Skillet Pizza with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Beer Crust

Quick Summary: An easy stovetop pizza with rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes, buffalo mozzarella, and a quick beer dough. Includes tips for dehydrating your own tomatoes and the best varieties for drying. Prep: 20 min | Cook: 15 min | Serves: 6

Jump to: RECIPE | How to Dehydrate | Best Tomatoes for Drying | Using Sun-Dried Tomatoes | Flatbread Pizza Dough | FAQ

I always make room on the farm for Principe Borghese tomatoes, an Italian heirloom variety that’s the best for drying. They’re small with thick skins, easy to halve and dry. And once dried, they add the most intense tomato flavor to any dish.

This skillet pizza showcases those dried tomatoes. The beer crust is quick with few ingredients, and it bakes up crisp like a flatbread. The intensity of sun-dried tomatoes on pizza is something special.

Plus, making the dough with beer means there’s half a bottle of brown ale left to drink with dinner.

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How to Dehydrate the Tomatoes

Any kind of meaty tomato can be dried in a dehydrator, or the sun for that matter. Smaller plum types of tomatoes, however tend to dry more readily and keep the intensity of flavor. Here is a brief tutorial for how to dry tomatoes.

In Italy they may be able to dry them in the sun, but here in Minnesota, the dehydrator is really the only way to go. I’ve tried many dehydrators with the produce that we grow on our farm, from the inexpensive kind from Walmart to a very high-end one (that only lasted one season).

While not the cheapest dehydrator around this Nesco Gardenmaster dehydrator has been the all-around best for us, hands down. It has lasted 10 years now and has controls for customizing the needs of specific fruits or veggies. It’s the only one I’ll ever use going forward.

Dehydrator method: Halve small tomatoes or quarter larger ones. Place cut-side up on dehydrator trays. Dry at 130-135°F for 8-24 hours until completely crisp and no longer pliable.

Alternative use: Grind dried tomatoes in a coffee grinder, add salt, and use as this DIY tomato powder for rubs and seasonings.

Best Tomatoes for Drying

The reason I prefer the Principe Borghese heirloom variety of tomato for drying is two-fold:

1. the flavor is an intense classic acid tomato flavor that you get with larger globe tomatoes.  It is not the sweet or mild cherry tomato flavor, which is wonderful for eating out of hand and in salads but not intense enough for cooking with in my opinion.
2. they are the perfect size for drying, and they are meaty rather than juicy.  You can just cut them in half, place them on the drying rack and they dry quickly, keeping their bright color.

If you can’t find this variety of tomato, I have also had success drying the following varieties:

• Grappoli d’Inverno Italian variety
• Juliet plum tomato (hybrid)
• Purple Russian (black Russian type)
• San Marzaon (roma type)
• Opalka (roma type with superb flavor, meaty, but large so you need to quarter it)

Favorite Uses for Dried Tomatoes

Tomatoes dried by any method are often called “Sun-dried tomatoes”, whether dried in the hot sun or in a good dehydrator. They are tasty winter treats when the grocery store tomatoes taste like cardboard.

Just soak them for about 20 minutes in warm water, drain, dry and they’re ready for cooking (and keep the drained tomato water for other uses, like tomato martinis).

Rehydrated or still in their dried state, they have a multitude of delicious uses. Here are a few of my favorites:

• toss into a marinara sauce to add more robust flavor
• sun-dried tomato butter
• chop or mince and add to dips
• use the tomato water from rehydrating for a tomato martini
• Add to deviled egg filling
• Mix into scrambled eggs
• Add to biscuits, cornbread, or savory muffins
• use on a pizza (like the recipe below)

Best Dough for Skillet Pizza

I used this beer pizza dough recipe because….

1. it was quick with few ingredients
2. I like the idea of using a little beer to get the yeast taste, and
3. there is nothing wrong with having a half bottle of brown ale left over to drink with the pizza. 

It made a really nice crisp, tasty dough…almost like a flatbread. 

I loved the intensity of the sun-dried tomatoes on this pizza.  I plan on trying it with other dough recipes also, but it was just right with this thin, crispy crust.

How to Make Skillet Pizza

The full instructions are in the recipe card below. In short:

• Soak dried tomatoes in warm water for 20 minutes while making the dough (beer pizza dough linked in notes).
• Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet until just smoking. Place the rolled dough in the skillet and cook over medium heat about 3 minutes, poking bubbles with a fork. When the bottom crisps and browns, flip with tongs.
• Add rehydrated tomatoes, diced fresh tomatoes, torn mozzarella, minced garlic, and scallions. Cover and cook on medium-low about 5 minutes until cheese melts.

FAQ

Check out this collection of popular tomato recipes for a range of tomato recipes, from fresh salsas to slow cooked stews, to tomato martinis.

Skillet Pizza with Sun Dried Tomatoes

Easy skillet pizza enhanced with the robust flavor of sun-dried tomatoes and simply topped with mozzarella cheese and scallions

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Servings 6

Calories 1553

Author Dorothy Stainbrook

Equipment

• large skillet
• box grater
• sharp knife

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• 1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• 3 Tbsp. olive oil
• 9 round of thin pizza dough see link in notes to my favorite pizza dough recipe
• ½ cup diced tomatoes drained
• 4 oz. buffalo mozzarella cheese torn into 1″ pieces
• 2 cloves garlic finley minced
• ¼ cup green scallions chopped

Instructions

 

• Soak the dried tomatoes in warm water to cover for about 20 minutes while you are making the dough (see notes below for dough recipe).

  Drain the tomatoes, reserving the tomato water for later uses. Dry the tomatoes a little with a paper towel.
  1 cup sun-dried tomatoes
• Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a large cast iron skillet until just smoking
  3 Tbsp. olive oil
• Place the rolled-out dough round in the skillet and cook over med heat for about 3 minutes. While it is cooking, poke the bubbles that form with the tines of a fork to release the air and keep the dough flat.
• When the bottom of the dough begins to crisp and brown (about 3 min.), use a pair of tongs to turn the dough over in the skillet
• Place the rehydrated tomatoes and the diced tomatoes on top of the dough and the mozzarella on top of the tomatoes. Sprinkle with the garlic and the scallions.
  1/2 cup diced tomatoes, 4 oz. buffalo mozzarella cheese, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 cup green scallions
• Cover the skillet and turn the heat to med-low. Cook covered about 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted.

Notes

Pizza Dough Recipe:

I used this beer pizza dough recipe because….

1. it was quick with few ingredients
2. I like the idea of using a little beer to get the yeast taste, and
3. there is nothing wrong with having a half bottle of brown ale left over to drink with the pizza.

Nutrition

Calories: 1553kcalCarbohydrates: 292gProtein: 52gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 4382mgPotassium: 696mgFiber: 11gSugar: 44gVitamin A: 353IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 127mgIron: 18mg

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