Pesto Chicken Pizza
This pesto pizza makes pizza night deliciously easy! All you need are five ingredients, a hot oven, and a craving for pizza full of fresh flavors. It combines basil pesto and melty mozzarella cheese. Add some cooked chicken to make it super easy, and you’ll have a hot, herby, cheesy pizza ready to enjoy in about 30 minutes.
I’ve reached the point of the summer when my desire to cook involved meals with all the steps has reached its inevitable low, so I’m here today with a pizza recipe. It is an actual recipe (except for the dough, which is premade because—hello—it’s summer) with just enough ingredients, measurements, and steps, so we can call it both a proper recipe and a delicious dinner.
It’s easy to make (even fun! if you love the idea of pizza night like me), and the flavors taste like summer, with a light basil pesto sauce and a few fresh basil leaves for garnish. So, all around, this pesto chicken pizza is a summertime win.
How to Make It
As mentioned, we’re cheating and using premade pizza dough for this recipe, but you can use your favorite homemade recipe instead. I go the storebought route because: 1) it’s summer, and cutting out a few prep steps makes sense, and 2) there are many great premade pizza doughs you can buy at the grocery store or try asking at your favorite pizza shop. Sometimes, they sell their dough, which you can use to make your pizza at home.
With the dough figured out, the rest of it is so simple: pesto for the sauce, melty mozzarella for the cheese, and cooked chicken to round it out. Have leftover grilled chicken on hand? This is a great way to use it. Or, and this is what I do: grab some rotisserie chicken at the store. It works great for this recipe.
Happy pizza night,
More easy Recipes
Loaded Pizza Sandwiches | BBQ Chicken French Bread Pizza | Italian Sandwich Sliders
PrintPesto Chicken Pizza
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 (12″) pizza 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: Italian-American
Ingredients
- 1 pound prepared pizza dough (see note)
- 1/3 cup pesto
- 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, sliced or shredded (see note)
- 1 cup shredded cooked chicken
- Grated Parmesan cheese and sliced fresh basil leaves for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450°F.
- Roll or stretch the dough into a 12-inch circle on a lightly floured surface. Prick the surface of the dough with a fork, leaving an ½ inch border.
- Place the dough on a pizza pan and bake it for five minutes.
- Spread ¼ cup of pesto on the crust, leaving a ½” border. Top the sauce with the sliced cheese and shredded chicken.
- Bake the pizza for 8 to 10 minutes or until the crust is lightly golden brown and the cheese is melted.
- Drizzle the rest of the pesto over the pizza. If using, garnish with grated Parmesan cheese and fresh basil. Slice into eight pieces.
Notes
You can use storebought refrigerated or frozen pizza dough – I like Rhode’s brand frozen dough.
This is an extra-cheesy pizza! If you prefer less cheese, reduce the amount to 6 ounces. I use whole milk low-moisture mozzarella cheese.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice
- Calories: 306
- Sugar: 0.6g
- Sodium: 461.8mg
- Fat: 15.4g
- Saturated Fat: 5.9g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 26.2g
- Fiber: 1g
- Protein: 15.1g
- Cholesterol: 38.4mg
The nutrition is an estimate only. It was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
More Recipes with Pesto
If you love this chicken pesto pizza, here are a few more ways to use pesto – it’s such a versatile ingredient.
Tried this recently and absolutely loved it.