Healthy Spinach Artichoke Chicken Pizza Recipe. A yummy yet healthy pizza you will go crazy over! Only 150 calories per slice!
Honestly? When I first found out about spinach and artichoke dip being a real thing I was majorly taken aback.
Shocking, I know.
I couldn’t even figure out how it can possibly be a dip and why anyone would do such a thing to perfectly good vegetables.
More honestly?
I still haven’t tried making such a dip.
But at least I’m hooked on the combo of spinach and artichokes! So green and so good.
I’m also really hooked on pizza. So much that sometimes I eat too much of it and can’t stand it for several weeks.
But that usually doesn’t last very long. I mean, Pizza. Bread, cheese, sauce, what’s there not to like?
My love for pizza is partly rooted in some of the best parts of my teenage life.
My mum and stepdad took my siblings and me out to the same restaurant a few times a year.
You know, to “our” place where we always got the same waiter and the same table and they basically knew in advance what we were going to order (this was especially concerning my little brother’s hatred for all things tomato – the white pizza was basically already in the oven by the time my mum had made the reservation).
Directly translated he name of the restaurant would go something like “urban living room”, but it was more like a traditional italian place – where they served the best pizza in town!
Going there was always a highlight for all of us kids and it was even better when we went there with other people.
Like the one time my stepdad’s cousin and her family were visiting from the UK for a week.
All I’m saying is teenage boys should not under any circumstances be left alone with a bowl of chili oil.
Yeah, it was a blast at the time.
While now I sometimes do really crave a pizza loaded with sauce and cheese and mushrooms (Best.Topping. Ever!) I often prefer a more fresh and less heavy and coma-inducing pizza feast.
And that’s where this gorgeous creation comes in! Remember how I mentioned my curiosity over the existence of spinach and artichoke dip?
I thought it would probably make a great combo for a “white” pizza.
Ok, it’s really more of a green pizza to be honest. And I’m not sure if my white-pizza-loving brother – who is now a teenager and loves to put tons of extra cheese and salami on frozen pizza – would ever touch it.
But Branimir loved it. And I loved it. And we both loved that we loved it. Does that make any kind of sense?
Anyway, this recipe is perfect if you’re in the mood for a lighter, healthier (and astoundingly delicious!) version of everyone’s favorite Italian fare.
It makes one huge thin crust pizza, but even if you eat one (or two… or three…) slices too many you will just get more of its wholegrain-green veggie-lean protein-goodness!
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1/2 batch Basic Yeast Dough, using wholewheat flour and adding 1 of olive oil (reduce water by 1 tablespoon)
For the Toppings
- 6 oz boneless skinless chicken breast
- 2/3 cups spinach, frozen
- 2/3 cups low fat cream cheese
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, diced
- 1 small bell pepper, cut into strips (or use 3 mini bell peppers)
- 2 oz marinated artichoke hearts, quartered
- Salt, pepper & paprika
- Nutmeg, optional
Instructions
To Make the Crust
- Follow the instructions in the post about yeast dough. After rising roll the dough out on a floured surface into a large, thin circle, about 1/6" thick.
To Make the Toppings
- Thaw the spinach and chop finely.
- Season the chicken with salt, pepper and paprika. Grill until done and cut into chunks.
- Mix the spinach with the cream cheese. Season with salt, pepper and nutmeg, if desired.
To Finish
- Spread the spinach mixture on the pizza crust. Top with chicken chunks and mozzarella cheese. Add bell pepper slices and artichokes on top. Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown.