Thai-Inspired Chicken Pizza Recipe

This is not your everyday pizza; it's not the sort of pie you'll pick up at your local pizzeria. What we have here is a recipe for adventurous eaters — a culinary journey that brings Thai flavors to that dish that is beloved around the world. If you're ready to buck the norm and dig into something exciting and new, this is the recipe for you.

In this recipe, the only traditional pizza ingredients are the dough and the mozzarella — everything else has been swapped out in favor of Thai flavors. In lieu of tomato sauce, we have a homemade peanut sauce rich with natural peanut butter and red curry paste. In place of pepperoni or Italian sausage, the protein on this pie is grilled, fish sauce–marinated chicken thigh. And, that's just the beginning. Pineapple on pizza is a topic of great controversy, but how about mango? Rounded out with scallions, cilantro, and chopped peanuts, it's clear that we're entering new pizza territory here. While the toppings may seem a bit wild at first, we promise that once you take that first bite, it will all make perfect sense.

This recipe is divided into a few sections that all come together in the end to make a delicious, Thai-inspired chicken pizza. For the chicken, you will need boneless, skinless chicken thighs and a marinade made from fish sauce, garlic, ginger, and water. For the sauce on this pizza, we make our own peanut sauce using natural peanut butter, red curry paste, soy sauce, lime juice, sugar, and rice vinegar. 

On top of that, you will need two pounds of pizza dough, which you can purchase at the store or make at home using this no-knead pizza dough recipe. For other toppings, you'll need thinly sliced mango and scallions. The last step is some finely chopped cilantro and peanuts for a garnish. It's a long list, but the layers of flavor are worth it. Once you have all of those ingredients together, it's time to get cooking.

Place the chicken thighs, fish sauce, water, ginger, and garlic in a bowl.

Cover with plastic and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.

While the chicken is marinating, make the peanut sauce by combining all of the ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat.

Cook the sauce for 3–4 minutes, stirring often, until it reaches a smooth consistency. Remove from the heat.

Heat the grill to medium-high heat.

Remove the chicken from the marinade, then grill the thighs for 3–4 minutes on each side.

Remove the chicken from the grill and allow it to rest for 5 minutes.

Slice the chicken into thin pieces.

Preheat the oven to 450 F.

Divide the dough into two even halves and stretch them out to your desired size on a baking sheet.

Divide the sauce between the two doughs.

Top each pizza evenly with mozzarella.

Sprinkle the chicken, mango, and scallions evenly over the two pizzas.

Bake the pizzas for 18–20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the crust is nicely browned.

Remove the pizzas from the oven and rest for 4 minutes.

Top the pizzas with the cilantro and peanuts, slice, and serve immediately.

Cilantro, or coriander, is commonly used in Thai cuisine but can be quite divisive. Some folks love cilantro and some hate it, often with real passion. The predisposition to hating cilantro is related to a person's perception of aldehydes. For those sensitive to aldehydes, cilantro can taste like a spoonful of dish soap — not something anyone wants on their pizza. Fortunately for cilantro haters, we have some suggestions for replacement.

That fresh, citrusy, peppery flavor of cilantro isn't perfectly replaced by any herb in particular, but there are plenty of stand-ins that add their own, unique flavor to a dish. For starters, let's talk about Thai basil. Thai basil is also commonly used in Thai cuisine, and the citrus and licorice notes make it a great replacement for cilantro. The only downside is that it can be hard to find.

Sweet basil is our second replacement suggestion. Sweet basil is the most common variety in the U.S., that familiar leaf from caprese salad and pesto sauce. While the aroma is quite different from cilantro, it is another herb often used in Thai food and fits perfectly in this recipe.

Our final suggestion is Italian parsley. While the aroma is quite different, Italian parsley does impart a similar freshness to cilantro. When it comes to an herb garnish, it's mostly about a pop of color and a bit of fresh, herbal flavor — Italian parsley can fill those roles just fine.

While we think that this Thai-inspired chicken pizza is just about perfect, cooking is all about making things to suit your personal preferences. Pizza is a great dish for experimentation, and there are plenty of directions that you can take this Thai-inspired recipe, staying true to the core components.

If grilled chicken isn't your favorite protein, this is a great place to get creative. Thin strips of beef would be an excellent nod to the Thai beef salad. Perhaps surprisingly, shrimp are also a popular pizza topping in some parts of the world and would work well in this recipe.

The chicken in this recipe is marinated in fish sauce, which can be a divisive condiment. While it is central to many Thai dishes, it is not strictly necessary. Soy sauce makes a suitable replacement, adding salt and umami without those fishy aromas that can be off-putting for some folks.

Perhaps the most unique aspect of this recipe is the mango topping. Pineapple on pizza has led to countless arguments over the years, but as much as 10% of people count the fruit among their favorite pizza toppings. We think mango might follow suit after you taste this recipe, but if fruit on pizza is a no-go for you, it can simply be left off or replaced with another sweet vegetable common to Thai food, such as red bell pepper.