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This spicy chipotle Mexican pizza combines the best of two worlds. Homemade crust is topped with fiery chipotle sauce, fresh kale, sweet corn, and two cheeses finished with lime for a crowd-pleasing dinner that's ready in under an hour.
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What makes this dish special
For the good part of my life, I never craved pizza. Don't get me wrong, I still enjoyed it, but to me, it was an indulgent meal meant for pigging out days only. I know, I'm crazy. It wasn't until several years ago that I started to experiment with different pizza doughs and toppings that I learned to appreciate them. Since I'm a private chef, I get to test out my recipes on my clients, and luckily, I've been receiving positive feedback. It's good to know that I'm not the only one who's been enjoying the fun combinations!
Recently, I've been enjoying tricolore salad pizza, marry me chicken pizza, and arugula pesto pizza with broccolini and potato. Today, I decided to mix it up a little and make a spicy vegetarian pizza. Here is my spicy chipotle Mexican pizza, possibly one of my best creations yet. It's spicy, it's a little sweet, and it's a whole lot of tasty.
Recipe
Spicy Chipotle Mexican Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza dough
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 cup warm water (100-110 degrees F)
- 2 ½ cups bread flour
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Toppings
- 1 tablespoon chipotle canned in adobo sauce
- 7 ounces pizza sauce
- 2 cups kale torn into small pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper
- 1 corn shucked
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 6 ounces fresh mozzarella
- ¼ cup red onion thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons cotija
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- juice of ½ lime
Instructions
- Place pizza stone in middle rack of oven and preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Heat pizza stone for 1 hour. Alternatively, heat a baking sheet flipped upside down in oven for 10 minutes.
- Combine active dry yeast with granulated sugar and warm water in a large bowl. Stir to gently mix and let sit for 5 minutes or until foamy. Add bread flour, olive oil, and salt. Knead dough until smooth, about 5 minutes. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare toppings. Blend together pizza sauce with chipotle. Set aside.
- Massage kale with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper. In a separate bowl, mix corn with ½ teaspoon chili powder and 1 teaspoon olive oil.
- Dust clean work counter with flour and using your hands, roll dough into 12-inch circle. If using a baking sheet, roll pizza dough on parchment paper dusted with cornmeal. Spread chipotle pizza sauce in an even layer. Tear mozzarella and scatter on top followed by kale, red onion, and corn. Carefully transfer pizza onto baking sheet or pizza stone and bake for 7-8 minutes or until cheese is bubbling and crust is golden brown. Sprinkle cotija on top, squeeze fresh lime juice and finish with lime zest. Serve immediately.
Notes
Step-by-step instructions
Step 1: Make pizza dough
Out of all the pizza recipes I've shared, I realized I haven't shared my basic pizza dough. Forgive me! There are many great recipes out there, but if you're looking for another one, this is my go-to one.
Since it has a high amount of yeast, you only need to rest the dough for 15 minutes. Pizza dough that doesn't need to rest for 1 hour? Now that's what I'm talking about!
If you're preparing the dough ahead of time, you can chill it overnight. However, make sure to store the dough in a large container with plenty of room to grow.
Step 2: Prepare toppings
While the dough is resting, gather the rest of the ingredients. This spicy chipotle Mexican pizza is vegetarian, but you can easily add any protein of your choice. Shrimp, chicken, and sausage would all work beautifully.
If you want to keep it vegetarian, you can add black beans or pinto beans for extra substance.
Tear the kale into small pieces and massage with oil, salt, and pepper. Shuck the corn and season with chili powder, slice the red onion, and blend together the pizza sauce with chipotle.
Step 3: Bake pizza
Now comes the fun part: making the pizza. I refrain from using a rolling pin to roll out the dough because I don't want to deflate any of the air bubbles. Instead, I use my hands to gently flatten and stretch the dough into a 12-inch circle.
Press the dough from the center out, making the center thinner and the edges slightly thicker for the crust.
This recipe makes a fairly large pizza. You can also choose to make 2 smaller pizzas if it's easier to manage.
Top the pizza with the prepared toppings and bake for 7-8 minutes or until the cheese is bubbling.
If you have a pizza oven, you will need to adjust the time accordingly.
Finish the spicy chipotle Mexican pizza with a squeeze of fresh lime juice, lime zest, and cotija.
I absolutely loved this pizza. It combines everything good in life: corn, spices, cheese, and bread. And since it's vegetarian, it's kind of healthy, right?
Make-ahead and storage
- Make-ahead: You can make the dough up to 24 hours in advance and store it in the refrigerator. Just let it come to room temperature (about 30 minutes) before rolling it out.
- Store: For best results, reheat in a 350°F oven for 5-10 minutes rather than using a microwave. This helps maintain the crispy texture of the crust.
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