Chili Cheese Fries Pizza
Slow-cooked vegetarian chili (with butternut squash, black beans, pinto beans, red beans, yellow bell peppers, tomatoes, onion, garlic, chipotle chili powder, cumin, paprika, oregano), baked sweet potato fries, buffalo mozzarella
Recipe
Ingredients*: 1 ball of pizza dough (per pizza) olive oil salt & pepper flour for dusting
semolina flour for pizza stone 1 ball of buffalo mozzarella
For the chili: 1/3 medium butternut squash, peeled, seeded, diced 3 garlic cloves, minced 2 teaspoons olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 2 yellow bell peppers, seeded & chopped 3 cups vegetable broth 3 cans of beans (we used 1 black, 1 pinto, 1 red), rinsed & drained 1 can diced tomatoes, undrained 2 teaspoons chipotle chili powder 1 teaspoon cumin 1 teaspoon paprika 2 teaspoons oregano
For the fries: 3 sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into ¼ inch strips ½ teaspoon paprika pinches of salt & pepper to taste
*This week, we made two of each pizza, so you can either divide the ingredients in half, or plan for leftovers—the chili tastes great the next day!
Directions: Here comes another night-before pizza. You can also start the chili the morning before you plan to make your pizza, just make sure you leave enough time to let it cook.
All you have to do is turn the slow cooker on high and add all the ingredients for the chili, starting with the oil and garlic. Stir to combine and put the lid on, letting it sit for about 4-5 hours. Add salt & pepper if you like, and it’s ready to put on the pizza as-is.
Meanwhile, when it’s closer to pizza time, preheat your oven to 450° F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Toss the sweet potatoes in a bowl with enough olive oil to coat, plus the paprika, salt & pepper. Then spread them out in a single layer on the baking sheet—you can use two sheets if they start to feel overcrowded.
Bake the potatoes, turning occasionally, for about 20 minutes, or until they are tender and starting to look a little charred on the edges. When they are finished, set them aside and increase the oven temperature to 550° F.
Now you can prepare your dough, using the instructions on the right. Once the oven is hot and you’ve baked your dough for a minute, take it out and brush it lightly with olive oil.
Spoon your veggie chili out onto the pizza. It’s tempting to put a ton on, but don’t overdo it—you don’t want your pizza to end up too heavy or soupy. Next add a couple handfuls of the sweet potato fries, followed by torn pieces of the mozzarella.
Put the whole thing back in the oven and let it bake until the cheese is melty and the crust is golden brown. Then take it out and enjoy this healthy alternative to the happy hour classic.