This Pepperoni Pizza Chicken Skillet combines two of your favorite foods into a single tasty and one skillet meal. This low carb and keto friendly dinner is easy to make. Just brown some chicken thighs in a skillet, add some tomato sauce and cover the chicken with cheese and pizza toppings. Have this simple and crave worthy dinner recipe on the table for your family in under an hour, with minimal dishes and big flavor.
Here’s What You Need For This Pepperoni Pizza Chicken Skillet:
Ingredients:
For the pizza seasoning blend:
- 2 tsp pink Himalayan salt
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes + more for garnish
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
For the dish:
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1.25 lbs chicken thighs (or breasts)
- 100 grams (about half a medium) sweet onion, optional, see notes
- 3-4 cloves fresh garlic, optional, see notes
- 24-ounce jar pasta/pizza/marinara sauce of choice
- handful of fresh sweet basil + more for garnish
- 8 ounces shredded Italian cheese of choice (we used 5 ounces mozzarella cheese & 3 ounces shredded parmesan cheese)
- 3.5 ounces pepperoni slices (we love Boar’s Head pepperonis)
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
Recipe Notes:
Seasoning & Aromatics: For the seasoning blend, we made a mixture that really gave us the pizza scent and color we were looking for. The seasoning is used on the chicken, and you could use whatever your favorite Italian seasonings you like, plus some salt and pepper. We do have to say that the seasoning blend we provided makes for an absolutely delicious dish, but of course, everything is sort of to taste in this recipe.
The marinara sauce we used for the sauce was lacking the robust flavor that we were looking for, so we added some fresh onion, garlic and basil to our dish. You could certainly leave these things out if the sauce you’re using a sauce that has the amount of flavor you’re looking for.
Chicken: We prefer chicken thighs to chicken breasts because they are juicier and fattier, and overall, we find them to be more flavorful, but you could definitely use chicken breasts if you prefer that.
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Tools:
- Sharp Chef’s Knife & Cutting Board
- Nesting Bowls
- Measuring Spoons
- Lodge Cast Iron Skillet
- Wooden Spoon for serving
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Let’s Make It!
Preheat your oven 375°F. Heat your cast iron over medium heat. Season your chicken with your seasonings of choice (we used all of the seasoning blend we made). Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the skillet, and add in the chicken to sear. Brown on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.
Remove the chicken from the skillet, and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pan. Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet. If you’re adding garlic and onions to this dish (they’re optional, see notes) we are going to cook them now before adding the sauce. If you’re skipping this step, simply add the marinara sauce you’re using to the skillet.
If adding in onions in and garlic, first add in the onions with a small pinch of salt to sweat out the liquid. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the onions are translucent, then add in your minced garlic. Cook for only about 30 seconds, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add in your marinara sauce right away to cool down the garlic. Then, sprinkle in some sweet basil if you’re adding this fresh ingredient as well, stirring consistently wilt it.
Add the chicken thighs back to the pan, then smother with the tomato sauce. Layer on the cheese, and pepperonis.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 375°F, then broil on high for 3-5 minutes to get the cheese nice and browned. Add fresh basil if desired, we grow some on our window sill so that we always have it. Garnish with more Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.
Serve and enjoy!
If you get a chance to try this recipe, let us know what you think, would ya?! Leave us a comment, or catch up with us on Facebook or Instagram, or pin to your favorite Pinterest board for later.
Looking for another easy and delicious keto friendly meal? This Low Carb Reuben Skillet is made in one cast iron skillet!
Until Next Time,
Briana & Chamere
This Pepperoni Pizza Chicken Skillet combines two of your favorite foods into a single tasty and one skillet meal. This low carb and keto friendly dinner is easy to make. Just brown some chicken thighs in a skillet, add some tomato sauce and cover the chicken with cheese and pizza toppings. Have this simple and crave worthy dinner recipe on the table for your family in under an hour, with minimal dishes and big flavor.
- 2 tsp pink Himalayan salt
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning blend
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes + more for garnish
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1.25 lbs chicken thighs (or breasts)
- 100 grams (about half a medium) sweet onion, optional, see notes
- 4 cloves fresh garlic, optional, see notes
- 24 ounce jar pasta/pizza/marinara sauce of choice
- handful of fresh sweet basil + more for garnish
- 8 ounces shredded Italian cheese of choice (we used 5 ounces mozzarella cheese & 3 ounces shredded parmesan cheese)
- 3.5 ounces pepperoni slices (we love Boar’s Head pepperonis)
- Parmesan cheese for garnish
Preheat your oven to 375°F. Heat your cast iron over medium heat. Season your chicken with your seasonings of choice (we used all of the seasoning blend we made). Add 1 tbsp of olive oil to the skillet, and add in the chicken to sear. Brown on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.Remove the chicken from the skillet, and set aside, leaving the drippings in the pan.
Add the remaining olive oil to the skillet. If you’re adding garlic and onions to this dish (they’re optional, see notes) we are going to cook them now before adding the sauce. If you’re skipping this step, simply add the marinara sauce you’re using to the skillet.
If adding in onions in and garlic, first add in the onions with a small pinch of salt to sweat out the liquid. Cook for 3-5 minutes until the onions are translucent, then add in your minced garlic. Cook for only about 30 seconds, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add in your marinara sauce right away to cool down the garlic. Then, sprinkle in some sweet basil if you’re adding this fresh ingredient as well, stirring consistently wilt it.
Add the chicken thighs back to the pan, then smother with the tomato sauce. Layer on the cheese, and pepperonis.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes at 375°F, then broil on high for 3-5 minutes to get the cheese nice and browned. Add fresh basil if desired, we grow some on our window sill so that we always have it. Garnish with more Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.
Serve and enjoy!
Macros: These macros are estimated using MyFitnessPal and are a courtesy. We cannot guarantee the accuracy, and they it will vary on the amounts and brands used.
Makes 6 servings, 443 calories per serving, 7 net carbs (9 total carbs – 2 grams fiber), 29 grams of fat, 40 grams of protein.
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