Quarantine has seriously made me feel like I'm on a game show. Look at the pantry and refrigerator. See what's left. Now what? Today: apple & coconut bacon pizza.
General recipe tips: prep your cheese, bacon, onion, and vinaigrette ahead of time. I wrote the recipe out as if I did everything at once, but I actually did morning prep.
Quarantine tips: I came up with this idea over the course of two days and adjusting according to what we have in house. Use whatever crust you can make. Use whatever cheese or apples you have. I used pepper jack because a friend gave us a block a couple weeks ago. I used gala, because they were cheap in bulk. If you're not vegetarian, use bacon. There are also other ways to make vegan bacon, like with eggplant. If you're vegan, use vegan cheese. You get the point
Serves: 2 | Time: ~30 min
Ingredients
2 Monteli's cauliflower gluten free pizza crusts (do not defrost)
Cooking spray
~2 cups grated pepper jack cheese (adjust according to your love of cheese)
2 gala #apples, cored and thinly sliced (I'm sure any apples will do)
1/2 cup coconut bacon (modified recipe by Cookie + Kate below)
1/4-1/2 cup red onion, diced or sliced (depends on how much you like onion)
1 cup mixed greens
Balsamic vinaigrette, for drizzling
Coconut Bacon
1 cup large, unsweetened coconut flakes (not regular shredded coconut)
1 tbsp coconut aminos
1 tbsp liquid smoke
2 tsp maple syrup
Balsamic Vinaigrette Drizzle
2 tbsp agave
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/2 tsp each, S&P
1 garlic clove minced
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup EVO
(This vinaigrette is low on some of the ingredients because of rationing. I don't recommend for using as salad dressing, perfect for this pizza though)
Instructions
Start with the coconut bacon. Preheat oven to 350F.
Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or silicon mat.
Measure the coconut flakes out onto the baking sheet. Drizzle the coconut flakes with aminos, liquid smoke and agave. Mix well. Spread the flakes into an even layer.
Bake on the top rack for 12 to 14 minutes, flipping halfway, until flakes are mostly dry and turning golden on the edges. (Keep an eye on the coconut as it can go from golden brown to deep burnt brown fairly quickly. For softer bacon, you’ll probably only need to bake for 12 minutes, for crispy bacon, aim for 14.) The coconut flakes will further crisp up as they cool.
Now turn the oven up at 420F.
Spray your crusts with a little bit of oil. Now top them with cheese, apple slices, coconut bacon, and red onion. Put the topped crusts on pizza pans and pop them in the oven for 9-11 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Meanwhile whisk all the balsamic vinaigrette ingredients together, pour into a jar, cap, and shake it all up.
Remove pizza from oven and let cool a minute or two. Add greens and drizzle balsamic on top.
Enjoy!