Bacon Pizza with Caramelized Onion and Spinach (So Good!)

This Bacon Pizza is made with a garlic cream sauce, caramelized red onions, crispy bacon, and sautéed spinach. Read on to learn tips for making the best Caramelized Onion and Bacon Pizza, my time saving meal prep suggestions for preparing this pizza with bacon, what to serve with this pizza recipe, and how to reheat leftovers.

Creating This Caramelized Onion & Bacon Pizza Recipe

A lot of times in my cooking, I tend to get into a comfort zone and I don’t like to venture outside of that.

Actually, I am like this almost always when I eat. I order the same sandwiches at the same delis; the same flavor of pasta at this certain restaurant, and so on. Why mess with a good thing, right?

I decided it was time to step outside of that zone though when making this pizza. My husband and I are die hard BBQ Chicken Pizza fans, and there isn’t much you can do to get us out of that.

I was excited to make this Caramelized Onion, Spinach and Bacon Pizza — albeit hesitant — and although I enjoyed the process of making it, I was still nervous while it was all coming together. I just wasn’t sure it would be able to live up to our all-time favorite.

What I Love About this Bacon Pizza

Oh how I was wrong! This is now in our top TWO favorite pizzas! BBQ Chicken will probably always win, but this one only comes slightly behind it.

The sauce is a gravy consistency, which worried me a lot when making it, but the homemade dough just amazingly soaks that gravy up; just enough to make the pizza taste of the garlic-y gravy sauce, but not enough to make it soggy.

The sauce just ends up with this perfect crusty flavorful dough and then it is topped with deliciously caramelized red onions, crispy bacon pieces and spinach sautéed in nothing less than bacon grease.

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Tools Used to Make this Easy Recipe for Bacon Pizza

Here are a few tools that you’ll find helpful when preparing this bacon pizza recipe:

• Pizza Stone – Putting a pizza stone in the oven or on the grill helps the bottom of the crust get nice and crispy.
• Rolling Pin – A rolling pin works well for shaping the pizza dough.
• Pizza Peel – A pizza peel is helpful to transfer the pizza to the oven after assembling it.
• Pizza Cutter – Pizza cutters are helpful for slicing the pizza after it cooks.

Caramelized Onion & Bacon Pizza Ingredients

To make this spinach, bacon, and caramelized onion pizza, you’ll need:

• Pizza dough (I’ve given my favorite recipe in the recipe card below)
• Thick-cut bacon
• Red onion
• Fresh spinach
• Garlic
• All-purpose flour
• Milk
• White wine
• Red Pepper Flakes
• Mozzarella cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• Balsamic Glaze

For the complete ingredient list and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FREE printable recipe card.

How to Make Onion & Bacon Pizza

This caramelized onion and bacon pizza recipe is easy to make, and the toppings can be prepped while the pizza dough rises. Here’s an overview of how the recipe comes together:

Making the Pizza Dough for this Bacon Pizza Recipe

I’ve given directions on how to make my go-to pizza dough in the recipe card below. You’re welcome to use store-bought pizza dough as well.

1. Add warm water to a medium bowl or glass measuring cup. Sprinkle yeast over top and let sit 5 minutes. Then, add the room temperature water, oil, and stir.
2. Next, add the half of the flour and sea salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir using the paddle attachment until combined.
3. Next, slowly add the the liquid while mixing.
4. Then, add the remaining flour, one cup of flour at a time, until you have a smooth dough that doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl.
5. Stop the mixer and replace the paddle with the dough hook. Then, knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is elastic.
6. After that, place the dough ball into an oiled large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk.

Prepping the Bacon Pizza Toppings

While the dough rises, you can start preparing the pizza toppings. Here’s what you’ll need to do:

1. First, you’ll caramelize the onions. The steps are detailed in the recipe card. This takes about 35-45 minutes. You want them to be dark golden. Set aside when done.
2. Then, cut the bacon into bite sized pieces. Transfer the bacon pieces to the same large skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Set aside when done.
3. After that, saute the fresh spinach until wilted.

Making the Sauce for this Bacon Pizza

After preparing the pizza toppings, it is time to make the pizza sauce. Here’s how to make it:

1. Next, using the same skillet you used for the bacon and spinach, add some of the reserved bacon grease, olive oil, and chopped garlic cloves.
2. Then, sauté until the garlic is fragrant, add the flour, then slowly whisk in the milk, stirring constantly until it is well mixed.
3. After that, add in the wine and salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and cook until thick.

Assembling and Baking the Pizza

Now it is time to assemble and bake the pizza!

1. Roll dough on a floured pizza peel.
2. Spread the sauce over the dough, then all the cheese on top of the sauce.
3. Next, add the onions and bacon on top of the cheese.
4. Bake pizza halfway, then add the sautéed spinach, return to oven, and continue baking until the crust is golden brown. Total cooking time will vary according to oven temperatures and pizza crust doneness preferences.
5. Drizzle with balsamic glaze before serving.

The above is simply a quick summary of this recipe. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.

Tips for Making the Best Bacon Pizza

• Heat oven for about 30-45 minutes prior to when you intend to bake the pizza. This will help the pizza stone get hot all the way through and produces a nice, crispy crust.
• Don’t know how to caramelized onions? I have 4 different methods detailed in this How to Make Caramelized Onions post.
• Grate the cheeses yourself. The pre-shredded cheeses often have anti-caking agents added. You’ll get nicer melty cheese on your bacon pizza this way. It’s usually cheaper in the long run this way, too.

Meal Prep Tips for this Pizza Recipe

I know this recipe for bacon pizza might look like it has a lot of different components and steps. Here are a few ways you can break down the recipe with shortcuts or prepare some parts in advance.

• If you don’t have time to make your own pizza dough, you can often purchase pre-made pizza dough in the deli area of the grocery store.
• You can make homemade bacon bits for this bacon pizza in advance and store them in the freezer or refrigerator until you plan to make the pizza.
• The cheese can be grated ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator (or, did you know you can freeze cheese?)
• The caramelized onions can be made in advance and frozen. I’m a fan of making a big batch and storing them in smaller amounts in the freezer to pull out whenever I need them for a recipe.

What Should I Serve with this Onion and Bacon Pizza?

Looking for side suggestions to go with this recipe? Salads are always a hit to serve alongside this Caramelized Onion and Bacon Pizza.

Italian Mixed Greens Salad with Prosciutto and Lemon Dijion Vinaigrette is my favorite salad to serve on pizza night in our house.

But, your salad doesn’t have to be fancy at all. We often use mixed greens, lettuce, cucumber, shredded carrot, and tomato for a basic side salad. Check out these 3 Simple Salad Dressing Recipes to go along with your salad.

If salad isn’t your thing, try this easy recipe for Roasted Broccoli for a vegetable side dish.

How Long Does Pizza Last?

If stored in an airtight container in the fridge, leftover onion and bacon pizza will last up to five days.

How to Reheat Leftover Bacon Pizza

You can reheat pizza easily by preheating the oven to 275°F and placing slices on a cookie sheet in the oven until warmed to desired temperature. This prevents the pizza from getting soggy.

Recipe Substitutions

• White wine: If you don’t keep alcohol in the house, feel free to substitute with chicken or veggie broth. Just note that the sauce will not taste as rich.
• Bacon: Can be substituted with pancetta (you’ll need to buy it raw and cook it in a skillet first).
• Spinach: You may use any leafy green you’d like. Sautéed kale or chard would work well.
• Cheese: Asiago or Romano could be used in place of the Parmesan cheese if that’s what you prefer or have on hand.

Typically I don’t recommend making a bunch of substitutions when preparing a new recipe. When making substitutes, you won’t know if you don’t like the recipe or if the recipe didn’t turn out due to a preparation mistake, an ill effect from the substitute, or something else.

However, if you do choose to make substitutions in a recipe, I recommend only making one substitute at a time so you don’t have a building effect of multiple poor substitutions.

Try this Delicious Bacon Pizza Recipe!

Next time you’re looking for a healthy pizza recipe, give this Caramelized Onion, Spinach and Bacon Pizza a try! Is this pizza recipe a new family favorite? Leave a comment below and give it a review for others to see what you thought of it.

On Instagram? Share your photo and tag me with @goodlifeeats and #goodlifeeatsrecipes. I’d love to see your photo of this bacon pizza!

More Unique Pizza Recipes:

Want More homemade pizza recipes to try? Here are a few of our favorites:

This Spinach and Artichoke Pizza features a creamy white bean sauce, mozzarella cheese, spinach, and artichoke hearts.

This Homemade Mexican Pizza features a homemade crust, a spiced black bean spread, and tons of veggie toppings. Perfect as a quick dinner or game day snack!

Focaccia bread is a wonderful side to any meal, but add your favorite toppings to this garlic focaccia and you have the best pizza I’ve tasted with this recipe for Pizza Caprese with Garlic Focaccia Crust!

Using raw vegetables and store-bought pita make these Pita Pizzas a quick, easy meal.

This Taco Pizza combines two of your favorite foods into one! Feel free to customize the toppings as you see fit.

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This recipe was originally written on 2/26/14 by former contributor Carla of Carla’s Confections Blog. It has been edited by Good Life Eats to include additional information