This Spicy Protein Might Be The Pizza Topping You're Missing

Pizza is an incredibly versatile food. There is a litany of unique toppings, funky sauces (aside from your standard marinara), and even fruits that you can add to your pie to make it even tastier. If you are in desperate need of some inspiration for your next homemade pizza, a good idea is to take ideas from your other favorite foods outside of the pizza realm (cheeseburger pizza, anyone)? Another excellent example is Nashville hot chicken.

Nashville's famous hot chicken — which is known for its spicy oil coating — won't just make your bite heartier; it will also offer the perfect blast of spice, which is balanced by the sauce and cheese. This gourmet pizza topping can be enjoyed a number of ways, including as pieces of fried chicken coated in sauce (you can use reheated nuggets as a low-effort alternative), pulled chicken, or chicken strips. Since the flavor of the chicken itself is rather spicy and heavy, we recommend pairing it with a basic olive oil sauce — rather than the classic marinara — and plenty of gooey, melty cheese like mozzarella. 

There are some very important things that you'll need to keep in mind when making a pizza with Nashville hot chicken. For one, the flavor of the chicken — and the chicken itself — can be quite heavy. Use the pieces sparingly, spreading them out so that you get a little bit in every bite. The meat also needs to be pre-cooked before you add it to your pie (as you would with raw meat on pizza), since your pie isn't in the oven long enough to get it up to temperature. 

To avoid making the flavor too heavy, you may also want to try pairing the chicken with other toppings that can level out its heat a little. For a refreshing twist, add small pieces of pickles to your pizza — just be sure to drain as much water as possible to prevent making your crust soggy. You could also add a cooling drizzle of ranch to mitigate the heat of the chicken.