Cheeto Pizza
This extra-cheesy cheese pizza gets a delicious crunchy texture from a topping of Cheetos. Inspired by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, this unique dish may just become a new family favorite!
Yield: slices
Equipment
- flat baking sheet or pizza stone
- Food processor optional; or plastic bag
- parchment paper
- pizza peel optional
- rolling pin optional
- Large spoon optional
- Small microwave-safe bowl optional
- Pastry brush optional
- pizza cutter
Ingredients
- cornmeal to dust surface
For the Cheeto Pizza
- 2 ½ cups crunchy Cheetos divided
- 1 16-ounce ball ready-to-bake pizza dough at room temperature
- ½ cup pizza sauce
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella low-moisture preferred
For the Garlic-Butter Cheeto Crust (Optional)
- ¼ cup butter
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- crunchy Cheeto dust reserved from above
Serving Suggestions (All Optional)
- hot honey
- ranch dressing
Instructions
For the Cheeto Pizza
- Add ½ cup crunchy Cheetos to food processor bowl. Secure lid on food processor and pulse until Cheetos are ground to dust. Set food processor aside. Note: Alternately, place ½ cup Cheetos in sealable plastic bag and beat Cheetos with rolling pin until smashed into dust. Set aside.
- Position oven rack in middle or lower-middle of oven. Place baking sheet or pizza stone on center of oven rack, then preheat oven to 475° Fahrenheit.
- Cover flat work surface with sheet of parchment paper, then dust parchment paper evenly with cornmeal.
- Place ball of pizza dough on parchment paper. Using hands, form and stretch ball of dough into thick, even disc shape. Work quickly, as body heat and ambient temperature will make dough wet and sticky. Lightly apply cornmeal to hands if needed to help with sticking.
- Cover dough with second sheet of parchment paper, then use rolling pin to roll dough into large circle, 12 inches in diameter and approximately ¼-inch thick. Work from center of dough outward toward edges, and keep dough evenly thick across entire disc. Don't worry if dough is not perfectly round at edges. Note: Alternately, use hands instead of rolling pin and stretch dough into desired shape and size, being careful to avoid leaving excessively thick or thin spots.
- With top sheet of parchment paper still covering pizza dough, carefully lift bottom sheet of parchment paper up off of work surface. Swiftly flip stack over, keeping dough sandwiched between parchment paper, so that bottom sheet of parchment paper is now on top of dough.
- Carefully peel away top sheet of parchment paper and lightly dust pizza dough evenly with cornmeal.
- If using pizza peel, use parchment paper beneath pizza dough to flip dough over onto pizza peel. Remove parchment paper and discard.
- If not using pizza peel, recover dusted dough with parchment paper. Flip stack over again so cornmeal-side of dough is on bottom, then remove top sheet of parchment paper and discard.
- Working quickly, top dough with ½ cup pizza sauce. Use back of spoon or measuring cup to spread sauce evenly across entire pizza, leaving approximately 1-inch-wide border of uncovered dough around edge for crust.
- Top pizza sauce with 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella, making sure to spread cheese out into one even layer if possible. Sprinkle Cheeto dust from food processor evenly over top of mozzarella. Note: Reserve 1 tablespoon Cheeto dust to use in garlic-butter sauce if making.
- If using pizza peel, carefully transfer pizza onto baking sheet or pizza stone in preheated oven. If not using pizza peel, carefully pull oven rack out of oven as needed, then slide or place parchment paper with pizza directly onto baking sheet or pizza stone. Return rack to oven.
- Bake pizza 5 minutes, then check doneness. Rotate pizza as needed if pizza begins to brown unevenly. Continue baking pizza, checking doneness every 2 minutes, until cheese has melted and crust is rich, golden brown. If using garlic-butter sauce for crust, prepare sauce while pizza bakes.
For the Garlic-Butter Cheeto Crust (Optional)
- Place butter in microwave-safe bowl. Microwave butter in 30-second bursts, stirring between each, until butter is melted.
- Add garlic powder to bowl with melted butter and stir until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.
To Serve
- Once pizza is baked to desired doneness, carefully remove pizza from oven and set aside.
- Immediately top pizza with 2 cups whole crunchy Cheetos, spreading Cheetos out into one even layer. If using garlic-butter Cheeto sauce, carefully brush garlic-butter over pizza crust, then immediately sprinkle reserved Cheeto dust over sauce.
- Carefully slice pizza into 8 slices. Serve warm with ranch or hot honey drizzle if desired.
Notes
- Pizza Dough: For a homemade pizza dough, try my recipe for food processor pizza dough.
Alternate Cooking Methods
Nutrition
Serving Size: 1slice | Calories: 338cal | Protein: 11g | Fat: 16g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 32mg | Sodium: 705mg | Potassium: 139mg | Total Carbs: 37g | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Net Carbs: 35g | Vitamin A: 386IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 120mg | Iron: 2mg