BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe
- By Amy Dong
- Updated Oct. 9, 2024
This BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe is a homemade version of California Pizza Kitchen’s all-time favorite. Comfort food at its best, it’s topped with smoked bacon and a combo of cheeses on a chewy and soft crust with a crisp exterior.
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Video: watch us make this Recipe
Why This Recipe Stands Out
This BBQ Chicken Pizza is one of our all-time favorite recipes. Here’s what you’ll love:
- Smoky Flavor: The smoked Gouda and bacon in this recipe add a rich, smoky flavor that sets this pizza apart.
- Perfect Crust: The dough for this pizza is easy to make and has the perfect chewy and soft texture.
- Family Favorite: Like our Pizza Pasta, this recipe is a major crowd-pleaser. The combination of tangy barbecue sauce, savory chicken, and crisp bacon is simply irresistible.
- Easy to Customize: Like all our Deep Dish Pizza Recipe, this one is super flexible with toppings. You can switch up the cheeses, add your favorite veggies, and more.
- No Special Equipment Needed: While a pizza stone is great for getting that perfectly crispy crust, we provide alternative instructions for using a regular baking sheet.
Key Recipe Ingredients
- Active Dry Yeast – The yeast is what makes the pizza dough rise and gives it that perfect chewy texture. Make sure it’s fresh and hasn’t expired.
- Barbecue Sauce – We’ll be using a cup of your favorite honey barbecue sauce to marinate our chicken. Look for a good quality sauce with a nice balance of sweet and tangy flavors.
- Chicken Tenderloins – Chicken tenderloins are easiest to work with and ensure tenderness. Marinate them in the barbecue sauce to infuse them with flavor, then grill them to juicy, smoky perfection.
- Smoked Gouda – This cheese adds a deliciously smoky flavor that pairs perfectly with the barbecue chicken. Make sure to shred it finely for even melting.
- Red Onion – Thinly sliced red onion adds a nice sharpness and crunch to contrast the sweet, smoky flavors of the other ingredients.
Substitutions And Variations
Here are some of our favorite variations and substitutions for this BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe:
- BBQ Sauce: Feel free to try a different style of BBQ sauce. You can use something with more kick or less sweetness if that’s what your family loves.
- Cheese: We use mozzarella and gouda here to emulate California Pizza Kitchen’s flavors, but feel free to use mozzarella and more parmesan.
- Herbs: We give you the option of adding herbs into your dough, for the ultimate flavorful pizza dough. Some favorites include basil and oregano.
- Meat: Try using smoked turkey bacon, cooked/crumbled sausage, or diced ham.
- Meatless: Make it vegetarian and load it with your favorite veggies like bell peppers, mushrooms, or even some fresh arugula on top after it’s baked.
Step-By-Step Recipe Instructions
- Mix sweet honey BBQ sauce with honey and salt. Set aside.
- Dry chicken tenderloin fillets and sprinkle salt. Pour the BBQ sauce mixture over the chicken. Bake at 350F for 15-20 min.
- Mix yeast, salt, brown sugar, and oil in a large bowl. Let it sit for 10 minutes or until it foams.
- Add flour and knead in more as needed, until the dough is no longer sticky. Add any desired herbs. Let it rise for an hour.
- Roll the dough out to a 14-inch circle. Spread the sauces and layer on the toppings,
- Place the pizza on a pizza stone and bake for 15-20 minutes.
For full list of ingredients and instructions, see recipe card below.
How To Prep Ahead
Take a look at our best prep ahead tips for this BBQ Chicken Pizza:
- Make Pizza Dough: Follow the recipe instructions to make the dough, then let it rise, punch it down, and form it into a tight ball. You can then refrigerate it for up to 2 days. When you’re ready to make the pizza, take the dough out of the fridge, let it rest for 1-2 hours, then roll it out and proceed with the recipe.
- Bake the Chicken: You can also prepare the chicken in advance. Bake the chicken tenderloin fillets as per the recipe, let them cool, then dice them into bite-size pieces. Store the cooked and diced chicken in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Assemble Beforehand: If you want to get the pizza ready to bake ahead of time, you can assemble the entire pizza, cover and refrigerate it. When you’re ready to eat, simply take the pizza out of the fridge, let it sit at room temperature while the oven preheats, then bake according to the recipe.
What To Serve With BBQ Chicken Pizza
Salads
- Who doesn’t love a Classic Caesar Salad? It will take our pizza night to the next level!
- You’ll also love this healthy and satisfying Chicken Caprese Salad.
Soups and Pastas
- A classic Roasted Basil Soup is the perfect accompaniment to our BBQ Chicken Pizza.
- Serve our Creamy Bruschetta Pasta or Pasta e Fagioli for a complete meal.
Other Sides
- You can’t go wrong with some Buffalo Chicken Wings and Homemade Mozzarella Sticks alongside this family-favorite pizza!
- Our Easiest Garlic Cheese Bread tastes incredible with some homemade pizza!
Commonly Asked Questions
What type of BBQ sauce is best for this pizza?
We recommend using a sweet honey BBQ sauce for this recipe. You can use your favorite store-bought brand or even make your own homemade BBQ sauce.
Can I use pre-cooked chicken for this pizza?
Yes, you can use pre-cooked chicken for this pizza. Toss it in a little bit of the BBQ sauce before placing it on the pizza. This will ensure that the chicken stays moist and flavorful during the baking process.
How do I know when the pizza is done?
The pizza is done when the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly and slightly brown on top. This usually takes about 15-20 minutes in a preheated 425F oven.
How long does BBQ Chicken Pizza keep?
BBQ Chicken Pizza can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Be sure to store it in an airtight container. Reheat in the oven or toaster oven for best results.
Did you make this?
Please give us a rating and comment below. We love hearing from you!
BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe
This BBQ Chicken Pizza is even better than restaurant versions, as the dough is deliciously homemade, and the toppings are fresh and flavorful.
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 2 ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- 1 tsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 TB olive oil, good-quality
- 1 ½ cups water, to 110F
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- ⅔ cups extra flour
- 1-2 TB cornmeal, for dusting pizza stone, if desired
For Pizza Toppings
- 6-7 fillets chicken tenderloin
- 1 cup honey barbeque sauce
- 2 TB honey
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup mozzarella, shredded
- 1 cup smoked Gouda, shredded
- ½ red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 TB fresh basil, chopped
- 4 slices smoked bacon, applewood is great, cooked and cut into pieces
- freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
For the Sauce
- Mix sweet honey BBQ sauce with 2 TB honey and 1 tsp salt. Set aside.
For the Chicken
- Thoroughly dry raw chicken tenderloin fillets with paper towels. Lay each piece flat on baking pan and generously sprinkle salt over the top of each piece.
- Pour 1/4 cup BBQ sauce mixture over chicken, and mix in well so all parts of chicken are completely coated.
- Rearrange fillets in single layer. Bake chicken at 350F for 15-20 min., or until chicken is just cooked but not overcooked; if your chicken pieces are thicker, you may need to bake longer.
- Remove from heat and set aside to cool. When cool, dice chicken into bite size pieces.
For the Dough
- In large bowl, mix yeast, salt, brown sugar, and oil. Let sit for 10 minutes or until foams.
- Mix in 3 cups of flour. Knead in more flour as needed until dough is no longer sticky. Add any desired herbs to dough.
- Place dough into well oiled bowl, turn dough in bowl until dough is covered with oil, and cover with a damp cloth.
- Let dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour in a warm room – true rising time depends on temperature of your room. After dough is doubled, punch it down, and form tight ball. Let dough relax for 1-2 minutes.
- Roll dough out to large circle, flouring your board a bit if needed. Roll up edges so you have a pizza crust about 14 inches in diameter.
- Preheat oven to 425F. Place pizza stone to preheat in oven if you are using one. If you have a pizza peel, you can assemble your pizza on pizza peel and slide onto hot pizza stone when ready.
Assemble Pizza
- Spread the rest of BBQ sauce mixture over the dough evenly. Place diced chicken and bacon over sauce. Layer red onion slices over chicken. Sprinkle on mozzarella and smoked Gouda. Top with freshly cracked black pepper.
- Place pizza on pizza stone. Bake pizza for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and sprinkle on chopped basil. Slice and serve while hot.
Notes
- Optional herbs for herb-infused crust: 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp basil, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp onion powder.
- Use good-quality olive oil when preparing the dough. It adds flavor and helps the dough to rise beautifully.
- Thoroughly dry the chicken tenderloin fillets before seasoning. This helps the salt and BBQ sauce to stick better and also ensures that the chicken cooks evenly.
- Love a crispy crust? Dust your pizza stone with cornmeal before placing the dough on it. This simple trick prevents the dough from sticking and gives your crust that perfect crunch.
- Honey BBQ Sauce can be made well ahead of time, covered, and chilled until ready to use.
- Kitchens are usually warm during the summer, which means much easier rising of the dough. In the winter, let the dough rise in the oven with the oven bulb light on for a tiny boost of warmth.
- If needed, you can let your oven warm up on “warm” setting and turn it off, and then put the dough in to rise. Just watch it carefully so it doesn’t over rise. This method is pretty much fail proof for a quick, easy, and guaranteed rise
- You can also assemble your pizza on room temp pizza stone; it just won’t be as crisp on the bottom – it will help to sprinkle cornmeal over pizza stone and spray with oil before laying your dough on top of it.
- If you are baking pizza on a pan, oil pan and let dough rise 20 min. before topping/baking.
- You can’t go wrong with some Buffalo Chicken Wings and Homemade Mozzarella Sticks alongside this family-favorite pizza!
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 528kcal | Carbohydrates: 62g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.01g | Cholesterol: 76mg | Sodium: 1745mg | Potassium: 408mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 395IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 306mg | Iron: 3mg
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