Apple Chicken Sausage Pizza with Fennel and Kale
Apple chicken sausage pairs with fennel, roasted red peppers, and crispy kale for a delicious date-worthy gourmet pizza you can make at home. This chicken sausage pizza has a garlic and olive oil base that brings out the flavors of the toppings. You can bake this pizza in the oven, or grill it for a restaurant-worthy result.
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When it comes to pizza, I feel like there are two main categories: stereotypical pizza with red sauce and toppings like pepperoni and mushrooms, and gourmet pizzas you’d get at a trendy wood-fired pizzeria.
While my go-to is a pepperoni, sausage, and olives pizza, I LOVE mixing it up with some fancy-pants versions — like this balsamic chicken flatbread pizza or this fig, bacon, and blue cheese pizza.
So this week when I had some chicken apple sausage to use up, I thought it would be perfect as a gourmet pizza topping.
Ingredients
Recommended Equipment
My favorite way to make pizza at home is with my gas grill and a pizza stone. The grill allows you to get higher temperatures than you can achieve in your oven, making it closer to a professional pizza oven.
You can also use a pizza stone in your oven, or just use a baking sheet. If using a pizza stone, a pizza peel helps easily slide the crust on and off the stone.
VIDEO: How to make pizza with chicken apple sausage
How to make chicken sausage pizza
Prepare the crusts. Cut the dough into two equal pieces and roll each out into a pizza crust. Use your hands to stretch them, a rolling pin to roll them, or stretch the crusts over your fists (images 1-3). Let the crusts rest in between stretches so the gluten can relax, or they won't stretch big enough. Lay the crust on a baking sheet dusted with semolina flour if baking in the oven (image 4), or parcook the crusts, if using a pizza peel in the oven or grill (images 5-6). See tips and tricks below for more details about preparing the crusts.
Prep the ingredients. Cut the fronds off the fennel bulb, cut the bulb in half, remove the core, and slice thinly (either long-ways or short-ways) (images 7-10). Slice the chicken apple sausage. Drain roasted red pepper strips and pat them dry. Remove tough stems from the kale.
Brush with olive oil and garlic and add the toppings. Brush each crust with olive oil and a spread out a clove of minced garlic. Salt the edges of the crust. Top prepared crust with shredded cheese, fennel, roasted red pepper strips, and apple chicken sausage. Add a handful of kale pieces (more than you think is necessary, since it will shrink). Top with a little more shredded cheese to melt over the toppings. (images 11-14).
Fire it up! Cook your pizza in the oven (image 15) or on a preheated pizza stone on the grill (images 16-17). Cook until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown. Enjoy with some grilled romaine hearts for a perfect meal!
Tips & Tricks
Preparing your crusts
- Shrinking dough: It's likely that your pizza dough won't initially roll out into two 10-inch rounds and will shrink after you roll it out or stretch it. Give the gluten about 5 minutes to relax and try again. It should stretch further this time. I usually have to give my dough about two rest periods before it will reach the full size I'm aiming for.
- Keep the dough from sticking. Use ample semolina flour (or cornmeal) between your pizza peel and the dough to keep the dough from sticking as you slide it onto the pizza stone. Give it a shake and see where the sticking points are. Lift up those sections and add a little more semolina flour underneath.
- To parcook or not to parcook? If you're cooking your pizza on a sheet pan, there's no reason to parcook the dough. Just prep the whole pie right on the sheet pan and pop it in the oven. However, if I'm using a pizza stone I find it's easier to slide a naked crust onto the stone than a fully assembled raw pizza. I cook the crust for about a minute or two before removing it and adding my olive oil and toppings. Then it keeps its shape the next time I slide it onto the pizza stone. I parcook both crusts before topping both.
Topping tips
- Cut fennel thinly, but don't shave. In my first test, I used the thinnest setting on my mandoline slicer for shaved fennel, but found myself wanting the pieces (and flavor) to be a little more substantial as I ate the pizza. Cut thinly but shaving is unnecessary.
- Don't over-fill the pizza. It's tempting to pack your pizza with as many toppings as possible, but that actually makes it cook more slowly, resulting in either a soggy crust or burnt edges.
- Use more kale than you think. You can cover practically the whole surface with pieces of kale — it shrinks up so much as it cooks that you'll be left with the perfect amount of evenly-distributed crispy kale chips.
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Apple Chicken Sausage Pizza with Fennel and Kale
Equipment
- pizza stone use sheet pan if you don't have one
- Grill (recommended)
Ingredients
- 1 lb pizza dough
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 links chicken apple sausage I use Aidell's (two links is 6 oz, or half a package)
- ½ cup roasted red pepper strips drained and patted dry
- 1 small fennel bulb
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups kale thick stems removed, cut into bite sized pieces
- kosher salt
- semolina flour cornmeal may be substituted
Instructions
Prepare the pizza crusts
- If you have one, place pizza stone on your grill in your oven. Preheat grill on high or oven to 450℉.
- Cut dough into two equal pieces and shape each into a ball. Roll or press each ball into a circle using a rolling pin or your hands. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes and roll again. You may also pick up the dough and stretch it from underneath with two fists. Repeat until you have two 10" rounds.
- If baking on a sheet pan or pizza pan: Sprinkle pan with semolina flour and lay the crust on top. No need to parbake, you can move on to the toppings section.If baking on a pizza stone: Sprinkle pizza peel liberally with semolina flour and lay the crust on top. Give the pizza peel a shake and see if any parts stick. Pick up any sticking bits and add more semolina flour underneath until crust slides smoothly.Slide each crust onto your pizza stone, close the grill lid or oven, and cook for 1-2 minutes, until the exterior of the crust doesn't feel so doughy anymore. Remove parcooked crust to a plate.
Prepare the toppings
- Fennel: Cut the green stalks from the top of the bulb and remove any rubbery or browned outer layers. Cut the bulb in half, remove the core with a knife, and slice each half thinly.Chicken apple sausage: Slice or dice two links (6 oz.) of sausage.Roasted red peppers: Drain any liquid and pat dry to avoid making the crust soggy.Kale: Remove any tough stems and cut into salad-sized pieces.
Assemble and cook the pizza
- Brush crusts all over with olive oil and rub a clove of minced garlic on each, evenly dispersing the bits. Sprinkle a little kosher salt on the edges.
- Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella, then top with sliced fennel, sausage, and roasted red peppers. Add a handful of kale over the whole top of the pizza, and sprinkle lightly with a little more cheese.
- Transfer the pizza onto the pizza stone again (or slide the pan into the oven), close the grill cover or oven door, and bake for 7-10 minutes on the grill or 12-14 minutes in the oven. Cheese should be melted, kale shrunken and a little crispy, and crust golden brown.
- Cut pizza into slices and enjoy!
