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This Grilled Flatbread with California Grapes combines savoury and sweet flavours on a crunchy grilled dough for a surprisingly delicious and crowd-pleasing dish. With crispy and smoky beef bacon, creamy goat cheese, sweet caramelized onions, spicy chiles, fresh thyme and juicy grapes scattered across the top, every bite is a symphony of flavours. It may not be your usual combination of toppings, but once you try it, you’ll never go back.
Ingredients You Need for the Grilled Flatbread
Usually I’m all for substitutions and actually encourage them. I even provide some below! However, this is one of those very rare times when I recommend sticking to the toppings written. The flavours, textures and aromas of each ingredient work so well together. Especially if you’re able to grill the pizza on a Traeger, which adds a smoky element that you just won’t get anywhere else.
- California Grapes: Undoubtedly the star of the show, red grapes from California add a juicy, natural and subtle sweetness to the grilled flatbread. Slice the grapes in half so that they can release a small amount of their juice as they cook. The goal is to have the grapes warmed through, but still crunchy and juicy. They’re a must-try and will take the flavours to another level!
- Dough: I used a homemade pizza dough as the base for my grilled flatbread. It’s super simple to make and requires only 3 ingredients, but does need to be prepared one day in advance. You can substitute store-bought fresh dough or use an already prepared flatbread, such as naan, Greek-style pita, or focaccia to save a lot of time!
- Caramelized Onions: The secret to beautifully golden and sweet caramelized onions without burning them is to gently cook them over a medium-low heat, stir often and add a small splash of water whenever you see any brown bits starting to form on the bottom of the pan. The water eventually evaporates, but while it’s in the pan it prevents the onions from burning and also pulls up the fond (those brown bits on the bottom of the pan), which brings flavour back into the onions and intensifies their golden colour. It takes at least 18 minutes to caramelize 3 sliced onions in a medium-sized pan (longer for big batches), but the good news is you can make a big batch ahead of time and refrigerate them up to 4 days in advance. They’re also great overtop of a grilled steak or piece of chicken.
- Goat Cheese: I love the creamy, earthy, tangy and slightly tart flavour of goat cheese here. It just works with all the other toppings. If you’re not a fan, you can substitute your favourite variety of cheese.
- Beef Bacon: For some smoky, salty and meaty flavour, I topped the flatbread with some sliced beef bacon that I pre-cooked in a skillet until slightly crispy before draining the excess fat on a paper towel-lined plate. This ensures that the fat from the bacon doesn’t make the flatbread soggy and greasy as it cooks on the grill. Substitute pork or turkey bacon, as desired.
- Fresh Chiles: Not only do sliced red chiles add some spice to balance the sweetness of the grapes, but they also make for a beautiful presentation. You can substitute crushed red pepper flakes or use any type of chile pepper you like. If you want the flatbread to be more mild, remove the seeds from the chiles or just omit them altogether.
- Fresh Thyme: The final touch to the grilled flatbread is a scattering of fresh thyme leaves. The woodsy herb adds an amazing aroma and flavour. You can substitute fresh rosemary, oregano or sage.
Pizza vs Flatbread
Pizza and flatbread are similar but have distinct differences in terms of dough, toppings, and preparation methods. For example, pizza is typically made from yeast-leavened dough, which results in a thicker, chewier crust. Pizza dough is also usually proofed for some time to develop its texture and flavour. Flatbread on the other hand, can be unleavened or very minimally leavened depending on the variety and culture. The dough usually tends to be thinner and crispier than pizza dough.
Pizza is usually topped tomato sauce, cheese, and a variety of toppings, ranging from meats to vegetables. Flatbreads tend to include a much wider variety of toppings and are less commonly topped with tomato sauce. Essentially, there are less “rules” when you call something a flatbread!
Pizza is most often stretched into a round, pie shape or rectangle. Flatbreads tend to be more irregular and rustic in appearance, ranging from oval to oblong and everything in between.
However, none of this is to say that the “rules” can’t be broken. For example, you can use pizza dough to make flatbread and vice versa. In this recipe, I actually did use a pizza dough recipe to make the grilled flatbread. The difference is that instead of stretching the dough by hand and pinching along the edge to form a crust, I rolled the dough fairly flat with a rolling pin. This not only creates a much thinner dough, but it also pushes out most of the air trapped in the dough, making for a flatter and less chewy finished product.
The other difference is that I par-grill one side of the dough blind before adding the toppings and returning the flatbread back to the grill to finish cooking. This ensures a much crunchier finished product than a traditional pizza.
Dough Substitutes
If you don’t have the time (or patience) to make pizza dough from scratch, you have a few options to make your life easier.
- Buy Fresh Dough: Many major supermarkets sell fresh pizza dough that you can use to to make grilled flatbread. Because most of these doughs are sold refrigerated and cold, it’s very important to place the dough in a warm spot on your counter for a few hours to let it come to room temperature before stretching it. If you try to stretch the dough while it’s cold, it will shrink back up on you and be much harder to roll out.
Most fresh pizza doughs sold at the supermarket are large enough to make 4 personal sized pizzas. I recommend cutting the dough in half, which will make for 2 of these grilled flatbreads. - Pre-Baked Flatbreads: You can also use a wide variety of prepared flatbreads as your base. This will save you lots of time and the results will still be delicious. Just be sure to use one that is thick enough to support the weight of the grapes and other toppings. Naan, focaccia and Greek-style pitas are your best bet.
If using an already prepared flatbread, you don’t need to par-grill it first. Just load it up with all the toppings and bake it on your grill or in your oven.
Looking for More Ways to Enjoy Grapes?
- Grilled Chicken Paillard with California Grapes and Arugula Salad
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with California Grapes and Bacon
- Harvest Steak Salad with California Grapes
- Pan-Roasted Chicken Thighs with California Grapes and Sweet Potatoes
- Whipped Ricotta and Roasted Grapes Crostini
- Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad with California Grapes and Grilled Chicken
- Easy Waldorf Salad Recipe with Chicken and California Grapes
This recipe was created in partnership with the California Table Grape Commission. All opinions expressed here are the author’s alone.
Grilled Flatbread with California Grapes, Beef Bacon, Goat Cheese and Caramelized Onions
Ingredients
- 3 slices beef bacon, substitute pork or turkey bacon
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra
- 3 yellow onions, thinly sliced
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup 00-flour
- 1/2 batch fresh pizza dough, separated into 2 equal portions – store-bought or my homemade recipe
- 9- ounces goat cheese, crumbled into small pieces
- 2 red finger chile peppers, optional, thinly sliced, substitute fresno chile or jalapeño
- 2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 3 cups red Grapes from California, sliced in half
Instructions
- Preheat your Traeger Grill to 400F. If using a conventional grill, setup a 2-zone medium-high heat.
- Place the bacon in a single layer onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Transfer the sheet pan to the Traeger and bake until the bacon is golden brown and slightly crispy, around 10 minutes. If using a conventional grill, place the sheet pan on the indirect heat side. Transfer the cooked bacon to a plate lined with paper towel and let it cool before slicing into thin strips. Set aside.
- While the bacon cooks, preheat a frying pan over medium-low heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the onions, season with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring regularly, until the onions are golden, around 10 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of water and use a wooden spoon to lift any brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking the onions, stirring regularly, until they turn deeply golden in colour and the water has evaporated, around 8 more minutes. Transfer the caramelized onions to a plate and set aside.
- Raise the heat on the Traeger grill or conventional grill to 475F.
- Lightly dust a clean work surface with 00-flour. Place one portion of pizza dough onto the surface and lightly dust the top with more flour. Using your hands or a rolling pin, stretch the dough into a long, rectangular shape. Drizzle the top with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and massage it evenly to coat. Transfer the oiled side of the dough to the grill (direct heat for conventional grills) and cook until grill marks form, between 6 and 8 minutes. Cooking times will vary depending on the grill. Repeat with the second portion of dough.
- Transfer the flatbreads to a cutting board, grilled-side up. Evenly top the grilled side of each with goat cheese, caramelized onions, cooked bacon, sliced chiles, fresh thyme and sliced California Grapes.
- Transfer the flatbreads back to the Traeger (indirect heat for conventional grills) and cook until the cheese is melting, the grapes are slightly tender and the bottom crust is crunchy, around 10 minutes.
- Transfer the grilled flatbreads to a board and slice into squares. Serve immediately.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
About the Author
Hi, i’m Ronny! In 2013, after a lifetime of struggling with my weight and body issues, I rehabilitated my relationship with food, lost over 40 pounds and completely changed my life.
