Labor Day is upon us folks. Summer has come to an end, yet again. Did you get all your summer things in that you wanted to? Have you had enough of farmers markets, beach days, and trips to the ice cream shop?
Nope, me either. I could probably eat another 10 million ice cream cones (dairy free of course) and never get sick of it.
Well, before summer is officially over, this is one dish that you HAVE to try! Chicken Sausage Pesto Pizza! And I promise this will be the last dish involving tomatoes and pesto I post (at least for this year)!
I made this pizza on a busy night a few weeks ago, trying to use up all the amazing leftover pesto I had from making Grilled Pesto Tomatoes.
My expectation was that it would taste good. I mean how can you go wrong with any kind of pizza involving pesto? When I took my first bite though, it was so incredible that I knew I had to share it ASAP with you guys!
It starts off with a good quality store bought pizza dough (feel free to whip up a homemade version if you have the time), and then gets layered with some seriously flavorful toppings. Spicy bright pesto, browned chicken sausage, and sweet candy-like heirloom cherry tomatoes.
YUM.
A couple tips to keep in mind when making homemade pizza:
- Get your oven roaring hot. 500 degrees might sound like it’s too high, but keep in mind that pizzeria ovens are running easily over 600 degrees. Hot oven=crispy/chewy crust and perfect toppings.
- Always warm pizza dough to room temp. The warmer the dough, the easier it will be to spread. If the dough is springing back into place, let sit for a minute or two to allow the dough to relax and then spread again.
- If you’re adding meat to a pizza, cook about 50% of the way, then add to the pizza. It will cook the rest of the way in the oven.
If you’re using store bought pizza dough, or even if you’re whipping up a quick dough, this pizza is total cinch.
That’s what I love about making homemade pizza. It takes no time to put together, and you can use up whatever ingredients you have on hand. So if you don’t happen to have chicken sausage, go ahead and use whatever meat you have. I bet this would be just as good with some simple pan sauteed chicken breast, flank steak, or even shrimp!
That goes for veggies too, if you don’t have tomatoes, diced zucchini, broccoli, or asparagus would be divine here.
To be honest, that’s how I approach cooking in general, not just when it comes to homemade pizza. If you don’t have a certain ingredient called for in a recipe, IT WILL BE OK. Promise.
Think about what could be a good substitute and throw it in! Cooking should be fun, so don’t let a recipe dictate exactly how you should make something.
That’s my motto!
I’ve made this 4 times in the past 2 weeks and I just can’t get enough! It packs up wonderfully, so it’s ideal for taking for lunch, or even for a picnic/party.
This pizza is perfect for so many occasions, Labor Day being one of them! It takes under an hour to throw together, requires less than 10 ingredients, and is SO delicious.
It’s become a go-to weeknight meal in our house, and I hope it becomes yours too!
If you try this recipe, let me know! Leave a comment, and be sure to take a picture and tag it #peachandthecobbler on Instagram so I can see how it went!
Enjoy!
Love,
Peach and the Cobbler
- 1 pizza crust, store bought or homemade
- 4-6 tablespoons dairy free pesto
- 8 oz spicy or mild chicken sausage (I used the sun dried tomato kind from Trader Joe's)
- ½ cup halved heirloom cherry tomatoes, or whatever tomatoes you have on hand
- 1-2 tablespoons all purpose flour (more if needed)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
- Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon all purpose flour. If using a nonstick sheet pan OR pizza stone, don’t line with parchment paper, just sprinkle with the flour.
- Place pizza dough on sheet pan to warm to room temp. Set aside.
- Brown chicken sausage in a medium size skillet until just barely cooked through (it will finish cooking in the oven). Set aside.
- Spread pizza dough as thin as you can get it, adding more flour as needed, being sure the dough doesn’t stick to the pan/parchment paper.
- Assemble pizza by spreading 4-6 tablespoons dairy free pesto over the crust. Next add chicken sausage in an even layer. Then spread tomatoes evenly over the sausage. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon salt evenly over the pizza and 1 tablespoon olive oil on the outer edge of the crust.
- Place in preheated oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until the crust is golden.
- Remove from oven and let cool on pan for at least 5 minutes.
- Remove from pan and cut into slices. Enjoy!
- OPTIONAL: drizzle any remaining pesto over the baked pizza, or freeze for later use.
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This looks like a complete tastes explosion. Excited to make it. Do you think it’d also be good with alfredo sauce for the base?
Hey, Alysa! I think that alfredo sauce could definitely work here in place of the pesto! Any type of sausage + alfredo HAS to be good I would imagine. ; )