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Maple-walnut chicken sausage pizza is a lighter take for pizza night.
Can we talk about pizza for a minute? I don’t necessarily mean pizza as the food, but pizza as the Thing That Saves many a stressed-out parent.
I like to think that we eat pretty well most of the time, with a somewhat respectable balance among food groups, but we do have pizza every week.
Sometimes we go out for it, sometimes we order in, and sometimes I make it from scratch. In each case, we’re having pizza to be able to hit that golden goal of everyone eating the danged dinner.
That’s why I’m stressed out, friends. No matter how many hours I spend meal planning, chopping, or standing over the stove, it doesn’t matter if they won’t eat the results. And so into the mix of new recipes and vegetable-focused meals goes a pizza night.
The good thing is, as long as it is called pizza and looks somewhat like one, my kids will eat it. They might take off some veggies, but overall, there are no complaints, which is sometimes the best that can be said for any meal.
(My toddler is at the stage where he has a meltdown if you politely decline his offer of food, so any meals without tears are gold star occasions.)
I like this chicken sausage pizza because it’s made with whole-wheat dough, making it more filling, and pre-cooked chicken sausages, which means less work for me.
The peppery arugula is tamed a bit with a drizzle of maple syrup. And if you’ve never tried walnuts on pizza, you’re missing out.
This pizza is somewhat similar to my caprese chicken flatbread in that it doesn’t use a red sauce, but the flavor profiles are very different. If you make your pizzas following seasonal ingredients, winter is a great time to embrace arugula.
This recipe makes one large baking-sheet size pizza, so you can easily cut the recipe in half if you like. If you’re making homemade pizza dough, I recommend making enough for two pizzas and freezing the second half after rising, for the next time pizza night is calling your name.
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Maple-Walnut Chicken Sausage Pizza
Ingredients
- 4 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 tablespoon cornmeal
- 1 16- ounce ball whole-wheat pizza dough
- 1/2 cup very thinly sliced red onion
- 4 ounces sharp white cheddar, shredded (about 1 cup)
- 4-5 fully cooked chicken sausage links, such as Aidells, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 3 cups loosely packed baby arugula
Instructions
- Place an oven rack in the lowest position. Preheat the oven to 450ยฐF. Brush a rimmed baking sheet with 2 teaspoons oil and sprinkle with cornmeal. Roll out dough to size of prepared baking sheet and transfer to sheet.
- Brush remaining oil on dough and scatter onion, cheddar, sausage, and walnuts over it.
- Bake pizza until bottom is crisp and starting to brown and cheese is melted and bubbling, 13 to 17 minutes. Drizzle with maple syrup and top with arugula.
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Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate based on online calculators. Any nutritional information found on Stetted should be used as a general guideline only.
About Megan
I learned how to cook by exploring seasonal ingredients, and you can too! Meal time shouldn’t be stressful or complicated, and with fresh ingredients and easy methods, Iโm here to help you enjoy the time spent in the kitchen.ย Read moreโฆ
