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Chicken pizza crust sounds gross but it’s actually delicious (and keto friendly)

Check out keto-friendly chicken pizza crust

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Eneida Nieves / Pexels

Most of us are well-acquainted with pizza as a delicious comfort food. While there’s no question pizza is amazing, it’s easy to overeat and quite high in carbohydrates. For those on a low-carb, high-protein, keto, or gluten-free diet, pizza might also not fit into your macro goals. But that doesn’t mean you have to rush to ditch pizza just yet. Food scientists and avid low-carb dieters have gotten crafty, finding a way to make pizza a safe food again by using chicken as a crust. Upon first glance, we know chicken pizza crust sounds gross. But when made properly, chicken pizza crust is delicious and doesn’t taste like chicken at all.

What is chicken pizza crust?

The idea for chicken pizza crust first started when Real Good Foods created a frozen pizza product that used ground chicken as a base for a pizza crust. From here, this inspired many other chefs to try their versions of chicken pizza crust at home. Since ground chicken is low in calories and high in protein, it serves as a great base to create a pizza crust. Recipes vary quite a bit — so you’ll want to experiment to find a chicken crust pizza recipe you enjoy. By combining other ingredients, such as cheese, eggs, and seasonings, the chicken taste is masked. In addition, there’s lots of flexibility in the toppings and sauces that can be used atop a chicken pizza crust.

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What type of chicken do I use for chicken pizza crust?

Thinly sliced chicken breasts
Alesia Berlezova / Adobe Stock

One of the biggest variations between chicken pizza crust recipes is the type of chicken used. Some recipes call for canned chicken breast, which helps save time. Canned chicken breast needs to be dried out before it can be used in a pizza crust, as it has a high moisture content. While this method is easy and cost-effective, it may not be the best in terms of quality.

Other recipes may use cooked, shredded chicken, or rotisserie chicken for the pizza crust. This allows you to opt for organic chicken if preferred. However, you’ll need to factor in the time to cook, shred, and dry out the chicken before you can dive into the pizza recipe. The last option to make a chicken pizza crust is raw ground chicken. Many people say that the texture of ground chicken works best to help mask the chicken taste in the final pizza product.

Easiest DIY chicken pizza crust

pizza crust
Ivan Torres / Unsplash

If you want to give chicken pizza crust a go — this top-rated variation uses only a few simple ingredients and is super easy to whip up in just three steps.

Ingredients

  • 1 Pound Ground Chicken
  • ½ Cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
  • 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Your favorite pizza toppings

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 400F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. You can also use a pizza pan.
  2. Add the ground chicken, cheese, Italian seasoning, and salt to a bowl.  Mix thoroughly with your hands.
  3. Dump the mixture on the prepared pan and spread into a pizza shape about ¼ inch thick. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. If any liquid bakes out of the crust, you can carefully absorb it with paper towels.

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Emily Caldwell
Emily Caldwell
Contributor
Emily is a freelance writer with a special focus on health, fitness, lifestyle, food, and nutrition topics. She holds a B.S…
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