Want a tasty family style pizza everyone will love? This chicken spinach pizza with bacon is made on fresh pizza crust with red sauce. It’s loaded with vegetables and salty bites of oven baked bacon. Definitely add this recipe to your pizza bucket list!
Leftover chicken on pizza is a go-to for us. I find it’s the best way to use leftover chicken breast because the chicken doesn’t dry out when cooked in cheese and sauce.
Though usually we just feed our bbq chicken pizza obsession. We tend to make our favorite pizza recipes on repeat. This pizza is a happy change if you, too, always go for the same pizza. Try something new!
Ingredients for chicken spinach pizza
In this chicken pizza recipe (which my family absolutely LOVES by the way), I’ve really pushed the limits of what goes with bacon on pizza. With all the tasty salty meat, I thought it needed some vegetables. So chicken bacon spinach pizza was born. You’re welcome, world.
Using leftover chicken breast for pizza
For this recipe I use leftover chicken. You can use any cooked chicken from 1-2 days prior. Pull apart slow cooked chicken for this or make fresh sous vide chicken tenders or simple oven baked chicken breast in about 15-20 minutes. You only need about one chicken breast, or about a cup of diced chicken.
The pizza sauce
The red sauce used for this recipe can be made with a can of tomato sauce and seasonings, or by using a jar of pizza sauce from Trader Joe’s or another grocery store.
Turn this pizza into a chicken spinach alfredo pizza with my tips on using store bought alfredo sauce. White sauce on pizza is so tasty and can be used in place of the tomato sauce.
How to make this tasty pizza recipe
Now I’ll walk you through making this tasty, creative pizza recipe.
Step 1. Help the pizza dough rise. Ideally, take your pizza dough out of the fridge a few hours before, or the morning of, making this chicken and spinach pizza. It will stretch really easily if it’s at room temperature.
If you have a window with sun that shines in, place the bag of dough there to watch it rise very quickly.
If you’re short on time, allowing at least 30-60 minutes for fresh ready made pizza dough to rise ahead of time is ideal. And if you’re reading this 5 minutes before making the pizza, know you can make the pizza from cold dough, it just won’t stretch as easily or be as large of a pizza.
Step 2. Cook the bacon. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper, then add the bacon.
Bake bacon in the oven for 10 minutes, then flip it over and bake for another 5-10 minutes to your desired level of crispness. Pat dry, let it cool, then dice into 1” chunks.
Step 3. Prep for baking the pizza. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Set out a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush half of the olive oil on the parchment paper. Add half the flour to the center of a large butchers block or flat surface. Put the other half of the flour off to the side.
Step 4. Stretch the pizza dough. Roll the raw premade pizza dough in the flour in the center of your work surface. Coat it all over in a light dusting of the flour. Begin stretching the ready made pizza dough by pinching the outside in a circular motion to spread out the crust.
Then you can alternate between pinching the center of the dough with your fingers, pressing it out on your work surface, and using your knuckles to pull the dough from underneath in an outward motion.
Check out the Sip Bite Go guide to stretching pizza dough for visuals.
Step 5. Par bake pizza dough. When it’s large enough, use both arms (up to your elbows) to transfer the stretched pizza dough to the baking sheet pan. Brush the remaining 1 tsp of olive oil around the outside of the pizza dough which will help give it a golden crust.
Sprinkle the crust with a pinch of salt. DO NOT add toppings at this time! Bake the naked pizza dough in the oven for 7 minutes at 450 degrees F. While it cooks, set out pizza toppings.
Step 6. Prep oven for the second bake. Once it’s done baking, remove the parbaked pizza from the oven and preheat the oven to 500.
Step 7. Add pizza toppings. Add the tomato sauce, dried Italian herbs, salt and pepper. You can add the rest of the main pizza topping ingredients in whichever order you’d like.
In the Sip Bite Go pizza demonstration video, I added most of the diced chicken breast, mozzarella cheese, and bacon. Then I added the fresh spinach on pizza dough, then the remaining chicken, cheese, and bacon. Followed with a final topping of halved cherry tomatoes, insides facing down.
Step 8. Bake pizza with toppings. Add parbaked pizza with toppings to the oven and bake at 500 degrees F for 7-10 minutes, until the cheese has completely melted.
Step 9. Finish and plate pizza. Remove baked chicken spinach pizza from the oven and transfer to a butchers block. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Slice and serve.
Pizza dough tips
Everyone knows I’m obsessed with making homemade pizza with store bought dough. It’s basically a go-to for Wednesday night dinners in my house.
There is so much you can do using a baking sheet or pizza pan or pizza stone and a fresh ball of pizza dough from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods pizza dough, or dough from wherever you shop.
My main tip is to take the dough ball out of the fridge a few hours before making pizza so it will be easy to stretch and work with when the time comes to parbake the dough.
Serving family style pizza
For serving this type of sheet pan pizza family style, I like to cut it in large square pieces. Sometimes I’ll sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top or crushed red pepper on top. And then sprinkle a little parsley or fresh basil from my Aerogarden.
If you’re cooking pizza for the whole family, I recommend cutting a few bite size pieces about the size of your finger for little ones to grab. My toddler loves to help himself!
Love bacon? Check out these recipe for air fryer bacon wrapped hot dogs, and smoker recipes like these bacon wrapped onion rings and smoked jalapeno poppers.
Are you a pizza lover, too?
I want to see a pic of your finished pizza when you make it! Leave a comment here or find me on Instagram @sipbitego to let me know what you think about this pizza recipe.
Want to make restaurant-style food at home? I’ll teach you how, with in-depth video guides on the Sip Bite Go channel.
The Perfect Pizza Setup
Want to make restaurant style pizza at home? I’ve got you covered! Here are some of my top tips, tricks, secret ingredients and tools for a pizza night everyone will look forward to, again and again.
- NEVER do this… Contrary to what most people believe, when baking pizza on a sheet pan, never add toppings to raw pizza dough. Instead, follow my recipe for making homemade pizza with ready made dough, which will teach you how to par bake pizza dough first.
- Get help from secret ingredients…
– This dough seasoning is the secret to real Italian-tasting homemade pizza dough.
– Add pizza seasoning to store bought pizza sauce. This makes the pizza taste really fresh! - Herbs are for after… In my weekly pizza making practice, I’ve found that fresh herbs, like basil, need to be added to pizza after the pizza is done baking (so the herbs don’t wilt).
- Buy fresh dough and get amazing results. Yup, fresh dough from grocery stores is one of my favorite short-cuts. Learn how to use fresh Trader Joe’s pizza dough and Whole Foods pizza dough with my tutorials.
- Frozen pizza can taste amazing, too!! Learn how to spruce it up with this recipe for pizza using frozen crust.
- Slice pizza pies like a chef with just a few swipes, using big ol’ pizza cutters.
- Want to grill pizza? Here are some pizza grilling tools to check out.
- Do you really need to cook pizza on the rack? Nope! I basically never do. Here are tools you see me using in my tutorials on cooking pizza in the oven…
– Bake pizza on a rimmed baking pan set to get a beautiful golden brown crust.
– Love crispy crust? Let the air flow with this dishwasher safe pizza pan.
– Get personal – let your fam / friends top their own pies with this set of personal pizza pans.
More pizza recipes from Sip Bite Go
The Perfect Pizza Setup
Want to make restaurant style pizza at home? I’ve got you covered! Here are some of my top tips, tricks, secret ingredients and tools for a pizza night everyone will look forward to, again and again.
- NEVER do this… Contrary to what most people believe, when baking pizza on a sheet pan, never add toppings to raw pizza dough. Instead, follow my recipe for making homemade pizza with ready made dough, which will teach you how to par bake pizza dough first.
- Get help from secret ingredients…
– This dough seasoning is the secret to real Italian-tasting homemade pizza dough.
– Add pizza seasoning to store bought pizza sauce. This makes the pizza taste really fresh! - Herbs are for after… In my weekly pizza making practice, I’ve found that fresh herbs, like basil, need to be added to pizza after the pizza is done baking (so the herbs don’t wilt).
- Buy fresh dough and get amazing results. Yup, fresh dough from grocery stores is one of my favorite short-cuts. Learn how to use fresh Trader Joe’s pizza dough and Whole Foods pizza dough with my tutorials.
- Frozen pizza can taste amazing, too!! Learn how to spruce it up with this recipe for pizza using frozen crust.
- Slice pizza pies like a chef with just a few swipes, using big ol’ pizza cutters.
- Want to grill pizza? Here are some pizza grilling tools to check out.
- Do you really need to cook pizza on the rack? Nope! I basically never do. Here are tools you see me using in my tutorials on cooking pizza in the oven…
– Bake pizza on a rimmed baking pan set to get a beautiful golden brown crust.
– Love crispy crust? Let the air flow with this dishwasher safe pizza pan.
– Get personal – let your fam / friends top their own pies with this set of personal pizza pans.
More pizza recipes from Sip Bite Go
Chicken Spinach Pizza With Bacon On Fresh Dough Recipe | Sip Bite Go
Video
Ingredients
For the bacon
- 6 oz bacon about 6 slices
For the pizza crust
- 1 ball pizza dough 16 oz
- ½ tbsp flour all purpose
- 2 tsp olive oil
- ¼ tbsp salt
For the chicken spinach pizza toppings
- 1 cup tomato sauce canned, plain
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend any
- ¼ tbsp salt
- ¼ tbsp pepper
- 1 cup chicken breast cooked, diced into 1”chunks, divided
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese divided
- ½ cup spinach fresh
- 6 cherry tomatoes halved lengthwise
- 2 tsp parsley fresh chopped
- 1 tsp balsamic glaze optional
Instructions
- Help the pizza dough rise. Ideally, take your pizza dough out of the fridge a few hours before, or the morning of, making this chicken and spinach pizza. It will stretch really easily if it’s at room temperature. If you have a window with sun that shines in, place the bag of dough there to watch it rise very quickly. If you’re short on time, allowing at least 30-60 minutes for fresh ready made pizza dough to rise ahead of time is ideal. And if you’re reading this 5 minutes before making the pizza, know you can make the pizza from cold dough, it just won’t stretch as easily or be as large of a pizza.
- Cook the bacon. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a rimmedbaking sheet with parchment paper, then add the bacon. Bake bacon in the ovenfor 10 minutes, then flip it over and bake for another 5-10 minutes to yourdesired level of crispness. Pat dry, let it cool, then dice into 1” chunks.
- Prep for baking the pizza. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Set out a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Brush half of the olive oil on the parchment paper. Add half the flour to the center of a large butchers block or flat surface. Put the other half off to the side.
- Stretch the pizza dough. Roll the raw premade pizza dough in the flour in the center of your work surface. Coat it all over in a light dusting of the flour. Begin stretching the ready made pizza dough by pinching the outside in a circular motion to spread out the crust. Then you can alternate between pinching the center of the dough with your fingers, pressing it out on your work surface, and using your knuckles to pull the dough from underneath in an outward motion. You’ll want to pick up some extra flour as you stretch the dough – which will help it hold a larger size. I don’t aim for a perfect square or circle – the most beautiful pizzas are au natural. Check out the Sip Bite Go guide to stretching pizza dough for visuals.
- Par bake pizza dough. When it’s large enough, use both arms (up to your elbows) to transfer the stretched pizza dough to the baking sheet pan. Brush the remaining 1 tsp of olive oil around the outside of the pizza dough which will help give it a golden crust. Sprinkle the crust with a pinch of salt. DO NOT add toppings at this time! Bake the naked pizza dough in the oven for 7 minutes at 450 degrees F. While it cooks, set out pizza toppings.
- Prep oven for the second bake. Once it’s done baking, remove the parbaked pizza from the oven and preheat the oven to 500.
- Add pizza toppings. Add the tomato sauce, dried Italian herbs, salt and pepper. You can add the rest of the main pizza topping ingredients in whichever order you’d like. In the Sip Bite Go demonstration video, I added most of the diced chicken breast, mozzarella cheese, and bacon. Then all of the fresh spinach, then the remaining chicken, cheese, and bacon. Followed with a final topping of halved cherry tomatoes, insides facing down.
- Bake pizza with toppings. Add parbaked pizza with toppings to the oven and bake at 500 degrees F for 7-10 minutes, until the cheese has completely melted.
- Finish and plate pizza. Remove baked chicken spinach pizza from the oven and transfer to a butchers block. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley and a drizzle of balsamic glaze. Slice and serve.
Notes
- Tips on chicken breast for this recipe – This is a great way to use leftover chicken on pizza. If you need to make chicken to use for this pizza, see my guide to making 20 minute chicken breast on the stove and in the oven. One chicken breast makes about 1 cup of cooked chicken needed for this recipe.
- Tips on pizza sauce for this recipe – You can swap out my DIY pizza sauce using plain canned tomato sauce for a store bought jarred pizza sauce. Though I still recommend sprinkling on an Italian seasonings if you have some, to give the sauce a more powerful flavor.
- This chicken spinach pizza with red sauce can be transformed into a chicken spinach alfredo pizza – just swap out the sauce and use a white sauce. I love to use store bought alfredo sauce on pizza like this ravioli pizza if I don’t have homemade tomato sauce on hand.
- Where to get fresh pizza dough? Try a fresh ball of pizza dough from Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods pizza dough, or wherever you shop.
- Using leftover pizza on chicken… For this recipe I use leftover chicken. You can use any cooked chicken from 1-2 days prior. Pull apart slow cooked chicken for this or make fresh sous vide chicken tenders or simple oven baked chicken breast in about 15-20 minutes. You only need about one chicken breast, or about a cup of diced chicken.
- Serving pizza family style… This is toddler pizza! Even with the spinach and tomatoes, my kiddo loves it. For serving this type of sheet pan pizza, I like to cut large square pieces. Sometimes I’ll sprinkle a little parmesan cheese on top or crushed red pepper. If you’re cooking pizza for the whole family, I recommend cutting a few bite size pieces about the size of your finger for little ones to grab.
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