As some of you know, I started my very first vegetable garden this past spring. I got quite a bit of food out of it! One of the last and final crops holding on even through the Texas heat was a little bit of kale. I put it to good use with this Bacon and Kale Pizza, which is our new family favorite.
This pizza recipe is SUPER simple. It uses only 5 total ingredients, and takes under 30 minutes to throw together (assuming you have pizza dough already made). Thank you to my sister- and brother-in-law for the awesome inspiration for this recipe!
Here’s what makes the kale amazingly delicious. First, it’s sautéd in the bacon fat. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do, that’s why. Oh, and because adding fat to a bitter green like kale can make it taste less bitter (you can read more about this in my Massaged Kale Salad Recipe).
Second, it continues roasting in a super hot oven on top of the pizza, resulting in crispy crunchy pieces similar to kale chips. Honestly, I don’t know which is better- the crispy kale pieces or the crispy bacon pieces. And that’s saying a lot.
Bitter green vegetables and bacon go together soooo well. And actually, this pizza recipe is very similar to my brussels sprouts and bacon pizza. This time, however, I used prepared Alfredo sauce as the base instead of olive oil. I wanted this recipe to be extra quick and easy so I used store-bought sauce, but you can certainly make your own if you want to.
Perhaps the most exciting part of eating this pizza was the fact that we were able to give Zoey some little nibbles of it! She got the go-ahead from her pediatrician to eat (almost) anything and everything under the sun, so I’ve been giving her all kinds of tastes of things. And we figured the sooner we can get her to eat kale, the better. She loved it!
AND, for those of you who read my last post (Smoky Chicken and Avocado Tacos), I have good news: Zoey is slowly but surely coming around to liking avocados! Phew. She is my daughter, after all. I was worried for a while there.
I usually make pizza using my cast iron pizza pan. If you have one, good for you! If you don’t, I highly recommend one. But you can use a pizza stone, or rimmed baking sheet, or anything that you usually use to make pizza for this recipe.
Don’t feel like messing with a pizza stone? Make this into a sheet pan pizza instead.
More bacon recipes
- Make Ahead Breakfast Pie with a Lattice Bacon Crust
- Breakfast BLT with Spicy Mayo and Arugula
- Praline Bacon
- Skillet Potato Salad with Bacon and Arugula
Here’s the printable Bacon and Kale Pizza recipe!
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Bacon and Kale Pizza
Equipment
- Cast Iron Pizza Pan
Ingredients
- 1 prepared pizza dough
- 1 cup prepared Alfredo sauce store-bought or homemade
- 8 oz. mozzarella cheese shredded
- 4 slices bacon
- 1 cup kale leaves packed, roughly chopped
Instructions
- Preheat cast iron pizza pan or pizza stone while oven preheats to 500 degrees F.
- Meanwhile, roll out pizza dough and allow to rest on floured pizza paddle.
- Cook the 4 slices of bacon in a skillet until crispy. Remove and set aside on a paper towel lined plate. Drain all but 1 tablespoon bacon grease from skillet.
- Add 1 cup chopped kale leaves to skillet; sauté over medium high until softened and beginning to get crispy (about 3 minutes).
- Once oven has preheated, remove pizza pan or stone and turn heat down to 450 degrees F.
- Carefully transfer dough to preheated pan.
- Spread the Alfredo sauce (1 cup) on the dough, followed by the shredded mozzarella, the kale, and the bacon.
- Place the pizza back in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until cheese is fully melted and beginning to turn golden brown.
- Allow to cool on pizza paddle for at least 5 minutes before slicing.
Notes
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The provided nutrition information does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. Feel free to calculate it yourself using this calculator or by adding the recipe to Yummly.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Elizabeth
Hi Marcie! I don’t usually include nutrition information in my posts for two reasons: 1) I don’t count calories myself (instead I try and stick to eating a variety of “real food”), and 2) because I’m not a nutritionist, I can’t guarantee accurate information. You can read more about why in my FAQs. However, that there are some great online tools that can help give you an estimate of the nutrition information! This calculator will let you copy and paste the ingredients (you may have to make a few tweaks manually), enter the amount of servings, and it generates a nutrition label with all the info you need. And yes, this recipe is fairly high on the fat content (but like calories, I personally don’t usually pay attention to that). Hope this is helpful!
Christina covert
Delicious!!! Thank you!!!
Elizabeth Lindemann
So glad you liked it!