sweet chili garlic chicken pizza

CLICK HERE TO PIN THIS RECIPEOhhhhhkay we need to discuss.

This homemade wheat crust topped with homemade sweet chili garlic sauce, spicy jerk chicken, fresh pineapple pico de gallo, and melted white cheese WILL MAKE YOUR MOUTH DANCE.

So let’s try to talk about pizza even though I’m still pretty much 100% sad about coming home from vacation. And just so you know, I am not ever a baby or a whiner or a pity partier, ever. *sobs* I think I might have mentioned that I will be sharing lots of pictures and stories and experiences from the trip in the next few days and I’m just giddy to put all that together and pass along some trip inspo to you sweet readers slash relive the dreamiest girls’ weekend ever.

But for today, prepare to light your mouth on fire because this cheesy, saucy pie guy has an alter-ego named The Fire Breathing Dragon Pzzzzza.

I am not totally sure what that means, if that means that I will turn into a fire breathing dragon when I take a bite, or if it means that I will be breathed on by a fire breathing dragon when the pizza hits my mouth? Or that I myself will breathe fire but stay a human even though dragons are the only ones who breathe fire and food can’t really make you breathe fire which means that none of this even makes any sense? Ignore.

The fact of the matter is that there is a neighborhood pizza restaurant close by our house and a) it is adorbs, and b) it serves JUST THAT – a fire breathing dragon pizza – and it’s lickity-your-lips-good. I had it a few months ago and right when they brought it out to our table, I said to myself: make it and blog it.

Then life happened, I went on the best girls’ weekend trip of my life which might have also been the only girls’ weekend of my life and which I also apparently can’t stop talking about and I’m sad now please halp me, so just now (better late than never) this pizza has come into existence in my very own kitchen.

This pizza has lots of opportunity for lil short cuts because I wholeheartedly believe that practical, realistic, actually-gonna-happen-tonight food is the best kind.

I absolutely love the crazy combos and fancy pants food stuffs, but Real Life is where it’s at. And in Real Life, homemade pizza can be sort of obnoxious to make, unless you’d rather make your own pizza instead of sitting on the comfy couch and ordering a hot, ooey-gooey large pep, but what am I saying? Those peeps don’t read this blog.

What I’m going to tell you about this is that EVEN THOUGH I MADE IT ALL FROM SCRATCH and I most definitely feel super proud about that, you have four options for taking the homemade or the semi-homemade route. The options are listed here with approximate make-it-from-scratch times for each one:

1. the pizza crust (make it = 30 minutes)
2. the chili garlic sauce (make it = 10 minutes)
3. the jerk chicken (make it = 10 minutes)
4. the pineapple pico de gallo (make it = 10 minutes)

If one or all of these is less important to you to have made from scratch, then go ahead and buy it and have your pizza in a right quick flash. Since Bjork and I are trying to control sugar and do less processed food, annnnnd since this is now my “real job” to spend most of the day making spicy, saucy pizzas from scratch, I included all of the ingredients and directions so you can make the whole thing right in your very own kitch.

On the other hand, I don’t want you to feel like you can’t make this pizza if you can’t find an hour to prep everything. I know how it is to get home from work being all like need pizza now and have no-thing-left in the energy department. Chicken can be purchased, pico de gallo can be pre-chopped, and sauce can come out of a bottle. Time is of the essence and ultimately there is a cheesy, gooey, fire-in-the-mouth Sweet Chili Garlic Pizza at stake here, so make it happen however you likey.

If I’m channeling my inner spice lover, the homemade sweet chili garlic sauce might just be my favorite part of this whole thing – it’s sweet, sticky, syrupy, and completely fire-red-hot like beware when you dip your finger in for a taste but don’t panic because it will be the perfect amount under all those toppings.

Then again, let us not forget – there’s that juicy, tender, fragrant jerk chicken I told you about yesterday which is quick and easy like a little magic dust sprinkled into your life, and of course we’re baking everything on a chewy/crispy homemade whole wheat crust (three cheers for wheat!) and now seriously whoever invented juicy pineapple on a pizza, would you please stand up?

Sweet, spicy, saucy, fresh (–>see-lan-tro<—), real food, cheesy, vibrant, gooey, bubbly, happy, and GOOD FEELINGS.

That’s what this pizza is to me.

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4.8 from 4 reviews

sweet chili garlic chicken pizza

serves: 16 slices (2 large pizzas) - nutrition info is for one slice

 

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CRUST:

• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1½ teaspoons yeast
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1½ cups white flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt

FOR THE SAUCE:

• ⅔ cup brown rice syrup (or corn syrup)
• 6 chiles (I used Fresno peppers)
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar

FOR THE PINEAPPLE PICO DE GALLO

• 1 pineapple, cored (about 2-3 cups diced)
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 1 red onion, diced
• ½ cup fresh cilantro
• lime juice, salt, and honey to taste

FOR THE PIZZA

• 2 cups shredded cheese (I used Queso Chihuahua)
• 1 lb. grilled chicken breast, thinly sliced (JERK CHICKEN RECIPE HERE)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. CRUST: Combine the sugar, water, and yeast in a bowl and let rest until the yeast is frothy, about 5 minutes. Add to the flours and salt and mix to form a dough. Knead for a few minutes (2-3 minutes on low speed using a dough hook on a stand mixer) and set aside in a warm spot to rest for about 30 minutes.
2. SAUCE: Puree the sauce ingredients together in a blender until smooth or mostly smooth. Transfer to a saucepan over medium high heat and simmer for 5-10 minutes or until thick. Season generously with salt.
3. PINEAPPLE: Toss all the pico de gallo ingredients together until well combined. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
4. Divide the dough in half. Roll out each piece into a thin crust about ½ inch thick or less, and transfer to a pizza pan. Poke with a fork, bake for 10 minutes, and remove from oven. Crusts should be golden and partially baked. Top with sauce, chicken, pineapple, and cheese. Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes or until everything is warm and bubbly. Top with additional fresh cilantro and red pepper flakes.