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Elevate your next pizza night with this easy 30-minute pizza crust and flavorful Chicken Spinach Pizza!
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The number one question I get asked from people when they learn that I cook and create recipes for a living is, ‘What is your favorite thing to make?’ or ‘What dish are you most known for?’
As someone who cooks and bakes almost daily, this is such a hard question to answer. It’s like asking someone to pick their favorite child. I love so many different dishes for so many different reasons. I also have several dishes I’m “known” for, but this can vary greatly from season to season or when factoring in holidays.
However, if I’m being truthful, I love getting in the kitchen to bake things like cookies, cupcakes or this Herbed Oat Bread. To me, baking is so therapeutic and relaxing. Baking allows me to get lost in my thoughts, and depending on what I’m making, allows me to get my hands dirty (totally in a good way! 😉), be creative and create something that is made from scratch and delicious.
But, when I tell people this, I then follow it up with something like “But as much as I would love to, I can’t live off of baked goods alone!” and then ramble on about how I make a mean Smoked Chicken and Sausage Gumbo or Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas.
Yet, there is a dinner time staple that allows me to get in the kitchen and get in some good dough therapy and that is making homemade pizza!
I know that working with yeast can be intimidating for most, and to be honest, there are a few yeast-based doughs that I’m still working to perfect, but I feel like making homemade pizza dough is a good entry level dough that anyone can make! Plus, nothing tastes as good as homemade, and baking from scratch is not only enjoyable, but homemade pizza night allows me to create memories with my little family!
Since we make homemade pizza several times a month (hello, Friday night movie marathons!!), today I thought I would share some of my tips and tricks for making easy homemade pizza dough and one of our favorite homemade pizzas, Chicken Spinach Pizza!
One thing that I discovered awhile back that helps me have success with making homemade dough is using Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Yeast. This yeast is so easy to work with and only requires a 10-minute rise time, which is a huge deal since a lot of dough recipes require a long time to rise. In fact, for today’s Chicken Spinach Pizza recipe, I use a 30-minute pizza crust recipe that doesn’t require any special equipment or ingredients!
Now that we’ve talked homemade pizza dough, let’s talk toppings for our homemade pizza! Sure you can keep your homemade pizza toppings simple and just do cheese or pepperoni, but normally when I make pizza at home, I like to try to re-create the gourmet pizzas I’ve had while dining out at pizza places in our hometown or when we travel.
This Chicken Spinach Pizza is a perfect example of this. It is inspired by a pizza we got from a local pizza place once when we traveled to Dallas. The toppings consist of Alfredo sauce, fresh spinach, blackened chicken, mozzarella cheese and a “secret” ingredient – toasted cashews! The cashews are a must and take this pizza to the next level!
Do you love pizza as much as we do? What are your favorite pizza toppings? Please share in the comments below!
Helpful Chicken Spinach Pizza Cooking Tips:
Tips for working with yeast:
Use Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Yeast. Active Rise yeast is for more experienced bakers and requires longer rise times and double proofing. However, Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Yeast is easy to use and only requires a 10-minute or less rise time.
Follow the recipe and package directions. This may seem obvious, but I know often when I’ve struggled with yeast-based dough, it is because I didn’t use the yeast as directed on the package or missed a step in the recipe instructions.
Use lukewarm water, not hot. This is so important when working with yeast! Water that is too hot will kill the yeast and water that is too cold won’t activate the yeast. For best results, your water temperature should be between 120˚F-130˚F. I recommend always using a thermometer to check the temperature of the water.
Use fresh yeast. Another common issue when a dough won’t rise is because the yeast is expired.
What to serve with Chicken Spinach Pizza?
I love serving pizza with a simple side salad. Some of my favorite side salads that would go lovely with this Chicken Spinach Pizza recipe is this Apple Pecan Salad or this Pear and Pomegranate Salad.
Chicken Spinach Pizza
Elevate your next pizza night with this easy 30-minute pizza crust and flavorful Chicken Spinach Pizza!
Ingredients
- 30-Minute Pizza Crust:
- 1-3/4 to 2-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 envelope Fleischmann's® RapidRise® Yeast
- 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2/3 cup very warm water (120° to 130°F)*
- 3 tablespoons Mazola® Corn Oil
- -
- Chicken Spinach Pizza:
- ½ tablespoon Mazola® Corn Oil
- 1 boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1 teaspoon blackened seasoning
- ½ cup roasted garlic alfredo sauce
- ½-¾ cup chopped fresh spinach
- 1/3 cup toasted cashews, chopped
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray a pizza pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- Stir together 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add very warm water and oil; using a spoon, mix until well blended, about 1 minute. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky.
- Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead**, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 4 minutes. Let dough rest for 10 minutes.
- Using a rolling pin, roll dough on a floured surface to a 10 to 12-inch circle. Carefully transfer dough to a greased pizza pan or baking sheet. Alternatively, dough can be pressed with floured hands to fill greased pizza pan or baking sheet.
- Meanwhile, heat ½ tablespoon oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Season chicken on both sides with seasoning. Cook chicken for 4-5 minutes per side or until chicken is cooked through.
- Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest for 3-5 minutes before cutting into bite size pieces.
- Spoon Alfredo sauce on top of pizza dough. Using the back of a spoon, spread sauce evenly over the dough, leaving 1-inch thick crust around the edge of the pizza.
- Top sauce with evenly with diced chicken, spinach and cashews. Sprinkle cheese
evenly over the pizza toppings. - Bake on lowest oven rack in oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and crust is browned.
Notes
*If you don't have a thermometer, water should feel very warm to the touch.
**To knead the dough, add just enough flour to the dough and your hands to keep the dough from sticking. Flatten dough with the heel of your hand, pushing the dough away from you with a rolling motion. Then fold the dough in half towards you. Rotate dough a quarter turn and repeat the "press, fold, turn" steps until the dough is smooth and elastic. Use a little more flour if dough becomes too sticky, always working the flour into the ball of dough.
Pizza crust recipe adapted from Fleischmann's®
Fleischmann’s® has been helping home cooks and bakers create delicious recipes for over 150 years, which means with Fleischmann’s®, you can create recipes you are proud of! For more pizza recipes and tips for working with yeast, click here or follow Fleischmann’s® on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest!
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