Have your chicken and pizza, too!
I’d like to say a few words about the Chicken Problem.
No, not the one about which came first, the chicken or the egg. The one about how to keep your family from saying, “Chicken again?” when you serve it.
See, as a dinner, chicken has a lot going for it. It’s cheap, healthy, hearty, and easy to fix. And most people like it – once in a while. But when you lean too heavily on chicken for dinner, it starts to get a little boring. Even if your family doesn’t actually say anything, you kind of get the feeling they’d be a lot more excited about a nice hot pepperoni pizza.
So, give them one…with their chicken.
This Pizza Chicken Bake has everything you love about chicken and everything you love about pizza, all in one pot. It’s got healthy, protein-packed chicken breasts for the base, swimming in a sauce of tangy tomatoes, spicy pepperoni, and gooey cheese. And it’s really easy to make: just brown the chicken, load it in a casserole dish with all the other ingredients, and bake.
When you put this on the table, you definitely won’t hear “Chicken again?” Instead, you’ll hear the clatter of everyone holding out their plates at once.
Pizza Chicken Bake
INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts (3-4 small breasts)
salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves Garlic, minced
1/4 cup diced onion
18-20 -ounce jar of spaghetti sauce
1 cup. shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup sharp cheddar
1/4 c. mini pepperoni
1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, plus more for serving
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add chicken, season well with salt and pepper and sear until golden, 2-3 minutes per side. The couple of minutes of cooking, add mince garlic and onions to the pan.
2. In a casserole dish, pour in spaghetti sauce. Nestle chicken into sauce.
3. Top chicken with cheese and pepperoni and bake until chicken is cooked through, 15 -18 minutes.
4. Garnish with parsley and serve.
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Pizza Chicken Bake
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts 3-4 small breasts
- salt and pepper to taste
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 1/4 cup diced onion
- 18 ounce jar of spaghetti sauce
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 cup sharp cheddar
- 1/4 cup mini pepperoni
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley plus more for serving
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil. Add chicken, season well with salt and pepper and sear until golden, 2-3 minutes per side. The couple of minutes of cooking, add mince garlic and onions to the pan.
- In a casserole dish, pour in spaghetti sauce. Nestle chicken into sauce.
- Top chicken with cheese and pepperoni and bake until chicken is cooked through, 15 -18 minutes.
- Garnish with parsley and serve.
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Nutrition Information:
Nutrition Disclaimer
Family Fresh Meals is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is only an estimate. We recommend running the ingredients through an online nutritional calculator if you need to verify any information.
Carissa Nelson | Spoonful of Easy says
This looks amazing! And I’ve definitely had my husband say, “This is what we’re having for dinner??” But not in like a good incredulous way, but like scared to hear the answer was yes. So this will definitely be something to flip the switch to incredulous excitement 🙂
Angelina says
Thanks for this terrific idea, but I plan to use our favorite pizza toppings which definitely DON’T include pepperoni! I’ll use either hard salami or Canadian bacon, thinly sliced green bell peppers, onions, & sliced mushrooms. Of course, everything else you mentioned will be included, except for the pepperoni. I’m sure we’ll enjoy this with a huge copycat “Olive Garden” salad.