Ham Pineapple Pizza with Coconut Sauce
Classic Ham pineapple pizza uses ham, pineapple slices and mozzarella cheese. Otherwise known as Hawaiian pizza, it has a definite tropical flare to this special pizza!
Ok, here we go, I will probably be disowned by many of my Italian blogger friends for this one, but I swear, it is so good! 🙂
Pizza-gate, that is what it is called in culinary circles! The Italians are incensed! Pineapple should NEVER go on pizza!!!
I would heartily agree with my Italian friends, if it is made with marinara sauce! There is just something not right about the acidity of the tomato based marinara sauce and the acidity in the pineapple! They just clash, as far as their flavor profiles go. I answered that question in 2014 with a coconut based sauce.
Origins of Pineapple on Pizza
The person who is accredited for inventing Hawaiian pizza was a Greek who had emigrated to Canada. In 1962, he and his brothers were experimenting with different pizzas and tried it, just for fun, pairing it with ham.
I’ve been experimenting with coconut milk lately and thought I could make a great sauce with it. This coconut sauce is not sweet, but savory, thanks to the aid of a lot of garlic.
What you need for sauce
- coconut milk
- pineapple juice
- lime juice
- garlic
- cornstarch
- salt
- sugar (not pictured)
- hot sauce (not pictured)
What you need for pizza
- pizza dough
- ham
- coconut
- mozzarella
- pineapple slices
- chives
How to Make Ham Pineapple Pizza
How to make sauce
- Mince garlic
- Saute garlic in a splash of olive oil until toasted.
- Add pineapple juice, lime juice, coconut milk, salt, sugar and hot sauce. Let cook for 15-20 minutes. Add cornstarch slurry to thicken to desired thickness. Set aside.
To assemble pizza
- Grill pineapple on grill or grill pan, to allow sugars to caramelize.
- Place coconut on baking sheet.
- Toast in 350°F oven until lightly toasted.
- Roll out dough.
- Spread thin layer of sauce on pizza. Top with ham strips and pineapple.
- Sprinkle with half of the coconut and half of the chives. Top with sliced or shredded mozzarella
Place on preheated pizza stone, if using, or cookie sheet or pizza pan. Bake at 450°F for 15-18 minutes, until crust is golden and cheese is slightly browned.
This pizza is great cooked on the grill too! For instructions on grilling pizza see my Thin Crust Grilled Chicken Pizza
Voila! A delicious meal for a weeknight in less than hour, including baking time. Furthermore it has a fraction of the fat and calories of taken- out pizza!
Other delicious Pizzas on Binky’s Culinary Carnival
- Chicken Florentine Pizza
- Lobster Pizza
- Bacon Cheeeseburger Pizza
- Tuna Pizza
- Deep Dish Breakfast Pizza
Tools I Use to Make Ham Pineapple Pizza
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Enjoy! And have fun cooking!
Xoxo,
Ham Pineapple Pizza with Coconut Sauce
Ingredients
For Coconut Sauce
- 1 tsp Olive Oil
- 4 cloves garlic
- ½ can LITE Coconut milk freeze the other half for later use
- 1 Tbsp Pineapple juice use juice from canned pineapple.
- 1 tsp bottled Lime juice
- 5-6 drops bottled hot sauce to taste
- 1 tsp sugar to taste
- 1/2 tsp Salt to taste
- 1 Tbsp Argo® Corn Starch
For Ham Pineapple Pizza
- 2/3 c Pizza dough homemade or store bought
- 1 can pineapple (about 10 slices) sliced pineapple, either canned (reserve juice) or fresh
- 1 c toasted coconut
- 1/2 c sliced chives or scallions
- 2 c grated mozzarella
- 1 roasted red bell pepper sliced **optional
Instructions
For Toasted Coconut
- Preheat oven to 350° F / 177° C. Place Coconut on cookie sheet and spread to a single layer. Toast 5 – 8 minutes, do not over brown as it will brown again on top of pizza. Remove and set aside.
For Coconut Sauce
- Saute garlic until lightly browned.
- Add 1 1/4 c. coconut milk, the pineapple juice (use juice from can of pineapple), lime juice, sugar, hot sauce, to taste and salt.
- Mix the other 1/4 c. coconut milk with corn starch. Whisk together.
- Heat Coconut/ Juice mixture on low heat until almost boiling. Whisk Coconut/ Corn Starch mixture into the sauce. (If cornstarch falls to the bottom after a few minutes, just whisk it again.) Heat on low heat, stirring occasionally until thickened.
To Assemble Pizza
- Chop ham.
- Halve Pepper, if using.
- Grill Pineapple and Pepper, until lightly charred, set aside.
- Grate Mozzarella. Chop Chives
- Halve Pizza Dough. Roll out pizza dough into 2 6″ rounds. top with about 1/4 c. of Coconut Sauce
- Add Ham, pineapple, pepper, toasted coconut, chives and mozzarella to top of crust.
- Bake at 450° F / 235° C. for 15-18 minutes until desired brownness. Let rest 5 minutes before cutting into slices.
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Nutrition
Originally Published 11/15/2014 Republished 6/2/2020
I never liked Ham and Pineapple Pizza because I thought the marinara sauce didn’t go well! I guess you’ve solved that dilemma!
I know what you mean. The coconut sauce really blends so well the flavors of the ham and pineapple! Thanks, Donna