Chicken Pesto Pizza with mushrooms and spinach, featuring delicious homemade pizza sauce instead of red sauce. This delicious, cheesy, herby chicken pizza is packed with flavor and so divine!
This Chicken Pesto Pizza recipe is enhanced with roasted mushrooms and fresh spinach for a flavorful and unique spin on pizza night.
While I’m all about a classic tomato red sauce, I find pesto pizza recipes can be just as delightful!
Especially when you make your own homemade pesto sauce!
My family loves making homemade pizzas of all kinds, and there is always at least one in the crowd who requests a pesto version.
Chicken Pesto Pizza Ingredients:
Prepared Pizza Dough: Make your own or use store-bought pizza dough!
I used Bob’s Red Mill’s Gluten-Free Pizza Crust Mix
, but you can also use my Cauliflower Pizza Crust or my Almond Flour Pizza Crust.
Pesto Sauce: The reason we’re all here! We’re celebrating the glory of pesto pizza with delicious pesto sauce. Use store bought pesto or make my Basil Pesto Recipe or my Kale Pesto.
Baby Spinach: I add fresh spinach for more vitamins and minerals. You can skip it if you’d prefer.
Fresh Mushrooms: I like roasting mushrooms prior to adding them to pizza because the roasting process brings out the rich mushroom flavor. If you love adding raw mushrooms to pizza, feel free to skip the roasting.
Chicken: For the chicken portion of this chicken pesto pizza recipe, I roast up some chicken thighs.
I like using chicken thighs because they stay moist and tender when added to pizza. Chicken breasts have a tendency to become dry unless you’re careful.
Time Saving Tips:
- Use store-bought pizza dough instead of homeamde pizza dough.
- Buy pesto sauce from the grocery store instead of making homemade pesto sauce.
- Use rotisserie chicken from the grocery store instead of making roast chicken.
- Rather than roasting mushrooms, use raw mushrooms.
Combining these tips saves a great deal of time! If you aren’t on a time crunch, follow my recipe as written.
And now the pizza!
Want more gluten-free pizza recipes? Try my Carnitas Taco Pizza, Thai BBQ Chicken Pizza, or my Kale Pizza Crust.
What counts is you’re making pizza, and it’s going to be good. PIZZA PIE!
Chicken Pesto Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
For the Roasted Chicken & Mushrooms
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs or breasts
- 1 Tbsp olive oil or avocado oil
- 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 6 large crimini mushrooms chopped
For the Pizza
- 1 pound Gluten-Free Pizza dough
- 1.5 cups mozzarella cheese grated
- 2 cups baby spinach leaves
- 1/2 cup pesto sauce to taste
Instructions
Roast Chicken and Mushrooms:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
- Place the raw chicken thighs and chopped mushrooms in a casserole dish or on a baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice, sprinkle with salt, pepper, onion powder and garlic powder.
- Roast chicken and mushrooms in the oven for about 30 to 35 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 165 degrees F.
- Remove chicken and mushrooms from the oven. When cool enough to handle, chop the chicken and set aside until ready to use.
Prepare the Pizzas
- Raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees F.
- Roll out your favorite pizza dough (I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Pizza mix) on a 12” pizza tray.
- Pre-bake the crust for 10 to 15 minutes. Until the crust feels slightly firm and begins to show some color.
- Top pizza with pesto sauce and lay the spinach leaves on top of the sauce.
- Distribute the cheese on top, followed by the chicken and mushrooms.
- Bake the pizza for 10 to 15 minutes until crust is golden-brown and the cheese is melted and also golden brown.
- For crispier crust, put your oven on the high broil setting and broil the pizza for about 2 to 3 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
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This pizza totally makes me want to do a fist pump! So excited to hear you’re one step closer to being done with book. Can’t wait to buy it! 🙂
Your blog is so yummy. And I’m up late cause I can’t sleep and now I want PIZZZZZAAAAAAAA! Specifically this ridiculously awesome-looking variety. Oh help.
I love System of a Down. I’m currently on a Beastie Boys fix. Your tent joke just cracked me up. I want this pizza in my mouth.
Kale pesto is a genius idea! This looks amazing. Thanks for sharing!
Give ’em all the pizza!!!
Crap. That just doesn’t have the same ring.
You are right, as long as we end up eating pizza this recipe will be fine! Haha. Looks beautiful. Looking forward to the kale pesto sauce though!
Fist pumping and pizza?! Heck yes! Love this post! xo
Smile. I just love the title of the book…and I also just love this pizza. I would do anything for a slice right now. It must be dinner time! Thanks for sharing!
Duuuude, I am loving the title of your cookbook! Almost as much as I love the sound and look of this pizza… MMMhmmm!
Yay you found a book title! I really love it…..can’t wait to get my hands on it. Too bad we didn’t live closer, I’d happily come over and help you eat kale 🙂
P.S. Loving this pizza something major!
This is a loaded pizza! love it. I love a good kale pesto recipe. So excited for you book lady! major fist pumps happening here!
I love that name!! So cute, so perfect and so awesome! Congrats!!!
I also love this pizza! It looks cheesy and so perfect! Can’t wait to make it this weekend!
This looks sooo yummy! I may make this for my friday night pizza and a movie routine!
I loooooove any pizza with pesto. This is no exception! Fabulous pics, just pinned 🙂
This looks so loaded with yummy goodness! Can’t wait to see the kale pesto recipe!