Chicken Pizza with Nut Free Pesto
A homemade pizza with a homemade nut free pesto sauce, topped with marinated chicken, two kinds of tomatoes, and two types of cheese! A French Pistou is essentially a nut free pesto, made with crushed garlic, basil, olive oil, and Parmesan cheese. A great alternative for those with nut allergies.
Servings 8 slices
Equipment
- pizza stone
- parchment paper
- Pizza Peel
Ingredients
- ½ batch pizza crust enough crust for 1 large pizza
For the Marinade:
- 1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast diced in small pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil plus more for cooking chicken
- 1 tablespoon Italian or pizza seasoning plus extra for sprinkling
For the Nut Free Pesto:
- 2 cloves garlic
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup lightly packed basil leaves
- olive oil (~4 tablespoons, give or take)
- grated Parmesan cheese, to taste
For the Pizza:
- 2-3 small vine-ripened tomatoes, juice and seeds removed, diced
- sun dried tomatoes optional
- Pesto or nut free pesto pistou
- Mozzarella cheese
- Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Marinate the Chicken:
- Place diced chicken in a resealable plastic bag filled with 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to 1 hour.
Make the Nut Free Pesto:
- Crush the garlic using a mortar and pestle.
- Add the salt and use the pestle to make a garlic paste. Add torn basil leaves and olive oil and continue using the pestle to make the pistou.
- Transfer mixture to a mini food processor to achieve consistency, if desired.
Make the Pizza:
- Place pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 500°F for at least 30 minutes, ideally 60 minutes.
- Cook the chicken in a pan with some olive oil, if necessary, until fully cooked.
- Roll dough out onto a piece of parchment paper in a round shape. Brush outer edge of dough with olive oil. Using a pizza peel or flat baking sheet, transfer parchment and dough to pizza stone to prebake the crust for 5 - 7 minutes, or just until the crust starts to turn golden.
- Remove crust from oven and, leaving on parchment, transfer to a heat resistant work space or cutting board. Top with pesto, cooked chicken, fresh and sun-dried tomatoes, and mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with a dash of Italian or pizza seasoning and top with Parmesan cheese.
- Transfer the pizza, still on the parchment, onto the baking stone in the oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheese is melted.
Notes
If you don't have parchment paper, liberally using cornmeal can help prevent the dough from sticking to the pizza stone.
Nut Free Pesto adapted from Epicurious.com
You're Gonna Bake It After All
bakeitafterall.com