Finding a Good Pizza Alternative
Although I can't eat "normal" pizza on the keto diet, there are a several decent alternatives for getting my pizza fix. But they aren't perfect solutions. Problem #1: most of them require making a dough from scratch. Problem #2: The best dough to use is Fathead Dough, a great keto-friendly alternative, but that dairy bomb doesn't always sit well with me. I just have a hard time making a dough out of cheese and then adding more cheese on top of it. And if I eat too much, my stomach will protest. So to keep the dairy at an acceptable level, I created this Keto Chicken Pesto Pizza, which uses chicken as the base.
Tips & Tricks
- You could eat this Keto Chicken Pesto Pizza with a knife and fork, or cut the pizza into slices and serve it as finger food.
- You could swap the pesto for marinara sauce. Just be careful to use a sauce without added sugars.
- Instead of pounding the chicken breast until it's thin, you could just buy chicken that is thinly sliced.
- Add your favorite pizza toppings!
- Quick and easy version: instead of broiling the pizza in the oven, just keep the chicken in the skillet, add the toppings, and then cover the pan with a tight lid until the cheese is melted. It won't brown, but that's no big deal... it will still taste good.
- You can make the chicken ahead of time. Then all you have to do is reheat with the toppings and you're done! The best way to reheat is in the oven (or toaster oven), but the microwave would work too.
Perfect For Leftover Chicken
This photo was taken on a different day, using leftover chicken, but the dish is the same. Making a Keto Chicken Pesto Pizza is a great way to turn leftover chicken breast into something different and flavorful.
I had some leftover thin-sliced chicken already cooked. So I spread some pesto on top, sliced some cherry tomatoes (I didn't have regular tomatoes, but the little ones did just fine), and topped it with two slices of mozzarella and some fresh basil. While it was in the toaster oven I arranged a side salad with sliced avocado. I wasn't patient enough to let the cheese brown, only to melt, but it was still "Yum!" worthy.
For more quick and easy keto meal ideas, click here.
📖 Recipe
Keto Chicken Pesto Pizza
Ingredients
- 4 chicken breasts
- salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoon avocado oil
- 4 teaspoon pesto (or 4 tablespoon marinara sauce)
- 1 tomato
- 8 oz fresh mozzarella, sliced
Instructions
- Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper. Place one chicken breast on a silicon mat or cutting board and then place a sheet of plastic wrap on top of it. Using a heavy object, pound the chicken to flatten it until it's ¼ inch (1 cm) thick. Repeat with the other breasts. (tip: you could just buy thin-sliced chicken breast and skip the pounding).
- Pour the avocado oil into a large skillet and set over medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot, add the chicken and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until the cooked all the way through.
- Place the cooked chicken on a sheet pan. Spread the pesto on top of each piece of chicken. Add tomato slices and mozzarella slices. Place the pan in the oven and broil until the cheese is melted and brown spots appear. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is estimated. Amounts may vary depending on the specific brand and/or type of ingredients you use. Sugar alcohols and other sweeteners that typically do not effect blood glucose levels, including but not limited to erythritol and allulose, are excluded from the carb count.
Douglas Blake
5/5 Tasty.
For the website itself, can you please put a link to the fathead dough when you reference it?