If you’re not from Canada, you may not know that Canadian Pizza is, in fact, a topping combination made popular by some of the big corporate pizza companies, including pepperoni, bacon, and mushroom. And it is (obviously) very delicious!
Okay, this is not an article about pizza with maple syrup and bacon on it! Although…it could be. Canadians do love maple syrup! The same can be said for gravy on things – including pizza. But there’s a time and a place, and (unless it’s 2 AM just outside your favorite downtown watering hole) this is not that time!
The first pizza parlor is believed to have opened in Canada in 1947. No one seems to know when the moniker “Canadian” was applied to this topping combo, but it’s been around as long as I can remember (so probably 40+ years).
Ingredients You’ll Need for Canadian Pizza
Despite these three toppings being popular within “loaded” pizzas, such as a Supreme or the Canadian “all dressed,” there’s something to be said for a degree of topping simplicity – especially when it comes to keeping a firm crust that can bear the weight and having the cheese hold the toppings in place.
Canadians, of course, love bacon – my hometown of Edmonton even has a Bacon Festival as part of their annual fair! But it’s very rare indeed to see “Canadian bacon” listed as a topping option in Canada. That’s because Canadians call it back bacon! And that’s really more like a small slice of ham, which is also delicious but not the same as bacon. Therefore, we’ll stick with a package of high-quality pre-chopped regular bacon.
- 1 pizza dough ball (store-bought or homemade)
- Pepperoni
- Bacon or bacon bits
- Mushrooms (read here for help picking the best mushrooms for pizza)
- Pizza sauce
- Mozzarella Cheese
How to Make Canadian Pizza
Whether using homemade or store-bought dough, ensure it is at room temperature. Follow the instructions on the label if using store-bought, but generally, it should be out of the fridge for about 30 minutes.
We cooked our Canadian Pizza in a standard oven using both a pizza pan and pizza stone – starting it on the pan and then transferring it to the pizza stone. Preheat the oven (which will heat the pizza stone as well).
Apply a coating of oil to the pizza pan. Stretch or roll out the dough on a floured mat or cutting board. Once it’s stretched out into a circle, lay the dough on the pizza pan.
Top the pizza with your desired sauce in an even layer. When using a pizza pan, you’ll be able to have a healthy amount of sauce.
Cooking in an Outdoor Pizza Oven
- Cook at 700°F or as specified in your dough recipe
- ~1 minute, then rotate 1 quarter turn.
- Repeat every minute until done (about 5 minutes, depending on temperature).
- Remove and rest for 5 minutes before cutting, and eat immediately.
Cooking in your Indoor Oven
- Cook at 450°F on a pizza pan (or cookie sheet)
- 7 minutes, then rotate.
- 7 minutes, then use a spatula to transfer the pizza to the pizza stone.
- The top of the pizza should already be browning, in which case, turn the oven off.
- Leave in the oven for 5 extra minutes.
- Remove and rest for 5 minutes before cutting, and eat immediately.
Place the pizza and pan in the oven. Cook per the instructions below:
Tips for Canadian Pizza
- Typical Canadian pizza is usually either a pan pizza or a medium crust (hand-tossed) thickness because the chains generally dollop quite a bit of sauce on them. Although many folks generally love a thin-crust pizza, for a three-topping pizza with a good amount of sauce, there is a lot of benefit to having a thicker slice, so that’s what we’re going to do make today – because for this pizza, we like one that can hold its shape.
- Typically, you’ll need to wash your mushrooms unless they come pre-cleaned. You’ll want to make sure your mushrooms are totally dry before adding them in order to keep the moisture down. Learn more about washing mushrooms here.
- One unique way to amplify the bacon-y-ness of your pie is to induce smoke. That can be done by flavoring your crust dough with smoke, smoking your pizza to cook it, or even using smoked mozzarella like we did on this pizza.
- Be sure to rotate the pizza in the oven!
Substitutions
You can easily substitute for a thin crust by following this thin-crust pepperoni pizza recipe and using a smaller amount of sauce.
Another option is to use turkey pepperoni. This reduces not only the overall calories but also the oil ponds from the top of the pizza.
Canadian Pizza
Equipment
- 1 Pizza pan or cookie sheet (if cooking in regular oven)
- 1 Pizza Stone (optional)
- 1 Pizza Cutter
Ingredients
- 1 12" Pizza dough (11-12 ounces, depending on thickness) Store bought or try our recipe for Easy Peasy Dough.
- 1 Tbsp AP flour and/or cornmeal If using a pizza peel
- 1 Tbsp Olive Oil if using pizza pan/cookie sheet
- .5 Cup Pizza sauce Store-bought or homemade
- 3 Ounces Pepperoni
- 2 Ounces Bacon bits
- 2 Ounces Mushrooms Your choice of varieties!
- 4 Ounces Mozzarella cheese About 1 cup
Instructions
- Roll out the pizza dough and place it on a pizza pan or pizza peel.
- Add sauce. Spread the sauce around the pizza evenly, using the back of a spoon or a spatula.
- Evenly top the pizza with the bacon bits and mushrooms.
- Add the cheese (unless you prefer the pepperoni on under the cheese).
- Add the pepperoni (unless you prefer it under the cheese).
- Follow the baking instructions per your pizza dough recipe.
Outdoor Pizza Oven Instructions
- Cook at the temperature for your pizza dough (likely 700°F).
- Rotate the pizza a quarter turn at least every minute until cooked.
Indoor Oven Instructions
- With our homemade pizza dough recipe, preheat the oven to the temperature for your dough (likely 450°F) and cook for 15 minutes (rotate half way). Then turn off the oven and leave the pizza in for another 5 minutes.
- If you have a pizza stone, you can bake the pizza for 12 minutes and then slide it off the pizza pan onto the pizza stone that has been preheating in the oven with the pizza. Then turn the oven off and let the pizza finish baking on the stone for about 5 minutes.
Prepare to Serve
- Remove from the oven and let rest on a cutting board for another 5 minutes.
- Cut and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Todd’s cooking skills have revolved around the grill since about age 12, when he developed a love for grilling and took over for Mom at the BBQ. He worked at Wendy’s and at Earl’s Tin Palace (a restaurant chain in Canada) but never really did any sort of baking…until he and Heather started making pizza together! Now he’s often making dough in the mornings and pizza in the evenings.