You Must Make This Breakfast Pizza With a Pancake Crust
Let’s get one thing clear: I know “breakfast pizza” is not “real pizza” but that doesn’t mean it’s not delicious. Like the Chicago-style deep dish, my favorite type of pizza for breakfast is the “quick casserole.” (I pondered over and over whether I should submit this to the ” Will It Be a Casserole? ” series, and in the end decided it was the most honest move.)
Most pizzas are known to be built on a flour-based dough crust, and removing the topping from that crust will often trigger the nearest Italian or Italian-American in the area. But pizza for breakfast is already so breaking the rules that I see no reason not to break another one. Bend over and bake a pancake crust breakfast pizza.
Gluten-free gentlemen will love the lack of traditional flour, but the main reason to make this dough is that it really tastes good. It’s like a more durable, portable version of the Cracker Barrel casserole that deserves a very high rating. The egg and cheese help the grated potatoes stick together to form a tight crust, and the whole thing is baked in the oven at 400℉ until it’s a nice golden brown. It’s tasty, crunchy, and slightly crumbly – perfect for your favorite breakfast dishes.
Toppings at your discretion. Once you make the crust, you can go crazy. Bake the mixture into mini rounds and use as a base for the Benedict, or crush it in a quarter-leaf pan and top with scrambled eggs and bacon. You can also do what I did and use Italian sausage gravy as a “sauce” and then crack whole eggs right into that “sauce”. There are a lot of options, and there are almost no wrong answers.
Hash Brown Court Pizza Breakfast
Ingredients:
For crust:
- 1 lb frozen grated pancakes, thawed
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup shredded spicy cheddar cheese
- 3/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt (reduce to 1/4 teaspoon if using table salt or fine sea salt)
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper, depending on how much you like white pepper
For filling:
- 1 cup grated mozzarella
- 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar
- 1 cup cooked sausage sauce ( regular or Italian )
- 3 eggs
Preheat oven to 400℉. Add all ingredients for the crust to a bowl and stir. Line a baking sheet a quarter of a sheet with parchment paper and press the pancake mixture into it to form an even layer. Bake until golden brown on top, 30-40 minutes.
Remove the crust from the oven and sprinkle both types of cheese on top (I make the cheese first so the gravy doesn’t soak the crust). Pour the sausage sauce over the cheese and press down with the back of a spoon, if necessary, to spread it out. Use a spoon to make three small wells in the sauce, then break an egg into each. Season each egg with a pinch of salt and pepper, then bake for 15 minutes if the eggs are runny, or 20 minutes if the yolk is firmer. Serve immediately with plenty of hot sauce.