Pizza becomes a mid-morning meal option with this recipe for a savory brunch pizza. You top the crust with a rich basil and garlic sauce, and savory bacon. Then you load it up with fresh spinach.
Eggs set up over the top as it bakes, and it’s then finished with tomatoes. Feel free to add your own additional toppings. Artichoke hearts, mushrooms or a few slices of avocado would only make this already delicious brunch option even better.
Servings: 4 to 6
Ingredients
Basil & Garlic Sauce
- 1⁄2 cup loosely packed basil leaves
- 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Pizza
- dough for 1, 12-inch pizza crust, or 1 premade crust
- 3 slices bacon, sliced into thin pieces*
- 2 cups loosely packed spinach leaves
- 4 ounces whole milk mozzarella, chopped or shredded
- 1/4 cup shaved Parmesan
- 3 large eggs
- 1 medium tomato (seeds removed), chopped
- fresh basil for garnish, chopped
- shaved Parmesan for garnish
Recipe: Basil is easy to grow, packed with flavor and brings sensory delights to the garden!
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Add the sauce ingredients to a single-serve blender, and pulse until all ingredients are finely chopped and a slightly creamy sauce results. Alternatively, you can finely chop all ingredients and stir together.
Place the 12-inch pizza dough or premade crust on a baking sheet. Spread the sauce over the pizza, leaving about 1/4-inch around the edge of the pizza.
Top with bacon and then spinach. Add the mozzarella and Parmesan.
Bake the brunch pizza for five minutes. Carefully remove from the oven. Crack an egg into a small bowl. Pour the egg onto the top of the pizza. Repeat with the remaining two eggs.
Return to the oven to bake for 30 to 35 more minutes, until the eggs are set. If the top browns too quickly before the eggs reach your desired doneness, place a piece a foil gently over the top as the pizza bakes.
Let your brunch pizza sit for five minutes. Top with tomatoes. Garnish with basil and Parmesan before slicing to serve
*Choose the meatiest slices of bacon possible, and discard any large pieces of fat. Slice very thinly into small pieces.
This will ensure the bacon cooks quickly and that excess fat doesn’t pool on the top of the pizza as it bakes.
This article originally appeared in the May/June 2021 issue of Chickens magazine.
