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This Balsamic Strawberry Pizza is the most unique, delicious pizza ever! Don't let the strawberries throw you off, it's an AMAZING combination!
They say that "necessity is the mother of invention" but for me it might be a bit more precise to change the saying to, "Mother Hubbard is the mother of invention". This Strawberry Balsamic Pizza is exactly what I'm referring to!
You see, this Strawberry Balsamic Pizza was created one day when I was feeling a bit like old Mother Hubbard. I hadn't been to the grocery store in quite a while and when I perused the refridge shortly before dinner one evening there wasn't much to be had. I saw one lonely chicken breast, a bit of leftover bacon, a few strawberries and an assortment of condiments, that was it - other than a little cheese. But behold!! - among the condiments was a lovely jar of Strawberry Jam. Gazing upon the ruby-red sweet jam got my imagination going and the rest of the story is history this pizza!! You have to try this!! I know it sounds quite unique, well maybe even - a little odd, but this pizza is truly fantastic, thanks to Mother Hubbard!!! 🙂
P.S. Oh, by the way, the CCC (Chief Culinary Consultant) says that this is the best pizza he's ever had! And that's saying alot - although he is my greatest supporter and encourager, he isn't super effusive with praises; if he says it is awesome, you really do need to try this!! 🙂
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Strawberry Balsamic Pizza with Chicken, Sweet Onion and Applewood Bacon
Ingredients
- ½ cup strawberry jam or preserves, I used my Strawberry Freezer Jam, use your favorite
- ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sriracha chili sauce
- 1 ball pizza dough, your favorite or this recipe or a purchased ball of dough*
- 1 cup diced or shredded chicken breast, from rotisserie chicken or left over chicken of any kind
- ½ cup applewood smoked bacon, cut in 1 inch pieces, cooked and drained
- ½ cup thin sliced sweet onion
- 12 ounces shredded Italian blend cheese, I used Sargento, but whatever you like best is fine
- ¼ cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
- ¼ cup fresh strawberries, diced small
Instructions
- Place pizza stone or sheet pan on middle rack of oven. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
- Place balsamic vinegar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer 4 to 5 minutes or until reduced to half of the original volume and mixture is thick and syrupy. Add strawberry preserves and Sriracha and mix well. Set aside to cool.
- Pat or roll out pizza dough on a lightly floured surface to approximately a 14 inch circle. Shape does not have to be perfect, this is a rustic pizza. Place a piece of parchment paper, slightly larger than your dough on a pizza peel or an upside down sheet pan. (The parchment paper will make your transfer of the pizza to the oven infinitely easier!) Sprinkle parchment paper lightly with cornmeal. Fold dough in quarters and place on parchment paper, then unfold.
- Combine chicken with 2 tablespoons of the balsamic-strawberry mixture and mix to coat all chicken with sauce. Pour rest of sauce onto pizza dough and spread to cover. Leave a 1 inch border all around the edge. Scatter chicken evenly over the sauce.
- Place about ¾ of the cheese on top of dough and spread to cover sauce evenly. Scatter bacon and sweet onion over cheese to distribute evenly. Scatter remaining cheese over this layer.
- Slide parchment paper with pizza on top onto stone or cookie sheet. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and crust is golden brown. Watch carefully, at this temperature it is easy to burn the pizza!
- Remove from oven and let cool slightly, 1-2 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro and fresh diced strawberries. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
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My family loves this pizza!! 1st time I made it they were like...”ok, we’re not eating that”...now it’s a requested “ special” dinner meal😀 I alway use fresh BASIL, instead of cilantro and to tone down the sweetness I add a Tablespoon or 2 of smoky BBQ sauce!! It’s perfect!
Haha! I know what your family meant, it is a strange combination, but SO good! I'm glad they tried it and love that they now request it!
This was amazing!!! We cooked it last night & even though I don't care that much for cilantro, I loved this! Next time I may try some chopped spinach instead of the cilantro just to see how it taste. When I take it out of the oven & place the strawberries & either cilantro or spinach on top, then drizzle some of the glaze on top of that!! YUM!!!
Thanks for sharing your review, Debbie! Basil would also be delicious in lieu of cilantro.
I made it but it's a bit on the sweet pizza. How to make it more savoury?
Hi Remoses, you could add more sriracha to take away some of the sweetness or, if you don't really care for a sweet and spicy pizza, perhaps just go with a different, more savory chicken pizza.
This sounds totally delicious. I have made a similar pizza, but for the sauce I mixed mayo, a little strawberry jam, and sriracha sauce. This makes a slightly more savory pizza.
Try it! I think you'll love it! 💕
Hi,
I have been wanting to try this pizza for years and somehow I never got around to making it. Until now...it is in the oven.
I used prociutto instead of apple smoked bacon and also added some small diced mango pieces mixed in with the diced strawberries.
Thanks for helping me be more adventurous in the kitchen.
Enjoy, Janie!
Hope you enjoyed it, Janie!
Hi!
I would love to make this vegetarian. Do you have any suggestions as to what I can substitute for the chicken?
Thanks
Hi Gabby, I think you might want to try another pizza recipe. The combination of ingredients just works together so well and you'd also have to omit the bacon. There are so many great vegetarian pizza recipes out there.
Thanks for the great tips I will use this all when I make pizzas for my family and myself.
Hi Chris, This pizza looks insanely delicious. What a different take on strawberry recipes...I love it. I would love to give this a try!
Thank you so much for coming by and taking the time to comment. I appreciate all your advice!
Toodles,
Tammy<3
Thank you Tammy. I hope things go well with your blog update!
Chris…this pizza looks delightful and sounds delicious! I love strawberries and balsamic…one of my favorite combos!
Chris, this looks incredible! I love sweet and savory together so I know this would be a hit with me. I just saw the picture of you and Scott at the top as well. You guys are adorable!
You are INCREDIBLE! Seriously, who would have thought that this mix of ingredients would turn into the best pizza i've ever had. We had this 2 nights in a row we LOVED it so much!! I actually posted your recipe on my website myglutenfreefoods.com with a link to a gluten free crust for those like me that can't have gluten. Thanks again for this incredible creation!
Thank you Lindsay, you are very kind. I'm so happy you loved this as much as we do!
Hi Lauren, thanks for taking the time to leave a comment. This is probably our all-time favorite pizza. It's a crazy combination, but so...... good! Take care, Chris
Made this pizza over the weekend. It's to die for!
One Picasso masterpiece!! I love love the flavors and you could just put an IV in me w/balsamic! You're amazing, my girl!
Where do you find applewood bacon
Many larger grocerys and specialty shops are now carrying Applewood Smoked Bacon. You don't have to have it, if you can't find it. Any good smoked bacon will do but there's something wonderful about applewood.......
Thanks Chris . I finally did find it. A local stop and shop had a thick cut and someone else told me that trader joes has it too. I ended up picking up a regular smoked bacon. Next time I will try the apple. Looking coward to it. Very good pizza made it tonight. Everyone thought it was pulled pork. Thanks for sharing and taking time to get back.
Where do you find applewood bacon
Strawberry season is here. Can't wait to make this pizza again!
Ok WOW - the pizza was amazing. My husband and I were in heaven when we ate it. And thanks for the pizza crust recipe - I've been trying to find a good one and I love how nicely puffy this one turned out.
This pizza was absolutely AMAZING. The flavors all went together perfectly - I loved the freshness of the strawberries and cilantro! We make pizza from scratch once a week and are constantly trying new recipes and topping combinations - I made this on the fly on a weeknight and my husband said it was the best pizza he has ever had - he is still talking about it. I'm headed out to pick up some strawberrie shortly so that we can have it again tonight. Thank you for this wonderful recipe!
Thank you Terese! I love to hear from my friends out there! We love this pizza too. I know it's a bit of an odd combination but it does seem to all work together well, doesn't it?
This was one of the best pizzas I've ever had. I used a honey wheat pizza crust and grilled it - living in Phoenix allows us to grill year round. Thank you for such a delicious recipe. I've made many of your recipes but thought I should finally post a Thank You!
Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a comment about your pizza. We love this pizza here at The Cafe, it's an all time favorite!
We made this tonight on a whole wheat pizza crust...oh my it was delicious!! Thank you for this delicious pizza recipe. Definitely a new favorite:-)
iheartfoodandsocanyou.blogspot.com
We made this tonight on a whole wheat pizza crust...oh my it was delicious!! Thank you for this delicious pizza recipe. Definitely a new favorite:-)
iheartfoodandsocanyou.blogspot.com
Hi! Just wanted to let you know we made your pizza for dinner last night and I posted about it on my blog today! Thanks for the fantastic recipe. We really loved it. You can find the blog entry at http://www.themurphysblog.com
Found this recipe on Pinterest. Made it last night. It was so good! Used the pizza dough recipe link too.
WOW CHRIS! I just saw that Annie's Eats made this recipe from you and I was like HEY THAT'S CHRIS I KNOW HER! It was like a famous person mentioning they know a mutual friend-lol. So cool.
I think I found this recipe through a SRC post, and it inspired me to use fresh strawberries and balsamic glaze on pizza today. It was delicious, so thank you for the inspiration 🙂
I was looking for unconventional pizza toppings, something with a twist, but still a good crowd pleaser for family and friends gathering tonight. I came across this one, and for a minute hesitated- strawberry, chicken, bacon and balsamic vinegar? Crikey, one almost chokes on what seems a cacophony of textures, flavours and sweet vs savoury notes. But having read the good reviews from the author and commeteers, and having a good ol' aged balsamic vinegar of Modena, one is like, why the heck not? Life is short la di da...
I just made this a couple of hours ago and I tell ya, it was the favorite out of three different toppings/recipes I made. Loved it, and will definitely do it again.
Thank you all the way from Melbourne for this, it motivates to keep on the lookout for unconventional impression-leaving bites.
A
Thanks so much, Amir for your great review! I'm so happy you enjoyed the pizza, it remains one of our favorites!
This is so beautiful. If I'd only read the title, I might have been off-put, but the pictures are amazing. I found this recipe on Pinterest, and will be making it soon. I like the suggestion of a smokey BBQ sauce, and think I'll use that instead of the chili sauce, which I don't have and won't buy because I won't use it enough.
Hi Chris,
I came across this the other day and immediately knew that I had to try it - and today, I did. This is one of THE best pizzas I have ever had, if only I had a better recipe for a pizza base it may in fact have nibbled at the very top position.
So creative, so delicious! I hope you don't mind that I shared the recipe on my own blog, which revolves around bacon, as I thought my readers would enjoy it. I did, of course, say give you full credit and a link!
My husband gave me the side-eye as I started to sprinkle this pizza with the fresh strawberries, but we both absolutely loved it! Thank you!
Jaclyn,
So fun to hear from you! I know this pizza sounds a bit crazy but it is so......... delicious. I hope you try it - let me know what you think!
Hi Chris,
You don't know me, but I was a college roommate of your niece, Katherine. I love cooking and reading food blogs, so she showed me your site one day last year.
The other night, I roasted a chicken for my husband (just married), and today searched "chicken pizza" on foodgawker in hopes of finding one more thing to do with the leftovers. I was thrilled when I realized one of your posts came up. This pizza looks delicious and will very possibly be how I use that leftover chicken. 🙂
Love this adaptation!
Thanks so much for the recipe. It was fantastic! I carmelized a sweet onion and loved that combo. (I'm not too fond of raw onions.) Thanks again.
I'm so glad you enjoyed this Jenny! It is a crazy combination but so yummy! I love your adaptations, that's what's so fun about cooking, you can make a recipe your own with just a few small adaptations! Thanks for letting me know how yours turned out!
I took a chance and made this when we had company the other day and it was a HUGE success! I had no idea strawberries paired so well with cilantro. I added a little bit of smokey BBQ sauce to the balsamic reduction to give it a little tomato flavor and also added some crumbled feta cheese. I will definitely make this again.
Using strawberries on a savoury pizza like this would be amazing!
I enjoy experimenting with pizza toppings, but have never considered strawberries. Thanks for the new idea!
Thanks Jodi, you won't be disappointed!
Hi there - it's Jodi from California strawberries! Just wanted to tell you here how delicous this looks! May have to try this one and share it with my colleagues!
Yummers! My mouth was watering just reading the description! I know what we'll be making in my house this week for dinner!
looks absolutely delicious!
Just ate 2 slices...so yummy! Great combination of flavors!
@GingerHi Ginger! Thanks for stopping by the Café. This pizza is so full of color and flavor and pizazz that I would just serve a lovely green salad with a simple vinaigrette, like the one from this post;
or if you want to really wow them, use this salad dressing;
Keep the salad itself quite simple, maybe just some nice greens, a few sweet onion slivers and a sprinkle of toasted pecans.
Have fun at your party! Let me know how it turns out!
Wow - that is inventive - it looks SO good - I would NEVER have thought of strawberries on a pizza - now I have to try!!
YUM
Mary
Thanks for all the sweet, kind comments about my crazy pizza! I do hope you'll try it but don't blame me if you get addicted! 🙂
OMG! Strawberries on pizza! I LOVE IT I LOVE IT! How creative it is! Not just colors are beautiful, but I bet this is scrumptious! Thanks for sharing this unique and delicious pizza!
I have never thought of adding strawberries to pizza - brilliant!
Oh, thanks so much for noticing this omission, I have fixed it! This is one of the perils of making up your own recipes! I surely need other eyes to check up on me!
Oh, and I am jealous of anyone who lives in a place where strawberries are still bearing - it is so........... hot here in the Carolinas that the really good strawberries are long....... gone - what was amazing to me was that this was so good even with the somewhat anemic-looking store bought strawberries! Thanks for stopping by, Chris
My strawberry patch has gone wild this season so will try this recipe on the weekend with company....or sooner!
How many onions and do they go on uncooked?
Thanks for all your great recipes. I sure enjoy them!
My strawberry patch has gone wild this season so will give this a go on the weekend with company over...or maybe sooner!
By the way, how much onion and do you sauté them?
What a fabulous pizza! Very true Mother Hubbard is quite the inspiration in my kitchen this week too!
The pizza looks fabulous. I was just thinking of making strawberries with a balsamic reduction for dessert tonight. This looks downright tempting!
I would love to shadow you in the kitchen one day.