Dinner
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Caprese and Pesto Grilled Chicken Pizza is a fresh summer favorite guaranteed to be polished off in one sitting!
Ahhhhh pizza. On a Monday. A strange thing, right? Who eats pizza on a Monday?? Me! Us! We do!! Maybe not a crazy greasy pepperoni and cheese saturated pizza, but one like this. A nice, pseudo fancy grilled pizza with good things like pesto, grilled chicken, fresh roma tomatoes, and a lovely balsamic drizzle at the end!
I’ve been experimenting with grilling pizza and have gone through series of flops to finally get to the success of today’s post. I’ve found that my normal go-to pizza dough recipe doesn’t work as well for grilling because it doesn’t have the stretchy glutinous texture necessary for a hardy crust that will survive on the grill. The bags of pizza dough from Trader Joe’s work really well for this and I love the garlic and herb crust specifically for this recipe!
I’ve also discovered that you need the grill blazing hot so it almost flash cooks the crust, keeping it crisp on the outside but still soft and chewy at the same time. The perfect time seems to be 2 minutes per side (for just the crust), then another 8-10 minutes with all the toppings on. Your times might vary a bit depending on your grill, but I’d start with those and then adjust as needed.
You’ve had a caprese salad before, right? Well, this is basically the same thing but in pizza form! And pizza is so much better than salad! So, what are you waiting for? Get to it friend!
Caprese and Pesto Grilled Chicken Pizza
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 lb pizza dough
- 1/2 cup pesto
- 3 roma tomatoes, thinly sliced
- 1 large chicken breast, seasoned with salt and pepper, grilled, and chopped
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (affiliate)
Instructions
- On a piece of parchment paper or a large cutting board sprinkled with flour, roll pizza dough into a rectangle until 1/2 inch thick.
- Transfer dough to a preheated grill (as hot as it will go, or 450-500 degrees) and grill for 2 minutes on each side.
- Remove the dough from the grill and spread pesto all across the pizza, leaving an inch of exposed crust around the edges.
- Layer with sliced tomatoes, then sprinkle with chopped chicken, mozzarella cheese, salt, and pepper.
- Place back on the grill and cook with the lid down for 8-10 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly, and the edges of the crust are crispy.
- Remove from grill, sprinkle with parmesan cheese and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.
- Slice and enjoy!
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
Other Pizza Recipes You’ll Love!
Goat Cheese, Grape, And Arugula Pizza