Chicken Bacon Pineapple Pizza

Yes, there is a lot going on in this pizza. And it all works. The crust is perfectly chewy, the chicken breast gets caramelized and brown and crisped, just before being pulled apart into bite size pieces, the sweet pineapple contrasts with the salt bacon and cheese, and all of this is on top of a homemade, creamy garlic ranch sauce. Because it’s completely made from scratch, you get to control the quality of the ingredients, and I LIVE for that! We know that when we are dealing with things like ranch, or frozen pizzas…things can start getting a little processed. I love being able to make meals like this for my family, and know that 100% of the ingredients are safe and healthy. Whenever I make this pizza for mine, it gets devoured, and everyone feels satisfied. Check out the simple step by step recipe:

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 4 1/2 cups all purpose or bread flour
• 2 1/2 tsp rapid rise yeast
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• corn meal, for sprinkling

For the ranch sauce:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise (homemade mayo recipe)
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon chives, dried or minced fresh
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Pizza toppings:

• 8 ounces mozzarella cheese
• 4 ounces monterey jack cheese
• 3/4 cup chopped pineapple, canned or fresh
• 1/2 red onion, slivered thinly
• 1 1/2 cups cooked chicken breast, pulled apart into pieces
• 6 ounces bacon, diced and cooked to very crispy
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano

First things, first, you want to get your chicken breast and bacon cooked, pulled apart and diced, and set aside. You also need to begin the pizza dough. Put all of the pizza dough ingredients into a bread machine on the dough cycle. (You can also do this by hand, but you’ll need to knead the dough for a good 10-15 minutes, and then let it rest for an hour.)

When the cycle is completed, turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Sprinkle a large aluminum baking sheet with corn meal. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Using a rolling pin and your hands, roll out and stretch the dough to fit the baking sheet, and carefully lay it out onto the corn meal once it’s the right size. Bake for 6 to 9 minutes, until the bottom is just cooked, remove from oven and baking sheet, let cool slightly.

Whisk together ranch sauce ingredients, spread over crust.

Top with three quarters of the shredded cheese, then chicken, bacon, onion and pineapple. Top with remaining quarter cheese and sprinkle with oregano.

Bake for 13 to 20 minutes, until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

Note: this pizza can also be made into smaller sizes and frozen; place on parchment paper and wrap with plastic wrap and a freezer safe storage bag. Place frozen pizza directly on rack and bake for an additional 3 to 5 minutes.