Sweet, smoky, spicy & cheesy: This is a pizza for the adventurous pizza eater.

Any non-traditional pizza lovers out there?

If you are in the mood for a bold, zesty pizza, give this one a try. At first, I didn’t know if the flavors would work together, but to my delight, they did.

I like experimenting with homemade pizzas that are on the healthier side, using whole wheat crust, lots of fresh vegetables, and a smaller amount of cheese.

I also like to make pizza when I’m looking to clean out the fridge. It’s a good opportunity to use up  leftover ingredients like tomatoes, onions, olives, and meat.

The Cost

For this recipe, I made a trip around the grocery store salad bar to pick out toppings.

I purchased a sizable amount of red and green peppers, banana peppers, and bacon for about $1.90.  As a bonus, they were pre-prepped and ready to go straight off the salad bar.

Additionally, I used whole wheat pizza dough from Trader Joe’s ($1.29 for a large bag).

Add in the cost of shredded cheese (about $1.40) and barbecue sauce ($.35) and the whole pizza ended up costing right around $5.00.

Make Your Own Barbecue Sauce In 5 Minutes

Got 5 minutes? Then you can make your own homemade barbecue sauce at home. Making your own allows you to customize the sauce to your liking, by adding more hot sauce, less sweetener, etc. Get the recipe here.

Check Out These Other Healthy-ish Pizzas

Superfood pizza

Bruschetta style pita pizza

Paleo cauliflower pizza crust

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Barbecue Bacon Pizza

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 27 minutes

A good way to save money on cheese in cooking is to use a very flavorful cheese. You can use less because it has more flavor. As a bonus, you'll also save fat and calories. Try Parmesan, Fontina, or a smoked cheese. For this recipe, I used smoked gouda.

Print

Ingredients

• 1 package refrigerated pizza dough (white or whole wheat)
• 2/3 cup barbecue sauce
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese (see note above
• 1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped banana peppers
• 1/2 cup crumbled bacon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400F. On a floured surface, roll out pizza dough into one large round or two smaller ones. Place on a round pizza pan.
2. Spread barbecue sauce evenly over pizza crust. Top evenly with cheese, red and green peppers, banana peppers, and bacon.
   
3. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until crust is fully cooked and center of the pizza is hot.

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