The Best BBQ Chicken Pizza

Have you ever made BBQ Chicken Pizza at home? Take this as a hint to change up your Friday night pizza routine with this Barbecue Chicken Pizza. The homemade crust of this chicken pizza is slathered in BBQ sauce and topped with sliced chicken, red onion, cilantro, and 2 types of cheese.

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Making This BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe

It’s been quite a while since I’ve made homemade pizza for dinner. I was making it a lot in the summer and grilling it outside so the kitchen wouldn’t get so hot.

Really, I should have been making pizza all winter because having the oven set to 550 degrees F sure warms the house nicely!

My husband and I loved this pizza. I had to make it twice to get the pictures since it still isn’t quite light enough in the evenings to photograph food. (We liked it so much, it didn’t even phase us eating it two nights in a row. And the house smelled amazing!)

Who wants to make pizza in the afternoon, photograph it, and then reheat it for dinner?

Not me. I want it fresh, hot out of the oven.

Tools Used to Make this Easy Recipe for BBQ Pizza

Here are a few of my favorite kitchen tools to use when making this barbecue chicken pizza recipe:

• Pizza Stone – I love to bake pizza crust on a pizza stone when I make this recipe. Homemade crust turns out so good when you cook it on a hot pizza stone instead of a pizza pan.
• Rolling Pin – Rolling pins are helpful to A rolling pin works well for shaping the pizza dough.
• Cutting Board and Knives – A good sized cutting board and a set of sharp knives are always helpful in the kitchen!
• Pizza Peel – Pizza peels make transferring the bbq chicken pizza to the hot oven after assembling it.
• Pizza Cutter – You can always use a chef’s knife to cut your pizza, but a pizza cutter is handy, too.

Ingredients in this BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe

Here’s what you’ll need to make this delicious bbq pizza with homemade pizza crust:

Pizza Dough Recipe for BBQ Chicken Pizza

I like to make my own homemade pizza dough to use for the crust. New to making homemade pizza dough? Then, check out my 5 Tips for Baking with Yeast to get you started. Here is what you’ll need to get started with the recipe:

• Warm Water
• Instant Yeast
• Olive Oil
• Bread Flour
• Salt
• Dried Oregano

BBQ Chicken Pizza Toppings

Now that you know what you need to make the pizza dough, here’s what you’ll need the following toppings for this homemade pizza recipe: 

• Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
• Fresh Cilantro
• Barbecue Sauce
• Gouda Cheese
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Small Red Onion

For the complete ingredient list and detailed instructions, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FREE printable recipe card.

What is the Best BBQ Sauce for Barbecue Chicken Pizza?

I say use whatever your favorite bbq sauce is! Smoky bbq sauces, spicy barbecue sauce, sweet bbq sauce, or even homemade bbq sauce would all be good choices. Personally, this is the bbq sauce I like best for this recipe.

I wouldn’t recommend Alabama white barbecue sauce, Carolina mustard bbq sauce, or anything else that has too unique of a flavor. You definitely want something that has a classic BBQ flavor for your pizza sauce in this recipe.

How to Make Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza

To Make the Pizza Dough for Barbecue Chicken Pizza

1. First, add the yeast to warm water and let it sit until it blooms. Then, add the remaining water and oil. After that, stir in half of the flour, salt, and oregano.
2. Then, add more flour while kneading (or using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment) until the dough forms in a cohesive mass and is smooth and elastic, but not sticky. TIP: you may not use all the flour!
3. Next, form the dough into a ball and let it rise until doubled in bulk in a large bowl covered with a wet towel or plastic wrap.
4. After the dough has risen, press the dough to deflate. Then, on a flour dusted pizza peel, roll dough out.

To Make BBQ Chicken Pizza

1. Preheat the oven to 550 degrees F (or as hot as your oven goes) and place a pizza stone on the upper middle rack.
2. Then, assemble the pizza on the dough rolled out on the dusted pizza peel. After that, add the bbq sauce on the surface of the dough leaving 1/2-1 inch border for the crust.
3. Next, top with thinly sliced red onions, cilantro, the cooked chicken pieces and the cheese.
4. Then, bake until the crust is light golden and crispy and cheese is melted (about 8-12 minutes). Lastly, serve garnished with a sprinkle of cilantro.

The above is simply a quick summary of this recipe. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.

BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe Tips

Definitely make sure you check out my tips for Totally Awesome Pizza at Home – it has all the tips for making the best crust for this bbq pizza recipe.

What is the Best Way to Cook Chicken for BBQ Chicken Pizza?

If you’re using raw chicken, I think the best way is to slice it up thin and cook it in a hot cast iron skillet before adding it to the pizza. I like to season it with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika.

Got leftovers? This bbq pizza is a great recipe to use up leftover chicken, like roasted chicken, leftover smoked chicken (smoked chicken is SO good on this recipe!), or even or leftover rotisserie chicken.

You can also use this crockpot chicken recipe. This recipe is great for making in batches and storing in the freezer!

Recipe Substitutions

Typically I don’t recommend making a bunch of substitutions when preparing a new recipe. When making substitutes, you won’t know if you don’t like the recipe or if the recipe didn’t turn out due to a preparation mistake, an ill effect from the substitute, or something else.

However, if you do choose to make substitutions in a recipe, I recommend only making one substitute at a time so you don’t have a building effect of multiple poor substitutions.

What Can I Substitute for Gouda?

If you don’t like (or don’t have) gouda, you can substitute all mozzarella cheese or Monterrey jack, but we like the combination of using 2 types of cheese (gouda and mozzarella) best.

What Can I Substitute for Chicken?

If I was substituting the chicken, I would probably add some sautéed mushrooms or black beans in place to add another topping and texture to the pizza.

Can I Make a Vegetarian BBQ Chicken Pizza?

I haven’t tried it, but I don’t see why not! There are so many meat alternatives on the market now, you can look for a suitable plant-based chicken substitute, use tofu, or simply leave the chicken off all together.

Time Saving Tips for Preparing this Recipe

In a rush, but still want to enjoy a slice of homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza? Here are my favorite time saving tips for making this pizza recipe at home:

• Instead of cooking your own chicken, buy a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken at the grocery store and chop up the breast meat.
• Shred the cheese ahead of time and store it in an airtight container or storage bag in the fridge or the freezer (yes, you can freeze cheese!).
• Purchase a pre-made ball of dough from the grocery store instead of making the dough recipe.
• You can also use pre-made crust if you don’t have enough time to make your own and don’t want to deal with rolling out dough at all.

What Should I Serve with this Barbecue Chicken Pizza?

If you’re looking for side suggestions to go with this recipe, I recommend a big green salad.

It doesn’t have to be fancy at all. We often use mixed greens, lettuce, cucumber, shredded carrot, and tomato for a basic side salad. Check out these 3 Simple Salad Dressing Recipes to go along with your salad.

If salad isn’t your thing, try this easy recipe for Roasted Broccoli for a vegetable side dish.

What to do with Leftover BBQ Chicken Pizza

If you have leftovers after serving this barbecue chicken pizza recipe, it is best stored cut in slices in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Make sure it cools completely to cut down on the condensation, and store it in a single layer, if possible.

If you have to place multiple layers of the chicken pizza slices in your container, layering a sheet of parchment paper between slices will prevent them from sticking together.

How to Reheat Leftover BBQ Chicken Pizza

I prefer to reheat my leftover chicken pizza on a small stone toaster oven pan in our toaster oven. The pizza quickly warms up and gets re-crisped so it isn’t soggy.

Another option is to reheat the leftover pizza in the oven at 275°F. Place cut slices on a rimmed baking sheet in the oven until warmed to desired temperature.

Try this Easy BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe!

Next time you’re looking for a delicious pizza recipe, give this Barbecue Chicken Pizza a try! Did you think it was one of the best pizza recipes you’ve had? Leave a comment below and give it a review for others to see what you thought of it.

On Instagram? Share your photo and tag me with @goodlifeeats and #goodlifeeatsrecipes. I’d love to see your photo of this bbq chicken pizza!

More Homemade Pizza Recipes: 

Are you looking for some more ideas for your next Friday Night Pizza Night Here are a few favorite recipes, or you can browse the recipe index for even more tasty ideas!

Caramelized Onion, Spinach and Bacon Pizza is perfect if you love bacon!

Three of my favorite things: Black Beans, Mexican, and Pizza all in one recipe. I knew from the start that Black Bean Mexican Pizza was going to be a quick favorite around here.

If you can’t decide between Pizza Night and Taco Night, how about Taco Pizza?

Supreme Veggie Pizza with Mozzarella and Feta is another popular recipe. This Vegetarian Pizza is loaded with bell peppers, olives, onions, and even more fresh veggies! The mixture of salty feta and creamy mozzarella really make this veggie pizza. 

A simple tomato, mozzarella, and basil pizza is taken up a notch in this Pizza Caprese with Garlic Focaccia Crust.

This Artichoke Spinach Pizza is a great meatless pizza recipe.

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