Bring some classic New England fall flavors to your family pizza night! This Homemade Savory Apple Pizza with Smoked Mozzarella and Spinach is a unique, elevated pizza recipe that everyone will love.
This post has been sponsored by Fleischmann’s® Yeast. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Pizza night is the undisputed best night of the week. In our house, we typically make pizza on Friday nights, which means that we’re always looking for a way to make pizzas quickly and efficiently after a long week.
Even so, we’re super particular about our pizza dough around here! The truth is: nothing tastes better than homemade.
That’s why we love Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® yeast. This homemade pizza dough takes less time to make than it does to defrost store-bought dough! You’ll be able to save yourself the time and headache of waiting for hours for the dough to rise.
My favorite thing about RapidRise® yeast is you don’t have to stress about it! Simply add to the dry ingredients, then follow the rest of the recipe.
Making pizza dough is truly easy and it tastes so much better than anything you pick up at the store! Plus, when you make your own dough, you get to control the ingredients and feel the sense of accomplishment from making delicious pizza dough from scratch.
If making pizza dough from scratch stresses you out, try the foolproof RapidRise® pizza dough included in this recipe.
I picked up these strips of three packets of RapidRise® yeast at Shaw’s. Shopping at Shaw’s and getting a great deal on your groceries couldn’t be easier with the Shaw’s mobile app. You can shop coupons in advance to make your time in the store super quick and efficient.
Shop now for Fleischmann’s® Yeast at Shaw’s!
This recipe for Savory Apple Pizza with Smoked Mozzarella and Spinach is inspired by our favorite thing about New England fall: apples! There’s nothing like this season of the leaves changing and the temperature cooling down to make us grateful to live here -- and to crave all things apples!
Now, I know… when asked to list your favorite pizza toppings, apples may not be top of the list. But this combination of slightly tart, crisp apples and smoked mozzarella is *chef’s kiss*! I typically use McIntosh Apples because they hold up when cooking and provide a nice balance of sweet and tart, but any slightly tart apple will work well!
And since I can never leave well enough alone … and I’m always finding ways to sneak greens into every meal, the addition of fresh spinach adds a lovely pop of color, along with some neutral flavor and a nice texture balance.
This recipe highlights my super speedy homemade pizza dough that tastes delicious, is easy to work with and essentially foolproof to make - all thanks to Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® yeast. If you’ve never made homemade pizza dough before, this one’s for you!
How to make Savory Apple Pizza with Smoked Mozzarella and Spinach
Making this pizza couldn’t be easier! We start by combining the flour, RapidRise® yeast and salt in a large bowl. With the RapidRise® yeast, there’s no need to hydrate it in water first, so you can just whisk it together.
Then stir in the water and oil with a wooden spoon. Once it’s just combined, start to knead it with your hands. Add in a little flour at a time, if the dough is moist and sticky. After about 3-4 minutes, the dough will start to become slightly elastic. Form it into a ball and cover the bowl with a dampened towel. Let sit in a warm place for 45-60 minutes until it has doubled in size.
When the dough is close to risen, preheat the oven to 450 F.
Once the dough has risen, split it into two halves. Wrap the one half in cling wrap and store in the fridge for a future pizza. Roll the other half of the dough out onto a pizza pan or a sheet pan.
Drizzle the dough with a little oil, then cover with shredded smoked mozzarella, spinach, optional red onion and sliced apples - leaving about an inch around the edge for the crust.
Then bake the pizza for 15-20 minutes, until the bottom is golden brown and the cheese is melty and just starting to brown on top. Remove from the oven and let cool for a couple minutes. Use a pizza cutter to cut 8 slices, then enjoy!
Savory Apple Pizza with Smoked Mozzarella
Ingredients
- 5 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 packet 2 1/4 teaspoons Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® yeast
- 2 cups warm water
- 1 tablespoon oil plus more for topping the pizza
- 1 slightly tart apple McIntosh, Gala, Cortland, cored, quartered and sliced thinly
- 8 ounces smoked mozzarella cheese shredded
- 1 cup spinach chopped if leaves are large
Instructions
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® yeast. Stir in the water and oil and mix with a wooden spoon to combine. Once just combined, start to work it with your hands, kneading it together in the bowl until a dough begins to form. If it’s wet and sticks to your hands, add more flour, a couple tablespoons at a time. Knead for about 3-4 minutes until you’ve formed a ball of dough that is moist but doesn’t stick to your hands. Cover with a warm, dampened towel and set aside for 45 minutes to rise.
- Your dough is ready once it has doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. At this point, split the dough into 2 balls. You only need 1 for this pizza, so you can wrap the other half in cling wrap and place in the fridge for up to 1 day.
- Preheat the oven to 450 F. Using a round pizza pan or a sheet pan, spread the dough out with a rolling pin until it’s thin and even. Drizzle the dough with a little oil, then cover the surface with the shredded smoked mozzarella, spinach and sliced apples.
- Place the pizza pan in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until the edges are golden and the cheese is fully melted and just starting to look toasty.
- Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before slicing and enjoying!
I made this, but I couldn’t find smoked mozzarella. And I added apple butter as a pizza sauce.
Love that idea! I'll have to try that next time!