This Beer Cheese Sauce Bacon Pizza is the ultimate in deliciousness, made on top of some super easy to use Rhodes frozen dough! Thank you Rhodes for sponsoring this post! As always, my opinions are 100% my own.
Growing up, whenever we would travel and I would meet other kids out of state, as soon as I told them I was from Wisconsin, they would say,
“Do you live on a farm?”
Seriously? Wisconsin is known for so much more than just our farmland.
Like our beer and our cheese. :)
This is Wisconsin on a pizza. The sauce combines beer and cheese, and is deliciously peppered with paprika and ground mustard. What makes it even better? It’s got a dreamy amount of caramelized onions, spicy Italian sausage, and bacon, all cooked up in the same skillet for the most perfect blending of flavors, making an epic pizza that would be awesome for dinner, but even better for game day!
The pizza is served up on some delicious Rhodes Bake and Serve dough, making it almost like a flat bread pizza. You guys, the Rhodes dough is crazy awesome. I used their Traditional White Bread dough. The night before I made the pizza, I pulled out the frozen ball of dough and put it in a HUGE bowl, by morning, it had completely thawed, filled the bowl and was busting off the plate I’d put over the top. It worked perfectly for the pizza dough, just rolling it out with a little added flour.
For more great recipes using Rhodes dough or to find out where you can find some near you, be sure to visit their website. And for a list of great recipes to make with your kids click here! (You guys have to check out the hot dog inside of the dog, I about died!)
While most of my recipes are 100% fool proof, there are a few notes on this one to help it turn out:
- Make sure that once you make your roux (the flour/butter combo that helps the sauce thicken), you let it cook for a little bit before adding the beer. You want the color and smell to deepen.
- Add the beer just a little bit at a time. Seriously. You can’t just dump it all in. And whisk it in slowly as you go. You want it to fully combine with the roux before adding a little bit more.
- Keep in mind that the flavor of your beer will intensify, so make sure it’s one you like.
- Keep an eye on your heat, and follow the instructions, it goes from low to high, to back low again.
- Don’t skimp on the heavy cream. You need all the fat in it when combining it with the beer, so really get the heavy cream. (Ask me how I know.)
- Let the liquid cook down for the full five minutes for the best results and then fully remove it from the heat before adding the cheese.
- If you use a full cheddar cheese, you will run the risk of having the oil in it separate from the rest of the sauce when it lands on the hot crust.
- Use a finely shredded cheese, because it will melt into the sauce much better, and again, a little at a time.
Wisconsin Beer Cheese Sauce Bacon Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 roll of Traditional White Bread Rhodes Dough
- 3 TBSPs unsalted butter divided
- 1 large yellow onion
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 lb spicy Italian sausage I used Jennie-O turkey sausage
- 1/2 lb bacon diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp ground mustard
- 2 TBSP flour
- 1/2 cup beer
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 1 1/2 cups finely shredded cheddar jack cheese
Instructions
- The night before, set out your Rhodes dough in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap to defrost.
- The day of, preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a heavy bottomed pan or cast iron skillet, over medium heat.
- While it’s melting, slice up the onion. Toss it in the pan over the melted butter and let stand about five minutes. Scrape up the onions and the bottom of the pan each five minutes until the onions are completely caramelized, about a half hour. Then add the apple cider vinegar to the bottom of the pan for the deglazing. Remove the onions from the pan.
- Add the Italian sausage to the pan (no need to clean in between) and cook until completely done, breaking it up as you go. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add the bacon to the pan (no need to clean in between) and cook until crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Spread the thawed dough onto a large pizza stone or baking pan. Poke it a few times with a fork and put it into the oven for 22 minutes.
- While the dough is baking, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Add some minced garlic to the pan, stirring. Add the paprika, salt, and ground mustard.
- Then add 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour, whisking it into the butter until fully combined. Let the mixture cook about a minute, until it begins to smell nutty and deepens in color. Then slowly whisk in the 1/2 cup of beer, adding just a little at a time to fully combine it to the flour/butter mixture.
- Once the beer is completely added, slowly mix in the heavy cream. Raise the temperature on the pan and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, bring the temperature back down and simmer, while stirring for five minutes.
- Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the cup and a half of cheese just a little at a time.
- Take the dough out of the oven and allow it to sit for a few minutes so it isn’t pipping hot.
- Spread the cheese sauce over the cooked dough (you may not use all of it), then add the bacon, sausage, and finally the caramelized onions. Slice and serve!
did you make this
Wisconsin Beer Cheese Sauce Bacon Pizza
Alex says
I recently tried this and it was a tantalizing experience for the taste buds!