Pizza Chicken – one pan, 5 ingredients!

I know pizza and healthy eating aren’t exactly synonymous. This recipe is more balanced than a big ol’ pizza. The trick is to dress up a plain chicken breast and making it taste like pizza. 

Pizza chicken is ridiculously easy and it’s become a quick go-to recipe in my home. I know you’re going to feel the same way about it. Not only is this pizza baked chicken a five ingredient recipe but it’s also made in one baking dish so cleanup is easy.

Easy Baked Pizza Chicken

Five minutes to prep. It’s a really simple hot dish that takes literally five minutes to prep. It requires about an hour in the oven but that’s all hands-off time. See why I like it? It’s easier to make than tuna noodle casserole, another crowd pleaser.

Flavorful sauce. The chicken bakes in a mixture of pizza sauce and diced tomatoes. The sauce keeps the chicken juicy and flavorful. A couple of minutes before you take it out of the oven, add mozzarella cheese and pepperoni which make this hot dish feel like a serious treat.

Ingredient Notes

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts: If you prefer dark meat, substitute boneless skinless chicken thighs. The chicken is lightly seasoned with salt and pepper.
• Canned Diced Tomatoes & Pizza Sauce: Look for low/no sodium tomatoes to reduce the amount of added salt. You’ll need a 14 ounce jar of sauce. If you’d rather make your own, try this homemade pizza sauce recipe. Marinara or spaghetti sauce is fine, too.
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese & Sliced Pepperoni: These are pretty classic pizza toppings but you can customize this hot dish just like you would your pizzas.
• Cooked Pasta, if desired

How To Make Pizza Chicken

Combine the pizza sauce and tomatoes in the pan. Nestle the chicken breasts into the sauce and season lightly with salt and pepper.

Bake for about an hour or until the chicken reaches at least 165°F when you insert an instant read thermometer near the center.

Sprinkle on the cheese and arrange the pepperoni on top. Broil for a few minutes or until the cheese is melted and the pepperoni does that lovely curling thing.

We like to eat this dish with cooked pasta but if you have a more healthy eating mindset (go you!), it’s amazing with zucchini noodles.

Serve with a side salad dressed with Italian dressing and warm Italian bread with dipping oil. I recommend tasty roasted broccoli to serve as a side dish.

Recipe Variations

• Add more vegetables. ALWAYS! Chop some spinach and stir it into the sauce. Or you could top the chicken breasts with a vegetable instead of pepperoni. Try sautéing mushrooms, bell peppers, or onions and adding those. There are always good ways to add vegetables. I also love this served with zucchini noodles or spaghetti squash.
• Make it faster. I haven’t tested it, but if you used chicken tenders or butterflied your chicken and put it in a slightly larger pan, you could cut down on the cooking time.

If you like the idea of easy dinners with only a few ingredients, check out my collection of 5 ingredient dinner recipes.

Storage & Reheating

Refrigerate/Freeze: Leftover pizza chicken can be stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. It also can be frozen for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating.

Reheat: Reheat on the stove in a skillet, in the microwave, or in the oven.

Leftover Love

Make a pizza chicken sub sandwich. Butter and toast sub sandwich buns until lightly browned. Add chicken (sliced, chopped, or shredded) and leftover sauce. Sprinkle on additional cheese and pepperoni or any other toppings you like. Broil until cheese is melted and chicken is heated through.