Breakfast for dinner, anyone? Growing up, it always felt like vacation when we sat around the kitchen table on a random weeknight, devouring stacks of pancakes while the sun set outside. This Maple-Bacon Pizza is my ode to those nights, with the addition of apples, Cheddar cheese, and fresh thyme to make it a square-ish meal.
Although I think the maple syrup really make this pizza, you can go all savory with hot sauce instead—or drizzle with hot honey for a sweet-hot compromise. Also, if you're more of a pear person, try that instead!
Once you get the hang of this recipe, you can make it your own with any combo of your favorite breakfasty items. Experiment with cooked sausage instead of bacon, mint instead of thyme, fruit syrup instead of maple, etc. (Make sure you tag me on Instagram with your unique concoctions!)
Maple-Bacon Pizza FAQs
Not really, although I find that tart apples taste the best to me, since they can hold their own against the other flavors of bacon, cheddar, and maple. Also, feel free to use one red or one green apple instead of one of each; the pizza won't look as pretty that way, but you're gonna eat it anyway . . . right?!
Of course! If you don't feel like cheddar, try a nutty Alpine-style cheese like Gruyere, aged Gouda, or appenzeller. Or, if you want to be adventurous, use a creamy blue cheese (blues and bacon are a natural match, and the additions of apple and maple syrup really sweeten the deal).
Nope. Just brush on enough for a light sheen, not a wet coating.
Pure! You can find pure maple syrup at any grocery store, but if you can buy it at a local farmers' market, do it. Locally produced, small-batch pure maple syrup is bursting with flavor and is well worth the splurge.
Wanna go down the breakfast-pizza-for-dinner rabbit hole? Check out my Scrapple and Bacon, Egg, and Cheese pizzas, too!
Maple-Bacon Pizza with Apples and Cheddar
Equipment
- Cutting board and knife
- pastry brush
- Skillet
- Large rimmed baking sheet or baking stone/steel
- Rolling pin (optional)
- Pizza peel (optional)
Ingredients
- ½ pound thick-cut bacon chopped
- 1 (14- to 16-ounce) ball pizza dough
- ½ medium red-skinned apple (such as Pink Lady) cored and thinly sliced
- ½ medium green-skinned apple (such as Granny Smith) cored and thinly sliced
- 1 heaping cup shredded Cheddar cheese
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
- pure maple syrup for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500°F (if using a baking sheet) or as high as it will go (if using a baking stone/steel; place the stone/steel in the bottom third of the oven before you start preheating). Let the oven preheat for at least 30 minutes. Then, if you’re using a baking stone or steel, switch the oven to Broil on high.
- Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium heat until it renders its fat and just begins to brown at the edges. (Be careful not to let it get crispy. Remember: It will continue cooking in the oven!) Remove the skillet from the heat and use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel–lined plate to drain. Reserve the bacon grease in the skillet.
- Stretch or roll out your dough to a 12- to 14-inch circle, then transfer it to a baking sheet / pizza pan or a lightly floured pizza peel (if using a baking stone/steel).
- Brush the dough lightly with some of the reserved bacon grease. Arrange the apple slices on top in a single layer (pretty pattern optional), then scatter the bacon over top, followed by the cheese.
- Transfer the pizza to the oven and bake until the crust is golden and the cheese has browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes on the baking sheet, 6 to 8 minutes on the baking stone/steel.
- Remove the pizza from the oven. Top with the fresh thyme and a drizzle of maple syrup; slice and serve.
Tasty Pizza says
Your Maple Bacon Pizza looking soo tasty.Great and thanks!
Robin R. says
This was the best pizza toppings ever - everyone enjoyed it at the pizza dinner that evening. Every Friday night at our house is pizza night and has been for the past 25 years. Thanks for the great pizza topping ideas!
Peggy Paul Casella says
Your comment made my night! I'm honored to be part of your impressive family ritual!