I’m a huge fan of buffalo chicken, so I was happy to find this recipe in a recent issue of Men’s Health Magazine.

I gave it a shot except I used a thin bun and Greek yogurt for the blue cheese dressing (it has more protein than regular plain yogurt—but it is an acquired taste). It’s delicious!

I like things on the extra hot side so I also used ground red pepper with the chili powder to season the chicken. That’s the great thing about this recipe—you can make it as mild or hot as you like.

After I made the sandwich I realized this idea could be used in many ways, so I started experimenting, so here’s an easy idea you can try at home with this same concept.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Saturday nights are normally pizza and movie night with the family. The majority of the time we make our own pizza which is slightly healthier than carry out but any pizza with sausage and pepperoni (our favorites) adds a lot of extra fat, so I usually wasted a cheat night on the pizza.

One night after I tried this sandwich recipe I thought I’d try my hand at a buffalo chicken pizza—and I’m sure glad I did. Again, like the sandwich recipe this can be customized as much as you like, but the end result is a healthy, delicious individual sized pizza (which two of our boys loved by the way).

The recipe below is for two pizzas, but is very easy to re-size.

What you’ll need

• 2 whole-wheat tortillas (you could also experiment with actual pizza crust if you wanted it a little more pizza-ish).
• 1 can (10oz) canned chicken breast (we buy ours at Sam’s which is actually 13oz I think which will work just as well).
• 1/2 Tbsp chili powder (you can use as much or as little as you like).
• 1/2 Tbsp ground red pepper (optional, gives it an extra kick).
• 2 Tbsp Louisiana hot sauce (we use Frank’s as does the Men’s Health recipe).
• 2 Tbsp melted butter (we use Smart Balance).
• 1 cup blue cheese crumbles (we buy a big tub at Sam’s for around $8).
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (you can use plain but Greek adds a little tanginess to the dressing—you should try it)
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon (we just used lemon juice, which ends up being around 2oz but you can play with the amount a little to get it to the consistency you like).
• Salt & pepper (to taste).
• 1 red onion sliced (vidalia onions work too).

So basically the above recipe is the same as the Men’s Health recipe except I’ve substituted canned chicken breast for the whole chicken breasts (which of course you could cut them up) and added a few extra blue cheese crumbles.

How to do it

• Pre-heat the oven to 425º.
• IMPORTANT: to cut out the sodium if using canned chicken, rinse it twice in a strainer with cold water (this cuts out over 1/2 of the sodium—you should also do the same for beans and tuna by the way).
• In a skillet on medium heat, add the chicken and season with the chili powder and red pepper. Cook it for a couple minutes to get the chicken good and seasoned.
• Place the two tortillas on the baking stone or cookie sheet (or cover a pizza pan with the crust if you’re going that route)
• Divide the chicken between the two tortillas. Make sure the tortillas are covered as much as possible.
• Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the blue cheese crumbles on top of the chicken.
• Add the red onions.
• Stick the cooking stone/cookie sheet/pizza pan in the oven and cook for 8-10 minutes. You basically want to cook it long enough to get the tortillas crispy. Blue cheese will not melt or brown like mozzarella so don’t go by that to judge whether it’s done or not. I then douse them with more hot sauce, but that’s totally up to you.
• While they’re cooking, combine the rest of the blue cheese crumbles, the Greek yogurt, salt & pepper (I actually don’t use any salt, only pepper), and lemon juice in a bowl and stir until it’s the consistency of a dressing. Remember, blue cheese dressing is pretty thick. You may need to add more lemon juice to get it to taste how you like.
• Take them out of the oven and serve with the blue cheese dressing. Don’t over do it on the dressing, it won’t take much.
• ENJOY!

Prep time: approx 10 minutes
Cook time: 10-12 minutes
Serves 2

If you try it, leave a comment below and let me know what you think.