This healthy chicken flatbread recipe is a healthy pizza alternative for diabetics, and a favorite at my house. With flavorful and tangy barbecue sauce and melted cheese on an easy-to-make homemade crust, this simple recipe is always a winner for a quick and easy dinner!
It’s perfect for a fun at-home lunch date. We love to eat it while the game is on tv during football season. And it’s great to make when company comes over for an easy weeknight dinner because it’s in the oven when they arrive, and you are free to chat with your guests while it finishes cooking.
The kids can help with this one, too. When we have homemade pizza night, my kids love to help with the assembly. Toppings are their favorite. (Just like on the apple nachos they love.) And it’s easy, cheap, and fun!
Making THIS Healthy Chicken Flatbread Recipe
For people with diabetes, this is definitely a more diabetes friendly option than a super greasy pizza that may send your blood sugar numbers for a wild ride. You can control the ingredients, so you can control the nutrition. So, let’s dive in!
1. SHRED CHICKEN FOR THE BBQ CHICKEN FLATBREAD
The first thing I do is make sure my juicy chicken is cooked and shredded. I like to use rotisserie chicken for mine, which is pretty easy since it’s already cooked. I just tear it into small pieces. But you can always cook and shred your own chicken breasts in a large skillet over medium high heat if you prefer. Or you could certainly use leftover grilled chicken.
Then I mix the shredded chicken into my favorite bbq sauce. I cover and refrigerate it for several hours until I’m ready to make the flat bread.
2. MAKE THE Healthy CHICKEN FLATBREAD Recipe CRUST
This recipe has got to be one of the easiest homemade crusts I’ve seen. It’s all just very simple ingredients. All you need is just flour, baking power, salt, milk, and olive oil. You’ll stir all the ingredients together until a soft dough forms, knead the dough, and cover it to let it stand 10 minutes. That’s it — it doesn’t get much easier than that!
3. PREP THE TOPPING INGREDIENTS FOR THIS Chicken Flatbread
While the dough is resting, you can prep your topping ingredients. (It’s a good time to preheat your oven now, too!)
The toppings for this barbecue chicken flatbread are pretty simple as well. You’ve already got the chicken in the barbecue sauce, so now it’s a matter of chopping green onion and tomato, and shredding the mozzarella cheese. But you can decided to use your favorite toppings if you like.
4. ASSEMBLe YOUR BBQ Chicken Pizza
Once the dough has rested and your other ingredients are ready to go, it’s time to assemble your flatbread.
On a floured surface, roll the pizza dough out to roughly 9×13 inches to fill a baking stone or baking sheet pan. Then top with the shredded rotisserie chicken, and cover with mozzarella cheese and tomatoes.
5. BAKE YOUR Healthy Chicken Flatbread Recipe
The flatbread will need to bake on a rack in the lower third of your oven. Cook time will be 12-15 minutes in your preheated oven on the center rack, or until the cheese is melted and starts to brown. Then you can remove it from the oven and top it with the green onions.
Be sure to allow the flatbread to cool for several minutes before slicing to serve.
Does this not look completely delicious? And you can feel much better eating something like this than you can feel about eating a greasy pizza… and it still kind of feels like you’re eating a pizza, but it’s homemade flatbread!
Healthy CHICKEN FLATBREAD Recipe CARBS
The carbs in a flatbread are sometimes a bit tricky to count because of the shape of the crust and coverage with toppings. But I make it just as even as I can get it.
In this particular recipe, we have most of our carbs in the pizza crust and barbecue sauce. With the specific brand of ingredients I used for this easy recipe, the entire total was 180g of carbs. So 1/4 of the flatbread totals 45g of carbs. If you use a more mild barbecue sauce, your total may be less. If you use a sweeter sauce, it will be more.
Be sure to work this into your diet how you best manage your diabetes. And be sure to count the total carbs (or net carbs) in the specific products you use. Different brands vary in ingredients, so be doubly sure of the nutritional information in what you’re eating.
WHAT MAKES THIS PIZZA ALTERNATIVE DIABETIC FRIENDLY?
Great question! Here’s the thing with something being “diabetic friendly.” We all have different diets and preferences and ways to manage our diabetes. And although most people with type 2 diabetes limit carbs and sugar intake for a low carb lifestyle, some people with type 1 diabetes will tell you they can eat literally whatever they want as long as they dose for it.
For me, after living with type 1 for 30+ years, I consider something to be diabetic friendly if it is either:
- a recipe that combines whole grain, protein, and healthy fats to help stabilize blood sugar levels to avoid a blood sugar spike
- a healthier alternative to the ingredients you would normally find in a traditional recipe
This recipe is absolutely the second of those two options. When you order a pizza from a restaurant, you don’t fully know every ingredient in it. You can certainly look up the carb counts, but traditional pizza is notorious for instigating blood sugar roller coasters. With this recipe, you can know you’re using good ingredients, measure the ingredients with carbs, and still “eat pizza” with a fraction of the grease and fat.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH THIS BBQ CHICKEN FLATBREAD
The evening I made this healthy chicken flatbread recipe for the family, I served it with some kid-friendly breadsticks and a salad. You could easily eat it by itself for a lighter meal as a lunch, or you could serve it alongside other appetizers for a fun dinner.
VARIATIONS FOR THIS Healthy Chicken Flatbread Recipe
The great thing about this healthy chicken flatbread is that you can make it how you want. Here are a few ideas of variations to try next time.
- You could certainly switch up the ingredients here… I’m thinking a Margherita flatbread with tomatoes, fresh basil, and mozzarella would be amazing! Fig and prosciutto would be delicious and a great way to feel like getting fancy. How about spinach and goat cheese, or artichoke and ricotta? You could also swap the bbq sauce for buffalo sauce and serve it with carrot sticks, celery sticks, and blue cheese dressing for an easy buffalo chicken flatbread pizza! Some of these I could even see as a side dish to a main meat entree. The possibilities are endless.
- You could make this super kid friendly and divide the dough so everyone can have their own flatbreads.
- You can always add topping ingredients. I’m thinking red onion, red pepper flakes, cherry tomatoes, or bell peppers. Or top it with garlic powder or onion powder for additional flavor.
- Changing up the cheese could work as well. I mentioned goat cheese and ricotta above. What about a colby jack cheese? Or a feta cheese?
- Another variation would be to use a pre-made crust. That would save some time for sure, but check different crusts for their ingredients.
- I enjoy making this crust recipe with part all-purpose flour and part whole grain flour. That makes it more diabetic friendly and blood sugar friendly, and you can hardly spot a difference.
How to store Leftovers FOR LATER
This leftover chicken flatbread with store nicely in the refrigerator for several days. Refrigerate leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days. To crisp it as you reheat, consider warming in a skillet on the oven or for a few minutes in an air fryer.
And now on to the recipe card…
BBQ CHICKEN FLATBREAD – A HEALTHY PIZZA ALTERNATIVE FOR DIABETICS
Ingredients
CRUST
- 1⅓ c. all-purpose flour
- 1 t. baking powder
- ½ t. salt
- ½ c. low-fat milk
- 2 T. olive oil
TOPPINGS
- 2 c. chicken cooked and shredded
- ⅓ c. bbq sauce
- 3 roma tomatoes cubed
- 2 c. low-fat mozzarella shredded
- 2 green onions chopped
Instructions
- Mix chicken in bbq sauce and refrigerate for several hours prior to making flatbread.
- Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Add milk and oil; stir until soft dough forms.
- Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface.
- Shape the dough into a ball and cover with the bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400℉.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a 9×13 rectangle.
- Place on a cookie sheet on baking stone.
- Top with the chicken, cheese, and tomato.
- Bake flatbread for 12-15 minutes until cheese is melted and starting to brown.
- Remove from the oven and top with green onion.
- Let cool 5 minutes before slicing to serve.
Notes
DID YOU MAKE this recipe?
If you’ve made this recipe, would you please leave a comment? I would love to hear from you!
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NOTE: I am not a certified nutritionist or registered dietician. Nothing here should be taken as professional medical advice. Any nutritional information provided should be used as a general guideline and estimate only. For the most accurate information, please calculate based on the specific ingredients and brands you use, as well as any changes you make to the recipe.
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