Garlic Parmesan Chicken Broccoli Pizza (Printer-friendly)

Thin-crust pizza with creamy garlic-Parmesan white sauce, tender chicken, and fresh broccoli florets. A satisfying twist on classic pizza.

# What You'll Need:

→ Pizza Dough

01 - 1 lb prepared pizza dough
02 - 1 tablespoon olive oil

→ Garlic-Parmesan White Sauce

03 - 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
04 - 3 cloves garlic, minced
05 - 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
06 - 1 cup whole milk
07 - ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
08 - ¼ teaspoon salt
09 - ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 - ¼ teaspoon dried Italian herbs

→ Toppings

11 - 1 cup cooked chicken breast, diced
12 - 1 cup broccoli florets, blanched and chopped
13 - 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
14 - ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
15 - 1 teaspoon olive oil
16 - Pinch of red pepper flakes
17 - Fresh parsley, chopped for garnish

# Directions:

01 - Preheat oven to 475°F. If using a pizza stone, place it in the oven to heat.
02 - Roll out pizza dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet or pizza peel. Brush the edge with olive oil.
03 - In a small saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Add minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute until fragrant. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk until smooth. Add Parmesan, salt, pepper, and Italian herbs. Cook, stirring, until thickened approximately 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
04 - Spread garlic-Parmesan sauce evenly over pizza dough, leaving a 1-inch border.
05 - Evenly scatter chicken and broccoli over sauce. Top with mozzarella and additional Parmesan. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil and sprinkle with red pepper flakes.
06 - Transfer pizza to oven and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbling.
07 - Remove from oven and let cool for 2 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley. Slice and serve hot.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The white sauce tastes silky and rich without being heavy, making you feel like you're indulging when you're actually being quite reasonable.
  • It's genuinely faster than waiting for pizza delivery, and somehow tastes better than anything you'd order.
  • Broccoli on pizza sounds suspicious until you taste it—the slight bitterness plays perfectly against the creamy, garlicky base.
02 -
  • Don't skip blanching the broccoli; I learned this the hard way when I got a soggy, watery pizza because raw broccoli released moisture directly onto the crust.
  • Your sauce needs to be thick enough to coat a spoon before it goes on the dough, or it will seep into the crust and make everything soggy.
  • If your milk is very cold, whisk it in gradually or it will seize the flour and create lumps that no amount of stirring fixes.
03 -
  • If you're making the dough from scratch, prepare it the night before so it develops flavor and you're only fussing with toppings on the day you cook.
  • A pizza stone changes everything; it radiates heat from below and creates a crust that's crispy outside and tender inside, not chewy throughout.
  • Slightly undercook the sauce rather than overcooking it; you can always simmer longer but you can't uncook something that's separated.
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