Barbecue Chicken Pizza
This barbecue chicken pizza recipe is so good! Meaty chicken, a smoky-sweet sauce, and lots of cheese! All on an chewy, thin & crispy crust.
Today I’m sharing one of my favorites: barbecue chicken pizza!
I first discovered this flavor combination decades ago, at our local California Pizza Kitchen. It’s seriously amazing!
So I’ve patterned my barbecue chicken pizza recipe after that. It’s got a thin crust that’s crispy on the bottom and a little chewy. My homemade barbecue sauce, which is sweet and smoky and has just the barest whisper of heat. Meaty, juicy chunks of chicken. Tons of cheese! And some sweet red onion and fresh cilantro for bright contrast.
Chef’s kiss! I think you’re going to love it.
And if you are as into pizza as my boys and I are, you should definitely check out my other pizza recipes too! I’ve got a killer Detroit-style pizza, an incredible chicken bacon ranch pizza, and even a sweet grilled berry pizza with whipped ricotta!
Table of Contents
- What is barbecue chicken pizza?
- Why this is the best barbecue chicken pizza recipe
- What does this chicken barbecue pizza recipe taste like?
- Ingredients
- Special equipment
- How to make barbecued chicken pizza
- How to serve chicken barbecue pizza
- Expert tips
- Frequently asked questions
- A few more of my best dinner recipes
What is barbecue chicken pizza?
So this pizza recipe is anything but traditional, but over the years I’ve seen it become quite popular!
And I really like it. It’s everything you love about pizza (crust, sauce, cheese) combined with everything you love about barbecue. How could you go wrong?
You get chewy, airy, crispy-on-the-bottom thin crust pizza, topped with barbecue sauce, chicken, and a blend of cheeses. Some sweet red onion slices and fresh cilantro leaves take it completely over the top!
Why this is the best barbecue chicken pizza recipe
- Tastes amazing: Nothing beats pizza fresh from the oven!
- Few ingredients: You’ll only need a handful of basics to make it.
- Easy to make: It only takes a few minutes and dinner’s on the table.
- Versatile: Mix things up and make it according to your own personal preferences!
What does this chicken barbecue pizza recipe taste like?
My chicken barbecue pizza features a sweet and smoky sauce with just a hint of spice.
There’s also juicy hunks of chicken and a mouthwatering blend of cheeses.
And a fresh hit of herbs and aromatics. It’s really amazing!
Ingredients
Pizza dough: Buy it from the store or use my easy pizza dough recipe.
Barbecue sauce: Again, you can use the kind from a bottle or make my homemade version. It tastes a lot like Sweet Baby Ray’s! Grab the recipe here: Homemade Barbecue Sauce Recipe.
Chicken: Leftover cooked chicken, rotisserie chicken, or follow my instructions below to bake it up special.
Cheese: I like a combination of mozzarella and sharp cheddar. The mozzarella is so melty and stretchy and mild, and the sharp cheddar gives a nice punch that really compliments the other flavors!
Red onion: Tissue thin slices, so they caramelize in the oven!
Cilantro: The fresh herbal flavor really contrasts with all the richness of the cheese and sauce.
Special equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons: Follow my guide on how to measure ingredients.
- Pan: I like these perforated pizza pans, but you can use any kind!
- Spoon: For spreading on the sauce.
- Mandoline: This one is optional, but I love my mandoline slicer for getting perfectly thin and even rings of red onion.
- Cutting board and knife: For cutting the pizzas into individual slices.
How to make barbecued chicken pizza
This easy dinner recipe comes together in just 3 simple steps.
Step 1: Prep the dough
Flatten your dough ball with your hands, stretching it in all directions as you go.
Or just use your rolling pin!
I like thin crust pizza, so I stretch mine out as wide as possible. If you like yours thicker, you can do it that way too. You may just need to bake it a little longer.
Lay it out on the pizza pan.
Step 2: Add toppings
Spoon some barbecue sauce on top, spreading it out into a thin, even layer.
Then sprinkle on cooked chicken, mozzarella, and cheddar cheese.
Add thin slices of sweet red onion.
Step 3: Bake
This will go into a very hot oven, just until the edges are going brown and the cheese is melted. It usually only takes around 10 minutes!
How to serve chicken barbecue pizza
Pull the pizza from the oven when it reaches your desired doneness, then transfer it to a cutting board.
I like to drizzle on a little more barbecue sauce, then hit it with a shower of fresh cilantro.
And dive in!
It’s best when it’s hot and fresh from the oven.
You can enjoy this barbecue chicken pizza for lunch, dinner, or as an appetizer or snack.
Expert tips
Use any size pan: The size of the pan really doesn’t matter. You can stretch the dough to be as thick or as thin as you like. When I make it, I try to get it as thin as possible, but it still doesn’t cover the whole pan. Which is totally fine!
Keep an eye: Pizza is best cooked at the hottest temperature your oven will go to. Mine goes up to 500 degrees F, but the pizza ovens in shops can go to as much as 800! At these kinds of temperatures you really want to watch it as it cooks. It can go from raw to burnt in a matter of minutes. So flip on the oven light and stay close by!
Mix it up: If you don’t like cilantro, swap in parsley instead! Or add pineapple chunks in place of the onion. Or bacon, instead of chicken! If you like things spicy, throw on some sliced jalapenos! The sky is the limit. Feel free to get creative with your toppings!
Frequently asked questions
The answer is yes, and there are a few different ways you could do this. I’ll start by saying that the dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 48 hours, or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks.
You can make the other individual components a few days ahead of time and keep everything separate until just before you want to serve your pizza.
Or you can assemble the whole thing and stash it in the fridge for a couple of days or in the freezer for up to 2 weeks. Just cover it well so it doesn’t dry out.
Barbecue chicken pizza can go straight from the fridge or freezer to the oven. However, you may need to extend the bake time slightly.
It’s fine to keep this pizza out at room temperature for an hour or so.
But if you have any leftovers they should go into the fridge or freezer.
Barbecue chicken pizza lasts (covered) for a few days in the fridge or a few weeks in the freezer.
Thaw it in the fridge and reheat it in a 170 degree F oven (lightly covered) until warmed through.
This recipe makes 2 barbecued chicken pizzas, and each one can be cut into 6 slices, for a total of 12 servings.
A serving is equal to 1 slice.
The nutritional info below is for one slice of barbecue chicken pizza.
A few more of my best dinner recipes
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Barbecue Chicken Pizza
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 1 1/2 cups (354.88 g) water, warm
- 2 teaspoons (8 g) granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoon (6.22 g) active dry yeast, (1 packet)
- 3 1/2 cups (437.5 g) flour, bread flour or all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon (14 g) extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) kosher salt
For the Chicken
- 1 (113 g) boneless skinless chicken breast
- 1/4 teaspoon (1.5 g) kosher salt
- 1/8 teaspoon (0.38 g) garlic powder
- 1/8 teaspoon (0.25 g) ground black pepper
For the Other Toppings
- 1/2 cup (143 g) barbecue sauce, plus extra for garnish
- 3 cups (336 g) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup (113 g) shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/4 (27.5 g) red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 bunch (8 g) fresh cilantro
Instructions
To Make the Pizza Dough
- Place the warm water and sugar in a large mixing bowl and stir together to combine.
- Sprinkle the yeast on top and allow it to dissolve.
- When the mixture looks foamy (after approx. 5 to 10 minutes), stir in 2 cups of the flour until incorporated.
- Stir in the olive oil and salt.
- While continuing to mix, add in more flour until the dough gathers itself into a ball and pulls away from the sides of the bowl cleanly. (You may need slightly more or less flour; use your judgment.)
- Knead the dough until it passes the windowpane test* (approx. 10 minutes).
- Lightly mist the bowl with non-stick spray, place the dough back in, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp towel.
- Place the bowl of dough in a warm place and allow it to rise until doubled in bulk (approx. 45 to 90 minutes).
- When the dough has grown to twice its original size, punch it down, knead it a few times, and divide it in half.
To Make the Chicken
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F and place the chicken breast on a sheet of foil.
- Season with salt, garlic powder, and pepper.
- Bake until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees F (approx. 20 to 25 minutes).
- Rest for 10 minutes, then chop into bite-sized pieces.
To Make the Barbecue Chicken Pizzas
- Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.
- Stretch each dough portion or roll them out into large, thin rounds, and place them on pizza pans.
- Spread on barbecue sauce, then chicken, then cheese, then thin-sliced red onion.
- Bake until the crust is golden brown on the bottom and the cheese is melted (approx. 10 minutes).
- Transfer to a cutting board and drizzle with additional barbecue sauce.
- Cut each pizza into 6 equal slices, and garnish with fresh cilantro.
