Chicken Caesar Pizza (Homemade Crust)
Elevate your pizza game with this Chicken Caesar Pizza! Our recipe blends juicy marinated chicken with creamy store-bought Caesar dressing, all on a delicious homemade crust that's ready in just 2 hours! Don't freak out by the length of the recipe… I just wanted to make sure you had all the details 😉
Equipment
- pizza stone
- food processor or kitchen aid mixer
- parchment paper
- rimmed baking sheet
- flat (unrimmed) baking sheet or pizza peel
Ingredients
Marinated Chicken
- 1 lb chicken breasts
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp parsley
- 1 tsp basil
- 1/2 tsp oregano
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper optional
Pizza Dough
- 16 oz bread flour (~3 cups)
- 2 tsp sugar
- 2 tsp yeast (or 1 packet)
- 1 1/3 cup warm water 100-110℉
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
Chicken Caesar Pizzas
- 1 batch marinated chicken above
- 1 batch pizza dough above
- 1 1/2 cups caesar dressing divided
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
- 8 oz mozzarella cheese finely shredded
- 2.5 oz bacon bits
- to taste parmesan cheese to top once cooked
- to taste parsley
Instructions
Marinated Chicken
- Trim excess fat and any connective tissue from chicken breasts. If your chicken breasts are rather thick, fillet them to be about 1/2 inch thick. Then, place them in a 1-gallon Ziploc bag.
- Mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl, pour the mixture into the bag with the chicken, seal the bag, and make sure all chicken is coated.
- Place chicken in the refrigerator to sit overnight.
- Note: If you're short on time (or forgot to marinate your chicken overnight) don't fret. If you can let it sit for at least 30 minutes it'll be fine.
Pizza Dough
- Note: The following instructions use a food processor. If you're using a Kitchen-aid mixer see the notes at the very end of the recipe.
- Place the flour, sugar, and yeast into the food processor and process until combined.
- With the processor running, add the water and mix until there is no dry flour remaining. (The dough will look rather scrappy.)
- Let the dough rest for 10 minutes to autolyse.
- Add the olive oil and salt and turn the food processor on for about 20 seconds.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it becomes smooth and consistent (about one minute).
- Place the dough into an oiled bowl, making sure the entire dough surface is coated with oil, cover it, and let it rest on the counter for about 1 hour. (At the end of one hour it should be about doubled in size.)
Pizza Assembly and Cooking
- Once your dough has rested for one hour, place your pizza stone in the oven (top rack), and turn the oven to 400℉.
- Turn the dough out onto the counter and cut it in half. Tip: spray your knife with cooking spray and the dough won't stick to it.
- Lay two squares of parchment paper on the counter and sprinkle them with a little bit of flour.
- Stretch each half of the pizza dough into a 10-12 inch round and place one on each piece of parchment paper. If needed, add a little extra flour so the dough doesn't stick. Cover and let rest.
- Take the chicken out of the refrigerator (and out of the bag), place it in a single layer on a baking sheet, and once the oven has come to temperature, add it to the oven. (Put it as close to the top rack as you can, but don't set it on top of the pizza stone.) Cook for about 20 minutes or until the internal temperature reaches 165℉. (Tip: use a dark colored pan and flip it once during cooking to get some browning on both sides.)
- While the chicken is cooking and the dough is resting, give your kitchen a quick cleanup. Then grab your remaining ingredients.
- Shred your cheese and set it aside.
- When the chicken finishes cooking, take it out of the oven, and let it rest on the baking sheet. Turn the oven up to 500℉ and start assembling your pizzas.
- If your dough rounds are sitting pretty at 12 inches wide, you can move on. If not, give them a little extra stretch. Then…
- Spread 1/2 cup of the Caesar dressing across each dough round, leaving a little edge for the crust.
- Sprinkle 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese across each pizza, followed by 4 oz (or about one cup) of the mozzarella.
- Slice the cooked chicken into strips and place them across both pizzas. Then sprinkle each pizza with the bacon bits.
- When your oven reaches 500*, trim off any excess parchment paper from around the pizzas (otherwise it might burn and set off your smoke alarms… ask me how I know…). Then, use an unrimmed baking sheet (or pizza peel) to transfer one pizza onto the hot pizza stone.
- Bake the pizza for 4-5 minutes, rotate it 180° (meaning the front becomes the back and the back becomes the front), and bake it for another 4-5 minutes.
- Remove the pizza from the oven, and place it on a cooling rack (remove the parchment paper otherwise it will trap the heat and make your dough soggy). Let it cool for 5-10 minutes. Also, use this 5-10 minutes for the oven to heat back up before cooking the second pizza.
- Pour/squeeze an extra 1/4 cup of the Caesar dressing across the top of the cooked pizza (or use it as a dip), along with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and a little parsley.
- Repeat the cooking and topping process with your second pizza. Then eat those puppies up!
Notes
Making the dough with a Kitchen-aid Mixer:
- Whisk the first three ingredients together in your mixer bowl.
- Add the water and, using a dough hook, mix everything together until just combined.
- Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Add the salt and oil and mix on medium-high speed for 20-30 seconds.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it until it becomes smooth and consistent (about one minute).
- Place the dough into an oiled bowl, making sure the entire dough surface is coated with oil, cover it, and let it rest on the counter for about 1 hour. (At the end of one hour it should be about doubled in size.)
