Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza Recipe
There are a lot of flavor combinations that you might find appealing. The classic strawberries and chocolate, cheese, and wine, but then you can also go for a more unorthodox taste.
That is one of the secrets of pizza. You can go for any flavor that is available or anything that you want so it is no surprise that there is a chicken bacon ranch flavor for a single pizza.
This meat pizza contains a lot of protein plus carbohydrates from the dough that will help you feel full after just two or three slices of pizza so this is a favorite here.
You can select the best ingredients from the nearest market. We suggest that you get the breast part for the chicken, one is enough but you can go for more if you want.
You can also buy the thigh part or any other part for that matter. Choose what you think is the best part, that is the beauty of this recipe as you are allowed to choose the ingredients for the pizza.
As for the bacon, you can go for thick or thin. For us, we go for the thin ones and then cook them a little bit before crumbling them up and sprinkling it on the pizza.
The dough and the ranch can be bought from the store so go select your favorite brand or better yet, make your own ranch dressing and dough at home for a fresher finish on your pizza.
Either way, having the choice of buying from the store or making your own ingredients at home is great. So if you want to make your own chicken bacon ranch pizza, you can follow this recipe.
Chicken Bacon Ranch Pizza
This is one of the best pizza recipes and it is also one of the simplest to make. So if you want to make a quick meal for your weekday dinner, then you can do this one.
Ingredients
– 8 ounces of chicken meat chopped to small cubes
– 1 pound of pizza dough
– Half pound of chopped bacon
– 1 cup of mozzarella cheese
– 1 cup of cheddar cheese
– 1 cup of chopped tomatoes
– Half cup of ranch dressing
– A quarter cup of chopped onions
Procedure
Step 1. Preheat the Oven
Before anything else, make sure that you preheat your oven so that it produces the right temperature for when the pizza will be finally cooked
The optimal temperature for pizza is almost 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. But since most home ovens cannot usually reach that, you can go for 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
This means that the cooking process will be slower. Make sure that the oven is preheating for at least 30 minutes before you put the pizza in.
Step 2. Initial Cooking
Since the cooking time for the ingredients is different for each, you will need to cook the other ingredients halfway before they get in the oven.
So get the bacon, heat up a little bit of oil in a skillet over medium heat, and then cook the bacon until it is crispy. Or if you prefer soggy bacon, then you can go for that texture too.
Place the cooked bacon on a plate that is covered with paper towels to let the oil drain out of the bacon. You can pat the bacon down with another paper towel to get rid of the excess grease.
While the bacon is draining, put the pieces of chicken on the same skillet with the bacon grease and let it cook. Stir as often as possible until the chicken is browned and cooked through.
Again, place the cooked chicken on top of a plate covered with paper towels to let the grease seep in the paper towels.
Step 3. Prepare the Dough
A one-pound dough can easily make a 12-inch pizza. So roll out the dough on a well-floured surface and roll it to 12 or more inches of pizza.
Make sure that the dough is evenly flattened and that there are no holes in it. This way, the dough will turn into an amazing crust once it is cooked.
Step 4. Dressing
Get the ranch dressing and spread it evenly on top of the dough. Leave a 1-inch border on the crust so that the dressing will not spill over on the sides.
Get both the mozzarella and cheddar cheese and then sprinkle them evenly on top of the dressing and then put the cooked bacon and chicken on top.
Step 5. Bake
Place the pizza in the oven using a pizza peel. Flour the peel generously to make sure that the dough does not stick to the peel and it slides smoothly into the oven.
If you are using a pizza stone, make sure that you have placed it on the top rack or as close to the broiler as possible to melt the cheese and cook the meat further.
Leave the pizza in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes. The time will depend on the thickness of the toppings that you have put on the pizza.
If the toppings are thin, the cooking time might not take longer than ten minutes. You can remove the pizza from the oven if the cheese is bubbling or has melted and the crust has browned.
Step 6. Garnish
Once you take it out of the oven, put the tomatoes and the onions while the pizza is still hot. You can put a cover on the pizza to let the onions and tomatoes slightly cook with the steam.
Or you can then slice and eat the pizza straight away as fresh tomatoes and onions can be eaten raw with more nutrients that are left undisturbed inside them.
Tips and Notes
While the recipe above is easy, you can always go better with some tips. These are not required but they are recommended to make sure that the pizza will be at best.
Use a Pizza Stone
Most households will use cast-iron skillet or pizza pan since pizza stones are not that common especially if you do not cook pizza too often.
Here, we recommend that you use a pizza stone. It gives off a better finish on the crust since the moisture seeps into the porous surface of the stone.
Therefore, when you use a pizza stone, the crust of the pizza will be as crispy as it can get while staying chewy on the inside for more texture.
Whichever you use, you need to preheat them in the oven to create as much oven spring as you can to get the dough rising and the toppings cooked properly.
Homemade
It is always best to make the ingredients at home. You can go and buy the freshest ingredients in the market or store and make your own version of dough and ranch dressing at home.
Of course, this might not be applicable to people who have busy lives. But if you do have the time, it is best recommended that you make them at home.
Making your own ranch dressing and dough will give you more control over the flavors of the pizza. You will have all the ingredients that you want to be added or removed.
You are also most likely going to have some extra after making it at home. This way, you have a dough and some ranch dressing reserved for the next pizza dinner.
Garnish
You can remove the onions and tomatoes on the recipe and replace it with any garnish that you want. You can go with parsley, fresh basil leaves, or anything else that you have.
You are completely free to do what you want with the garnish. You can also put the pizza back into the oven for about five minutes after putting the greens if you do not want them raw.
Conclusion
Pizza is a really great recipe. It allows us to put our creativity into the food that we want as we can go with any ingredients that are available around us.
The chicken bacon ranch pizza is one of the lesser-known kinds of pizza but it deserves more recognition. It is healthy with a lot of nutrients and protein plus it is flavorful.
The recipe is also not hard to do. So including preheating, preparation, cooking, and serving, the pizza will actually not take longer than an hour.
So if you want a quick pizza dinner with your family, this recipe can help you. You will have a sufficient amount of meat in your meal as well as the cheesy and delicious flavor from the ranch dressing.
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