When I was growing up, when it came to pizza, we were a strict pepperoni and mushroom family. When I got to be a teenager, I started to feel the urge to rebel and added black olives and fresh tomatoes. And then…then it happened. I broke my father’s heart. I got married and made the switch to Hawaiian. You know, Canadian bacon (because nothing says “Hawaii” like the name of a country that’s famous for its chilly weather and rugged antlered wildlife) or ham and pineapple. And by the way, my dad is so funny about Hawaiian pizza. When we order it, he always makes a big stink about how disgusting it is and how pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza and blah blah blah. And then we catch him eating it. Every time.
When we went to Hawaii this last summer, there were lots of places that served lots of Hawaiian pizzas, but our very favorite of them all didn’t have ham (or Canadian bacon) at all–it had Kalua pork (and fresh pineapple, of course). Smokey, salty pulled pork. Ummmmm….yes, please.
You can make this in the oven, but if you’re experiencing gorgeous fall weather (or if you’re like us and still haven’t hit fall yet), I totally recommend making it on the grill. You’re going to need one recipe of pizza dough, pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese, Kalua pork, and chopped fresh pineapple. If you like other things on your Hawaiian pizzas like colored bell peppers, crumbled bacon, roasted red peppers, red onions, roasted garlic, and/or pepperoncinis, feel free to toss them on there, too.
If you’re making the pizza in the oven, follow these directions.
If you’re making the pizza on the grill, follow these directions (also, make 2-4 smaller pizzas instead of one large one unless you’re so exceedingly skilled that you could successfully make this into one large pizza, in which case, I want you to come and live and my house and cook my food for me.)
When you’re done, you have THE BEST Hawaiian pizza. Ever.
You might think I’m overstating things here. I totally never do that. EVER.
Kalua Pork Hawaiian Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 recipe pizza dough 1 recipe, see notes below
- ½ cup pizza sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups shredded Kalua pork you may use less, it just depends on your preferences, see notes for recipe link
- 1 cup fresh chopped pineapple
- any other desired toppings like sliced colored bell peppers, sliced red onions, roasted garlic, pepperoncini, crumbled bacon, etc.
Instructions
To Cook on the Grill (Recommended)
- Preheat your grill to medium-high heat with the lid closed.
- Gather everything you need so it's next to the grill: crust, all sauces and toppings, olive oil and brush, spoon to spread the sauce, and a large spatula to flip the crust.
- Stretch your pizza dough to desired size. You may want to make two smaller pizzas if you are preparing them on the grill. They don't need to be nice and round, just stretched to about ¼ inch thick.
- Drizzle crust with a little olive oil and brush to cover. Place the dough, oil side down, onto the grill. turn off the burner directly under the crust but leave the others on. Close the lid and cook about 5 minutes.
- Brush a little olive oil on the top of the crust and flip. Immediately spread about ½ cup sauce (you’ll want an even layer, not too thin, not too thick) over the pizza crust. Top with the shredded pork, pineapple, and any other desired toppings. Top with shredded cheese, then shut the lid and allow to cook for a few minutes. Take a peek and see if everything looks warm and melty. When it does, remove the pizzas from the grill and enjoy!
To Bake in the Oven
- Preheat oven to 425℉. Spray your pizza stone, work surface, and rolling pin with non-stick cooking spray.
- Shape pizza dough into a disk then transfer to your work surface. Roll dough into a large circle. Very gently transfer the dough to the pizza stone, and reshape as needed.
- Drizzle with a little olive oil and prick all over with a fork. Then bake the plain crust for 10-12 minutes until it starts to brown. Remove the pizza and stone from oven.
- Spread about ½ cup sauce (you’ll want an even layer, not too thin, not too thick) over the cooked pizza crust. Top with the shredded pork, pineapple, and any other desired toppings.
- Return the pizza and stone to the hot oven and bake 10-12 more minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.
Questions & Reviews
This looks amazing, definitely going to make it. I have always loved Hawaiian pizza, I think pineapple on pizza is soooo good!
Which pizza place did you go to? There is an amazing flatbread pizza place in Paia that makes an amazing version of this. They also have a toasted banana bread with coconut ice cream that is to die for!
My favorite pizza is the pulled pork with zucchini pizza that they used to serve at Café Paesan, which has been out of business for a couple years but I still think about how good and different that pizza was. This sounds great!
this looks awesome!
Great idea! This sounds delicious!
I’m dying over this! Definitely having this for dinner 🙂
I imagine this with Bbq sauce instead of red sauce…yummmm!
Did that tonight. Thanks for the BBQ sauce idea. Really didn’t feel like making a red sauce.
YUM! I just pulled a pork butt out to defrost but I’m totally trying this with BBQ pulled pork. Totally. = )
I’ve been wanting to make Kalua Pork Pizza since our trip 2 years ago and I still haven’t done it! The one I had also included macadamia nut pesto- I need to try that too! This looks yummy yummy yummy.
Macadamia nut anything would be awesome!
I also never tried Hawaiian pizza until I was an adult. Now it’s my favorite and this looks like heaven! Would never have thought to put pulled pork on a pizza and I can’t wait to try it. Thank you!