Ever order a pizza but start with a salad, convincing yourself it will prevent you from eating too much pizza? That never works for me. I will still annihilate half by myself, so I would’ve consumed less calories without the stupid healthy salad . Maybe putting the salad on the pizza is the way to go.

Caesar salad was actually the first salad I ever liked. Probably because it has the least amount of vegetables in it and I used to despise all vegetables besides carrots, corn and potatoes (as if they counted as a veggie). Green things were very much absent from my diet growing up, but boredom of the food selections of my undergraduate meal plan that met my picky-eating ways forced me to dive into the actually very expansive options available (oh the benefits of going to a gigantic school).

But back to talking about this pizza topped with Caesar salad. It is cooked with a pesto sauce base and topped with Mozzarella, Paremesan and chicken. Then once out of the oven, you assemble the rest of the salad right on top! A little drizzle of dressing and some extra shredded Parmesan, but leave off those croutons because you will find them transformed into a pizza crust.

One year ago: Apple Harvest Oatmeal

CHICKEN CAESAR SALAD PIZZA

Serves 3 to 4

Ingredients:

1 recipe pizza dough

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp basil pesto

1/2 cup cooked chicken, cut into bite-sized pieces

1 cup shredded Mozzarella

1/4 cup shredded Parmesan, plus more for garnish

2 cups leafy romaine

1 Roma tomato, sliced

1/4 cup light Caesar salad dressing

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees with a pizza stone placed on the center rack for 15 minutes.
2. On a cornmeal dusted pizza peel, roll out the pizza dough. Spread the olive oil and pesto over the dough within a 1/2 inch of the edge. Top with chicken pieces and sprinkle cheeses over top.
3. Shimmy onto the preheated pizza stone and bake for 10-12 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly.
4. Allow pizza to cool slightly then top with romaine, tomato and dressing. Add additional Parmesan is desired.

Source: Inspired by Mellow Mushroom’s “The Caesar!” pizza.