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The Back Story

Nine years ago, I started going to Spain every summer with my church to conduct English camps for kids. That first summer, we were taken to the restaurant Pizza Pomodoro in Gran Tarajal on the Canary Island of Fuerteventura. This is where I discovered their Pizza Verano. Verano means “summer” in Spanish and this Spanish Summer Pizza claimed the number one spot for me in the pizza world!

Cream cheese is the star ingredient here. Yes. Cream. Cheese. All other ingredients are tailored around it because let’s be honest…EVERYTHING is better with cream cheese! I never asked for the recipe. I just developed my own and changed a few things to my taste. It is literally my most favorite pizza in the entire world! So naturally, it had to be the first of my travel-inspired recipes to share! Hope you enjoy it!

Spanish Summer Pizza

Published by Heather on August 3, 2017

Who doesn't love pizza? How about pizza with an unusual, but much loved ingredient? Now what if I told you it was easy? Check out my Spanish Summer Pizza!

Prep Time15m
Cook Time10m
Total Time25m
Yield 12 square slices

Categorized Pizza, Spain, Travel Recipes

Ingredients

1 pkg Pillsbury thin crust refrigerated pizza dough
2 roma tomatoes, sliced into bite size pieces
7 oz pizza/marinara sauce
6 1/2 oz canned or fresh mushrooms, sliced
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
6 oz pkg of Canadian bacon, quartered
4 oz cream cheese, softened (get the tub vs the block because it's easier to scoop)

Directions

Set out your cream cheese about 30 min prior to making the pizza so it can soften.
Preheat the oven to instructions on the pizza crust.
Spread the pizza dough out onto a lightly sprayed cookie sheet or pizza pan.
Pre-bake crust for up to 8 minutes.
Spread on the pizza sauce.
Sprinkle on the cheese.
Top with tomatoes, then mushrooms and Canadian bacon.
Scoop little bite-sized pieces of cream cheese and top with as little or as much as desired. (I use a lot!)
Bake according to pizza crust directions. Usually somewhere between 8-10 minutes depending on the thickness of your crust and your oven. Mine took 10 minutes.
Optional: Before serving, try it with a drizzle of balsamic glaze!