Step outside of your pepperoni pizza comfort zone with a flavorful pie of Smoked Gouda and White Beans on a pita bread crust!

Pizza doesn’t have to be all about pepperoni and mushrooms. Don’t get me wrong—I love a good thin crust pizza with pepperoni—but sometimes I like to mix it up a little. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised with this simple Smoked Gouda and White Bean Pizza. It has the smoky flavor from the cheese, saltiness from pancetta, and a creamy, garlicky base of white beans all on top of a multi-grain pita round. It’s a super easy week-night dinner that I think you’ll want to make again and again.

The ingredient list makes four individual pizzas, but one good thing about this recipe is that it can easily be halved. Now that it’s just the two of us at home, we easily get tired of eating the same leftovers days in a row so recipes like this one works really well for our empty nest.

To use pita rounds as your pizza crust, brush a little olive oil on the tops just as you would on a normal pizza dough. Add toppings and cheese and it’s all ready to pop into a hot oven to bake. I love the convenience of using pitas for the crust, especially for a quick meal.

Seriously, I think I could eat pizza every day if I wasn’t watching my carb intake! Here are a few of my other favorite pizza recipes that I think you might also enjoy:

Salami Pizza with Garlic Dijon Aioli. Check out this recipe for making pizza on the grill in a Bakerstone Pizza Oven Box.
Pepperoni Pesto Pizza
BBQ Chicken Pizza

Yield: 4 servings

Smoked Gouda & White Bean Pizza

Step outside of your pepperoni pizza comfort zone with a flavorful pie of Smoked Gouda and White Beans on a pita bread crust!

Ingredients

4 ounces pancetta, cubed
2 15-ounce cans white northern or cannelini beans, (drained, rinsed, and lightly mashed)
6 ounces shredded smoked gouda cheese
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon rosemary
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
4 whole wheat pita rounds
3 tablespoons olive oil,, divided

Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drain and rinse the beans. Mash the beans lightly with a fork, leaving some whole. Set aside.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet. Add the pancetta and cook until crisp. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
Add minced garlic and red pepper flakes to the skillet and cook until fragrant, about 20 seconds. Add the beans and pancetta and stir until combined and the beans are softened. Remove from heat.
Place pita rounds on a baking sheet (or a pre-heated pizza stone) and brush the tops with the remaining olive oil. Evenly divide the bean mixture between the pita rounds and spread to the edges. Top with cheese.
Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the cheese is hot and bubbly.