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Fusion at its finest, switch up taco tuesday with a slice of carnitas avocado flatbread! A weeknight family favorite, sprinkle freshly made pizza dough with braised carnitas, parmesan cheese, quick pickled red onion, and drizzle with easy avocado salsa and a touch of sweet red chili sauce. Add a little red hot chili oil for extra heat!
Recently, Dan and I went out on date night in the Woodinville area and discovered a very cute distillery there called Northwest Spirits. If you live around here, you've gotta check them out. They're known for their whiskey so we did a tasting flight but hilariously we round up snagging a bottle of their Bar Boss Gin to bring home 😂. Anyway, they have a sister restaurant next door called Von's 1000Spirits and ohmygod. The food was on POINT! I ordered a carnitas avocado flatbread and my life has never been the same. Pictures of said dish were taken, an abundance of praise was given, and this post was created. SO thank you Von's 1000Spirits for the delectable inspiration!
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The Kitchen Sink of Flatbread
This carnitas avocado flatbread is a dish born of leftovers. Did you make 3 pounds of carnitas and definitely not need that much? Awesome! Got avocados that were perfectly ripe for 10 seconds but you forgot about them and now they're too soft? Excellent. Found a red onion that's still good but has seen better days? Perfect. Oh and how about the very last of that parmesan cheese stuffed in your cheese drawer? Let's use it up!
About the Carnitas
I realize this is one of those recipes where one ingredient is secretly a whole recipe in and of itself. But not to worry! The point of this recipe is to use up leftover carnitas so if you made some from scratch for another dish or have some from Taco Tuesday at your favorite Mexican restaurant, this carnitas avocado flatbread is the perfect way to use up what's left.
However, if you just want to try out this recipe, my slow cooker carnitas recipe is super easy and extremely hands off. Plus, you'll start it in the morning and just let it do it's thing all day until you're ready to cook up some flatbread!
The Quick Pickled Red Onion
Do you have to do this? Nah. Is it worth it? Yes, yes it is. Plus, it's SO easy! Literally throw all 5 ingredients in a sealable container (I used a wide mouth 32-ounce mason jar), give it a shake, and let it do its thing. It only needs 10 minutes or so to "pickle" to get the flavor but you can leave it in the fridge for up to 3 weeks!
Helpful Tips for Carnitas Avocado Flatbread
Honestly, one main take away: don't stress about those toppings. As my sister says, "It's really just what's in your heart" She's usually referencing what goes into a Manhattan cocktail but the same principle applies here.
- If you don't want to pickle the onions, that's fine! Thinly slice them and throw them on.
- Hate parmesan cheese? All good, just skip it.
- Don't want to make verde salsa? Secret: I didn't 🤣! I love my verde salsa but my toddler wasn't going to give me the time to clean a bunch of tomatillos, roast them, and then process them down. I bought a verde salsa jar from the store and combined it with an overly ripe avocado. The result? *Chef's kiss*.
- Oh and speaking of buying things from the store, there was absolutely no way I was figuring out how to make a red chili sauce. I hit the Asian foods aisle, grabbed a jar of Thai Sweet Red Chili Sauce and a bottle of hot chili oil and called it good.
- You REALLY want to give this recipe a try but don't have carnitas and don't have the time to make any? Snag some already cooked from the store, no judgement here!
Freezing and Storage
While I do not recommended freezing the fully assembled flatbread, you can definitely store/freeze some of the individual components. To store the carnitas, first let cool completely. Once cooled, place in a resealable freezer bag. Make sure to remove as much air as possible from the bag to prevent freezer burn! Then, store in the fridge up to 4 days and in the freezer up to 3 months. When ready to use, simply thaw the desired amount in the refrigerator overnight. You can also use a microwave, stovetop, or even an oven for reheating. Once thawed, your carnitas is ready to be paired with fresh avocado and assembled onto a new batch of flatbread.
The avocado, on the other hand, is best enjoyed fresh and doesn't freeze well. Its creamy texture can become watery and mushy after being thawed (not delicious on top of a slice of flatbread). Ergo, fresh avocado all the way.
As for the pickled red onion, you can make that literally five minutes before assembly or up to 3 WEEKS before and have it hang out in your fridge!
Commonly Asked Questions About This Recipe
Yes, in fact that's the point of this recipe! It's an AWESOME way to use up leftover taco carnitas meat. Check out my slow cooker carnitas recipe and scroll up to the freezing and storage section for tips on how to store it.
Nope! I just loved the extra zing it added to the flatbread. You can just thinly slice it, sprinkle it evenly across the top of the dough and call it a day.
I haven't done this and wouldn't really suggest it (see freezing and storage section) just based on the toppings I like to add on (re: avocado). But you can always give it a try!
If you have any leftovers (which is rare with a dish this delicious), you can store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. To reheat, gently warm the flatbread in the oven or toaster oven until heated through.
Any more questions? Feel free to ask me in the comments below!
Carnitas Avocado Flatbread
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: Serves 3 to 4 1x
Description
Fusion at its finest, switch up taco tuesday with a slice of carnitas avocado flatbread! A weeknight family favorite, sprinkle freshly made pizza dough with braised carnitas, parmesan cheese, quick pickled red onion, and drizzle with easy avocado salsa and a touch of sweet red chili sauce. Add a little red hot chili oil for extra heat!
Ingredients
For the Flatbread
- 1 store-bought or homemade pizza dough
- 2 to 3 cups cooked carnitas
- 1 ripe large avocado, diced
- 1 cup store-bought or homemade tomatillo verde salsa
- ½ cup Thai Sweet Red Chili Sauce*
- ½ cup parmesan, grated (I thinly shredded mine and then roughly minced it)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped for garnish
- Crushed chili pepper flakes for garnish
- Hot chili oil, for drizzling
For the Quick Pickled Red Onion
- 1 large red onion, very thinly sliced
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar (can be substituted or combined with white wine vinegar)
- ½ cup water
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 1 teaspoon sea salt
- Sealable container (a 32-ounce mason jar works well)
Instructions
- Make the pickled red onions: Combine all ingredients in a sealable container. Making sure it is sealed, give the container a good shake and place in the fridge to chill for 10 minutes, leaving there until ready to use.
- In a food processor, combine half of the avocado and the verde salsa until smooth. If it is too thick to spread/drizzle, add a teaspoon of water at a time until the desired consistency is reached.
- Preheat oven to 425˚F. Roll pizza dough into a 12" by 15" -ish rectangle. Brush with olive oil and place on a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Sprinkle prepared dough evenly with carnitas and parmesan. Top with pickled red onion slices in an even layer.
- Drizzle with half of the red chili sauce and half of the avocado salsa.
- Bake for 15 minutes, until crust is golden. Remove to a wire rack and let cool 2-3 minutes, until just cool enough to handle.
- Top with remaining diced avocado, avocado salsa and sweet red chili sauce. Drizzle as desired with hot chili oil for heat. Garnish with fresh cilantro, any remaining parmesan, and chili pepper flakes. Serve immediately.
Notes
You don't have to use this chili sauce. You can try one that's more of a relish, one that's made for deli sandwiches, or one that's more on the spicy side. Up to you!
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Pizza
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: Mexican-Italian
Dan Langholff says
This flat bread recipe is the dank sauce! Great pizza rival.