Spinach Chicken Alfredo Pizza

I got my thinking cap on Chopped-style to create this lightened up version of Spinach Chicken Alfredo Pizza, made with Greek yogurt, gobs of ooey gooey cheese, and a smattering of red peppers and mushrooms.

Do you ever watch the show Chopped? It’s a fast paced competitive cooking show in which contestants are given a few bizarre ingredients and tasked with making a three course meal…in  less than 80 minutes total.

The show never fails to make me feel like I’m on the verge of a panic attack. I enjoy watching contestants figure out how they’re going to turn crayfish, plum jam, and a spare tire into an acceptable appetizer, but watching them rush around the kitchen as the clock ticks down makes my palms start to sweat.

This is probably because I am a terribly slow cook. I watch the Chopped contestants slice through an onion in .5 seconds and simply stare in awe (and reflexively cover up my knuckles–it’s almost like I can feel them being chopped off if I attempted a similar feat). And the way they come up with dishes on the fly? This is so not me. I am a thinker, a planner, a considerer. It takes me at least an hour to plan out our meals for the week, and I don’t even have to incorporate quail!

Anyway, while I know I would have a breakdown in the first five minutes of a real Chopped episode, I do love to challenge myself in the kitchen. That’s why I was so excited to participate in Sargento’s Chopped at Home contest! Sargento is challenging home cooks everywhere to put on their thinking caps and make a unique dish featuring their Chef Blends™ Shredded 6 Cheese Italian, a tantalizing combination of Mozzarella, Provolone, Fontina, Parmesan, Romano, and Asiago cheeses.

In true Chopped style, we were given four ingredients we had to include in our dish: Sargento 6 Cheese Italian, boneless skinless chicken breast, red bell pepper, and Greek yogurt.

I knew almost immediately I wanted to go the Alfredo route. I’ve been wanting to make a lightened up Greek yogurt version of Alfredo for awhile, and this gave me the push I needed to finally try it. Luckily, I wasn’t disappointed. This Alfredo sauce is quick, garlicky, ultra cheesy, and quite tasty, even though it doesn’t have a drop of cream in it.

After the Alfredo sauce was made, I had to figure out what to do with it. Pasta? Casserole? Sauce for grilled chicken? In the end, my true love won, and I decided to make pizza. I tossed some spinach in the Alfredo sauce, ladled it on a pizza crust, then topped it with generous handfuls of cheese, chicken breast, red pepper, and mushrooms.

The resulting pizza was packed with flavor, and characterized by those perfectly gooey strands of melted cheese. Did I finish it under 30 minutes? Not quite. But this meal won’t take you all day either. I recommend using a homemade crust or buying pre-made crusts from your favorite local pizza place. I didn’t realize I was out of my homemade crust, so I used an off-brand roll out crust and lived to regret it. This pizza deserves the best, so start with a great crust! I’ll definitely be doing that next time, and trust me, there will be a next time.

Spinach Chicken Alfredo Pizza

Yield: 5 servings

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 12 minutes

Total Time: 42 minutes

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Ingredients

For the alfredo sauce:

• 2 Tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup Sargento shredded Italian 6 cheese blend
• 6 ounces frozen chopped spinach
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• Salt and pepper

For the pizza:

• 1 12 inch pizza crust, store bought or homemade
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 3/4 lb. chicken breast, sliced thin
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• Salt and pepper
• 8 ounces sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 2 cups Sargento Italian Blend cheese
• 1 teaspoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt for the crust (optional)

Instructions

For the Alfredo sauce:

1. In a medium sized sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in the flour. The mixture will form a thick paste. Slowly add the chicken broth, whisking constantly, until smooth. Turn heat to low then stir in yogurt, milk, and cheese. Continue to cook, stirring often until cheese is melted and sauce is thick. Taste and season as needed with salt, pepper, and pinch of red pepper flakes. Stir in chopped spinach and heat through, then remove from heat and set aside.

For the pizza:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees (or if using a store bought crust, follow the instructions provided on the package). If you're using a pizza stone, preheat it in the oven. Roll out pizza dough on a sheet of parchment paper and allow it to rest while you prepare the toppings.
2. Heat the oil in a large skillet, then add sliced chicken. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano, then saute until cooked through. Remove to a plate. Add mushrooms and bell peppers to the skillet and more oil, if needed. Saute until just starting to soften then remove from heat.

To assemble:

1. Ladle generous amounts of the Alfredo sauce onto the crust. You'll likely have some leftover--toss it with pasta for a quick meal the following day! Sprinkle with half the cheese then top with the chicken, mushrooms, and red pepper. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Brush outer crust with olive oil and garlic salt if desired.
2. Slide the parchment paper and pizza dough onto the preheated pizza stone and bake for 8-12 minutes, or until crust is puffed and browned and cheese is golden. Serve immediately.

Recipe by NeighborFood

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sargento®. The opinions and text are all mine.