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Overhead view of a chicken crust pepperoni pizza with browned mozzarella on parchment over a dark wooden board

Easy Chicken Crust Pepperoni Pizza with Mozzarella

Two 28 cm chicken crust pizzas topped with sauce, mozzarella and pepperoni, serving four at about 68 g protein each.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American, American comfort, Tex-Mex, Italian-American
Calories: 679
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the crust
  • 800 g ground chicken breast cold, tray liquid blotted off
  • 2 large eggs
  • 60 g Parmesan finely grated, about 3/4 cup
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
For the toppings
  • 160 g thick pizza sauce about 2/3 cup
  • 200 g low-moisture part-skim mozzarella shredded from a block
  • 85 g sliced pepperoni about 40 slices, blotted
  • 10 g fresh basil leaves optional, torn

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 220 C / 425 F with racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line two 33 x 46 cm / 13 x 18 inch rimmed sheet pans with parchment paper.
  2. In a 4-quart / 3.8 L mixing bowl, combine the ground chicken, eggs, Parmesan, garlic powder, oregano, salt and pepper. Mix with your hands for about 1 minute, until it forms a sticky paste with no streaks of egg.
  3. Divide the mixture in half and put each half on a pan. With wet hands, press each into a 28 cm / 11-inch round about 8 mm thick, with the edge slightly thicker than the center.
  4. Bake the bare crusts for 20 minutes, swapping the pans between racks at the 10-minute mark, until the edges are golden and the centers feel firm when pressed. Blot any liquid on top with paper towel. If the middle still feels soft, give it a few more minutes before adding toppings.
  5. Spread 80 g / 1/3 cup of sauce over each crust, leaving a 1 cm border. Scatter 100 g of mozzarella over each, then lay about 20 pepperoni slices on top.
  6. Bake for 10 minutes, swapping the pans again at the 5-minute mark, until the cheese bubbles with brown spots and the center of the crust reads 165 F / 74 C on an instant-read thermometer.
  7. Rest the pizzas on the pans for 5 minutes. Cut each into 4 wedges with a pizza wheel, scatter on the torn basil, and serve 2 wedges per person.

Notes

  • Wash your hands, the bowl and anything that touched the raw chicken with hot soapy water before moving on.
  • Bake both crusts the full 20 minutes, even if the tops look pale at 15.
  • Keep sauce to about 80 g per pizza so the crust stays firm.
  • Check the pepperoni and sauce labels if you need the pizza to be gluten-free.
  • Cut with a pizza wheel only after the 5-minute rest.