Ciabatta pizza with grilled chicken & bell pepper
Crispy ciabatta halves loaded with grilled chicken, bell pepper, and a homemade tomato sauce you build in about five minutes. The whole thing is in and out of the oven before you could order delivery.
That sauté step does more than you think. When onion and garlic get a head start in olive oil, sizzling for a couple of minutes before the tomatoes join, research has found the allium compounds reshape lycopene into forms your gut absorbs up to 8 times more efficiently. Then the cheese melts on top, and calcium from the dairy starts competing with that same lycopene for absorption. Two processes, one plate, pulling in opposite directions.
635 calories, 43 grams of protein, 15 minutes. A pizza night that actually fits your macros.
Crispy ciabatta halves loaded with grilled chicken, bell pepper, and a homemade tomato sauce you build in about five minutes. The whole thing is in and out of the oven before you could order delivery.
That sauté step does more than you think. When onion and garlic get a head start in olive oil, sizzling for a couple of minutes before the tomatoes join, research has found the allium compounds reshape lycopene into forms your gut absorbs up to 8 times more efficiently. Then the cheese melts on top, and calcium from the dairy starts competing with that same lycopene for absorption. Two processes, one plate, pulling in opposite directions.
635 calories, 43 grams of protein, 15 minutes. A pizza night that actually fits your macros.
Ingredients
- onion 0.25 piece
- garlic 1 clove
- bell pepper 1 piece
- olive oil 0.5 tablespoon
- diced tomatoes 3.5 ounce
- Italian seasoning 1 teaspoon
- ciabatta 1 piece
- grilled chicken strips 3 ounce
- grated cheese 1 ounce
Method
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Preheat the oven to 390°F (200 °C).
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Finely chop the onion and mince the garlic. Cut half of the bell pepper into small cubes and the other half into strips.
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Heat the oil in a pan and sauté the onion and garlic for 2 minutes. Then add the diced tomatoes and Italian herbs. Let it simmer on low heat for 5 minutes.
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Slice the ciabatta roll in half lengthwise and place the halves, cut side up, on the baking sheet. Put them in the oven for 2 minutes.
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Remove the baking sheet from the oven and spread the tomato sauce over the ciabatta halves. Top with the grilled chicken and bell pepper cubes. Sprinkle grated cheese on top and season with salt and pepper. Return to the oven for another 7 to 8 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
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Serve the pizza bread on a plate with the remaining bell pepper strips on the side.
Sprinkle a handful of fresh arugula or basil over the ciabatta pizza right after it comes out of the oven. The heat wilts the greens just enough to soften them without losing their peppery bite.
Step 3 of this recipe is quietly running a chemical reaction. When you sauté onion and garlic in olive oil, sulfur compounds from the alliums reshape lycopene molecules in the tomatoes into bent forms called Z-isomers. Research found these Z-isomers are absorbed up to 8 times more efficiently than the straight-chain form raw tomatoes contain. Lycopene is fat-soluble, so the half tablespoon of olive oil acts as its ticket into your bloodstream. Then the cheese melts on top and introduces calcium, which competes with lycopene for the same absorption pathway. One ounce of cheese is moderate, so the blocking effect is present but not overwhelming.
Honda et al. 2019 / Borel et al. 2016 · DOIBehind this recipe
Why does sautéing onion and garlic before adding tomatoes matter?
It changes the chemistry of the sauce. When allium vegetables like onion and garlic are heated in oil alongside tomatoes, their sulfur compounds reshape lycopene molecules into bent forms called Z-isomers. Research found these bent forms are absorbed up to 8 times more efficiently than the straight-chain lycopene in raw tomatoes. Since lycopene dissolves in fat, the olive oil serves as its absorption vehicle. That two-minute sauté before the tomatoes go in is not just building flavor.
Does the cheese block the lycopene from the tomato sauce?
Partially. Calcium from dairy competes with lycopene for the same intestinal absorption pathway. Research found that calcium can reduce lycopene absorption by up to 83%. But this recipe uses just one ounce of grated cheese, which is a moderate amount. The sauté step that converts lycopene to more absorbable forms and the cheese layer that partially blocks absorption are both happening on the same plate. Neither cancels the other entirely.
Is 43 grams of protein a lot for a pizza?
For a single-serving homemade pizza, yes. Most frozen personal pizzas land between 15 and 25 grams. The grilled chicken strips do most of the lifting here at 84 grams, with the cheese and ciabatta adding the rest. At 635 calories, protein accounts for about 27% of the meal’s total energy.
