Mini Mexican Pizzas with Spicy Shredded Chicken & Avocado Crema

Pizza makes everything better. Even Mondays.

Pizza is a staple in our house. We either make it or order it at least once a week, and we never get sick of it. Part of that involves switching things up from time to time…both at home and with the take-out options.

Mexican food also is something I never get tired of. I could eat guacamole, enchiladas, refried beans, tacos, etc. for days and days and never get sick of them. Margaritas too (preggo sad face)!

So, these mini Mexican pizzas were a sort of natural development for me. I merely took some of my favorite Mexican ingredients and flavors and slapped them on some pizza dough. Totally simple. Totally delicious. The best of all worlds!

I started with some spiced-up shredded chicken, which really couldn’t be easier to make. I did mine in the slow cooker because I couldn’t bear the thought of standing over the stove on an 85-degree day. Love the slow cooker for stuff like this. The chicken comes out perfectly: totally moist and delicious and falling apart with very little effort from me. Just what I’m looking for in shredded chicken.

Then, I added some refried beans (you can definitely make your own, but I just used canned beans. They’re delicious, in my opinion), CHEESE (because, well, DUH), and fun fresh toppings like lettuce tomato, pickled jalapeños, and my homemade pickled red onions. THEN, to take them absolutely over the top, I dolloped on some cooling avocado crema. Basically, I threw together all my favorite nacho toppings on a pizza and called it a day. YUM.

The fact that these are MINI pizzas makes me even more excited. They’re just so darn cute. Plus, mini things = you can eat more of them. Right? Completely sound logic, if you ask me. These are a really fun and cute appetizer to serve to friends and family at a party (they’d be a GREAT addition to your Fourth of July grillin’ menus)….

….or to make just for yourself on a Sunday evening when you don’t feel like cooking an actual meal for dinner (not that I’d know anything about that).

 

Mini Mexican Pizzas with Spicy Shredded Chicken & Avocado Crema

(makes approximately 16-20 mini pizzas)

 

For the Dough:

My go-to recipe (halved)

 

For the Chicken:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

Salt and pepper

1 cup tomatillo salsa

1 cup regular salsa

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground coriander

2 teaspoons sugar

1 cup chicken stock

 

For the Avocado Crema:

1 avocado, peeled and diced

Juice of 1 lime

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 garlic clove, finely minced

3 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)

Salt and pepper, to taste

 

For Assembly:

1 cup refried beans, warmed

1½ cups shredded cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

1 cup diced Roma tomatoes

2 cups shredded lettuce

½ cup pickled jalapeño peppers

½ cup pickled red onions

Fresh cilantro, chopped

 

For the Dough:

Make the pizza dough according to the link above (or, alternatively, use store-bought pizza dough), allow to rest for 2 hours, punch down, knead until smooth, and allow to rise for another hour.

 

For the Chicken:

Season the chicken with salt and pepper on both sides. Pour the salsas, spices, and sugar into a slow cooker and stir to combine. Add the chicken and submerge in the salsa mixture. Add enough chicken stock to cover the chicken (for me, this was about 1 cup). Turn the slow cooker to HIGH and cook for 4 hours, occasionally stirring things around (alternatively, you could cook it on the LOW setting for 6-8 hours). Remove the chicken from the sauce and shred with a fork. It should fall apart very easily. Return the chicken to any sauce left in the pot and toss to combine.

 

For the Avocado Crema:

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Check for seasonings. Keep covered until ready to serve.

 

To Assemble:

Preheat the oven to 450°F. Roll out the dough to desired thickness and using a 2-inch round cookie cutter, cut out mini pizza crusts. Continue until all mini pizzas have been made. Place the mini crusts on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal and brush each with olive oil.

Top each pizza crust with a tablespoon or so of refried beans, then the shredded chicken, and then the cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until puffed and golden around the edges. Top the warm pizzas with tomatoes, lettuce, jalapeños, pickled red onions, and a dollop of the avocado crema. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve warm or at room temperature.