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Delicious, homemade pizza, start to finish, in less than an hour!
Did you ever think of pizza as a wonderful way to use leftovers?
Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of leftovers. But taking a few leftovers and transforming them into a delicious pizza? Now that's another story... I never really grow tired of that kind of leftover dinner!
What do I mean? Well, earlier this past week, we had family visiting and grilled steaks one evening. I purposely prepared extra steak so we'd have leftovers. Later in the week we enjoyed two different steak pizzas, one with a Thai theme, including a Thai-inspired barbecue sauce base, thinly sliced steak, shredded cheese and bits of fresh pineapple. It was garnished with chopped peanuts, basil and cilantro - delish! The second one was last night, with a pesto base, thinly sliced steak, shredded cheese, cherry tomatoes, kalamata olives and fresh basil - also quite wonderful. That was two meals from one leftover steak!
A little leftover chicken? There are a zillion different kinds of pizza you can make with a handful of shredded chicken breast. Just google it! Check out what I mean!
Pizza with shredded chicken breast.
Same is true with leftover pork, shrimp, bacon, sausage or...? You can make a yummy pizza with just about anything. I've got a recipe coming up for a breakfast pizza that features ham, eggs and a surprise host of other fresh ingredients. Everyone who tries this unusual pizza seems to love it. I think you will too!
You can purchase pre-made pizza crusts or dough and keep them in the freezer for a quick and easy meal. But what if you could make a homemade pizza, with a super delicious (tender on the inside and crisp on the outside) crust, start-to-finish and on-the-table, in less than an hour?
It's true! I created this recipe for KitchenAid back in February and I've tried and tested it lots of times since then. It's been my go-to recipe on busy days, when I know I need dinner in a hurry. And if I don't have leftovers? Well I almost always have a few tomatoes in a bowl on the counter, a bag of shredded cheese and some fresh basil either in the fridge or (even better) out in the herb garden. That makes the delicious Pizza Margarita you see in the pictures less than an hour away! Which always makes for happy faces around my dinner table!
You definitely want this Easy Artisan Pizza crust in your arsenal. For a step-by-step tutorial and instructions on how to make the Pizza Margarita you see in the pictures, just click on over to The Kitchenthusiast, the official KitchenAid blog, where our recipe's being featured. Meet you over there!
P.S. We'd love to see your pizza creations. Snap a picture, tag it #cafesucrefarine and post it on Instagram. Oh, and speaking of Instagram, be sure to take a minute and follow us. We share lots of great inspiration as well as a daily DINNER IDEA.
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Hi, Chris,
The link above for the pizza dough doesn’t work. Do you have a working link, or is it on your website and I just can’t find it?
Hi Ariana, I was working for KitchenAid at the time of this post and creating recipes for their blog. However, they discontinued that blog a while back. When I have time, I'm going to re-do the recipe to work without the KitchenAid equipment but here it is the way it was on the KitchenAid website:
EASY ARTISAN PIZZZA
2 ½ teaspoons dry active yeast (or 1 packet)
Âľ cup hot tap water
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
1. Preheat the KitchenAid® Convection Digital Countertop Oven to 400˚F. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to the KitchenAid nonstick multipurpose pan (or a 12-in round pizza pan). Set aside.
2. Fill a medium size bowl with hot tap water. Let sit for 2-3 minutes to warm bowl, then discard water and add the 3/4 hot tap water (105-115ËšF), the sugar and the yeast. Stir until the yeast is mostly dissolved (it's okay if the mixture is a little lumpy). Allow to sit for 5 minutes, until the mixture starts to bubble and foam (the bubbling and foaming means the yeast has been activated).
3. While the yeast is activating, combine the flour and salt in a medium size bowl. Once the yeast is activated, add it to the flour mixture along with the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Use a wooden spoon or sturdy spatula to stir until all flour is incorporated. The dough will look a little shaggy at this point. Sprinkle a work surface with a small amount of flour. Transfer dough to the floured surface and knead for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until nice smooth ball forms. Dust dough with flour and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes. It should be almost double in size.
4. Remove towel and sprinkle work surface lightly with flour. Flatten the dough slightly and, working with your fingers, dimple and push it into a larger circle as you go, until it's approximately the size of your pan. If it's hard to push, let it rest for a minute (this will help the elastic fibers in the dough to relax). Place dough in the prepared pan. Push on the dough with your fingers to cover the bottom and slightly up the sides of the pan to create a small rim.
5. Top with your favorite base, cheese and topping and bake in your KitchenAid® Convection Digital Countertop Oven until golden, about 12-15 minutes.
LOVE this go-to recipe!!! so simple, this is seriously perfect for the workweek grind
Lovely crust. I have been making the same pizza crust for years, it is great, but lately I was thinking about trying something new, so this recipe comes in handy.
pizza is the food for the weekend, yes please xoxo
I love your crust, it's a must try for pizza night this weekend!
I love a simple Marguerita Pizza! I have yet to really master pizza so I'm off for a peak 🙂
So many flavorful combinations and there is never a dull meal at your house!
We love homemade pizza Chris and your crust looks divine- especially the ease of using a mixer-
You can never go wrong with homemade pizza, in fact, I'm making some tomorrow night! This looks amazing!
Pizza Margherita is always our go-to pizza, but I'm loving the sound of some of your leftover pizzas! What a fabulous idea. Hope you had a wonderful holiday weekend!!!
Oh, I need this recipe for my meal planning. Love the idea of creating this dinner so quickly. Your steak pizzas sound amazing, Chris!
We are big fans of pizza and homemade dough especially if we can make it in 30 minutes! Going to check out the recipe!
Simple easy ingredients and great flavour, Chris.
Have a marvelous week ahead!
Hi Chris, we are big pizza lovers here, your crust looks perfectly cooked and I love the toppings.
The recipe is wonderful! And I love the shredded chicken link too, lots of quick goodies there. AND that little blue oven is not too shabby either...so cute!
Great idea. I always have leftovers or makings for a Pizza Margarita in my fridge and pantry. Even more important, when I come home from work this summer, I want to be able to make a quick meal.
This looks delicious and love the looks of that crust (and especially that it's so quick!). Will head on over to grab the recipe!