Every year I like to post a recipe or two during Stampede in celebration of carnival food. And although there’s no Calgary Stampede this year, as far as I’m concerned, it’s still Stampede Week. So I am kicking it off with this Dill Pickle Pizza!
Pickles on pizza may not sound all that enticing and although I LOVE pickles of any kind, believe me, I too was skeptical at first. But I tried it last year at the Calgary Stampede and WOW I was blown away by how great pickle pizza could be. So I made it my mission to recreate it. And the verdict from my testers was that it tasted just like the one they tried at the Stampede.
Pickles on pizza
Like I said, I wasn’t that keen on eating pickles on pizza. I guess I’m more of a pepperoni and mushroom kinda gal. But I decided to take a gamble and OMG it was so much better than I could have imagined- WOW! Then I couldn’t get it out of my head…..
Pickle Pizza
And no, this Pickle Pizza is not WW friendly – nothing Stampede related is remotely Weight Watchers friendly. But calories (and points) don’t count during Stampede, apparently. But if you wish, you can use the Weight Watchers 2 Ingredient Pizza Dough to lighten it up! WW 2 Ingredient Pizza Dough is so good that no one will ever even suspect it’s Weight Watchers! You can actually use any pizza crust with this recipe, but if you’re looking for a regular pizza dough recipe and you have a bread machine, I recommend you try it with my Bread Machine Pizza Dough. That’s the dough I used when I made this.
Dill Pickle Pizza
This Dill Pickle Pizza is made with Alfredo sauce, dill weed and garlic for a rich and creamy pizza sauce that pairs perfectly with pickles! It’s carnival food at its finest and tastes just like the Pickle Pizza at the Calgary Stampede.
For the last few years I have made it my mission to hunt down the most highly coveted fair foods at Stampede and sample them. Last year, both the Dill pickle pizza and Butterbeer ice cream were on my hit list. Fortunately, they were both a hit. But every year isn’t necessarily as successful as last year. You can read more about my not so satisfying Stampede carnival food experience with Deep Fried Coffee HERE.
However, I have to admit, I wasn’t a big fan of Stampede for many years. I don’t like rodeos, cowboy stuff or even rides. But it was having kids that changed all that. My daughter was born on July 10, 2007 and I distinctly remember the maternity nurse telling me, ‘she will always be celebrating her birthday during Stampede week,’ as if that was something exciting. An insincere, ‘Oh yay,’ was all I could muster because honestly, at that point in my life, I couldn’t give a crap about Stampede. But having kids changes you; it changes you in ways that you could never have imagined… It makes you get up at 4:30 am to get a good spot at the Stampede parade, it makes you look forward to going to Stampede and it makes you sad when you don’t get to take your kids to Stampede.
Carnival Pizza
When my kids wanted to go to Stampede because all their friends were going I didn’t want to deprive them. And it completely changed my perspective- they had soo much fun. Then I discovered just how much fun Stampede food can be! The Calgary Stampede has the most interesting and unique carnival foods you can image. Just check out this post from my friend Sue, over at Travel Tales of Life, highlighting some of the carnival food offerings she’s seen at the Calgary Stampede – chocolate dipped bacon and scorpion pizza included (yikes!) You can read more about that HERE! I may not be as adventurous as scorpion pizza, but at least I go to the Stampede now- that’s pretty adventurous for me. But as far as carnival pizza goes, I’ll be sticking with my pickle pizza, thank you!
Carnival food
The sad thing is that because we are in a worldwide pandemic, Stampede is cancelled this year. I never would have imagined that anything could cause Stampede to be cancelled after a century, but here we are…. And we are bummed about that. My kids are super bummed, and I have to admit that I am too. However, not surprisingly, the part of the show that will go on is the food. And if there’s one thing I love about carnivals , it’s carnival food! The organizers have decided that they are going to do 10 Days of Grab and Go Food Events, offering pancakes and other midway favorites like mini donuts, cotton candy and corn dogs. At least getting some of the Stampede food will ease the pain a little.
Pickle Pizza Recipe
After I tried this pizza at Stampede last year, I saw a few recipes that attempted to recreate it, but they used mayo and sour cream in the pizza sauce and ‘just NO!’ was my reaction to that. I didn’t taste those flavors at all and definitely tasted more of an Alfredo type of sauce, so I made my sauce with that in mind. Plus, my family said it was not only great, but tasted just like the version we tried at Stampede last year.
I’m really going to miss trying the new fair foods on the midway this year. But I’ll console myself with the fact that next year will be even more fun. So if you’re also missing carnivals and carnival foods this year and looking for a fun and unique carnival pizza recipe, then give this Dill Pickle Pizza a try! I hope it helps to ease your pain too, even just a little.
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Dill Pickle Pizza
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 lb (12 inch) pizza dough * See NOTES
Garlic Dill Pizza Sauce
- 1 cup Alfredo sauce * I use Classico but you could use any brand
- 1 tablespoon dill weed * you can use fresh or dried dill, but use a little more if you use fresh 1 ½ - 2 tbsp
- 2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
Toppings:
- 6 dill pickles cut into smaller rounds
- 3 ½ cups pizza mozzarella * I use light mozzarella cheese
Garnish:
- additional dill pickles or dill weed, as desired
- parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Prepare the pizza dough as per instructions for recipe you are using (see NOTES)
Garlic Dill Pizzza Sauce
- Add all sauce ingredients into a bowl and whisk together.
Assembly
- Preheat oven to 375 degree F. Grease the 12" pizza pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Place the dough on the pizza pan.
- Spread the prepared sauce on top of the pizza dough, then add pickles and sprinkle cheese all over the top.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until cheese is melted and bottom is lightly browned.
- Turn up the oven to 500 degrees F and broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese is bubbly and a little browned (to your preference) *watch closely so it doesn't burn. Once cooked, remove from the oven and cut into 12 pieces. Serve hot or cold.
Garnish
- Garnish with parmesan cheese and extra dill weed or pickles as desired.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe is part of The Country Cook Weekend Potluck!
More Stampede & Carnival Foods
Mini Ukrainian donuts (Pampushky) – Stampede Style
Easy Pork & Beef Stove top Chili
Terri!! This pizza is amazing…and I’ve been going through my Stampede foodie pics while having a major craving. I love how so many are still showing their Stampede spirit this year even though it’s cancelled.
Thanks, Bernice! Yes, after I tried it last year, I couldn’t stop thinking about it !
Dill and pickles as topping on a pizza sound really interesting! Great recipe idea Terri. Will try this out for my next pizza dinner.
I’m sure you’ll love it – I was pleasantly surprised the first time I tried it!
I’ve added pickles to a lot of different foods, but never pizza! This is an awesome idea! Looks so yummy.
Thanks, Joss. Yes, it’s totally delicious!
Omg this looks amazing and I am totally making it next weekend! But um, scorpion pizza?!! NO. Just no. Ha.
Hope you enjoy it, Kelly! And I agree… no scorpions on my pizza!
I’m not too surprised that a crazy stampede recipe isn’t WW friendly, but I am (delightfully) surprised at how quirky and fun this recipe is. It’s one of those ideas that sounds crazy, but makes so much sense once you give it a try. Glad you gave the sauce some careful consideration too, as I think that makes a really big difference. Cheers!
Thanks, Sean! Yes, it was all in the sauce 🙂
So fun and so surprisingly delicious! I think the garlic dill sauce makes it! Really great recipe, thank you.
Thanks!
I tried this pizza for the first time last week and it was fabulous. The recipe is easy to follow and the taste was out of this world. Who knew dill pickles and pizza were a match made in heaven??!! This will definitely be a go-to recipe for me from now on, and I have shared this with so many people who are pickle lovers like me!
I’m so glad you loved it as much as we do, Linda!