Cheeseburger Pizza

Our cheeseburger pizza has all the elements of the best kind of burger: melty cheese, perfectly cooked meat, sliced onion. Our stomachs are grumbling just thinking about it. With a post-bake addition of tangy special sauce, fresh diced tomatoes and crunchy shredded lettuce (aka shredduce), we found ourselves transported to the cookouts of our youth where the typical grilled patties were the stars of the show. 

While our recipe focuses on flavor, there are some shock value cheeseburger pizzas out there. Pizza Hut once famously (or infamously, depending on your opinion) created a “crown crust” made of mini burgers. Champion Pizza in New York created a 40-pound monstrosity of a cheeseburger pizza in 2018: Stacks and stacks of meat, cheese and crust topped with pepperoni, all of which cost $2,000 and could feed a small army. 

Our recipe hews to the classic. Think more crowd-pleasing backyard dinner, less food challenge. Burger patties are pre-cooked to medium on a cast-iron skillet or a grill and then crumbled on top of a base of mild mozzarella, sharp cheddar and sliced white onion. Diced tomatoes, shredded iceberg lettuce and a ketchup-mayo-mustard-relish sauce garnish the finished pie after the bake. For an extra bump of flavor, we snuck some smoked paprika into our special sauce. 

It’s a perfect addition to any backyard cookout. Hot dogs, refreshments, and a cheeseburger pizza. Hello, outdoor cooking season. 

Notes: We reserve our shredded lettuce application for after we’ve sliced our pizza but before we’ve served it. Adding shredduce after slicing makes it a lot easier to cut and keeps the lettuce fresh and crispy. 

Time: 
30 minutes prep
1 to 2 minutes cook time 

Yield: 
2 x 12-inch pizzas

Equipment 
Ooni pizza oven
Ooni Infrared Thermometer
Ooni Pizza Cutter Wheel or Pizza Cutter Rocker Blade 
Ooni Pizza Dough Scraper
Ooni Cast Iron Skillet Pan
mixing bowl
spatula

Ingredients

2 x 250-gram pizza dough balls 

For the special sauce:
½ cup (100 grams) mayonnaise 
¼ cup (40 grams) ketchup
⅛ cup (20 grams) yellow mustard
¼ cup (40 grams) dill relish
2 teaspoons (10 grams) smoked paprika
salt, to taste

For the burger:
5 ounces (150 grams) ground chuck
1 ½ teaspoons 8 grams) garlic powder
1 ½ teaspoons (8 grams) freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons (10 grams) kosher salt
3 teaspoons (15 grams) Worcestershire sauce

For the pizza:
½ cup (80 grams) fresh mozzarella 
¼ cup (40 grams) shaved cheddar 
¼ cup (30 grams) sliced red onion
¼ cup (30 grams) diced tomatoes
¼ cup (40 grams) shredduce (aka shredded lettuce)

Method

This recipe would suit a variety of pizza styles, but we think sourdough, neo-Neapolitan or classic pizza dough would be a great fit. Make sure to prepare your dough ahead of time to ensure it rises at room temperature before firing up your oven.

For the special sauce:

Combine mayonnaise, ketchup, yellow mustard, dill relish and smoked paprika in a small mixing bowl and stir until well incorporated. Add salt to adjust seasoning.

For the burger:

Combine ground chuck, garlic powder, black pepper, kosher salt and Worcestershire sauce in a mixing bowl and after the mixture is well incorporated, form baseball-sized portions into patties. Bring a cast iron skillet to medium-high heat and cook the patties until medium (look for the meat to be slightly pink and register about 160°F/71°C). Let cool, then break into bite-size chunks.

For the pizza:

Fire up your Ooni pizza oven. Aim for 750°F-850°F (400°C-450°C) on the baking stone inside. Use the infrared thermometer to quickly and accurately check the temperature of the middle of the stone. Stretch your dough on a lightly floured surface. Push the air from the center out toward the crust, then use your knuckles to stretch out the base to 12 inches. Begin topping by adding the mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Add your burger meat and sliced onions. 

Slide the pizza off the peel and into your oven. Cook for one to two minutes, using a peel to turn your pizza about every 20 seconds to ensure an even cook.

When finished, remove from the oven and top with diced tomatoes and special sauce. Slice into six pieces and add the shredduce. Serve and enjoy