Pizza in a Bowl (Slow Cooker)
All the best of a pizza in a tidy bowl. My little sisters loved it when I made breadsticks or garlic bread for dipping!
All the best of a pizza in a tidy bowl. My little sisters loved it when I made breadsticks or garlic bread for dipping!
- 1 cup water
- 1 can diced tomatoes with roasted garlic, undrained (28 oz size)
- 1 can beef broth or reduced-sodium if desired (14 1/2 oz)
- 1 stick pepperoni sausage (8 oz), diced
- 1 1/2 cup sliced fresh mushrooms or pasta
- 1 large diced green bell pepper
- 1 large chopped red onion
- 1 tablespoon dried italian seasoning
- 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- Carbohydrate 0.861294286667951 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.219859773565443 g
- Fiber 0.177528745780714 g
- Protein 1.37506382446241 g
- Saturated Fat 0.0873837360685707 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (130g)
- Sodium 318.422643892213 mg
- Sugar 0.683765540887238 g
- Trans Fat 0.0352995418333528 g
- Calories 10 calories
Step-by-step
- Mix all ingredients except cheese in a 3-qt or larger slow-cooker.
- Cover; cook on low 6 to 8 hours or until vegetables are tender.
- Ladle into soup bowls; sprinkle with cheese.
- Garnish with extra pepperonis.
Traditional baked pizza relies on high dry heat to caramelize toppings quickly, whereas this slow-cooked iteration uses sustained liquid immersion to build flavor through extraction. Simmering diced pepperoni sausage and canned tomatoes together for six to eight hours allows the rendered animal fats to emulsify with the watery broth, creating a uniform, cohesive base rather than a fragmented mixture of floating ingredients. Cooking green bell pepper and red onion over this extended timeframe breaks down their cell walls completely, releasing natural sugars that sweeten the acidic tomato profile without requiring added sweeteners. A three-quart or larger slow cooker is mandatory for this recipe to prevent scorching along the lower heating element, though a heavy-bottomed Dutch oven can substitute if maintained at a very low simmer on the stovetop for two hours. Shredding part-skim mozzarella cheese directly over individual hot ladlings ensures proper melt without the rubbery clumping that occurs when dairy is subjected to prolonged high-heat holding.
Budget-conscious kitchens benefit from using cured meats like pepperoni as concentrated seasoning agents rather than standalone protein sources, stretching a single eight-ounce stick across six generous portions. Substituting water for half the broth does not noticeably dilute the savory depth because the rendered pepperoni fat compensates for the sodium reduction. Leftovers store safely in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.
