This chicken chorizo and chilli pizza is packed with flavour, combining juicy chicken, spicy chorizo and a kick of chilli on a crispy golden pizza base. Its finished with plenty of melted cheese and its an easy homemade pizza that’s full of delicious savoury and spicy flavours. Perfect for a Friday night dinner or whenever you’re craving a seriously tasty pizza!

There’s something special about making pizza at home. Not only can you choose exactly what goes on top but you can also adjust the flavours and toppings to suit your taste. Homemade pizza is fresher without all the preservatives found in a shop bought pizza and its also a great way to get creative in the kitchen. Once you’ve made your own pizza you may find it hard to go back to shop-bought.

Pizza is definitely a favourite in my household and over the years, I have practiced making different pizzas. While experimenting with different toppings, I created this pizza recipe which is now one of my favourite recipes to make. When I developed and perfected this recipe, I was over the moon. My family all enjoyed it and were all asking me to make it again the following day.

This spicy chicken, chorizo and chilli pizza is absolutely delicious and has lots of wonderful flavours. All the flavours in this pizza complement each other well and if you give this recipe a try, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Ingredients for Chicken Chorizo and Chilli Pizza

For the full list of ingredients and measurements, scroll to the recipe card below.

Chicken Ingredients

Chicken - for this pizza recipe, I use chicken breast.
Seasonings - salt, onion powder, paprika, garlic powder and black pepper.
Marinade - soy sauce and olive oil.

Pizza Sauce Ingredients

Oil - I use extra virgin olive oil.
Onion - use a brown onion.
Garlic - fresh garlic cloves.
Tomatoes - I use a combination of tinned tomatoes and tomato purée.
Herbs - use fresh or dried basil and oregano.
Sugar - light brown sugar is used to slightly sweeten the sauce.
Salt - I use sea salt as I love the flavour.

Pizza Base Ingredients

Flour - I use strong bread flour.
Salt - use any salt.
Sugar - I use caster sugar also known as superfine sugar.
Yeast - I use fast action dried yeast.
Oil - extra virgin olive oil.
Water - use warm water to make the dough.

Topping Ingredients

Cheeses - I use a combination of mozzarella, mild cheddar cheese and red Leicester cheese.
Chorizo - I use chorizo slices which you can substitute for Italian pepperoni.
Chillies - for this spicy pizza, I use birds eye chillies. You can substitute them with jalapeños to make the pizza spicy.
Oil - use extra virgin olive oil to drizzle on the pizza before baking.
Basil - use fresh basil leaves to garnish.

How to Make Chicken Chorizo and Chilli Pizza

Make the Chicken

Season the chicken: In a bowl, season the chicken with salt, onion granules, paprika, garlic granules, black pepper, soy sauce and olive oil. Rub the seasoning into the chicken.

Bake the chicken: Preheat the oven to 200^oC and line a baking tray with parchment paper. Bake the chicken for 18 minutes then allow to cool and chop into small cubes. Place in the fridge for now.

Make the Pizza Sauce

Cook the onions and garlic: Heat the olive oil on a medium heat then add the chopped onions and chopped garlic. Cook for 3 minutes until soft.

Add the tomatoes and herbs: Pour in the tinned tomatoes and mix in the tomato purée, dried basil, dried oregano, sugar and salt. Allow to simmer for around 5 minutes then remove from heat, cover and set aside to cool.

Make the Pizza Base

Combine the ingredients to form a dough: Add the flour, salt, sugar, olive and yeast then pour in the warm water and mix on a low setting using the dough hook for 3 minutes until it comes together to form a dough. Increase the speed and using the dough hook, knead for 8 minutes.

Allow to rise: On a floured surface, knead the dough for 2 minutes until it is smooth and springy. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and cover with cling film. Let the dough rise in a warm area for around 1 hour.

Grease a pizza tray and preheat the oven: Grease a 12 inch pizza tray with olive oil and set aside then preheat the oven to 230^oC.

Line the pizza tray with the dough: Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough to release the air. Transfer the dough to the greased pizza tray and use your hands to push and pull the dough outwards to line the tray with the dough.

Assemble the pizza: Spoon the cooled pizza sauce onto the pizza base and use the spoon to spread it evenly on the dough’s surface. Sprinkle on the mozzarella followed by the cheddar and red Leicester cheese. Arrange the chorizo, chopped chicken and bird’s eye chillies on the base ensuring they are evenly spread around the pizza. Drizzle on a tablespoon of olive oil.

Bake the pizza: Bake the pizza for 12 - 15 minutes or until the crust goes golden brown. Remove from the oven and add the basil leaves then serve.

Recipe Tips

Chicken Tips

For this chicken chorizo pizza recipe, it is easier to begin with the preparation of the chicken. It gives you time to bake, cool and slice the chicken before it is needed.
The chicken is seasoned for flavour which makes this pizza even more delicious. If you prefer you can even purchase ready prepared chicken breast which is already sliced.

Pizza Sauce Tips

This chicken pizza recipe includes the pizza sauce and again you can purchase pizza sauce or use ready prepared passata. I do recommend making the sauce from scratch to get the best tasting pizza. The sauce can be prepared in around 10 minutes.

Pizza Base Tips

I use a stand mixer when making pizza dough but it is easily done by hand.
Warm water is needed to activate the yeast so ensure the water is around 38^oC/100^oF.
If you don’t have a thermometer and you are unsure of the right temperature then mix 50ml of boiling water with 100ml of cold water and then measure out the 130ml needed for the dough.
When the dough is rising ensure the room is not too cold. In the winter, you may have to turn on your home heating to ensure the dough rises.

Toppings

For the cheeses, I use grated mozzarella, cheddar cheese and red Leicester. The combination of these 3 cheeses give the pizza a delicious rich flavour.
Mozzarella is an Italian cheese that is commonly used on pizza.
Cheddar cheese is an English hard cheese with a sometimes sharp flavour. It comes in mild, medium or mature and is the most popular cheese consumed in the UK. It is not often used on pizzas but can be used on pizza in small quantities. I use mild as it melts well.
Red Leicester is an English cheese that is very similar to cheddar cheese but is orange in colour unlike cheddar which tends to be more of an off-white colour. The reason for its colour is due to annatto extract being added to it during its production.
I used Chorizo for this recipe but you can use pepperoni instead.
If you don’t eat pork, you can purchase turkey chorizo as a good substitute.
Birds eye chillies are used to make the pizza spicy. They are small chilli peppers that have a pointed end and are either red or green. They are fairly hot but have delicious flavour. If spicy foods are not your thing then you can use omit the chilli from this pizza.

Storage

Store any leftover pizza in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat the pizza in an oven for around 10 minutes or microwave for 2 minutes. Reheat pizza thoroughly throughout when reheating.

Nutrition

Recipes You May Like

5 from 3 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Chicken Chorizo and Chilli Pizza

This delicious spicy pizza is made from scratch. The home-made dough is topped with cheese, chicken, chorizo and chillies that makes the perfect weekend treat.

Prep Time20

Cook Time40

Rising Time1

Total Time2

Yield: 8 servings

Calories: 286kcal

Ingredients

For the Chicken

1 medium chicken breast fillet
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon onion powder or granules
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon garlic granules or granules
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

For the Pizza Sauce

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
½ onion (finely chopped)
1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
200g tinned tomatoes (finely chopped)
1 tablespoon tomato purée
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon brown sugar
½ teaspoon salt

For the Pizza Base

200g strong bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon caster sugar
½ sachet (4g) fast action dried yeast
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
130ml warm water

For the Toppings

160g grated mozzarella
30g mild cheddar cheese (grated)
30g red Leicester cheese (grated)
40g chorizo slices (or pepperoni slices)
20g birds eye chillies (chopped)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (to drizzle)
10 small fresh basil leaves

Instructions

Prepare the Chicken: Add the chicken fillet to a bowl and add the salt, onion granules, paprika, garlic granules, black pepper, soy sauce and olive oil. Ensure all the seasonings and marinade coat the chicken.
Preheat the oven to gas mark 6/400^oF/200^oC/180^oC fan and line a tray with baking paper. Bake the chicken for 18 minutes. Once baked set aside to cool then chop into small pieces and refrigerate.
Prepare the Pizza Sauce: To a small saucepan, add the olive oil and heat on a medium heat. Add the chopped onions and chopped garlic then fry for 3 minutes until slightly brown. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, dried basil, dried oregano, sugar and salt then stir to combine all the ingredients. Allow to simmer for around 5 minutes then remove from heat, cover and set aside to cool.
Prepare the Pizza Base: To a stand mixer bowl, add the flour, salt, sugar, olive and yeast then whisk. Pour in the warm water and mix on a low speed for 3 minutes using the dough hook. Once a dough forms, increase to a medium speed and knead with the dough hook for 8 minutes.
Scrape the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 2 minutes until the dough is smooth and springy then place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with cling film (plastic wrap). Allow the dough to rise for around 1 hour in a warm area. While the dough is rising, grease a 12 inch pizza baking tray with olive oil and set aside. Preheat the oven to gas mark 8/450^oF/230^oC/210^oC fan.
Once the dough has doubled in size, punch the dough to release the air then place the dough on the greased pizza baking tray and use your hands to push and pull the dough outwards to line the pizza tray with the dough.
Assemble the Pizza: Spoon on the cooled pizza sauce and use the spoon to spread it evenly around the dough’s surface. Sprinkle on the mozzarella then sprinkle on the cheddar and red Leicester cheese. Add the chorizo, chopped chicken and bird’s eye chillies ensuring they are even distributed around the pizza. Drizzle on a tablespoon of olive oil.
Bake the Pizza: Bake the pizza for 12 - 15 minutes or until the crust goes golden brown. Remove from the oven and add the basil leaves then serve.