Recipe 2: Exam Season Naan Pizza

Welcome to Carson’s College Eats, your go-to spot for all things cooking while in college. My goal is to be your right-hand man in getting you off the ground at the beginning of your cooking journey. 

Today’s blog will present our second recipe - naan pizza. Using naan in place of dough simplifies the process, speeds up the baking process and allows for multiple pizzas with different toppings. We will review everything that goes into making this easy weeknight recipe, including what ingredients and cooking equipment are needed to create this staple in my recipe rotation. 

What To Buy

Once again, I highly recommend planning ahead and having a list to reference while at the store. The last thing you want is for it to be the night before the big exam, and you realize you don’t have the sauce or enough cheese. 

The backbone of this recipe will be the naan. Consider how many servings are required when deciding on how much to buy. Many packs of naan only contain two to three pieces, which might not be enough if you are cooking for more than just yourself. 

Next up is the sauce, which really makes a naan pizza a pizza. Your choice of sauce can vary based on preference. In the past, I’ve gone for tomato, pesto, and red pepper. I’ll use a cream base for this recipe - any alfredo pasta sauce should work. A small jar, which should suffice as long as you are serving between 1-3 people, will go for about $4.00

Next up is the cheese, another crucial component of any pizza. Shredded is the way to go. I’d suggest a nice marble or pizza mozzarella. 

We’ve reached the fun part - toppings. You can go for really anything here. If you’ve noticed a pattern, I’m not the biggest veggie guy. However, I’ll occasionally go crazy and throw some spinach or peppers on there. Here is a list of toppings I’ve consistently used on my naan pizzas.

•Chicken

•Ham

•Bacon Bits

•Mushrooms

•Onions

•Pepper

•Spinach

•Avacado

When you return from the store, refrigerate the perishable ingredients, including the cheese, protein and vegetables. The sauce only has to be refrigerated once it's been opened, and the naan can be kept in the pantry. 

Instructions: 

To begin, take out all the ingredients you will be using and set them out. Next, you should pre-heat the oven. I typically set it at 400º and wouldn’t go below 350º. 

Next, you are going to lay out parchment paper on a baking sheet. If you don’t have parchment paper or tin foil, you can simply grease a baking sheet or pay with cooking spray. Lay the naan on top of the pan, using multiple pans if they do not fit. 

Start by spooning your sauce (either tomato, pasta, alfredo, etc.) Next, you are going to apply the first of two layers of your shredded cheese.  

On top of the first layer of cheese, you will now add your optional ingredients. I generally break mushrooms, onions and pieces of meat into smaller pieces and spread them out evenly. Top with another layer of cheese and some spices (I generally use oregano, parsley flakes and paprika) before throwing the sheets into the oven. 

Watch this video for a visual representation of the process.  

I don’t follow a specific timeline for time in the oven. It depends on how hungry I am, but I typically monitor the baking process and wait for the cheese to melt. I then take out the pans, carefully touch the ingredients to ensure they are heated and feel the crust to make sure it has solidified. After it came out of the oven, I tried something new and added some leftover avacado I had on top. Would recommend!

Let it stand for a minute or two before cutting and distributing. Now, all there is to do left is add a dipping sauce (I mix ranch and hot sauce, a trick I picked up at overnight camp years ago) and enjoy before going back to studying! Good luck with your exams!