I’ve been food blogging for a month as of today! How happy am I?
I have a confession to make: when I joined WW in 2003, I used to weigh in on Sunday afternoons. After the meeting, no matter what my results on the scare were, I would walk three doors down.
And, I would devour one of these bad boys:
The pizzeria calls it a “Grandpa” slice. It is a MONSTER. Thick, hearty, garlicky sauce, seasonings, and onions galore. All three corners of its gloriousness hang off the edge of the plate. I eat it with a fork a knife (typically a faux pas around these parts.)
There is no cheese to be found.
I recently revisited this pizza place before seeing Reel Big Fish in concert. It had been years since I devoured this slice. I decided I MUST try to replicate it. Sadly, no description can be found on their menu.
For a fleeting moment, I thought I could be a vegan.
Then, I remembered my Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese.
I used some of my favorite base recipes to create this pizza. I visited Food Network for my pizza dough and Skinnytaste for my sauce. It’s a hodge podge of deliciousness.
My version is slightly different, but hopefully one you will enjoy. It’s saucy, crusty, and a GREAT base recipe if you’re looking to load a cheeseless pizza down with veggies.
Sweet Onion Pizza
Ingredients:
For the dough: (Adapted from FoodNetwork.com)
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 1 cup warm water (100 – 110 degrees F)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 package active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
For the topping:
- 2 c of your favorite Marinara Sauce (I used Skinnytaste’s Quick Marinara Sauce)
- 3 medium sweet onions, sliced into rings
Directions:
For the dough: (I used my KitchenAid mixer, consult foodnetwork.com for directions if you don’t have one)
- In a large bowl, pulse flour and salt a few times until mixed.
- In a small bowl, mix warm water, sugar, and yeast. Set aside about 10 minutes until foamy. (Emilybites.com does a GREAT job explaining the proper use of yeast. It’s how I learned. Check it out.)
- Once yeast is foamy, pour into flour mixture. Put your mixer on the lowest speed until flour well mixed. Add 1 tbsp olive oil, and pulse to combine.
- Mix on medium speed until a dough ball begins to form. Watch the mixer carefully, and scrape the ball off the mixer when it begins to get stuck. Mix about 5 minutes.** If your dough ball is sticky, add 1 tbsp flour at a time until no longer sticky. If it is crumbly, add 1 tbsp water at a time until no longer crumbly. You want your dough ball to be smooth, and you should be able to handle it without getting dough stuck to your fingers.**
- Form your dough into a ball, and lightly mist a bowl with cooking spray. Place your dough ball into the bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and let sit for about an hour, or until it has doubled in size. (I waited 1 1/2 hours).
- Lightly flour a baking sheet. When dough is risen, use a floured rolling pin to stretch it until slightly bigger than your cooking sheet. This will give you crusty edges and corners on your pizza.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- In a medium saucepan, mix sauce and onion rings until rings are lightly coated.
- Cook over medium heat for about 30 minutes , stirring occasionally as onion rings begin to soften. If your sauce begins to cook off/burn, add 1/2 – 1 c water to the mixture and continue cooking
- When rings are soft (should be stringy, not crunchy) remove from heat.
- Spread onions on top of prepared pizza dough. Bake 15 – 18 minutes, or until crust is lightly browned.




This looks fantastic! Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks Stacey! Let me know how it goes!