ;)
Find the original bbq brussels sprout pizza recipe here and/or see my revisions in bold below.
Oh! I almost completely forgot — we totally used our own pizza crust recipe that Nick has created/perfected. I’ve included ours (in replace of the original) below ;)
BBQ BRUSSELS SPROUT PIZZA
FOR THE CRUST:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (we use Bob Red Mill’s)
1 cup water
2 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp olive oil
FOR THE TOPPINGS:
1/4 cup BBQ sauce, add more if you like a thicker sauce base (I highly recommend Stubb’s Sticky Sweet)
1/2 cup brussels sprouts, cut into fourths
1/2 red onion
2 cups shredded cheese (mozzarella, pepper jack, colby jack, or a combination)
Preheat your oven to 500°F. If you have a pizza stone it’s best to place this in the oven as well while it’s heating up.
To make the dough, begin by adding all ingredients to a mixing bowl. We are fans of our cuisinart stand mixer in combination with our dough hook. It truly takes all the work out of making pizza.
Lock mixer in place and turn on to a low setting. Let mix thoroughly until the dough actually forms a ball onto the dough hook. If some of the dough still wants to stick to the bottom of the bowl, slowly sift in a little more flour at a time. You want the dough to easily come off the dough hook and be pliable in your hands. It’s best to let the dough rise 15-30 minutes.
Finely chop the onions and saute in a little oil over medium heat. Cook until they are brown, but not burnt. This will bring out a little sweetness in the onions, which goes well with the BBQ sauce. Once done set aside.
Cook the cut brussels sprouts in a similar way. You’re looking to soften them and add a few crispy edges, but they won’t necessarily be completely cooked through. And that’s OK! They will cook a little more while on the pizza. I cooked mine in the pan (with oil over medium heat) for about 5 minutes. How long you cook them is really up to you and how you like your brussels, just don’t burn them. :)
Roll out the dough — tip: roll onto parchment paper, it makes for super easy transfer on to the pizza stone in the oven. Then spread on the BBQ sauce — again I highly reccomend Stubb’s Sticky Sweet. Add the cooked onions, brussels, and the cheese. Transfer unbaked pizza + parchment paper onto stone in oven and bake for 10 minutes until the cheese is bubbly and the edges of the crust look crispy.
Note* You may need to add extra time if your’e not using a pizza stone
Enjoy!