Updated April 2022.
Here’s what I said about this recipe back in March 2011:
Dad and Sis had the ingredients about ready to assemble by the time I got home from work. All I had to do was stretch the dough and grate the cheese.
Dad bought what he calls “cauliflower mushrooms” and sautéed them in a little bit of olive oil while he cooked the chicken breasts. If anyone can determine what he means with “cauliflower mushrooms,” I’d be interested in finding out what kind of mushrooms they really are. I actually thought it was broccoli upon first glance – the mushrooms were slightly green tinged. They tasted great, however.
The only reason I rate this recipe as four apples is because I think it could have used more sauce. I’ve made pesto pizza in the past (and almost burnt the house down in the process), so I was a bit more cautious than I should have been when applying the sauce.
If you want to skip the added step of putting the chicken on at the end, you can add it right away; however, I would recommend only searing the kitchen quickly in a frying pan as the chicken will cook in the oven and could get dried out if you’re double cooking it.
Almost 11 years to the date of making this pizza, I got up the gumption to update this post, mainly motivated by the fact that I keep buying basil plants intending to grow basil indoors and rapidly killing them. (Note: This doesn’t happen with my outdoor basil plants but I would like to have fresh basil year round and you can’t do that in the Pacific Northwest.)
ingredients.
- ⅓ recipe for American-Style White Bread (or any other pizza crust recipe — store-bought is fine, too)
- cornmeal
- olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
- ½ recipe of Basil Pesto Sauce, or desired amount
- 10 to 12 oz cooked boneless skinless chicken breast, sliced
- 7 oz fontina cheese, shredded
- 9 oz mozzarella cheese, shredded
- 6 oz mushrooms, washed and sliced
- 3 Roma (or other smaller) tomatoes, washed and sliced
- 2 oz fresh grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ c. pine nuts (optional)
- 4 T. fresh Italian parsley, stems removed
directions.
- Remove the pizza dough from the refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and sprinkle a 16-inch round pizza pan with cornmeal.
- Using an ample amount of flour, begin to stretch the dough out into as large of a circle as possible. Place on the pizza sheet and work the dough at the edges using the heel of your hand to press and stretch toward the edge of the sheet. This will take a few minutes.
- Once the crust is stretched all the way to the edge of the pan, sprinkle with olive oil and rub the olive oil over the surface of the crust. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Pre-bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, remove and let stand to cool for a few minutes. Heat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Meanwhile spread the pesto sauce evenly over the pizza crust. Layer with shredded cheeses, mushrooms, and tomatoes. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
- Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese begins to brown slightly on top. Remove from the oven and add the chicken and pine nuts. Cook for five more minutes.
- Sprinkle with parsley. Let stand five minutes before cutting.
Like this recipe? Take a peek at some of my other pizza recipes:
- Chicken and Veggie Garlic Alfredo Pizza
- Napoletana Arugula Pizza
- Roasted Garlic Veggie Foccacia Pizza
- Three Cheese Pepperoni Pizza on Homemade Pizza Crust
Recipe rating:
Food Snob 