BBQ Chicken Pizza 🍗🔥 Sweet, Smoky, and Loaded With Cheese, Char, and Tangy BBQ Flavor

The BBQ Chicken Pizza is a modern classic — shredded chicken tossed in bold barbecue sauce, layered with melty cheese, and topped with red onions and a final scatter of herbs.

It’s sweet and savory, crisp at the edges, gooey in the middle, and wildly satisfying. Whether you use grilled chicken or leftovers, this one delivers every time.

Ingredients (Makes one 12–14″ pizza)

Dough

Use your go-to pizza dough — medium-thick or thin, depending on your style.

👉 Best-Ever Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

Base Sauce

• ⅓–½ cup BBQ sauce (sweet, smoky, or spicy — your call)
• Optional: add a spoon of tomato paste for extra body

Toppings

• ¾–1 cup cooked chicken (shredded or chopped)
• 1–2 tbsp additional BBQ sauce for tossing chicken
• 4 oz shredded mozzarella
• 2 oz smoked gouda, fontina, or cheddar (for depth)
• ¼ small red onion, thinly sliced
• Olive oil, for brushing
• Optional: chopped fresh cilantro or scallions for garnish

Instructions

Step 1: Preheat the Oven

1. Preheat to 500°F+ (260°C) with pizza stone or steel.
2. Let heat at least 45 minutes for max crisp and char.

Step 2: Prep the Chicken

1. Toss shredded cooked chicken with a bit of BBQ sauce — enough to coat, not soak.
2. Optional: add chili flakes or smoked paprika for heat.

Step 3: Assemble

1. Stretch dough to a 12–14″ circle.
2. Spread BBQ sauce as the base.
3. Add mozzarella and smoked cheese.
4. Distribute BBQ chicken and red onion slices.
5. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil or brush crust with garlic oil.

Step 4: Bake

1. Bake 6–9 minutes until crust is golden and cheese is bubbling.
2. Broil briefly for deeper browning if needed.

Step 5: Finish and Serve

1. Scatter chopped cilantro or scallions for a fresh finish.
2. Slice and serve hot — sweet, smoky, and dripping with flavor.

Flavor Variations

• Spicy BBQ – Add jalapeños or hot sauce to the base
• Pineapple BBQ – Add chopped grilled pineapple for a sweet hit
• Buffalo BBQ – Mix BBQ and Buffalo sauce together for a hybrid pie
• White BBQ Chicken – Use Alabama-style white BBQ sauce and provolone

Drink Pairings

• Beer – Amber ale, hoppy pale ale, or smoked porter
• Wine – Zinfandel, Syrah, or a chilled Lambrusco
• Non-Alcoholic – Ginger beer or iced black tea with lemon

Final Thoughts

The BBQ Chicken Pizza brings the smoke, the sweet, and the melty — all stacked on a crispy crust with no apologies. It’s the cookout pie, the game night go-to, and one of the best ways to turn leftovers into a showstopper.

Slather it. Stack it. Slice it hot. 🍗🔥🍕

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