Rustic Rubbed Chicken & Banana Pepper Pizza

Okay, this recipe is totally stolen from my sister… it’s AMAZING.

Last Memorial Day John and I went to hang out with my sister, brother-in-law, and my adorbs nephew for the day and my sister said she was making pizza. Now, when I thought she was making pizza, I didn’t realize she was making HEAVEN ON DOUGH.

This pizza is amazing. There are not enough mmmm’s in yum to describe it. And it’s SO easy.

You’ll need the Rustic Rub and Pizza Sauce recipe to make this pizza. You can find those recipes here.

Enough rambling.

Here’s the recipe:

Rustic Rubbed Chicken & Banana Pepper Pizza

Ingredients:

• Pizza Dough (I used the $0.99 dough from Trader Joe’s)
• Homemade Pizza Sauce (or sauce from a jar if you’re lazy ;))
• Boneless, Skinless chicken breasts (1-2, depending on how much chicken you want)
• TO DO AHEAD OF TIME (aka: prior to making the pizza!):
• DRIZZLE CHICKEN WITH OLIVE OIL, RUB WITH RUSTIC RUB, AND GRILL OR COOK ON STOVE TOP, THEN SHRED CHICKEN WHEN COOL ENOUGH TO HANDLE
• Banana Peppers (pickled, in the jar)
• Shredded Cheese (I used shredded Monterrey and Colby Jack – but Mozzarella is good too!)
• Cornmeal

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Whatever dough you decide to use doesn’t matter, this process will be the same.

1. Sprinkle cornmeal on the counter and rub some on a rolling pin.  Put the dough on the counter and sprinkle that with cornmeal too.  Roll the dough out to the size you want.  If the dough is really cold this may take a little while because it won’t be as elastic.  It helps to pull the dough out about 10 minutes before you roll it.

2. If you are using a pizza stone, sprinkle with cornmeal and put the rolled out dough on it.  If you are using a cookie sheet or sheet pan, spray the pan with nonstick spray and lay the dough on it.

3. Add pizza sauce to the dough.

4. Spread with desired amount of chicken and banana peppers and then sprinkle with cheese.

5. Bake for 20 minutes and enjoy a DELICIOUS pizza!

THE GRILL OPTION: Yes, you can make this pizza on a GRILL!

1. Heat the grill to a medium, indirect, heat.

2. Roll the dough out as explained before but DO NOT put any sauce or toppings on it yet.  Instead, brush one side with olive oil (or a canola or vegetable oil if you don’t have olive).

3.  Put the dough, oiled side down, on the grill.  Brush the other side with oil.  Cover the grill and wait 5-6 minutes.

4. This part goes pretty fast, so have everything ready. Flip the dough (you’re probably going to need tongs or a spatula or both). Immediately top with the sauce, chicken, banana peppers, and cheese.  Cover the grill and wait another 4-5 minutes.  You are basically ready when the cheese has melted!

That’s it! Easy peasy!

What do you think? Tell me if you make this!