Goat Cheese Pizza Recipe | Diethood

This homemade goat cheese pizza with smoky bacon and juicy cherry tomatoes is one of my favorites! It has a crisp and chewy homemade pizza crust and tasty toppings, and the flavors are perfect for summer. Make it with fresh garden tomatoes for that unbeatable summer taste!

Why shouldn’t every night be pizza night when it’s this easy to make at home? For another delicious recipe, try my grilled pizza or this hefty, cheesy homemade deep-dish pizza.

If you had told me ten years ago that I’d be sitting here eating a from-scratch goat cheese pizza, I would have agreed, because ten years ago is when I first made it! I was in my little downtown apartment, playing Chef Boyardeevski, throwing pizza dough around in the cramped kitchen.

I chopped up some bacon, crumbled over some goat cheese, and sliced a few tomatoes. The result was this cheesy, smoky, juicy goat cheese pizza that I’ve been loving ever since. If you’re a goat cheese fanatic like I am, this is one pizza you need to try!

Why You Should Make This Goat Cheese Pizza Tonight

• Easy toppings. Simple, but flavor-packed! I love the tanginess of the goat cheese next to the salty bacon and sweet ripe grape tomatoes. Everything is easy to find in the grocery store aisle and the combination is perfect for summer.
• Quick homemade crust. You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make pizza dough from scratch, with the right recipe. I include a quick pizza crust that doesn’t take 12+ hours of rising time and a prayer to get it to bake up golden and crispy. Of course, you can use your own, or go with store-bought in a pinch. 
• Great for leftovers. What’s a pizza if it isn’t delicious to gobble down the next day? This goat cheese pizza stores well in the fridge. Cold or reheated, the leftovers taste great!

What You’ll Need

Here’s an overview of the ingredients you’ll need for this goat cheese pizza, plus some notes on the crust if you’re making it from scratch (highly recommend). Scroll to the recipe card for a printable list of ingredients with the full recipe details.

• Pizza Crust – I make a simple yeasted pizza crust from flour, instant yeast, garlic powder, and olive oil. You can use bread flour as a 1:1 substitute for all-purpose in this recipe. Feel free to use another homemade crust (see below), or store-bought.
• Pizza Sauce – Choose your favorite jar of tomato sauce or marinara sauce for the base. You can also use homemade.
• Mozzarella – Part-skim or otherwise, make sure to use freshly shredded mozzarella cheese. Pre-shredded packaged cheese doesn’t melt as smoothly.
• Grape Tomatoes – I like to use smaller varieties, like grape or cherry tomatoes as they’re sweeter and less watery.
• Bacon – Thick cut or regular, partially cooked and chopped. I usually cook bacon in my air fryer.
• Goat Cheese – This can also be swapped out for crumbled feta, shaved parmesan, or blue cheese.
• Basil – Fresh basil leaves are the perfect finishing touch before serving. If you don’t have fresh herbs, give your freshly baked pizza a sprinkle with dried basil or Italian seasoning.

Easy Homemade Pizza Crust

Let’s talk pizza crusts. Because, every great pizza starts with a perfect base, and every household needs a good pizza crust recipe. Lucky for us, I have three:

• With yeast. The crust we’re making today. My yeasted pizza dough uses instant yeast, so it goes right into the dough with the other ingredients. There’s also a short rising time, about 15 minutes, but it’s just enough time to chop up your pizza toppings while you wait. See the recipe card for details.
• No yeast. I love my yeast-free pizza dough, too. It’s the crust I use for my zucchini goat cheese pizza and grilled BBQ chicken pizza recipes. I even use it to make breadsticks! It’s a great crust option if you’re out of yeast or pressed for time.
• Keto. If you’re looking for a keto pizza crust to use instead, I have an easy keto pizza margherita recipe with a delicious low-carb crust that you can borrow.

The final not-homemade option is to pick up a refrigerated or otherwise ready-made pizza crust from the store. It’s super convenient whenever I’m in a hurry.

How to Make a Goat Cheese Pizza

It’s time to put on your Italian Favorites playlist on Spotify and get cooking. This bacon and goat cheese pizza comes together easily enough. Just follow these steps:

1. Start with the crust. Prepare a pizza crust according to the recipe, or take out your store-bought crust. If needed, set your oven to 375ºF and par-bake the crust.
2. Add sauce and cheese. To assemble your goat cheese pizza, spread a thin layer of sauce over the crust. Sprinkle with cheese, then layer over the tomatoes and bacon. Crumble over the goat cheese.
3. Bake. Bake the pizza at 375ºF for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese is melty and the crust is browned. Garnish with basil, and serve!

Serving Suggestions

I always look forward to pizza night because you don’t need much else! This goat cheese pizza is pretty much a meal in itself. Maybe a side of fresh zucchini salad in the summertime, or a starter of cream cheese stuffed peppers. Crack open a cold beer and blend up some agua fresca for the kids, and that’s amore!

Storing and Reheating Leftover Pizza

• Refrigerate. Wrap slices or store any leftover goat cheese pizza airtight in the fridge for up to 2-3 days. Place a piece of parchment paper between the slices if you stack them.
• Reheat. I’ll gladly chomp down on leftover cold pizza straight from the fridge (for breakfast, no less), but if I’m reheating it, my favorite method is the oven. The microwave just doesn’t do it justice!
• Freeze. Wrap the pizza tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap or foil. Again, use parchment paper between layers. Freeze the pizza flat for up to 2 months. You can reheat the pizza straight from frozen.

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