If you imagine the home of delicious pizza recipes, you might imagine the blue Mediterranean and sunny hills of the Italian countryside. And if you’re like me, you certainly didn’t imagine Sweden to be the place cookin’ up their own version of the Italian classic; but they did, and they absolutely crushed it with the uniquely Swedish and entirely delicious Kebab Pizza!
If you’re unfamiliar, again, much like I was, it’s the same delicious classic dish but with a few key additions, namely the spiced Kebab meat topping and fresh veggies. Though it’s homeland might be unexpected, Kebab Pizza is the perfect fusion of two different Mediterranean staples that’s like having a delicious Kebab wrap, but on a slice of the Italian classic.
If you shoot for simplicity, you can build these pizzas on a premade pizza dough just how you would any other pizza. We made our dough from scratch, and it always tastes better to make it yourself, and letting the dough rest gives you the chance to prepare the sauces and toppings to go on the pizza later.
As for toppings, it isn’t a kebab pizza without, you guessed it, seasoned kebab meat! We also went with a couple of tasty options with Colonel Kababz Beef Seekh Kebabs and Midamar’s Gyro Slices. They both come pre seasoned and are simple to prepare, we just chopped them both up with veggies for topping and let them cook on top of the pizza. Simple as!
For the rest of the toppings, we used chopped tomato, red onion, lettuce, and cucumber. These are a surprise hit for me as pizza toppings, it makes each slice taste like a delicious kebab or gyro wrap, but with tangy pizza sauce too. The Swedes were onto something with this flavor combo; I was a big fan.
And evidently, a hotly debated point among fans of kebab pizza is what sauce goes best over top. Some parts of Sweden use a garlic sauce, while others use a tangy pink sauce that’s a blend of yogurt, sriracha, orange soda, and a few other ingredients. We made two different pizzas, so each could get one of these drizzled over top.
I sincerely hope you give these both a try and let us know which one you like better, I am very curious to hear what the pizza community here thinks of these two!
And the final, crucial piece of this pizza party is the Swedish pizza salad that’s served as a side. It’s a simple salad, but no less important to pizza culture over there, so, for authenticity, we had to throw one together. It’s an easy blend of shredded cabbage, vinegar, olive oil, oregano, and some other ingredients that go great with these pizzas.
I always think a side salad with anything is a nice little addition to help break up the flavors as you eat, and you can toss this together at the start and let it marinate while you make the pizzas.
When the crust, topped with pizza sauce, cheese, and your choice of meat is all cooked up, melty, and delicious. Top it with the chopped veggies, your choice of sauce, and a final, zesty little pepperoncini and you’re ready to grab a slice.
Like I said up top, it really is all the best parts of a melty slice of pizza with the flavors of a fresh gyro wrap all in one. A personal favorite of mine was the gyro meat pizza topped with the garlic sauce, but I knew going in that I was going to like anything with that garlic sauce.
But don’t sit there and take my word for it, throw a curveball into your next pizza night and make some of these instead! Let us know which sauce you preferred in comments. If there’s anything you love in a kebab that goes great on a slice of this pizza, don’t be shy, we want to hear how you made this your own. Enjoy!
