Name: California Pizza Kitchen-style Chicken Pizza
Ingredients: 10 ounces boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch cubes; 1 tablespoon olive oil; 2 tablespoons favorite barbecue sauce (we use a spicy-sweet sauce); bbq chicken pizza dough; cornmeal or semolina or flour, for handling; 1/2 cup favorite barbecue sauce; 2 tablespoons shredded smoked gouda cheese; 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese; 1/4 small red onion, sliced into 1/8-inch pieces; 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Why it works: Cheese and mozzarella cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 421 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Cheese + mozzarella cheesetop 2% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together421 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Olive + mozzarella cheesetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,773 recipes

Shared aroma: methyl 2-methylbutyrate (apple, fatty).
Olive + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,779 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Chicken + oniontop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together17,814 recipes

Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, sweet).
Chicken + olivetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together11,888 recipes

Shared aroma: acetic acid hexyl ester (sweet, green).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Chicken breasts: Provide the main protein, which stays tender when cooked just through and chilled before topping.
Mozzarella cheese: Melts and stretches to bind the toppings and brown lightly on top.
Smoked gouda cheese: Adds a smoky, savory flavor that complements the barbecue sauce.
Barbecue sauce: Provides sweetness, tang and moisture that flavor the chicken and the pizza base.
Red onion: Adds sharp, sweet bite that softens and mellows in the hot oven.

The step that matters

Preheat the stone for a full hour. A thoroughly heated stone delivers strong bottom heat right away, so the crust crisps and browns before the sauce and toppings make it soggy.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (chicken, olive, sauce, semolina, cheese, mozzarella cheese):

Tomatofits better
Capsicumfits better
Spinachfits about as well
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against chicken, olive, sauce, semolina, cheese, mozzarella cheese. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Chicken	100g cooked	165
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Mozzarella Cheese	1 oz (28g)	85
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Cilantro	1 tbsp chopped fresh (1g)	1
Sauce	not in our table	0
Pizza	not in our table	0
Semolina	not in our table	0
Gouda	not in our table	0

California Pizza Kitchen-style Chicken Pizza