Grilled Bacon, Artichoke, Arugula, and Goat Cheese Flatbread Pizza

Wow, that’s a long title–and those aren’t even all the toppings! But for the sake of length, I had to simplify. Here’s the actual pizza title that just wouldn’t seem to fit in the title box:

Grilled bacon, artichoke, arugula with dressing, grape tomatoes, red onion, mozzarella, and goat cheese flatbread pizza. 

Yes. 

When I was living in the dorms and even during the year after I moved out, ordering in pizza was a staple for me. “Ordering in” as in I would order an entire pizza, just for myself. Sure, I’d share with whoever was around, but I never thought twice about it even if I knew I’d be the only one to eat it all. I would eat multiple pieces for dinner (preferable sitting on the ground and straight out of the box), then eat it cold the next morning for breakfast and then have a couple more pieces for lunch. Yes, that sounds so ridiculous, and very unhealthy…but it was so satisfying. There’s just something soothing about pizza…

Nowadays, I’ll go out to pizza with my friends but I don’t remember the last time I’ve ordered a pizza all to myself! Maybe that’s a good thing. I have, however, adapted to making my own pizza at home. I feel like this doesn’t make me regress back to my earlier eat-a-whole-pizza-in-less-than-24-hours phase though because the pizzas I make at home tend to be half the size and healthier (well, maybe only sometimes).

Since it’s summer though and scorching hot, most foods just seem too heavy right now. But I want pizza! Resolution: grilled “flatbread” pizza. Ok, it’s kind of cheating when I call it flatbread but to me, it totally works. And it’s so simple! Fresh, light, creamy, and enjoyable anytime of the day.

I bought a pre-made package of pizza dough, some fresh veggies, bacon, cheese, and fired up my grill pan. In about 30 minutes, I was chomping on some delicious grilled flatbread pizza! I wanted it to be extra light so I didn’t use any pizza sauce, although I’m sure it would have tasted very good with pizza sauce (oh, or better yet with some pesto!). I did, however, toss the arugula in some olive oil and balsamic vinegar which was a great addition.

Grilled Flatbread Pizza (makes 2 individual sized flatbread pizzas*)

• 1 16 oz. Package of pre-made pizza dough (I got mine from Trader Joe’s for only $1.29!)
• Handful of grape tomatoes, cut in half
• Artichoke hearts, quartered
• 1/2 Red onion, sliced thinly
• 6 Strips of Applewood smoked bacon, fried extra crispy and crumbled
• 1 Cup of arugula
• 1/2 Cup of mozzarella
• Crumbled goat cheese
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon of olive oil + extra for grilling
• 1  1/2Teaspoon of Balsamic vinaigrette
• Salt and pepper

Follow directions accordingly to prepare the dough (for my dough, I had to let it sit out for 20 minutes). Pre-cook and crumble the bacon, cut the tomatoes, artichoke hearts, and onion. In a separate bowl, toss the arugula with 1 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil and 1 1/2 teaspoon of balsamic vinaigrette so that the arugula is lightly coated. Sprinkle in some salt and pepper to taste.

[For these next steps, only add half of the toppings, as you will repeat the same process for the second pizza (since you are making two “servings”–or make both pizzas at once if there’s enough room on the grill!]

Heat the grill or grill pan to medium-high heat so that it’s nice and hot. Cut the dough in half (so there is about 8 oz. of dough for each pizza) and stretch the dough until it’s about 1/2 an inch thick. Lightly  drizzle olive oil over one side of the dough and spread evenly with a pastry brush so that it lightly coats the top of the dough. Place the dough on the grill pan olive oil side down. Let it cook for about 5 minutes or until the bottom is getting nice grill marks.

While the first side is cooking, drizzle olive oil on the second side and brush the entire surface of dough with the olive oil evenly. After the bottom has dark grill marks, flip the dough over. Add the tomatoes, artichoke hearts, onion, and bacon. Top with the mozzarella cheese and a little bit of goat cheese. Let cook for about 4 minutes. Close grill lid or cover grill pan for about 1 minute–just long enough for the cheese to melt slightly. Remove from grill, top with arugula and more goat cheese.

Repeat all steps for second individual sized pizza.

*When I say individual servings, I mean BIG individual servings.

**4-5 minutes on each side should be enough because the dough should be thin enough to cook through that quickly, but double check and make sure the middle of the dough is cooked before serving. If not, just leave it on the grill for a couple more minutes.

Pizza right off the grill--before arugula and extra goat cheese was added.