St Patrick's Day Reuben Pizza

It's a tradition in my household to have Reuben Pizza  the night of St Patty's Day. A few years ago, I was looking for a lower calorie option than buttery grilled Reuben style sandwiches goopy with cheese and dressing.

So I opened my pantry and saw a pizza crust mix...and the light bulb came on.

Reuben Pizza

pizza dough (homemade, boxed, or deli)
water for mix
olive oil for dough and pan
1 can sauerkraut
1 bag shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 lb shaved deli corned beef
honey mustard or thousand island dressing
chives (optional)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 500°

Prepare the dough per the package instructions. I normally use deli dough, homemade dough or JIF boxed mix, however I was short on time couldn't find deli dough or JIF in my local Giant Eagle, I settled for a bagged mix I hadn't used before. It wasn't great....but pretty decent, considering. Anyhow, once it is mixed up,  oil and cover it and place it in a warm place for at least 10 minutes.

Once it's done with it's warm nap, go ahead and pound on it and flip it around a bit. Once it's ready, stretch it out onto the greased pizza pan. Mine was a little on the small side...

 Now, for a lighter option use the honey mustard as sauce. A little goes a long way, so start with a couple of blops and use the back of the spoon the smooth it around. If you are not so worried about the calories, feel free to use the dressing. Either way, it is super yummy!

Open your can of kraut (you can use a jarred or bagged kraut too, but you will only need about a half of a cup for this pizza). Spread the kraut over the dough.

Now you are ready for the meat! Take the corned beef and roll it. Use kitchen scissors to cut it into a topping sized bite - see below...

Once you have liberally covered your pizza with the beef, sprinkle on the cheese to your liking.

Place it into the very hot oven for 5 minutes to start. I always check it after 5 minutes, but usually need to add a couple more. Once the crust looks slightly browned and the cheese is melty, go ahead and take it out. You can garnish it with some snipped chives if you'd like...I think it adds a yummy flavor!

This delicious pizza hardly seams like a lighter option, however I find that it is less greasy than the sandwich and easier to portion control. And my husband LOVES it which is also a win win!