This Easy Pizza Chicken is like your favorite pizza without all the carbs. It’s a keto dinner recipe made in one pan for easy clean up, so it’s perfect for busy weeknights. A low carb chicken recipe that is totally kid approved!
And this pizza chicken only takes 35 minutes, start to finish. You can’t beat that.
Riddle me this, friends:
Why do chicken thighs always come in packs of 5? Isn’t that a strange number, relative to how other things come? Chicken breasts tend to come in fours, chicken legs in twos. But a package of chicken thighs always seem to contain five. Which, being a family of 5, is very convenient for me.
And absolutely perfect for making One Pan Pizza Chicken.
I love chicken thighs for so many reasons. They are juicier, more flavorful, and less expensive than chicken breasts. And they are perfectly portioned for a keto meal. They also cook quickly, so you can get dinner on the table in less time and less effort. So I usually have several packages of chicken thighs somewhere in my fridge or freezer for easy weeknight meals just like this one.
And I am all about less effort for dinner these days! There is nothing worse than working your hiney off to make a fabulous meal and then have your kids roll their eyes and tell you they don’t like it.
I promise you that won’t happen with this skillet pizza chicken. This was a hit from the moment I whipped it up for my kids and it went into regular dinner rotation almost immediately. If your kiddos cheer when you tell them what’s for dinner, you know you’ve got a good thing going.
How to make Keto Pizza Chicken
It’s really ridiculously simple. At first, I was browning the thighs in a pan and then transferring them to a baking dish. Silly me, it was clearly an extra step that I did not need. And so was born the One Pan Pizza Chicken recipe
.
Be sure to choose an ovenproof pan of a good size, because this recipe finishes in the oven. I usually make a big batch with 10 chicken thighs, but you can easily scale this up and down easily to suit your family.
Preheat your oven and then heat oil in the pan and brown the thighs on both sides. Then simply pour your tomato sauce over and top with cheese and pepperoni. Pop it into the oven for 25 minutes and there you go. Pizza chicken is done!
Prefer a less saucy chicken recipe? Check out this Dry Rub Chicken from Lemons for Lulu!
More ideas for Easy Pizza Chicken
- Don’t feel you need to be limited to just cheese and pepperoni. Any of your favorite pizza toppings would be delicious. Sautéed mushrooms, olives, green peppers, basil, artichokes, spinach to name a few!
- Feel free to add some garlic or onion into the pan for a little extra flavor.
- Wondering what pizza sauce is low carb? Rao’s marinara is a popular store bought one. But when I need pizza sauce, I simply whisk some tomato paste and water, and then add in garlic, oregano, salt and pepper. Works like a charm.
- Serve over cauliflower rice or with a nice garden salad for a well rounded low carb meal.
That’s really it. You can’t beat the convenience and flavor of this keto pizza chicken recipe. Hope your family loves it as much as mine does!
Looking for more low carb easy chicken skillet dinners?
Creamy Bacon Spinach Feta Chicken
Brown Butter Chicken with Sage and Prosciutto
Sun Dried Tomato and Bacon Chicken Thighs
Creamy Roasted Red Pepper Skillet Chicken
Skillet Lemon Rosemary Chicken
Skillet Chicken with Mushrooms, White Wine, Bacon and Leeks
Skillet Balsamic Chicken with Sweet Peppers and Zucchini
Easy Keto Pizza Chicken
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp avocado or olive oil
- 2 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
- Salt and pepper
- 1 cup pizza sauce or marinara sauce (make sure it has no added sugar)
- 2 ounces sliced pepperoni (I like this one from Applegate)
- 1 1/2 to 2 cups shredded mozzarella
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Heat oil in a large 12-inch skillet over medium heat (if it's a cast-iron skillet, be generous with your oil to avoid sticking). Sprinkle chicken thighs with salt and pepper and to pan. Cook until lightly browned, 2 to 4 minutes per side.
- Pour pizza sauce over chicken thighs, spreading to coat. Arrange pepperoni over chicken and sprinkle with mozzarella.
- Bake 25 minutes, then turn on broiler for a minute or two until cheese is bubbly and browned in spots.
ariel_k2 says
This recipe has become a favorite. Sadly, I have to use vegan cheese for dairy-free, but it’s still so good. I know real mozzarella would be better. This is definitely a keeper–easy and fast. Thank you!
Noname says
So easy to prepare and very tasty! This would be great for meal prep.
Joni L says
Made this tonight and hubby and I LOVED it. I made my own pizza sauce and learned how to debone the chicken (save money). I will say this recipe with the homemade sauce was very yummy. Will never go back to store-bought sauce again (fewer carbs, no added sugars, and a lot more yummy). Thank you for sharing this great recipe.
Melissa says
I had some leftover rotisserie chicken that allowed,me to toss this together in a snap! I just layered my shredded chicken with the other ingredients, baked and enjoyed! Thanks once again for the fantastic recipe.
Debbie says
Any suggestions for a family who doesn’t like pepperoni? Ham or other ideas? I’d love to try this, but pepperoni is too spicy for our wimpy palates!
Carolyn says
Sure, ham would be great!
Kathy Huffman says
I made this tonight for dinner & it was a hit, my husband really liked it altho he requested I add more pepperoni next time. The man does love his pepperoni! This was so easy & so good, a must add to the rotation. Thanks!
Carolyn says
So glad to hear it!
Isadora Guidoni says
Wow, this looks really good. And so easy to make! One pan recipes are the best.
Tina Kuhnline says
This simple recipe is shockingly delicious! Thanks, Carolyn for another genius idea.
Sabrina says
I’m a huge fan of chicken thighs too so I know this is going to become a family favortie. Who doesn’t love a pizza twist!
Ashley F says
This is the ultimtae comfort food dinner! Even the kids love this one 🙂
Courtney O'Dell says
This chicken is so simple and delicious – simply bursting with flavor!
Aimee Shugarman says
This is PURE comfort food. LOVE it.
Jamielyn says
This is such a delicious low carb recipe! Can’t wait to try it!
Jennifer says
I might just make this tonight for dinner! Sounds and looks so delicious! And I know my husband would love it because it’s “pizza” lol
Beth K. says
Perfect weeknight meal. Thanks!
Sabrina says
Such a great recipe to change up our normal chicken routine! I bet the kids are going to eat this up!
Liz says
What a great recipe! My boys will love it! Thanks!
Kim - Today's Creative Life says
Looks Amazing!
Kimberly Killebrew says
This looks like such a perfect weeknight meal – simple, quick and mouthwatering!
Stef says
I never thought about the family of five problem. We are a family of three which means we always end up eating too much food as we are cooking those recipe for four. 🙂
Haven’t had chicken thighs in ages, these look fab!