You could say that I’m on a spicy, cheesy food kick. I mean, after I made that Chipotle Gouda Queso Dip last week, it’s been one of the only things on my mind. What can I say? I’m a girl who likes spicy, cheesy foods. Pizza was on the menu plan for dinner yesterday and I had a lonely little jalapeño sitting in my fridge, begging to used—so making a jalapeño popper pizza was an absolute must.
Once I had the idea into my head, it was all I could think about all day. And once I finished a slice, I suddenly wished I had made another pizza. Seriously. There was no way I was getting a second piece once my family had a taste of it.
Everyone agreed that it was one of the best pizzas they’ve ever eaten. And I can vouch for that. This jalapeño popper pizza is spicy, cheesy, bready, savory, and like love in your belly.
As you all probably have figured out by now, I am in love with pizza. I don’t eat the frozen kind from the store or call pizza delivery for obvious reasons, but you CAN feel good about eating homemade pizza because you can control the ingredients going into every pizza you eat.
So let’s talk ingredients.
Pizza dough: I like to use my recipe for homemade pizza crust (and it is the best homemade crust I’ve ever made) because it gets crispy and a little crunchy on the outside, but it’s soft, chewy, pillowy heaven on the inside. You could also use pizza dough from the store for convenience, but I would make sure you get it from somewhere like Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods, or Earth Fare just to be on the safe side.
Cream Cheese: It’s one of the key essential flavors in a jalapeño popper, and I could probably eat a whole brick of it by myself (ahem). But you’re going to want softened cream cheese, because cold cream cheese is a little hard to spread on pizza dough.
Mozzarella Cheese: You can actually use any kind of cheese you’d like—colby jack, pepper jack, gouda, parmesan, you name it! I personally like to use mozzarella because that was what I was raised on, but you can use whatever you want.
Jalapeño Peppers: You only need one, and I recommend looking for an organic one at the grocery store or, even better, grabbing one out of your garden. And a word of caution: use gloves! Even just touching a jalapeño makes my skin burn. And be sure to keep little kiddo’s out of the kitchen.
Yellow Onion: I literally only used half of a tiny onion for this pizza because you really don’t need much. You can also use scallions or a red onion if you’d like.
Bacon: You can’t forget the bacon. You know how jalapeño poppers are usually wrapped in bacon? Well, for this pizza we’ll bake them in the oven, then cut ‘em up and sprinkle ‘em on. You can’t go wrong with bacon. Unless of course you’re a vegetarian. Or vegan. Aaaaand moving on.
So, enough talk of ingredients. In a word, this pizza is extraordinary. Even as I type this, I’m secretly craving another slice of this delicious pizza. If you like jalapeño poppers, then this pizza is for you. I don’t make jalapeño poppers all that often, but when I do they disappear in seconds—which is exactly what happened with this pizza.
You are going to love this jalapeño popper pizza. With it’s spicy, cheesy, savory toppings and it’s crispy, bready crust, you’ll wish you had made a second pizza.
Here’s the recipe:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 slices bacon, chopped
- 2 jalapeños, sliced
- ½ small onion, sliced
- ¼ cup yellow cornmeal
- 1 ball pizza dough, homemade or store-bought
- 6 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 1½ cups grated mozzarella cheese
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Lightly coat a pizza pan with olive oil.
- Place the bacon on a cooling rack on a cookie sheet and bake for 10 minutes or until completely cooked. Chop on a cutting board. Set aside.
- Sprinkle cornmeal onto prepared pizza pan. Roll out the pizza dough (or use your fingers) to measure about 10 inches across. Carefully transfer to prepared pizza pan.
- Spread the cream cheese evenly over the top, leaving a 1-inch border. Top with mozzarella cheese, jalapeños, onion, and bacon.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and cheese is 100% melty goodness.
- Slice the pizza using a pizza cutter and serve.
Pin it:
Wow – that looks fabulous! I love jalapenos…they’re a staple in our house. Pinning and sharing! Thanks for linking it up with us at Foodie Fridays!
I love jalapenos and this sounds amazing!
Found you on Fabulous Finds. Thanks for sharing!
Looks great! Thanks for sharing!
YUM! We love pizza and jalapenos in this house, so this is right up our alley. I showed this to my husband, and he actually offered to go to the grocery store to pick up more jalapenos so I can make this today. Can’t wait for that, and can’t wait to try this recipe!
I’m so glad to hear that you and your husband are excited about this pizza! It really is one of the best pizza’s I’ve ever had. I know you’ll love it, Kristi!
Oh my word this looks incredible!
I love jalapeno popper inspired dishes, especially pizza! This looks so tasty!
Oh my goodness, this sounds amazing!!! We love jalapeno poppers in this family…and homemade pizza…gotta try it!
It IS amazing Tanya! I’m sure your family will love this pizza. Thanks for stopping by!
I have never thought about combining Jalapeno Poppers and pizza! This genius!
My boyfriend would pass out if I made him this. I’ve pinned it for safe keeping. Haha I’m stopping by from SITS & I hope your having a great day!
This pizza looks divine! Love jalepenos so it’s right up my alley. We make homemade pizza one a week. I’ll be adding this one on my to make list
Maria.
Oh wow! I would love a jalapeno popper pizza. I’m not sure I could convince my family to try it, but I know I would love it. Maybe, next time we have guests over we can try it so I don’t have to eat the whole pizza myself. LOL Hey, I recently started a new linky party on Scrapality. I would love for you to visit and link up. Have a wonderful weekend.
This pizza looks really delicious! Homemade pizza can never be beat!
Absolutely, Bismah! Homemade pizza is the best.
The pizza looks amazing! Definitely one I’d like to try soon.
This pizza looks so delicious! My husband would love it! Pinning it for later! Thank you for sharing!
That looks amazing!! Thanks for linking up this week