Indulge guilt-free in this easy homemade chicken pizza recipe. Healthy, tasty, and so easy to make!
Are you a pizza lover like me? Whenever the craving hits, ordering out seems like the easiest option. But let’s be honest, store-bought or restaurant pizzas aren’t always the healthiest choice. So, in my quest to keep my family’s meals as healthy as possible, I took matters into my own hands and learned to make my own pizza.
I’ve been perfecting this recipe for four years now, and after taking a break, I revisited it last week and realized I had to share it with you all. While you can use this dough recipe for any toppings you desire, I wanted to highlight our favourite: homemade chicken pizza. However, feel free to get creative and switch up your toppings each time – that’s part of the fun!
In this post, I’ll not only share the easy homemade chicken pizza recipe but also reveal a game-changing hack I discovered to help with the dough-rising process. Living in a cold house, I used to wait hours for my dough to rise, but now it’s ready in just 45 minutes to an hour, thanks to this trick.
I hope you enjoy this easy and the best chicken pizza recipe as much as my family does! Share your thoughts by leaving a comment and rating below, and don’t forget to tag me @lotsoflovemariam – I would love to see your recreations!
This post is all about a homemade chicken pizza recipe.
Jump to RecipeHomemade Chicken Pizza
Why You’ll Love This Homemade Chicken Pizza Recipe:
- Healthier Options: You have full control of what goes into your pizza and this homemade chicken pizza recipe only uses good-for-you ingredients and fresh ingredients too. You can also opt for other healthier alternatives. For instance, you can use whole wheat flour, proteins like beef, and plenty of veggies to pack in nutrients without sacrificing taste.
- Freshness: Making homemade pizza means only using fresh ingredients. This recipe uses freshly shredded cheese, crisp vegetables, and flavorful herbs to create a pizza that’s bursting with freshness.
- Cost-Effectiveness: Homemade pizza is often more budget-friendly than ordering from a restaurant, especially if you’re feeding a family or hosting a gathering. The total amount spent on ingredients for this chicken pizza cost far less than what it costs to order a pizza out plus enough to make it a few times!
Ingredients Needed
For The Dough:
- Flour: I used plain flour but you can definitely swap this with wholemeal flour.
- Fast-action dried yeast
- Dried thyme: This makes the pizza dough taste so good!
- Extra virgin olive oil: Please avoid using any seed oils (e.g. sunflower or vegetable oil). This is because not only are they not good for you but the olive oil is what makes this pizza dough taste amazing.
- Sea salt (or Himalayan salt)
- Luke warm water: Ensure that when you dip your fingers into the water, it feels neutral – neither hot nor cold. Water that’s too warm can potentially affect the yeast’s activity and impede the rising of your dough.
Chicken Toppings:
- Tomato passata: Or any tomato sauce you want to use (you can even use bbq sauce to make a homemade bbq chicken pizza)
- Chicken breast: You can use chicken thighs if you want but chicken breast just goes so well with this recipe.
- Red pepper: You can add a mix of peppers if you wish but my favourite pepper is red pepper.
- Red onion (optional): This will not be cooked. The red onions give the pizza such an amazing taste.
- Cheese: Or any cheese of your choice – I used mild cheddar cheese which is my favourite.
How To Make The Best Chicken Pizza Recipe
Dough
- In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt, dried thyme, and olive oil. Slowly pour in lukewarm water while mixing until a dough forms. If the dough feels slightly dry, add a bit more water until it’s just moist enough.
- On a clean surface lightly dusted with flour, knead the dough, gradually adding more flour as needed. Aim for a smooth, elastic consistency; if it’s still sticky, sprinkle a bit more flour as you go. Knead for about 4-6 minutes until it’s no longer sticky and springs back when poked. If the dough is sticky just add about a tsp of flour. Make sure you do not knead the dough for more than 4-6 minutes or else the dough will come out with a bread texture.
- Return the dough to the bowl, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, ensuring it’s coated all around. Cover the bowl tightly with cling film or foil, then top with a tea towel. Let it rise for at least an hour. If you tend to struggle to get your dough to rise because your home is too cold then I have a hack for you below.
- While it is rising, start prepping your toppings (instructions down below).
- Once risen, gently press down on the dough to release the air then on a floured surface roll out the dough to your desired shape – add a bit of flour to your hands or a rolling pin (depending on what you will be using to roll out the dough) – to fit your greased tray. I greased my tray with olive oil.
- Use a fork to lightly prick the dough all over, ensuring it doesn’t puff up too much during baking. Now, you’re ready to add your toppings and bake your perfect homemade chicken pizza!
Chicking Topping
- Start by giving your chicken breast a good wash, then dice it into bite-sized cubes. Season generously with salt, paprika, black pepper, garlic granules, dried mixed herbs (or oregano), and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Mix everything together until the chicken is evenly coated.
- Next, slice your red pepper into long, thin strips.
- In a pan, melt some butter and cook your seasoned chicken until it’s golden and fully cooked.
- Once done, set the chicken aside and toss the pepper strips into the same pan without cleaning it – this ensures they soak up all the delicious chicken flavor. Cook the peppers until they reach your preferred level of tenderness; personally, I like mine completely soft.
- Thinly slice a small red onion but keep it raw.
- Spread tomato passata over your prepared pizza dough, followed by a layer of cheese. Then, scatter the cooked chicken, peppers, raw red onion slices, and another layer of cheese on top.
- Preheat your oven to 180°C and bake the pizza for 15-20 minutes, or until the base is golden brown and the edges are crispy. Once it’s done, slice it up and enjoy your flavorful homemade chicken pizza!
Rising Dough Hack
Living in a chilly home, I’ve always struggled with getting my dough to rise properly, no matter where I put it. But I stumbled upon a simple hack that’s been a game-changer. Here’s how it works:
- Preheat your oven for just two minutes until it’s slightly warm, then turn it off. The key is to let the warmth dissipate until it feels like nothing when you stick your hand inside to feel the air – neither warm nor cold. If it’s too hot or cold, just crack the oven door open for a bit until it’s just right.
- Once the oven is at that perfect neutral temperature, place your covered bowl of dough inside and let it work its magic for about an hour. Trust me, this trick works like a charm every time, ensuring your dough rises beautifully without fail.
What To Serve Your Homemade Chicken Pizza With
Pairing your homemade chicken pizza with a vibrant salad featuring crisp cucumbers, juicy tomatoes, fresh lettuce, creamy avocado, and tangy feta cheese would make the perfect side. Here are some additional tasty options to complement your pizza:
- Chicken wings
- Homemade baked chips (Check out my popular chip recipe featured on my homemade burger blog post. Click HERE for the recipe).
- Garlic bread
Other Recipes You’ll Also Love
- Homemade Beef Burger And Baked Chips (healthy fakeaway)
- Moroccan Meatballs
- Moroccan Sea Bass
Homemade Chicken Pizza
Equipment
- 1 pizza tray (or any baking tray)
- 1 Bowl
Ingredients
For The Dough
- 2 cups plain flour
- 1 tbsp fast action dried yeast (this is 1 packet)
- 1 tbsp dried thyme
- 3 tbsp extra virign olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup luke warm water (keep adding as needed) make sure to pour slowly until you form a dough
- additional flour for kneading
For The Chicken Topping
- 1 large chicken breast
- sea salt and black pepper (to taste)
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic granules
- 1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs (or oregano)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 red pepper
- 1/2 small red onion
- tomato passata (for the base – you can use any other tomato sauce of your choice)
- cheese of your choice
Instructions
Dough
- In a large bowl, mix flour, yeast, salt, dried thyme, and olive oil.
- Slowly add lukewarm water, stirring until a dough forms. Adjust with more water if needed.
- Knead the dough on a floured surface for 4-6 minutes (nothing more or else your dough will have a bread like texture) until smooth and elastic. Add flour if sticky.
- Return the dough to the same bowl, drizzle with olive oil, and cover the dough with abit of olive oil, and cover tightly with foil, cling film, or a kitchen towel, and let it rise for at least an hour. (dough rising hack in the blog post)
Toppings
- While the dough rises, prep your toppings.
- Wash and dice chicken breast, add all spices and olive oil.
- Slice red pepper into strips.
- Cook seasoned chicken until golden, then set aside.
- In the same pan, cook pepper strips until soft, retaining chicken flavor.
- Thinly slice red onion (do not cook), and grate your cheese.
Assemble And Bake
- Preheat oven to 180°C.
- Press down on the flour to release the air. Roll out dough on a floured worktop (not too much flour) and either add abit of flour to your hands or a rolling pin and then roll to the desired shape on an olive oil-greased tray.
- Prick dough with a fork to prevent too much puffing.
- Spread tomato passata over dough, then add cheese.
- Top with cooked chicken, peppers, raw onion, and more cheese.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown and crispy.
- Slice and serve your delicious homemade chicken pizza!
- Enjoy!
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
Don’t forget to rate this recipe and leave a comment down below! I would love to hear what you guys think. Also don’t forget to tag me on your stories @lotsoflovemariam.
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