Sundays are often a night we head out with friends to a local brew pub and eat cheap thin crust pizzas, drink delicious pints and play cards. One of the pizzas I like at this pub is called the “Johnny Mac” because it’s topped with MacIntosh apples. I kid you not. It also has ranch dressing instead of tomato sauce, along with fresh tomatoes, bacon and cheddar cheese. I could do without the ranch dressing, but the pizza itself is delicious. This Sunday I was sick, so I stayed inside and dealt with the hand I was given. But not wanting to ruin the fun, I decided to make pizza at home for dinner. And as luck would have it, I had a huge bag of local, organic MacIntosh apples! Forget the Johnny Mac, this was gonna be the Mac Daddy of pizzas.
I kept the cheddar and apples, but did away with everything else and worked with what I had available. I caramelized a whack load of onions, threw on some salty capers along with some chewy sun dried tomatoes and a few dabs of pesto for good measure. The Johnny who?? This pizza was delicious.
apple, onion & cheddar pizza
2 T olive oil
2 large red onions, sliced thin
5 cloves garlic, sliced
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 ball of pizza dough (store bought or homemade)
1 T capers
1/4 c sliced sun-dried tomatoes
3 T pesto
2 MacIntosh apples (or any tart apple), sliced thinly
1 c cheddar cheese, grated1. Preheat oven to 375. In a large pan, heat olive oil over medium heat, adding in onions and garlic. Stir until onions turn soft, about 10 minutes. Add in balsamic vinegar and turn down heat to medium-low, stirring occassionally. The onions should be soft, glossy and caramelized, if they get too dry, add in a little water. Remove from heat.
2. Roll out your pizza dough and place on sheet. Spread dough with a thin layer of pesto and cover with caramelized onions and sprinkle with capers, and sun-dried tomatoes. Spread a layer of apples over top and then cover with cheese. Bake in oven for about 15-20 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly.
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yes, that looks fantastical 🙂
Oooh, nice!
That sounds great! I guess if you can put apples in a sandwich and in a salad you can put them on a pizza, although I never would have thought of it. But I always serve sauteed apple slices with sausage so why not?
What a COOL idea. As soon as I get myself in gear to pick some apples (or maybe pick them up… at the market) I will give this a try.
Oh boy, I can foresee a lot of pizza purists getting their togas in a knot over apples on pizza!! LOL Do the apples sweeten up during the baking process? I’m a bit picky with my apples, although my favourite by far are Macs. Nevertheless, I will try everything once!
Oh. My. God.
I must make time to make that immediately.
I swear some of these recipes make me sooo hungry!
wow. this recipe makes me really excited.
and, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, right?
Never tried apples on a pizza before. It looks delish though. Will have tp try
I love , love, love, love cheddar and apple! What a great idea for a pizza! Yum!
hope you are feeling better.
Very clever of you. Apples and cheddar are purrrrfect together.
Your pizza looks really good. I make pizza all the time, and I’m always looking for interesting topping ideas.
Oh my God This is by far the best I’ve heard of in a while.My occupation is cooking and this never occurred to me.I’ve been looking for something to welcome the apple picking season in our neck of the woods.I hope I can keep from eating all the samples.
My mouth is watering, BAD!
I’m such a pizza lover and this looks so good!
I love your adventurous ingredients! Everything sounds so tasty!
This looks amazing! I picked up all the ingredients today (minus the capers — blech, not for me).
What’s better than apples and cheese? I guess throwing in carmelized onions. Yum!
kali, it's so good! make it 🙂
ttfn300, fantastical indeed!
thanks veggiegirl, it's super yummy!
why not? ellen, give it a try!
thanks spare ribbon. i'm getting pretty hungry myself just thinking about this pizza!
adrienne, save this recipe for when you've got some apples. it's a keeper!
bijoux, i think macs are pretty sweet anyway. you're welcome to use gala's or whatever apple catches your fancy!
thanks hag, today i'm starting to feel better. i think it's the fact that tonight is antm! haha.
trupeach, i like your logic!
give it a try, beth! you may hate it, but maybe not. me, i'm a convert 🙂
why thanks, dawn! they are indeed.
sara, give this a go. i think it definitely classifies as an interesting topping!
hobbit, welcome the apple season with pizza! yum.
chrysanthemama, enjoy 🙂
who isn't a pizza lover, mevrouw? this is a tasty pie!
thanks, sweet & saucy.
jodi, i think this will be fine without the capers (me, i love the lil buggers!). let me know how it goes!
lynn, it's a magical trifecta!
I love this pizza. Amazing!
this looks great!! you never know what might be fantastic on a pizza- when I studied abroad in France a popular topping was an egg just cracked on the top of the pizza before it went in the oven. It is still one of my favorite toppings although I never would have guessed how good it would be!
Yum, yum, yum, yum,yum. What a brilliant idea to make a pizza with cheddar and apples.
I’m having a Mac Attack! Groan. Sorry, I had to say it.
thanks, eatingclub!
emily, i’ve had a cracked egg on a pizza too…in cologne germany! it must be a european thing 🙂
anne, thanks for saying it!
I have been a faithful reader for quite a long time and I just wanted to stop by and say hello! This recipe looks fab and I will try it out soon!
You are totally making my mouth water. Sounds like one of those unusual combinations that just work.
thanks for stopping by, megan!
i think this recipe really works, cate. try it and see for yourself 🙂
i am also living in vancouver, bc, and i am wondering about this pub with this interesting sounding pizza…what is the pub called? i would really like to check it out!
thanks!
-ellen
anon, that would be the yaletown brew pub – but only go on sunday nights! cheap pizzas and really good cheap beers.
Wow! I absolutely love the idea of apples on pizza! I am so glad you made this as I have to try it. mmm, apples and cheese.
helen, apples on pizza work wonderfully! try it!
We’re off to YBC tonight for this exact pizza!
oana, enjoy the johnny mac. but my version is seriously better. way better 🙂
Amazing! Were going apple picking soon and I think I’ll be makin’ some pizza pies afterward!
I love caramelized onions! Every onion dreams of being caramelized.
This pizza sounds delicious! I’m adding it to my file of recipes to try. Thank you!
I really must stop by here more often. This pizza looks wonderful!
Well I was going to cop-out and buy the refrigerated pizza crust and do the toppings, but fortunately the grocery was sold out, forcing me to do the whole thing. It was great, and everyone thought I was “clever” for using apples on pizza.
You’ve upped my street cred.
aimee, yay for autumn and apple picking!
rosie, i agree. caramelized onions are amazing.
thanks lisa for stopping by!
props on the street cred, christine! glad i could help 🙂
My partner and I make this pizza almost once a week now! Thank you for the recipe. It’s one of our favorite meals.