New Orleans sausage pizza

7
Points®
Total Time
38 min
Prep
7 min
Cook
31 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
Easy
The base for this savory topping is what’s known as the holy trinity of New Orleans cooking: onion, celery, and bell pepper. Use French bread that you can buy in the supermarket, one that isn’t too dense or crusty, and not a baguette, which would be too narrow, to make this pizza. Also keep in mind that some store-bought Cajun seasoning blends are high in sodium. Here is our own low-salt blend: Combine 1 tablespoon paprika and 1 teaspoon each onion powder, garlic powder, salt, freshly ground pepper, dried thyme, dried oregano, and cayenne. It makes about 3 tablespoons and keeps well in a screw-top jar on the pantry shelf for up to one year.

Ingredients

Smoked pork link sausages

4 oz, or andouille variety, diced

Onion

1 small, chopped

Green bell pepper

1 small, seeded and chopped

Celery

1 rib(s), small, chopped

Cajun seasoning

2 tsp

Canned tomato sauce

1 cup(s)

French bread

4 oz, loaf

Shredded part skim mozzarella cheese

½ cup(s), smoked variety

Scallions

1 medium, thinly sliced

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  2. Spray a nonstick skillet with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook, stirring, until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the sausage and drain on paper towels. Wipe out any fat from the skillet.
  3. Add the onion, bell pepper, and celery to the skillet. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are softened, about 8 minutes. Stir in the Cajun seasoning and cook 1 minute. Add the tomato sauce; bring to a simmer and cook 3 minutes.
  4. Cut the bread in half horizontally and arrange, cut-side up, on a baking sheet. Spoon the vegetable sauce over the bread. Top with the sausage. Bake until heated through and the bread is browned at the edges, about 12 minutes. Sprinkle evenly with the cheese and scallion. Bake until the cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Cut each pizza in half, making a total of 4 pieces. Yields 1 piece per serving.