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7.12.18

Chicken Pesto Paleo Pizza {GF, DF}

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No Added Sugar

This simple chicken pesto pizza starts with the perfect quick and easy paleo pizza crust, topped with a flavor-packed dairy-free homemade pesto, shredded chicken and cherry tomatoes.  This fun meal great for dinner or lunch, is kid approved, grain-free, dairy-free and insanely delicious.

This simple chicken pesto pizza starts with the perfect quick and easy paleo pizza crust, topped with a flavor-packed dairy-free homemade pesto, shredded chicken and cherry tomatoes.  This fun meal great for dinner or lunch, is kid approved, grain-free, dairy-free and insanely delicious.

Did you know I tried to make a pesto pizza about a year ago and it was a total flop?

I’m not sure what I was thinking when I put probably an entire cup of pesto on the crust and the whole things just got soggy and oily and really just horrible.

Perhaps I was just thinking that I love pesto (SO TRUE!) and, hey, the more the merrier!

As it turns out, less is more when it comes to pesto on our paleo pizza, and, let’s just say I’m glad I came to my senses and gave this recipe another shot.

This simple chicken pesto pizza starts with the perfect quick and easy paleo pizza crust, topped with a flavor-packed dairy-free homemade pesto, shredded chicken and cherry tomatoes.  This fun meal great for dinner or lunch, is kid approved, grain-free, dairy-free and insanely delicious.

This one, now, is pesto pizza perfection.  No dairy, no grains, no difficult-to-work-with-crust, no worries!

Speaking of that crust – it’s become quite the popular recipe since I posted it over a year ago, and it still performs perfectly every single time.

It’s the type of recipe that even a kid can follow and it’s made all in one bowl – which is always a plus by me.  In fact, I don’t have nearly enough one-bowl recipes now that I’m thinking of it!

This simple chicken pesto pizza starts with the perfect quick and easy paleo pizza crust, topped with a flavor-packed dairy-free homemade pesto, shredded chicken and cherry tomatoes.  This fun meal great for dinner or lunch, is kid approved, grain-free, dairy-free and insanely delicious.

Pesto pizza glory!  So first, before we make that crust, we need to make the pesto, of course!  This particular pesto is similar to my others except that I decided to use pine nuts instead of walnuts.

Realistically, you can use any nut in place of the pine nuts and it will turn out just fine.  I happen to currently be in a little pine nut honeymoon phase or something (have you seen my kale Caesar salad?) and I just had to use them for this recipe.

I recommend making the pesto in a food processor if you have one, although a blender should work as well.  It blends up in about a minute, and you’ll be left with a whole lot of delicious pesto – more than you need!

Of course, don’t be silly like I was and try to put extra pesto on the pizza – especially after I just told you how I ruined my last pesto pizza with pesto overload.

Anyhow, you can save the pesto in the fridge for about a week and use it as a dip, spread, sauce, or in recipes like my chicken pesto stuffed sweet potatoes and chicken pesto spaghetti squash.

It’s always best to have more than you need, in my opinion, I think we’e probably all had that one drilled into our heads by well meaning mommas on holidays 🙂

This simple chicken pesto pizza starts with the perfect quick and easy paleo pizza crust, topped with a flavor-packed dairy-free homemade pesto, shredded chicken and cherry tomatoes.  This fun meal great for dinner or lunch, is kid approved, grain-free, dairy-free and insanely delicious.

Then we have the chicken – you can easily use leftover chicken for this, this you don’t need a ton, or rotisserie chicken purchased from the grocery store.

Since I didn’t have any leftover chicken around, I baked a chicken breast with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and then shredded it after it cooled.  The chicken is just so delicious with the pesto that it really doesn’t matter how you cook it!

Lastly we have sliced cherry tomatoes and some fresh herbs to top off this epic paleo pizza.  You can use extra basil, parsley, or even oregano – whatever you like!  And with that, I think we’re finally really to make this new favorite – are you ready?!  Let’s go!

Chicken Pesto Paleo Pizza {GF, DF}

Chicken Pesto Paleo Pizza {GF, DF}

This simple chicken pesto pizza starts with the perfect quick and easy paleo pizza crust, topped with a flavor-packed dairy-free homemade pesto, shredded chicken and cherry tomatoes.  This fun meal great for dinner or lunch, is kid approved, grain-free, dairy-free and insanely delicious.

Author: Michele Rosen
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Course: Appetizer/lunch/dinner
Cuisine: Paleo
Servings: 6 servings
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4.75 from 8 votes

Ingredients

Pesto:

  • 1/2 cup pine nuts
  • 1/4 cup almonds
  • 2 cups basil leaves
  • 3 cups greens kale, spinach or both
  • 3-4 cloves garlic
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/4-1/2 tsp sea salt
  • 1/2 cup light olive oil

Pizza:

  • 1 paleo pizza crust prepared and baked 10-12 mins
  • 5-6 Tbsp pesto see above*
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken cooked and shredded
  • 3/4 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
  • Sea salt and pepper
  • Fresh chopped basil or parsley

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees (or keep oven heated after pre-baking crust)
  2. Dollop 4 Tbsp of the pesto over the crust and spread with the back of a spoon into an even layer
  3. Sprinkle the shredded chicken over the pesto, then the tomatoes. Dollop the remaining 2 Tbsp pesto in small amounts over the chicken and tomatoes.  Sprinkle fresh herbs over the top if desired.

  4. Bake pizza in the preheated oven or 15 more minutes, until edges of crust are a crisp golden brown and toppings are heated through. Serve immediately and enjoy! Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Recipe Notes

*Store remaining pesto tightly covered in the refrigerator for up to one week. Use to toss with zucchini noodles, as a dip or topping, or in recipes like Chicken Pesto Stuffed Sweet Potatoes, and chicken pesto spaghetti squash

 

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Tag @PaleoRunningMomma on Instagram and hashtag it #PaleoRunningMomma

Shop Products and Ingredients:

Want More Paleo Pizza Recipes? Try One Of These!

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Pepperoni Veggie Pizza

Sausage Tomato Basil Pizza

Roasted Garlic Spinach Chicken Pizza

The Perfect Easy Paleo Pizza Crust

Best Paleo + Vegan Pizza 

Note: This post contains Amazon affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I will receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting The Paleo Running Momma!

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About Michele

More than a little into running and paleo recipes (yoga now too!) but I'm not here to rain on your grains (or anything else) so come along for the ride! I do a little too much of everything (except cleaning), and I enjoy laughing at myself. As long as I'm the one making the jokes, that is. Just kidding. So bring me your angst, your appetite and your frying pan and climb aboard!

Reader Interactions

Reader Reviews & Comments

  1. Leanne says

    July 12, 2018 at 9:32 am

    Is the basil and kale/spinach tightly packed? Chopped? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Michele says

      July 12, 2018 at 9:52 am

      Yes, I would say tightly packed within reason

      Reply
  2. Healthcare says

    July 25, 2018 at 9:02 am

    Chicken Pesto Paleo Pizza … This is I had listened the first time. Now I will make at my home today… Every time you make nice & different recipes. Now I will share this article…

    Reply
  3. Olivia says

    August 2, 2018 at 9:43 pm

    Is the nutritional yeast supposed to be TBSP or teas? The lower case has me second guessing myself.

    Reply
  4. Alicia says

    November 21, 2018 at 9:03 pm

    5 stars
    Being someone who just found out a couple of months ago that I have several food allergies, including yeast, I needed to find a yeast-free Paleo recipe. This pizza crust came out amazing! So delicious and crunchy!! No need for me to buy pre-made paleo or gf crust at the store. It obviously isn’t as convenient because it is made from scratch, but OMG it is so worth it!

    Thank you, Michele for this amazing recipe!!

    Reply
  5. Erica says

    March 3, 2019 at 9:37 pm

    For some reason the nutritional info is not visible on this recipe. Any way to get that? Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Melissa says

    March 6, 2019 at 10:14 pm

    5 stars
    I made this tonight and it is delicious! This will be my new go-to pesto recipe, the nutritional yeast and almonds are genius.

    I made the pizza on a plantain crust. Instead of putting the kale in the pesto, I layered sliced kale leaves over the pesto and under the rest of the topping. I will be making this pizza repeatedly, thanks for sharing it!

    Reply
  7. Homebody on the Run says

    September 19, 2019 at 6:22 pm

    5 stars
    I made this pizza after a long day of cleaning and flying solo with my girls. To be honest I did not want to make anything but I did it anyway. This is amazing! The crust was crisp and has a nice texture, the flavor profile is amazing (I added balsamic before serving to round it out). I don’t agree that this makes 6 servings , I think it is closer to 1 maybe 2 if you are feeling generous ?

    Reply

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Welcome!

Hi! I’m so happy you stopped by! My name is Michele and I’m a Paleo eater and recipe creator, runner, mom of 3, and the gal behind Paleo Running Momma! Over here you’ll find real-food, clean eating family favorites that you’ll be excited to share with your loved ones. I hope you stay awhile, eat, savor, and enjoy!

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