Pizza Chicken

About

Put all your favorite Keto pizza toppings on top of a portioned chicken breast the next time you’re craving delivery. This particular recipe is inspired by meat-lover’s pizza, which includes bacon bits and slices of spicy pepperoni. If you are looking for substitution suggestions, you can reference the bottom of this intro for some ideas. If you are a premium user on Carb Manager, you can edit this recipe to include the pizza toppings you choose and accurately record your macros in your food log. To do so, tap the three dots in the top right corner of this recipe, and tap “Copy To My Foods”. Next, go to My Foods over the recipe search bar, and select the recipe copy. Tap the three dots once more, and tap “Edit Recipe”. From there, you can add or delete any ingredients you need to. Let other users know in the comment section how you modified your Keto pizza chicken!

What Is Par Cooking?

Par cooking is the process of cooking something halfway through and completing the cooking at another time. In this recipe, you’ll be searing the chicken first to par-cook it, then you’ll finish the cooking in your oven. Cooking in this style ensures your spices and flavorings cook into your protein but the meat stays tender and juicy inside. Since par cooking chicken requires you to stay within a certain temperature range, do not ever allow the chicken to cool to room temperature or colder when you’ve only seared it. It must finish cooking before harmful bacteria can grow.

Other Pizza Toppings

Before you ask – yes, of course, you can create your own pizza chicken toppings! Low-carb vegetables you can use on the Keto diet for pizza toppings include diced mushrooms, bell peppers, olives, and spinach. You can swap mozzarella cheese for other full-fat flavors like cheddar, monterey, or jack cheese. Pizza is always better with fresh herbs! Don’t hesitate to include fresh basil and oregano in lieu of the dried herbs listed in the ingredients.

Ingredients

8 oz chicken breast boneless skinless raw
½ teaspoon olive or extra virgin olive oil
⅛ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon oregano, dried
¼ teaspoon thyme, dried
¼ teaspoon basil, dried
⅛ teaspoon garlic powder
⅛ teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon marinara sauce
2 teaspoon real bacon bits
8 slice – each 0.1 ounce pepperoni
2 oz mozzarella cheese, whole milk

Instructions

Prepare 4-ounce chicken breasts by patting them dry with a paper towel and pounding them flat, if necessary. Your chicken breasts should be around ½-inch thick. Rub ¼ teaspoon olive oil into each breast, and season the chicken with salt, pepper, oregano, thyme, basil garlic powder, and onion powder. Heat a pan on your stove on very high heat. Once the pan is hot, place the chicken in the pan to sear.
Sear your chicken on each side, but don’t cook the chicken all the way through. You’ll finish cooking the chicken in the oven. Transfer the seared chicken to a well-seasoned sheet tray, and turn on the oven to preheat to 350 degrees. Spread ½ tablespoon marinara sauce across the top of each chicken breast. Follow up with 1 teaspoon bacon bits, 4 slices of thin-sliced pepperoni, and 1 ounce of whole-milk mozzarella in that order on each piece.
Place the pizza chicken in your oven. Bake the chicken for 15 minutes or until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees internally and the cheese is completely melted. At your discretion, you can cook the pizza chicken under a broiler at the end of the recipe to give a more golden-brown top, just like a pizza coming out of the oven. Additional toppings you can include with your pizza chicken (also at your discretion) are chopped basil, grated parmesan cheese, or crushed red pepper flakes.