Pepperoni Pizza Chicken Bake

Try this low-carb Pepperoni Pizza Chicken Bake when you need some low-carb and gluten-free comfort food!

PREP TIME: 25 minutes

COOK TIME 30 minutes

TOTAL TIME: 55 minutes

YIELD: 5 servings

INGREDIENTS:

1 (14 ounce) jar Low-Sugar Pizza Sauce, reduced to 1 cup

4 very large Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Dried Oregano

1 teaspoon Garlic Powder

6 ounces sliced or shredded Mozzarella Cheese

2 ounces sliced Pepperoni (regular or turkey pepperoni)

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven fo 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Put the pizza sauce in a small saucepan and simmer over low heat until it's reduced to one cup, about 20 minutes. Don't skip this step or the dish will be watery.

3. While the sauce reduces, trim the chicken breasts and cut each one crosswiseto make two same size pieces. Put chicken pieces one a a time inside a havy plastic bag and use a meat mallet or something heavy to pound the chicken until it's as thin as you can get it without is shredding apart. (Don't worry if some piece break apart a little.)

4. Mix the oregano and garlic powder in a little bowl and then sprinkle both side of each piece of chicken with the mixture.

5. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in the largest non-stick frying pan you have (you may have to do this in batches if your pan isn't large enough). Add the chicken pieces and cook 1-2 minutes on each side, just long enough to brown the chicken but not long enough to cook it through.

6. Choose the smallest glass casserole dish that you have that will fit all the browned chicken pieces, and lay the chicken in the dish in a single layer. Cut the mozzarella into slices or shred the mozzarella as needed to make enough pieces to mostly cover the top of each piece of chicken.

7. By now the sauce should be nicely reduced, so spread sauce over the top of each chicken breast. Use it all.) Top each piece with the mozzarella and pepperoni slices, covering the top of each piece of chicken as much as you can.

8. Bake uncovered for about 25-30 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown and the pepperoni is slightly crisped. (Some pieces of pepperoni will slide off the chicke, try not to obsess about that like I did.) Serve hot.

9. This was great reheated in the microwave for a few minutes, although you might not hae any left!

NOTES:

**Use the lowest carb pizza sauce you can find if you are following a low carb diet.