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This White Pizza with Bacon and Arugula will have you grabbing a second slice before you finish the first! Topped with a parmesan cream sauce, smoked mozzarella, crisp bacon and a fresh arugula salad, it’s sure to become your new favorite pizza!
Monday started out as normal as any Monday does. I went for my morning run, then to the gym and back home to work. I went for an early afternoon walk to get away from my desk and get some fresh air. There were tons of kids out riding bikes and swimming at our community pool. Some dark clouds were building up, but that’s pretty normal as we tend to get late afternoon rain storms occasionally. I was actually looking forward to it because it was so warm out.
I got home and started working again and noticed it getting more and more cloudy. Then I heard a couple rumbles of thunder, but didn’t think much of it. Next thing I know I heard what sounded like rocks hitting the driveway. I immediately looked out the window and saw golf ball sized hail falling. I yelled to my husband to move his car into the garage, which he raced outside to do just in time. The next 40 minutes was one of the worst hail and lightning storms I’ve experienced since living in Colorado.
It came on so fast and strong that I didn’t even have time to move my potted succulents off the deck and under shelter. I stared out the windows facing the backyard watching my vegetable garden which I was just admiring the progress on that morning, get pelted with shooting rockets of hail. There wasn’t a thing I could do about it and it was so frustrating. Leaves from all the trees were dropping like it was a windy fall day, check out this video I took.
Who knows if they’ll recover. Yesterday I surveyed the damage, what a mess! The trees lost at least half of their leaves if not more, many of the small branches were broken, the window screens on the front of our house were shredded to pieces, the window frames were chipped, my vegetable garden was leveled, the succulents looked like a rabbit had been chewing on them…I almost wanted to cry.
I’m just praying that the leaves come back on the trees and that after I restart my vegetable garden later this week I’ll still be able to harvest some produce before fall.
Needless to say I’m in serious need of some comfort food and for me that is this White Pizza with Bacon and Arugula. This pizza is my spin on one my husband’s and mine favorite pizzas back in Arizona at Liberty Market. The biggest difference between the pizzas other than they have a wood fire oven, is that theirs includes grilled chicken.
I had planned to do that with mine, but it happened to be raining the day I made it and I didn’t feel like getting soaked while I grilled. I plan to add it the next time I make it. The sauce is a light Parmesan cream sauce infused with garlic and Italian seasoning. The cheese for this pizza is a combination of smoked and regular mozzarella.
The smoked mozzarella adds so much amazing flavor and it pairs perfectly with the bacon on top. The final step is to toss the arugula in a little lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper, then add it to the top of the pizza once it comes out of the oven. This White Pizza with Bacon and Arugula is sure to turn around any day gone wrong. Enjoy!
More Pizza Recipes
Spinach and Artichoke Dip Pizza
Grilled Cherry, Goat Cheese and Arugula Pizza
White Pizza with Bacon and Arugula
Ingredients
Parmesan Cream Sauce
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 1/2 tablespoons flour
- 3/4 cup low-fat milk
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Pizza
- 1 pound pizza dough
- Parmesan Cream Sauce
- 3/4 cup shredded smoked mozzarella cheese
- 3/4 cup shredded part skim mozzarella cheese
- 4 slices cooked bacon chopped
Arugula Salad
- 2 cups baby arugula
- Juice of half a lemon
- Drizzle of olive oil
- Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
Parmesan Cream Sauce
- In a small saucepan over medium heat melt the butter.
- Once the butter is melted add in the minced garlic and sauté for 30-60 seconds, careful not to burn it.
- Whisk in the flour until combined and cook for about a minute.
- Slowly pour in the milk whisking the entire time until the flour is dissolved in the mixture.
- Once the mixture thickens, about 2-3 minutes, whisk in the Italian seasoning and shredded parmesan cheese.
- Season with kosher salt and black pepper as needed and set aside.
Pizza
- Preheat oven to 475 degrees.
- Roll out the pizza dough onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkled with flour or cornmeal to keep the dough from sticking.
- Spread your desired amount of the parmesan cream sauce over the top of the dough.
- Top evenly with the shredded cheeses and chopped bacon.
- Place the pizza on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted and bubbly.
- Remove from the oven and make the arugula salad.
- Top the pizza with the arugula salad and serve immediately as the salad will wilt if it sits in the dressing too long.
Arugula Salad
- As soon as the pizza comes out of the oven, In a medium sized bowl toss the arugula with the lemon juice, salt, pepper and olive oil being careful not to overdress it as it will become soggy.
- Place the salad on top of the pizza and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Hi Danae! The WHITE PIZZA WITH BACON AND ARUGULA was amazing! I made it last weekend with my husband, and we are making it again this weekend. GREAT Recipe. Thanks!
Hi Susan!
I’m so glad you and your husband liked the pizza, thanks for trying it out!
This pizza has me drooling over here!
Quick grab a napkin! ;-)
Love these flavors! I need to add this to our next pizza night!
Thanks Jessica, we loved it!
This pizza is amazing! Love the salty bits of bacon. :)
Bacon is everything! :-)
You said bacon and arugula and pizza–husband, kids and myself are all happy :)
Woohoo! It’s always nice to have a dinner you know everyone will like!
I’m so sorry to hear about your garden and the other damage to your house. It’s crazy how fast a storm like that can start. We don’t usually have golf ball sized hail but every now and then we get it and everyone’s cars and roofs get damaged. It’s awful! This pizza on the other hand is perfect! I might have to make tonight pizza night so that I can make this pizza. I have everything I need for it too.
Thanks Ashley. This was by far one of the worst storms we’ve had as far as hail goes. At least my weekend plans are made for me, replanting my garden! :-)