Chicken Pesto Pizza (Easy Sheet Pan Pizza)

This easy chicken pesto pizza is layered with caramelized onions and creamy goat cheese balls. It is baked on a pan for a fun pizza night at home.

Make this recipe completely from scratch with homemade pizza crust and easy no-cook pizza sauce. Alternatively, for a quick pesto chicken pizza, grab store-bought dough and a jar of marinara sauce.

This pesto chicken pizza recipe was inspired by my favorite order at a small pizza place in California. Instead of spreading a thin layer of pesto on the crust itself, they use a regular tomato-based pizza sauce and add a small amount of pesto and creamy goat cheese on top. The pesto flavor is much more vibrant this way!

As if pesto sauce and goat cheese weren’t enough (they are!), this pizza also has sweet, caramelized onions and tender chicken. Everything is covered with a mixture of Italian cheese and baked on a baking sheet.

Sounds fancy but it’s really easy to make and even easier to eat!

Some of my fondest childhood memories stem from pizza night. My mom loved taking our great big family to pizza parties and it was always a full house. I swear she must have made enough pizza dough to fill a room because there would be a steady stream of different types of pizza coming out of the oven for several hours.

I still feel that little sense of excitement when it’s pizza night at home. Pesto Chicken Pizza and Cheeseburger Pizza are two family-friendly favorites.

Ingredient notes

• Pizza dough – You will need 1 ½ pounds of homemade pizza dough or the bagged variety.
• Olive oil – Just a small amount to drizzle on the pizza dough before adding the toppings.
• Pizza sauce – Use my simple no-cook pizza sauce or your favorite store-bought marinara sauce.
• red onion – Thinly sliced
• Sugar – Add a small amount of sugar to the onions while they are cooking to help them caramelize.
• Askala chicken – Chop into bite-sized pieces.
• Basil pesto – Check your local big box store for a better value. I always have a jar of Costco pesto in the fridge. This is an easy way to add lots of flavor to recipes.
• cheeses – goat cheese and a A mixture of 4 grated Italian cheeses. Although I usually emphasize the importance of freshly grated cheese for most recipes, I make an exception for this one. It is much easier and much less expensive than buying cheeses like Provolone, Parmesan, Fontina and Mozzarella separately.

How to make chicken pesto pizza

This is a quick overview of how to make this recipe. You will find detailed instructions on the recipe card at the end of this post.

Caramelize the onions

1. Generously coat the bottom of the pan (preferably cast iron) with olive oil and place it on medium-high heat.
2. Add the onion and fry and stir for a few minutes.
3. When the onions have just started to soften, sprinkle about a teaspoon of sugar. Keep cooking and stirring until they are nice and golden and delicious.

Prepare the pizza crust

1. On a lightly floured board, roll out the pizza crust.
2. Transfer it to a baking sheet lightly coated with Teflon cooking spray.

Assemble the pizza mold

1. Spread the crust with pizza sauce, using only enough to lightly coat the dough. Sprinkle the caramelized onion and chicken over the sauce.
2. Then, use a small spoon to drop pesto balls evenly over the top.
3. Finally, sprinkle the grated cheese on the pizza and dot with small pieces of goat cheese. Bake in an oven preheated to 475°F for about 10 to 12 minutes.

Allow the pizza to sit for about 5 minutes while you look at it lovingly before slicing and serving.

Reheating leftover pizza

As you are probably aware, reheating a pizza in the microwave makes it soggy. Maybe all at once, but for a better result, I recommend heating a pizza in a toaster oven. Many come with pizza settings that will heat the pizza from both the top and the bottom. You can also heat individual slices in a pan on the stove.

Salads to serve with pizza

I like to serve a fresh, crunchy salad on pizza night. This is a great way to add a little crunch and nutrition to the menu. Here are my favorites.

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Chicken pesto pizza

Instructions

• Heat an oven to 475 degrees Celsius and move the oven rack to the lowest position. Lightly coat a large rimmed baking sheet with olive oil and set aside.

• Use a rolling pin to flatten the pizza dough on a lightly floured board. Place the rolling pin aside and continue to flatten and stretch the dough into a shape until it is very thin (about ⅛ centimeter thick). Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and reshape, as needed, patting it into the pan.

• Top the crust with the pizza sauce. It should only be enough to lightly coat the dough. Top with the chicken. Using a small spoon, dot the pesto on top. Sprinkle the grated cheese and then put small pieces of goat cheese on top.

• Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, on the bottom shelf of the oven, or until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted. Remove from the oven and let the pizza rest for a few minutes before slicing and serving.

Remarks

Tips for baking pizza

• Let refrigerated pizza dough sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes to an hour before shaping. Cold pizza dough will not stretch well.
• Baking pizza on the lowest rack will help the bottom of the crust crisp up nicely. if you have pizza stonePut it in the oven while it heats up and place the baking pan on top of the hot stone for the duration of the baking time.
• To save time, you can pick up store-bought pizza dough that is usually sold in 1-pound bags. If you use more than 1 ¾ Kilograms of dough, I recommend splitting the recipe into two slightly smaller pizzas.

diet

dose: 2 slices · Calories: 535 KKL · Carbohydrates: 61 G · protein: 20 G · Fat: 24 G · Saturated fat: 11 G · Polyunsaturated fat: 3 G · Unsaturated fat: 7 G · Cholesterol: 32 mg · sodium: 1125 mg · potassium: 213 mg · fiber: 4 G · Sugar: 5 G · vitamin: 778 IU · Vitamin C: 3 mg · calcium: 282 mg · iron: 3 mg

Nutritional information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to your ingredient labels at home.

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This post was originally published on June 10, 2012. It has been updated with new text and images.