Why You’ll Love This this BBQ Chicken Pizza From Scratch
This BBQ chicken pizza combines tender, sauce-coated chicken with a homemade pizza sauce that’s way better than anything from a jar, and honestly, once you taste that perfect balance of tangy barbecue and savory tomato flavors, you’ll wonder why you ever bothered with delivery.
The recipe walks you through making everything from scratch, including that pizza sauce with fresh garlic and basil, which sounds fancy but really just means throwing some ingredients in a bowl and giving them a quick sauté.
Plus, you get to use the same saucepan for both the sauce base and the chicken, because who’s time to dirty every pot in the kitchen when there’s pizza to be made.
Ingredients List
Making this BBQ chicken pizza from scratch is easier than you think, and honestly, most of these ingredients are probably already hanging out in your kitchen right now.
- 2 large chicken breasts
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 1/4 cups barbecue sauce
- 1 prepared pizza crust
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 2 tablespoons diced garlic
- 1 tablespoon dry basil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup four-cheese Mexican blend cheese or 1 cup pizza cheese
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste
- 1 teaspoon salt
A few things to keep in mind about these ingredients and your waistline:
- The chicken gives you solid protein, which is great, but that barbecue sauce is basically sugar city, so maybe don’t go overboard if you’re watching calories.
- You can swap the regular pizza crust for a whole wheat or cauliflower version if you want to sneak in some extra nutrition.
- The cheese adds calcium and protein, but it’s also where most of the saturated fat lives, so use your judgment there.
- All that garlic and basil means you’re getting some antioxidants mixed in with your comfort food, which feels like a win.
Step by Step Directions
Making this BBQ chicken pizza involves preparing a homemade sauce, cooking seasoned chicken, and assembling everything on a crust before baking.
- Make the pizza sauce by combining diced tomatoes, tomato paste, salt, and dry basil in a medium bowl.
- Heat olive oil in a saucepan and cook 2 tablespoons diced garlic with 1/3 of the diced onion until cooked through.
- Add the cooked garlic and onion mixture to the tomato and basil mixture to complete the pizza sauce.
- Dice 2 large chicken breasts into medium-sized squares.
- Cook the diced chicken in the same saucepan until fully done.
- Remove chicken from heat and stir in 1 1/4 cups barbecue sauce until well coated.
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spread the pizza sauce evenly across the prepared pizza crust using a spoon.
- Distribute the BBQ chicken and remaining diced onion evenly over the sauce.
- Top with 1 cup of four-cheese Mexican blend or pizza cheese.
- Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the cheese is completely melted.
For even better results, consider using a professional outdoor pizza oven which can achieve higher temperatures and create a more authentic wood-fired taste.
Substitutions and Variations
• Veggie additions – Bell peppers, mushrooms, or corn kernels bump up the nutrition factor.
Pineapple chunks turn this into Hawaiian territory, which will either delight or horrify your dinner guests.
• Spice it up – Add jalapeños for heat, or sprinkle red pepper flakes over the cheese before baking.
A dash of smoked paprika in the sauce adds depth without overwhelming anyone.
Additional Things to Serve With This Dish
BBQ chicken pizza pairs beautifully with fresh, crisp sides that cut through all that rich, saucy goodness.
• Classic Caesar salad – The crisp romaine and tangy dressing provide the perfect contrast to cheesy, smoky pizza.
Plus, you can buy those pre-made salad kits if you’re feeling lazy, which honestly, who isn’t after making homemade pizza.
• Coleslaw with a twist – A vinegar-based slaw works better than creamy versions here.
The acidity brightens everything up and cleanses your palate between bites of that barbecue heaven.
• Corn on the cob – Whether grilled, boiled, or roasted, corn just screams summer barbecue atmosphere.
Butter it up and sprinkle some salt, because life’s too short for plain corn.
• Garlic bread or breadsticks – Yes, it’s carbs on carbs, but sometimes you need to embrace the comfort food chaos.
Dip them in any leftover pizza sauce for maximum indulgence.
• Fresh fruit salad – Watermelon, pineapple, or berries provide a revitalizing finish that won’t leave you feeling like you need to unbutton your pants.
Your digestive system will thank you later.
Cooking Tips & Tricks (Chef’s Notes)
Getting this BBQ chicken pizza just right comes down to a few game-changing details that separate the pros from the pizza disasters.
- Pre-cook that chicken completely – Raw chicken on pizza is basically food poisoning roulette, and nobody wants to spend their evening hugging the porcelain throne. Cook it through, then toss with BBQ sauce for maximum flavor absorption.
- Don’t drown the crust – Less sauce is more here, trust me. A thin, even layer prevents soggy bottom syndrome, which sounds worse than it’s but still ruins perfectly good pizza dreams.
- Cheese placement strategy matters – Put half the cheese under the toppings, half on top. This creates layers of melty goodness and helps anchor everything down so your chicken doesn’t slide off like it’s on a cheese waterslide.
- Let the pizza rest for 3-5 minutes – I know waiting is torture when you’re staring at bubbling cheese perfection, but this prevents the molten lava cheese burns that make you question all your life choices.
- Preheat that oven properly – Give it a full 15-20 minutes at 450 degrees. A properly heated oven means crispy crust edges and evenly melted cheese instead of that sad, pale, barely-warm disappointment.
- Save some BBQ sauce for drizzling – A little extra sauce drizzled on after baking adds fresh BBQ flavor that doesn’t get dulled by the oven heat.
Nutritional Facts
Based on 8 servings, each slice of this BBQ chicken pizza delivers approximately:
- Calories: 285-320 per slice
- Protein: 18-22 grams (thanks to those chicken breasts doing the heavy lifting)
- Carbohydrates: 32-38 grams (mostly from the crust and BBQ sauce)
- Fat: 8-12 grams (cheese and olive oil contributors)
- Fiber: 2-3 grams
- Sugar: 8-12 grams (BBQ sauce is sneaky sweet)
- Sodium: 650-850 mg (pizza cheese and BBQ sauce pack a salty punch)
- Calcium: 15-20% daily value (cheese benefits)
- Iron: 8-12% daily value (from chicken and tomato paste)
- Vitamin C: 10-15% daily value (tomatoes and onions)
Fun “Did You Know?”
Beyond those impressive nutritional numbers, here’s something that’ll make your next pizza night conversation more interesting: BBQ chicken pizza wasn’t actually invented in America like you’d expect.
It was created in 1985 at California Pizza Kitchen by chefs Rick Rosenfield and Larry Flax, who were experimenting with non-traditional toppings. The combination became so popular that it’s now considered a staple pizza variety worldwide.
Another fun fact: the average American consumes 46 slices of pizza per year, and BBQ chicken consistently ranks in the top five favorite pizza flavors.
Who knew this fusion creation would become such a phenomenon?
