homemade mashed potato pizza with cholula

Over the weekend I told Jake I was finally getting around to writing my post on URBN with their crazy mashed potato pizza. He casually suggested that I should try and remake that mashed potato pizza. He also hinted that he thought I could do a little better.

He is definitely a keeper.

One of the things I remember from our outing at URBN is that our waitress wisely suggested the addition of the Cholula sauce as a topping on the pizza. She was so right – it had given the pizza the extra “oomph” it needed and I ended up devouring a few slices. Not long after I was contacted by a rep asking if I’d like to sample their line of Cholula sauces. It all came together over the weekend when I received the samples and tried my hand at creating my own version of the mashed potato pizza.

[There’s more than one kind! From left to right: Original, Chili Garlic, Chiptole and Chili Lime]

A) Before being contacted, I had no idea there was more than one flavor and B) I had never had Cholula before we went to URBN.


I always thought Cholula would be “too hot” or “too spicy” for me, but actually it’s not that bad. It doesn’t have the kind of heat that lingers and then beats you up – it’s a gentler heat, more of a spice and kick of flavor than anything else.

Jake and I both tried each sauce with a spoonful of mashed potatoes to see what flavor we liked best. I balked a few times at the amount of sauce he poured on. He’d give me a look that said, “You’re kind of a wimp.” But he’d eat half of it so there was less sauce and then I was amiable to eating it again. Of the four, I like Original and Chili Garlic the best. The Chili Garlic has a good punch of garlic flavor mingling in with the original spice, making it one of my favorites. The Chipotle was a little too spicy and bold for me while the Chili Lime was just okay. Not being a huge fan of lime to begin with, I might have been a little biased against it.

[unbaked mashed potato pizza, ready for the oven]

Onto the pizza making! I bought my pizza dough from Trader Joe’s. I am determined to do my own dough soon, but it was not this day.

It’s best to let the dough rest for 20-30 minutes before handling (I do it while the oven is coming up to temperature). Spread a bunch of flour over a cutting board and just let it rest out of the package. It’ll be easier to work with once it gets rid of a bit of the chill.

I slowly flatten the dough once it’s been rested and then use my hands to gently spin it in the air. I don’t toss it around or anything, I just use my knuckles and keep moving it in a circle until it stretches out nicely. I find that doing it in the air is the easiest way, letting gravity do most of the work.

[mmm, pizza]

Another trick I learned is that you should put your pizza pan (or stone, or cookie sheet, or whatever you are using) into the oven while it’s preheating. Once you’re ready for it, pull the pan out and place your dough onto the surface carefully. This sears the crust a bit and helps get a jump start – enabling you to have a nice, crispy bottom crust.

Top with desired toppings (in my case, olive oil, salt and pepper, ricotta cheese, mashed potatoes, more cheese, and herbs) and then pop into the oven for 12-15 minutes.

Once out of the oven, I like to sprinkle a little more fresh herbs on, just for fun.

[mashed potato pizza, now with ham!]

This one is done on a whole wheat crust, with smoked black forest ham. We didn’t have any bacon, otherwise I would have used that.

[slice of mashed potato pizza with chili garlic cholula]

Topped with a few drops of Chili Garlic Cholula, and I was in pizza heaven!

[crazy sauced up slice]

Jake, on the other hand, prefers his slices drenched in sauce. Either way, these slices were delicious and ever so slightly better than URBN’s version. The only addition I would have made to these pizza would be to add crushed garlic to the pizza crust, but since we were also feeding Jake’s family, I held back since his mom doesn’t eat garlic. But I think it would be a great addition to this and add that extra punch of flavor. Also: mine has ricotta. Ricotta makes it better.

Here’s how to do it if you want to recreate it, too! [Sorry in advance for the lack of measurements – I hardly ever measure when I cook!]

Mashed Potato Pizza

Pizza Dough
Mashed Potatoes (see recipe below)
Ricotta
Fresh Mozzarella
Other Cheeses (I like the Parmesan, Asiago & Romano shaved cheese blend from Trader Joe’s)
Oregano, Thyme and Basil chopped finely
Other toppings (ie: crushed garlic, ham, bacon, etc.) if desired
Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Preheat your oven to 500 degrees. Place your pan into the oven to heat up. You can use a pizza pan, pizza stone, or even the back of a cookie sheet.

If using store bought dough (like me!), remove from the packaging. Sprinkle a bit of flour on a cutting board and let the dough rest on it for 20-30 minutes while the oven preheats.

Roll out/stretch out your dough. You can use a rolling pin or use your hands to gently stretch the dough out in a circle to desired size.

Pull your hot pan out of the oven and place your dough onto the pan. Drizzle dough with a little olive salt and sprinkle a few dashes of salt and pepper. If desired, this is the best time to add your crushed garlic to the dough. Then, get a spoonful of ricotta cheese and spread it out like a sauce across the surface of the dough. I used maybe 5 spoonfuls of ricotta to get a nice, even layer. Time for the mashed potatoes! Spread the mashed potatoes out in a similar style, adding another layer spread out over the ricotta. Top with pieces of fresh mozzarella and a handful of the cheese blend. Add a small toss of fresh herbs and then pop it into the oven.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbly.

Mashed Potatoes

4-5 Yukon Gold Potatoes, cubed
butter
salt and pepper
cream cheese
milk

Diced the potatoes into small, even sized cubes. Place into a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil. Cook for about 15 minutes. Drain the pot and place back onto the stove. Add 4-5 pats of butter, about 1/4 block of cream cheese, and 1/4 cup of milk to start. Smash, smash, smash! Add salt and pepper to taste. If it’s too dry or not creamy enough, add another splash of milk until the consistency is to your liking. Eat spoonfuls while you prepare the pizza dough. No one will know.

Disclaimer: I was sent complimentary bottles of Cholula sauce for review. I was not paid for this review or post.


11 thoughts on “homemade mashed potato pizza with cholula

  1. A second post on mashed potato pizza! Now I really have to try it. I’m imagining its more like a stuffed potato filled with cheese and a nice crust. But wow… that second slice has a LOT of hot sauce.

  2. I like the original Cholula hot sauce, but where was my slice of potato pizza for review, maybe next time.

  3. hi mary – cool, score on the hot sauces! i never knew there was more than one flavor of cholula either! i must try that with pizza next time! I like how your pizza came out – how cool is that!!!

  4. Hi Dad – I’ll make it for you sometime.

    Hi CC – Yeah, I surprised to learn there was more than one flavor, I hadn’t seen it before. Thanks – hope you can and make it sometime 🙂

  5. Now I’m going to have to go find the Garlic Cholula… sounds so good!

    I think ricotta is what was missing from the URBN pizza… yours looks and sounds tastier. I’ll have to give it a try.

  6. Other than mashed potato tacos, this is my choice for food I’d choose to eat forever, if I had to choose. The photos make the crust look *so* good.

  7. Hi Leanne – I agree with you on the ricotta – I love ricotta on pizza and it matches up really well here. I love that sweetness from the ricotta.

    Hi Cathy – I’ve found some pretty bland tasting mashed potato tacos out there – maybe all it needs is a little cholula, too? I’m starting to think you can put mashed potatoes in many, many things. Well, except a sandwich… maybe.

  8. you would probably love the mashed potato croquettes at nijiya’s takeout. i think they’re called ‘korokke’ or something. they are sometimes flavored with curry or have tiny mixed vegetable pieces in them.

  9. CC! I had a mashed potato croquette when I was in LA a few months ago and it was like the best thing ever! I must try this!

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