Chicken Pesto Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe

This chicken pesto whole wheat pizza dough is so dang tasty – and better than any pizza delivery!  It is made with simple whole-wheat pizza dough, homemade pesto sauce, grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella cheese, and topped with lemony arugula.

It’s Friday – pizza night – right?  There is something about the weekend and pizza that seem to go together perfectly.  I’m not sure why that is, but it’s just the way it is.  If I am being honest, my husband and kids are HUGE pizza fans, and every once in a while my hubby likes to have pizza night with them; I on the other hand like it, but I very rarely eat it, and usually opt out of pizza night at our house – I know, LAME.

Pizza is one of those foods that I have a hard time just eating one slice, and it doesn’t get along with my waistline…basically pizza makes me one of “those girls.”  However, if I make homemade pizza at home, I have no problem and no guilt eating a couple of slices on Friday night pizza night.

The lemon arugula is obviously optional, but I STRONGLY recommend giving it a try.  It takes this pizza from good to extremely/insanely delicious.  Trust me, even though it sounds strange, the arugula on top is so GOOD!

A few notes about this recipe:

• I make the crust from scratch and it is super simple…but I understand if you don’t want to or don’t have time – I totally get it.  My local grocery sells a fresh pre-made whole * wheat pizza crust that I have used when I am in a hurry.
• I  grill my chicken myself, usually the day before, and used leftovers for the pizza…but a rotisserie chicken would work as well, or any pre-cooked chicken.
• This is made with my own Paleo pesto sauce recipe, you can find the recipe included in my Baked Whole30 Spaghetti Squash Recipe with Pesto and Bursted Tomatoes
• I used fresh mozzarella because I love the taste on the pizza, but any mozzarella cheese would work
• Finally, this pizza crust recipe makes a thicker pizza crust.  I like my pizza crust thinner, so I use some of the crust to make my kids their own personal cheese pizza – there is no way my little girl would eat a pizza with green pizza sauce on it.

Please comment below and let me know what you think of this recipe and if you make it all from scratch or not – no judgments here!

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Chicken Pesto Whole Wheat Pizza Dough Recipe

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

This chicken pesto pizza is so dang tasty – and better than any pizza delivery!  It is made with a simple homemade pizza dough, homemade pesto sauce, grilled chicken, fresh mozzarella cheese, and topped with lemony arugula.

• Author: Rebecca Baron
• Prep Time: 30
• Cook Time: 25
• Total Time: 55 minutes
• Yield: 6 1x
• Category: Main Dish
• Cuisine: American

Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

For the Crust

• 1 packet yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp coconut sugar * (or light brown sugar)
• 1 tsp salt

For the Pizza

• Homemade Pesto Sauce
• 4 ounces shredded chicken
• 4 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese
• 1 medium tomato, sliced
• Fresh basil, minced
• 1 Pinch crushed red pepper flakes

For the Lemon Arugula

• 3 heaping cups arugula
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• Real Salt * and pepper to taste

Instructions

For the Crust

1. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water in the medium bowl (approx. 5 minutes)
2. Stir in the remaining ingredients and incorporate well
3. Allow to sit for 15 minutes, knead a few times, and spread out onto a pizza pan (I used a pizza stone, but any pizza pan or baking sheet would work)

For the Pizza

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees
2. Spread a thin layer of the pesto sauce onto the prepared crust
3. Add the remaining toppings
4. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until crust starts to lightly brown

For the Arugula

1. Combine all of the ingredients for the arugula in a large bowl.
2. When the pizza is done baking and slightly cooled, top with the arugula

Keywords: Clean, Simple, tasty, homemade