Pesto Chicken Pizza

Name: Pesto Chicken Pizza
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 1 h 50 min
Yield: 8 servings
Cuisine: Italian
Ingredients: 4 count Pizza dough balls (15 oz); 1.5 cups Basil pesto; 3 lb Cooked chicken breast, sliced; 24 oz Fresh mozzarella, torn; 2 cups Cherry tomatoes, halved; 0.5 cup Grated parmesan; 0.5 cup Pine nuts, toasted; 0.3 cup Balsamic glaze; 1 tsp Kosher salt

Basil pesto, sun-dried tomato, chicken

Prep: 30 min
Cook: 80 min
Serves 8
Difficulty: medium

Basil pesto, sun-dried tomato, chicken. Sized for a full crew, with timing that still works when the kitchen gets interrupted.

Why crews like it: A hall pick for regular dinner nights — one line, real portions, no drama at the stove.

1266Cal

94gProtein

110gCarbs

45gFat

Ingredients

4 count Pizza dough balls (15 oz)
1.5 cups Basil pesto
3 lb Cooked chicken breast, sliced
24 oz Fresh mozzarella, torn
2 cups Cherry tomatoes, halved
0.5 cup Grated parmesan
0.5 cup Pine nuts, toasted
0.3 cup Balsamic glaze
1 tsp Kosher salt

Instructions

Season chicken and prep toppings: Slice cooked chicken and season lightly with salt. Halve cherry tomatoes and toast pine nuts in a dry skillet until golden — watch them; pine nuts go from toast to trash in seconds.
Preheat stone to 500°F: Heat stone or steel at 500°F at least 40 minutes. Pesto burns if the stone is not fully saturated.
Stretch and pesto base: Stretch dough to 12–14 inches. Spread pesto in a thin even layer — thick pesto globs stay raw-tasting in the center. Leave a clean rim for blistering.
Mozzarella, chicken, tomatoes: Layer fresh mozzarella, chicken, and cherry tomatoes cut-side up so they roast. Sprinkle parmesan. No tomato sauce on pesto night.
Bake until pesto edges darken: Bake 10–13 minutes until cheese melts and pesto oil sizzles at the edges. Tomatoes should wrinkle slightly. Rotate once.
Pine nuts, balsamic, and cut: Scatter pine nuts and drizzle balsamic glaze after the bake. Rest 2 minutes, cut 8 slices. Pesto Chicken Pizza — green sauce, bright finish, hall-approved.

Tonight's spread

Cut pies into hall slices (8 per pie minimum) and fan on sheet trays.
Keep a fresh pie warming in the oven — pizza dies fast on the counter.
Line up Pesto Chicken Pizza on the main counter with serving spoons — firefighters grab fast between calls.
Keep a backup tray warm in the oven at 200°F for late arrivals after a run.

Hall tips

Keep a backup tray warm in the oven for late calls — nothing worse than cold plates after a run.
Taste for salt at the end — hall palates run salty after long shifts.
Pull chicken at 160°F and let carryover hit 165°F — dry breast ruins crew morale.

Substitutions

Chicken thighs ↔ breasts (thighs forgive overcooking on the flat-top).

Leftovers

Cool leftovers in shallow containers within two hours — deep pots stay hot too long.
Label trays with date and reheat to 165°F minimum before second shift.

Pizza stone or steel
Peel or inverted sheet pan
Large sheet trays
Instant-read thermometer
Aluminum foil