Southwestern Chicken Pizza with Chipotle Cream Cheese Sauce Recipe

Every Friday night at our house brings great excitement for my boys. Pizza night ranges from standards, such as pepperoni and Hawaiian, to slightly more adventurous versions, such as Thai chicken or grilled shrimp and pesto. Southwestern or Mexican pizzas have crossed our pizza stone several times, but the flavor combination has never been quite right. We were missing a good kick of heat and a sauce that would stand up to the chicken, black beans, corn, red bell pepper and queso fresco cheese that we like to pile on top.

Philadelphia Cream Cheese recently introduced a new product, called Cooking Creme. It has the same flavor of cream cheese, but can be easily spooned and melted into a variety of dishes. While the Cooking Creme is available in a southwestern flavor, I prefer to add the flavors according my own palate, so I used the original flavor as a starting point. I heated a small amount of vegetable broth and melted the cooking creme into the broth to make a thinner sauce. Stirring in minced chipotle peppers, a small amount of adobo sauce and fresh lime juice gave the sauce that tangy kick we were craving. What did my boys think? They went back for thirds. I think that says it all.

The recipe:

The sauce:
In a small saucepan set over medium heat, bring vegetable stock to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in Philadelphia Cooking Creme (regular flavor) until it dissolved. Add chopped chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, fresh lime juice, and a pinch of salt.

The pizza:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place pizza stone in oven and preheat for 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine shredded chicken, olive oil, cumin and salt. Stir until chicken is coated.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pizza dough until it is about 12 inches in diameter. Transfer the dough to a pizza peel covered with cornmeal. Spread chipotle sauce over the pizza dough. Sprinkle black beans, corn, red bell pepper and queso fresco cheese evenly over the sauce.

Slide the pizza onto the pizza stone and bake for 5 minutes. Sprinkle chicken over the pizza and bake until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with cilantro. Serve. Drizzle with remaining chipotle sauce, if desired.

Southwestern Chicken Pizza with Chipotle Cream Cheese Sauce

Sauce:
2 tbsp vegetable broth
10 oz. Philadelphia Cooking Creme, regular flavor
1 chipotle pepper, seeded and minced
1 tsp adobo sauce (from chipotle pepper can)
2 tsp fresh lime juice
Pinch of kosher salt

Pizza:
1 cooked chicken breast, shredded
1 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp ground cumin
Pinch of kosher salt
1 recipe of my homemade dough, or store-bought dough
1/2 cup canned black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup frozen corn kernels, defrosted
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1/2 cup crumbled queso fresco cheese
3 tbsp chopped cilantro

Sauce:
In a small saucepan set over medium heat, bring vegetable stock to a simmer. Remove from heat and stir in Philadelphia Cooking Creme until it dissolved. Add chopped chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, fresh lime juice, and a pinch of salt.

Pizza:
Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Place pizza stone in oven and preheat for 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, combine shredded chicken, olive oil, cumin and salt. Stir until chicken is coated.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out pizza dough (link to dough recipe) until it is about 12 inches in diameter. Transfer the dough to a pizza peel covered with cornmeal. Spread 3/4 cup of the chipotle sauce over the pizza dough. Sprinkle black beans, corn, red bell pepper and queso fresco cheese evenly over the sauce.

Slide the pizza onto the pizza stone and bake for 5 minutes. Sprinkle chicken over the pizza and bake until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden brown. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before slicing. Garnish with cilantro. Serve. Drizzle with remaining chipotle sauce, if desired.

Makes one 12-inch pizza.

Printable recipe