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This BBQ Chicken Pizza is sweet, smoky, and your whole family is going to be reaching for another slice! With a homemade crust, BBQ sauce, lots of cheese, and perfectly cooked chicken, what’s not to love?
Try This Next: My BBQ Chicken Sliders or Pulled Pork Sliders are other smoky, saucy recipes for your family!
A pizza stone gives you that restaurant-quality crispness, but a baking sheet works just fine for this recipe, too. Don’t skip the garlic butter on the crust. It adds a rich, savory note, and the drizzle of extra BBQ sauce and a sprinkle of fresh cilantro at the end takes it over the top. It’s a fun twist on classic pizza and one the whole family will ask for again.
Pin this recipe for later!Why I Love This Recipe
- So much flavor. Sweet BBQ sauce, smoky chicken, melty cheese, and garlic butter all in one bite.
- Flexible ingredients. Fresh dough, rotisserie chicken, or even a boxed mix can all work.
- Restaurant-style crust. A pizza stone ensures a crispy bottom, but it also works well on a baking sheet.
- Customizable. Add pineapple, swap cheeses, or try pickled onion for extra tang.
RECIPE WALK-THROUGH
Before You Begin
Gather and prep everything ahead of time. Stretch the dough, shred the chicken, slice the onion, and make the garlic butter. Pizza cooks quickly, so being ready ensures the crust doesn’t over-proof while you prep. If your fresh dough is hard to roll, cover it with plastic wrap and let it rest for 10 minutes before trying again.
Tools and Equipment
- Pizza stone or large sheet pan
- Pizza peel or cutting board for transferring dough
- Rolling pin (optional)
- Small mixing bowls
- Pastry brush
- Sharp knife or pizza cutter
How To Make BBQ Chicken Pizza
See the recipe card below for full, detailed instructions
- Preheat oven to 450°F. Position the rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat pizza stone if using.
- Stretch pizza dough into a 12-inch circle on a cornmeal-dusted surface. Dock gently with a fork.
- Mix the shredded chicken with salt, pepper, and two tablespoons of BBQ sauce.
- Brush dough with garlic butter. Spread remaining BBQ sauce on the dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border.
- Add chicken mixture.
- Next, add the cheeses and onion.
- Transfer to a hot pizza stone or sheet pan. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden.
- Garnish with cilantro and a drizzle of BBQ sauce. Cool for 5 minutes before slicing.
Serving Suggestions
Serve with some extra BBQ sauce for dipping.
For a twist, add diced pineapple, swap in smoked Gouda for a bolder flavor, or top with pickled onions. This pizza also pairs perfectly with a simple green salad.
Storage Tips
The Best Way to Store Leftovers
Store leftover pizza in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Reheat in a hot oven or skillet for the best texture. Avoid microwaving, as it softens the crust.
Recipe Tips
- Docking the dough helps prevent large bubbles while baking.
- Always preheat your pizza stone to get that crisp, chewy crust.
- Keep the pizza in the lower oven rack where it’s hottest.
- Don’t worry if your pizza isn’t perfectly round; it will taste just as good!
- Freshly grated cheese melts more evenly than pre-shredded cheese.
- Try using green onions or cilantro as a garnish, depending on your taste preference.
- If you don’t have cornmeal, lightly dust your work surface with flour. Cornmeal works best, it acts like little ball bearings to help the crust slide around your work surface and on your pizza stone.
More Pizza Recipes
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 pound Fresh pizza dough thawed overnight if frozen
- ¾ cup BBQ sauce divided, plus additional drizzle for garnish
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon Fresh ground black pepper
- 2 cups Shredded chicken breast
- ½ of a Small red onion very thinly sliced
- ½ cup Freshly shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 cup Freshly shredded monterey jack cheese
Garlic butter for crust
- 1 tablespoon Butter
- 1 clove Garlic pressed or grated
- ¼ teaspoon Kosher salt
Garnish
- Chopped cilantro optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450℉. Position the rack in the lower ⅓ of the oven. If you have a pizza stone, place the stone on the rack and allow it to heat up.
- Stretch the pizza dough into about a 12” circle on a large cutting board or pizza peel dusted generously with cornmeal. Dock (poke) gently with fork, this helps prevent large air bubbles. If baking on a sheet pan, transfer shaped dough to the sheet pan and re-shape if needed. *If using fresh dough and it isn’t rolling out easily, cover it with plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 10 minutes, then try again.
- Make the garlic butter: place all garlic butter ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and microwave until butter is melted, about 30 seconds. Brush all over the pizza crust.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl add the shredded chicken with the salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of the BBQ sauce. Mix until combined. Set aside.
- Spread the remaining BBQ sauce onto the pizza dough leaving about a ½” border around the outside of the crust without sauce. Top with the BBQ chicken mixture, both cheeses, and red onion.
- Carefully place the pizza on the hot pizza stone while wearing oven gloves, or place sheet pan in the oven if using. Reshape if needed, but it’s ok if it’s not round. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the top is golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, garnish immediately with the cilantro, and a light drizzle of BBQ sauce if desired. Allow to cool 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Most grocery stores have fresh balls of pizza dough or frozen fresh dough, or you can also buy a pound of dough from your local pizza place.
- We used baked, seasoned, skinless, boneless chicken breasts for this pizza. For step by step instructions on cooking and shredding chicken, check out this post on how to shred chicken.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer Kristin Maxwell of “Yellow Bliss Road” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. For accurate calorie counts and other nutritional values, we recommend running the ingredients through your preferred online nutritional calculator. Calories and other nutritional values can vary depending on which brands were used.
