You might think I am a little crazy for saying this, but I am not the biggest fan of pizza. Yes, I eat it and I greatly enjoy it when I do eat it, but it’s not something I ever crave. I find that most pizzas you buy are too greasy, too large, or just don’t have enough veggies on them. My husband however, looooves pizza. So we found a middle ground and started making our own pizza! We created this easy veggie pizza with chicken which is healthier than regular pizza and helps keep you filled up for longer.

Easy Pizza Recipe with Veggies and Chicken

Ok, so I’m kind of a traditionalist and I think that Italian-style foods taste the best when you make homemade marinara sauce. However, I also get that some people don’t want to spend hours and hours crafting their own marinara sauce. So don’t feel like you have to make the marinara sauce that I post here–but do try and splurge on a nicer marinara sauce with herbs and garlic added to it.

And the same goes for pizza dough! Again, I will post a pizza dough recipe here but you are totally fine if you want to go and buy some pre-made pizza dough from your local supermarket. Just know that if you ever want to experiment with making your own pizza dough, you can come back here for a pizza dough recipe.

Marinara/Tomato sauce

• 4 pounds tomatoes (on the vine if you can find it, we use Muir Glen crushed tomatoes in the off-season)
• 1 medium sweet onion (finely diced)
• 2-3 tbsp crushed garlic
• 1 cup of dry red wine
• 1 tsp Hungarian paprika
• 1 tbsp thyme
• 1 tbsp oregano
• ½ tbsp basil
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsbp crushed fresh black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 380 degrees farenheit
2. Add all ingredients to a standard Pyrex casserole dish and mix thoroughly (it should be pretty close to full)
3. Put in the oven for 90 minutes
4. After 90 minutes, increase the temperature to 410 degrees farenheit for an additional 30-minutes or until the majority of the liquid has boiled off
5. Take sauce out of oven and allow to cool sufficiently. Process sauce through a food mill to create smooth consistent sauce. Using a good blender for a duration can be done as well. This should create 40 to 48 oz of sauce.
6. This should be enough sauce for 4 pizzas.

Dough (2 large thin crust pizzas)

• 1.5 cups of all-purpose flour
• 2 cups of bread flour
• 2 cups of water
• 2tbsp olive oil
• 7g of active dry yeast
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• Semolina Flour. (for counter)

(adapted from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/bobby-flay/pizza-dough-recipe)

1. Add yeast, sugar, and warmed water to a stand mixer’s bowl. Allow to sit for 10 minutes or until frothy.
2. Add both flours and salt to the bowl. [Note: More bread flour makes a crispier crust, more AP with make for a softer crust. This ratio makes for a sturdy and soft dough that will support the toppings without crisping on the bottom. Our preferred style.
3. Using the stand mixer’s dough hook, manually incorporate the ingrediants.
4. Once incorporated, add the olive oil and run the stand mixer with the dough hook for a couple minutes until the dough is homogenous. If dough is sticky add more flour, if it is too dry add water. Both in 1 tbsp increments.
5. Scrape dough onto floured counter. AP is fine for this part.
6. Knead dough for a short time until firm.
7. Oil a large bowl and add dough ball.
8. Allow dough to sit and double in size. I typically let it sit on top of the warm oven. About 1 hour.
9. Cover counter in semolina flour. AP will do if you do not have semolina flour.
10. Preheat oven to 410 degrees Farenheit
11. Split dough into two portions and allow to sit for 10 minutes.
12. Roll two portions into ball and try to force folds and imperfections of the dough into the middle of the ball.
13. Using rolling pin, we use a French rolling pin, to flatten dough until it is large enough to hang over the OXO Non-Stick Pro Pizza Pan by half an inch.
14. Cover OXO Non-Stick Pro Pizza Pan  in a layer of semolina flour. Add flattened dough.
15. Fold edges in to make a crust an inch wide all around pizza.
16. Using a form make tiny holes all over the dough where there is no crust. This will keep the dough from ballooning when cooking.
17. Bake the dough, on it’s own, for 7 minutes.

Pizza Toppings, etc

• 4oz fresh mozzarella thinly sliced
• 1-2 cups of shredded fontina, shredded with OXO’s Grate and Slice set (this was so freaking helpful because it included coarse and medium grating, and straight and julienne slicing surfaces!)
• 0.5 pounds of chicken thinly sliced
• ½ of a medium red onion halved and then thinly sliced with OXO’s Grate and Slice set
• 1 bell pepper, orange or yellow, thinly sliced with OXO’s Grate and Slice set and sauteed for 5-minutes
• Fresh basil and herbs of provenance (I like Penzey’s)  to taste
• Enough semolina flour to cover counter and pizza pan

CHICKEN: Add Salt, Pepper, Paprika, and herbs of provenance to each side of chicken. Grill until center is 165 degrees farenheit.  Once cooked, allow to rest for 5-minutes. Cut into thin strips (1inch long).

ASSEMBLING: Take pre-baked dough and add sauce to the center. Spread sauce to the edge, using a circular motion. Make sure the sauce is spread evenly. Add sliced mozzarella to the top as well as onions, bell pepper, and chicken. Add fontina, lightly sprinkle the herbs of provenance and finally add the basil leaves. Put on OXO Non-Stick Pro Pizza Pan and bake for 14-minutes and then let cool for 5-minutes. Divide the pizza into 8-slices with OXO’s 4″ Pizza Wheel‘. Enjoy!

I just wanted to quickly call out OXO on their amazing products for making the perfect pizza! Their Non-Stick Pro Pizza Pan is actually similar to my cookie pan in that it has a micro-textured pattern which helpe improve airflow for the perfectly pizza base. And I loved that their 4″ Pizza Wheel is plastic so that it won’t damage non-stick pans as well as having a slick surface so you don’t get cheese and other junk sticking to it. 

I hope you love this pizza! It’s become a family favorite for us and there’s always leftovers–perfect for lunch during the week! If you make this pizza, please tag me in the photos of your recreation on Instagram 🙂

Honestly yours,
Alice

Dislaimer: OXO provided me with products but no monetary compensation. I only mention products and services I use and genuinely care about.

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