Winner, Winner, Chicken Dinner

Chicken deserves its rightful place on pizza menus. Did you know Americans eat nearly 65 pounds of chicken per person each year? In fact, poultry is the most consumed meat in the U.S.

As pizza toppings go, chicken is a versatile one. It can be sourced uncooked or precooked. Raw chicken can be cooked ahead, divided and stored in the refrigerator for one to two days. But, be sure you are following all food safety practices. Chicken can be shredded, diced or sliced. It is a perfect canvas to infuse flavors into, whether that’s barbecue, Buffalo, Italian, Caribbean, curry, Tandoori, Peri Peri, Southwest, taco, bourbon, Montreal, lemon herb, garlic Parmesan, honey mustard, ginger sesame, or just about any seasoning combination you can come up with.

Depending on how it’s prepared, chicken can also be a healthier option for a low-calorie menu when combined with other healthy ingredients.

Pizza topping combinations are endless. Get creative with your chicken combination pizzas. We have some trending chicken pizza ideas for you to test out and make your own.

Tacos or Pizza? Or Taco Pizza

Taco pizzas can be a crowd pleaser. You can spin it with any style that will resonate with your customers, like mole, adobo, Tinga, Tex-Mex or chipotle. Toppings can be simple or varied. Here’s a chicken taco pizza recipe to try out:

Chicken Taco Pizza

Get the Chicken Taco Pizza Recipe.

It’s all Greek to Me

Go lighter with a Greek chicken pizza. A simple menu addition is pizza with grilled chicken strips, spinach and Kalamata olive halves, finished with feta and a squeeze of lemon. For another
option that taps into the authentic flavors of Greece, we turn to the late, great Pat Bruno, who spent many years as a Pizza Today columnist and food critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, for the Pizza alla Greco recipe, as follows:

Pizza alla Greco

Get the Pizza alla Greco Recipe.

The Comeback of Fried Chicken

Breaded and fried chicken are back in a major way. Just look at the fried chicken sandwich war that has engulfed nearly every fast food restaurant. Does breaded chicken deserve its place on pizza? You bet it does. Nashville hot chicken pizzas have caught fire across the country, and so will buttermilk fried chicken pizzas. I’m about to get controversial for those that are anti-Ranch dressing on pizza. But, nothing finishes a fried chicken pizza with a mozzarella and white cheddar blend, jalapeños and cilantro like a drizzle of Ranch dressing. You could even spicy up the dressing with sriracha.

Mimic the fast-food favorite sandwich, but offer a pizza with strips of fried chicken breast on an olive oil base, mozzarella and finished with pickle and your favorite drizzle sauce.

Offer fried chicken strips as an add-on to other menu favorites, like BLT or Hawaiian pizzas. Get your culinary juices flowing with something completely your own by testing two or three different toppings, sauces and finishes that are specific to your pizzeria, town or region.

You Can’t Go Wrong with Buffalo Chicken

We can’t talk about chicken pizzas without including the Pizza Today Test Kitchen favorite, Buffalo Chicken Pizza. There is no one perfect way to get a Buffalo chicken pizza right. There are so many versions. But the basic ingredients are chicken, Buffalo hot sauce, a creamy dressing and cheese. The chicken can be shredded, sliced or diced. It can even be breaded and deep fried. Typical veggie options include scallions, red onions, green onions, celery, pickles, banana peppers, jalapenos or other spicy peppers. You can use Blue Cheese or Ranch or both. Traditional cheeses include mozzarella, Monterey Jack and Bleu Cheese crumbles. Cilantro or chives are popular herbs. Mix and match ingredients using our version of a Buffalo Chicken Pizza as a base.

Go to pizzatoday.com/recipes/pizzas for more chicken pizza ideas.  

DENISE GREER is Executive Editor at Pizza Today.