I didn’t realize how good sweet potatoes are until way too recently. I remember being out to eat when I was about 18 and claiming that I didn’t like sweet potato fries, and my brother Colin was like, what’s wrong with you?! Fast forward a few years and I learned that they’re healthier than regular potatoes and that I actually like them so much more. And now, since I’m making up for lost time, I do potentially weird things like use mashed sweet potato as pizza ‘sauce’…but don’t be weirded out. Topped with caramelized onions, kale, goat cheese and a drizzle of bbq sauce, the flavor in this pizza is so good.
One of the biggest benefits of sweet potatoes is that they’re packed with vitamin A, which is a major antioxidant and is linked to important things like anti-aging and cancer prevention. To up the nutrients even more, I like to add a couple of tablespoons of flaxseed to the sweet potato mash — it blends in nicely and doesn’t affect the flavor.
If you bake the potato and make the caramelized onions a day or two ahead, this pizza can easily be made in 20 minutes. You could also just sauté the onion to save time, but don’t be intimidated by the caramelizing — you have to keep an eye on them but otherwise it’s easy.
Crust Options
The key to making it extra quick, and also the perfect single portion, is to use naan or pocketless pita/flatbread as the crust. If you’re cooking for two or three, you can double up on the pitas, or use a full-sized prepared crust or whatever kind of dough you like. Finding whole-wheat pizza dough at my Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods is hit or miss, but I can always find some kind of naan or pita that will work (really the only requirement is that it’s pocketless). We also really like the frozen Engine 2 100% Whole Wheat Pizza Crust from Whole Foods.
BBQ Sauce
You only need a tablespoon or two of the bbq sauce so if you won’t use it for something else, you can skip it. A lot of store-bought sauces can be full of high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors, etc., so take a look at the ingredients. Ideally, it won’t have more than about 8 grams of sugar per serving (I don’t mind some added sugar as long as it’s real sugar). Or better yet, it’ll be naturally sweetened with honey or maple syrup, but I haven’t come across that yet — let me know if you have!
Make this pizza and tell me how much you love it in a comment and review 😉
BBQ Sweet Potato Pita Pizza with Caramelized Onions & Kale
Ingredients
- 1 large sweet potato* (about 3/4 lb.)
- 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 medium yellow onion
- fine sea salt
- Splash of milk (I use unsweetened plain almond)
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed, optional
- freshly ground pepper
- 1/2 bunch curly kale (about 2 cups packed)
- 2 pieces of whole-wheat naan or pocketless pita/flatbread (for individual pizzas); OR an 11-12 in pizza crust (store bought or made with your favorite dough)
- 1-2 ounces goat cheese with garlic & herbs (or plain)
- 1-2 tbsp bbq sauce**
Instructions
Baked Potato (this can be done ahead)
- Preheat oven to 400 F. Rinse, scrub and dry the potato; pierce it several times with a fork. Place the potato on a small piece of parchment, foil or a Silpat, and bake about 45 mins or until cooked all the way through (easily mashable). Make a long slice down the center and set aside to cool.
Caramelized Onions (can also be done ahead)
- Thinly slice the onion; this tutorial is helpful! Heat about 1 tsp of olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet (I use my 10.25-in cast iron). Once hot, add the onions and stir to coat; cook about 10 mins, stirring occasionally, then sprinkle some salt and stir again.
- Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking for about 15-20 more mins or until caramelized to your liking, reducing heat to med-low if they’re starting to burn. If they start to dry out, add a splash of water (you can continue doing this as needed - I usually need to 4-5 times). Remove from heat.
Pizza
- Place a pizza stone (I love my cast iron pizza pan) or cookie sheet in the oven and preheat to 400 F if using naan/pita, or follow the instructions for your crust/dough.
- Scoop out about 1 cup of the potato into a bowl; mash with a fork. Add the flaxseed, a splash of milk, and a bit of salt and fresh pepper; mix well. You want it to be spreadable so add more milk if necessary. Set aside.
- Rinse and thoroughly dry kale; remove thick ribs and chop into bite-sized pieces. Heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet; sauté kale for about 1 min, stirring constantly, until it’s dark green and slightly wilted. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Spread the potato mixture in a thin, even layer on the crust. Sprinkle a layer of cheese, kale, and onions; repeat until you’ve used all of the toppings (they’ll cook down a bit).
- Carefully move the pizza onto your hot pan/stone and bake for 7-9 minutes, or until cheese is melty and the crust is as crispy as you want. Remove from oven and using a small spoon, drizzle some bbq sauce over the pizza. Slice and serve!
Leave a Reply