Cheeseburger Pizzas for an easy fun burger night
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You’ll love these individual cheeseburger pizzas built on pita bread, then topped with all your favorite burger fixings: savory ground beef, ketchup, mustard, sharp cheddar, then finished off with shredded lettuce, burger sauce, crispy dill pickles and tomatoes.
As much as I love making homemade burger buns for a burger night, sometimes we don’t have time to sit and grill proper burgers. We’re a busy family of 6, and often we need more portable options. On those nights, I love pulling out some of my homemade pita bread from the freezer and making up some quick toppings for a fast meal.
The rule on these nights is that none of the toppings should require more than 15 minutes to put together. Basically, by the time the pizza stone is hot enough to bake, you should be able to bake. That’s where this cheeseburger pizza shines. You get a salad and protein all in one in just a few minutes. Plus pickles. Who doesn’t love briny crispy dill pickles?!
Pita Cheeseburger Pizzas
What’s to love about homemade cheeseburger pizza
- Cheap!: 1 pound of ground beef feeds 8, making for an inexpensive healthier version of takeout pizza.
- Quick: Just brown the ground beef, and you’ll be ready to assemble and bake your pizzas.
- Easily customizable: Kids can easily say yes or no to individual condiments or toppings.
Ingredients and components for cheeseburger pizzas
- Pita bread: homemade or store bought
- Ground beef: you can also use the beef from Krautburgers
- Onion
- Ranch dressing or sour cream: for a simple sauce under the toppings
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Shredded cheddar
- shredded lettuce
- sliced tomatoes
- Dill pickles: we love Cleveland Kitchen pickle chips
- Burger sauce: we used Chik-fil-A sauce, but use your favorite
Why pita bread is ideal for making pizza
- Size: homemade pita bread is the perfect individual size. You can even make these for parties, cutting pizzas into fourths.
- Time-saver: Because pita is already baked, it will not stick to a pizza peel, and it just needs time in the oven for the cheese to melt and brown, making for much faster to bake pizza.
- Easy: One of the first things I taught my kids how to make was their own English Muffin Pizzas. Pita pizzas are along the same lines: take a sauce, add a topping, add some cheese, and pop it in the toaster oven for a quick lunch. These quick pizza ideas are a lifesaver for lunches and dinners alike in our house.
Helpful equipment for making pizza
- Pizza peel: easily assemble pizzas on the peel and place them onto a hot pizza stone. You can also assemble them on a 1/2 sheet pan. We do both.
- Pizza stone: if you love making pizza, treat yourself to a good pizza stone. I bought mine from California Pizza Stones. Measure the interior of your oven and buy the largest stone that fits. Their stones are excellent quality and basically unbreakable. If you don’t have a pizza stone, heat an overturned 1/2 sheet pan as the oven heats and use it as your stone. You’ll still get great pizza.
Tips for the best pita bread pizzas
- Make ahead: If you’re using homemade pita bread (and you should because it’s a million times better!), make a double batch and freeze the second half.
- Lightly bake: Bake the pitas until they’re set, but not so much that they get crusty. 3-4 minutes if you’re baking them is ideal.
- Add fresh toppings later: Add fresh toppings like lettuce, tomato slices and raw onion at the end. A little drizzle of burger sauce, and you’ll have a perfect pizza that’s a combo of baked and fresh flavors.
- Dry your pickle slices: Juicy pickles are great on a burger, but they can be a little too much on a pizza. Set the pickles on paper towels to absorb extra brine before you add them to the pizza.
Cheeseburger Pizzas
Description
Build quick and easy pizzas on pita bread with all your favorite cheeseburger fixings.
Ingredients
- 1 batch homemade pita bread (or packaged pita bread)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1/2 large onion, diced in small pieces plus some cut into thin slivers for the top of the pizza
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Ranch dressing or sour cream
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
- Shredded lettuce
- Dill pickle slices, drained and blotted dry on paper towels
- 2–3 fresh tomatoes, sliced thinly
- Cooked bacon (optional), crumbled
- Bottled burger sauce
Instructions
- If you’re using frozen pita bread, set it on the counter to thaw while the oven preheats.
- Place a pizza stone inside your oven if you have one (use an upside-down sheet tray if you don’t). Turn up the heat to 450F (232 C). Allow the oven to heat for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, brown the ground beef, onions, salt, and pepper in a skillet with the olive oil until the beef is cooked through and the onions are translucent.
Set aside the filling to cool. - Place 2 pita breads on a pizza peel or a sheet tray.
Top each pizza with about 1 tablespoon of ranch dressing or sour cream, spreading it on the bread with a spoon. - Cover the bread with some of the beef and cheese. Squeeze stripes of mustard and ketchup across the top of each pizza.
- Slide the pizzas onto the hot stone or overturned sheet tray in the oven. Bake the pizzas just until the cheese is melted and starting to brown. The edges of the pita should also be browning. This will take about 4 minutes.
- Use the peel to remove the pizzas. Top each pizza with shredded lettuce, burger sauce, slices of tomatoes, onions, and pickles and bacon if you’re using it.
- Continue baking pizzas until you’ve used up your pita. Enjoy immediately.
