Pizza Baked Chicken Breasts
Pizza baked chicken breasts might be the easiest dinner you’ll make this week. Juicy chicken, tangy tomato sauce, gooey cheese and your favorite toppings make this one baked chicken recipe that’s not boring.
Low Carb | Make Ahead | Gluten Free
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Chicken is the most blank of all blank slates. You can do anything you want with it–but when brining and dry rubbing and pan frying are out of the question, dig in to the juicy, flavorful ease of pizza baked cheesy goodness.
As with the majority of my recipes, I want everything to feel customizable to your family and this version is PERFECT for that.
Feel free to use chicken thighs here (boneless and skinless) if you prefer dark meat. Add any pizza sauce you like or use my most favorite one ever. Add (or leave off) any toppings your family doesn’t want.
Personally I think some crumbled bacon and a little bit of green bell peppers would be a hit on these but you do whatever makes your family happy.
You can even adjust each individual breast like miniature personal pizzas so no one has to pick anything off.
How to make pizza baked chicken breasts step by step

Step 1: Thin your chicken.
Standard chicken breasts are way too thick when they cook for my taste. That’s why I want you to thin yours. Use a sharp knife to cut through the chicken horizontally so each breast will make two servings. You can also use chicken cutlets here which are already thinner.
Also make sure to buy chicken breasts that aren’t loaded with water. The package will tell you how much retained water is in it–some can be as high as 20%. This water is injected during processing and it’s not something you need. I buy Katie’s Best chicken at my local Meijer and it as no retained water.
2. Layer on the sauce
Once the chicken is thinned, place the breast in a baking dish or on a cookie sheet (make sure it has rims to catch juices). Layer on a tablespoon or so of your favorite sauce. I love Farm to Fork almost more than I love my kids. **Remember to put your sauce in a bowl so you don’t dip your chicken-contaminated spoon in your jar!
3. Add fresh mozzarella
I never support using pre-shredded cheese because of the powdered cellulose it’s tossed in–plus that’s not fresh mozzarella. That’s “low moisture”. Fresh mozzarella is a little bit squishy and is sold in a ball about the size of a baseball. You don’t need it floating in water–you may find that version as well–that mozzarella is too soft. Any grocery store will have it in their cheese section.
4. Add toppings of your choice
This is the best part! For your picky kids, just do cheese. For the spice lover throw on red pepper flakes. For the supreme lover put it allll on there. In this case I just did pepperoni and black olives and I sprinkled on some Italian seasoning and a drizzle of olive oil before baking then added fresh basil at the end.


Pizza Baked Chicken Breasts
Equipment
- Baking sheet
- Chef's knife
- Cutting board
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts about 2 large or 3 medium breasts
- 1 teaspoon salt *See Note 1
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 3/4 cup pasta sauce I like Farm to Fork
- 8 ounce fresh mozzarella sliced in to 1/4" thick slices
- 1/2 cup nitrate free pepperoni slices about 12 slices or 3 per breast
- 1/2 cup sliced black olives optional
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400
- On a cutting board, use a sharp knife to cut the chicken breasts horizontally making two thinner cutlets. Place cutlets in a baking dish or on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Sprinkle chicken evenly with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.
- Add pasta sauce to a bowl (to prevent contaminating your jar of sauce). Place on tablespoon (or to your taste) on each breast.
- Layer on two slices of cheese per breast.
- Add pizza toppings of your choice. *See Note 2
- Drizzle with olive oil and bake 20 minutes until the chicken reaches 165 or no pink remains.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with fresh basil. Serve warm.
This is right up my alley! Looking forward to trying it! Some onion and green pepper would be good. What rack level do you use? Also, I just recently bought an electric smooth top double oven range. The top oven is small, more like having a big toaster oven. LOL. I love not heating up a big oven. I’m guessing it would cook OK in it.
I cook it in the middle Kim–pretty much everything goes there when I’m testing it. 😉 I hope you love it. I bet it will cook just fine in your little oven. –Rachel