Best BBQ Chicken Pizza

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Making your own Pizza from scratch is not only a super rewarding experience in the kitchen, but if done well tastes simply amazing. We stand by this recipe producing one of the Best BBQ Chicken Pizza dishes you’ll ever taste. Rivaling the top Pizza joints you’ve ever been too (Yes, even your local joint that everyone claims is the best!)

For this recipe we’ll be making our own dough and letting it rest overnight. So, this recipe does require a little bit of patience and planning ahead. It is totally worth it though as the result is truly amazing

What makes this recipe the Best BBQ Chicken Pizza Ever?

Simple, ingredients, cooked well. That’s the truth to this Pizza, as well as pretty much all cooking anyway. Just prepare good quality ingredients well, and the result will be spectacular. This is a simple recipe, so just follow the steps and treat each component respectfully and you’ll be eating a phenomenal tasting Pizza

Allow the Dough time to rest

The key to a great Pizza is having a light dough that is beautiful and crispy. To achieve this texture, you need to allow the Dough to rest. Resting the Dough enables the gluten to form in the dough. As the gluten forms the dough rises, which forms all these amazing air pockets and bubbles inside the dough

What you’re left with after an overnight resting period is an insanely light dough. When cooked at a high temperature the dough forms into the most delightfully crispy crust

Pre-heat the Cast Iron Pan before forming your Pizza for a Crispy Crust

Another little secret we have for making the Best BBQ Chicken Pizza is to use a Cast Iron Pan. Nothing conducts heat better than a cast iron, so you get a brilliantly even cook throughout the Pizza. Place the pan into the Oven for 15 minutes to warm it throughout. Once you take it out it’ll be piping hot, which is when we start to form the Pizza onto the pan

Forming the Pizza on the hot cast iron begins the cooking process immediately. By doing this step before you add the toppings will get an even crispier, well-cooked dough by the time you bring the final Pizza out of the Oven

Keep the Tomato Sauce simple, with good quality Tomatoes

Keep things simple with the Tomato Sauce. It’ll pay off, trust us. Good quality Tomatoes, Salt, and a little bit of Tomato Paste for some added concentrated Tomato flavor is all you need. Get some great quality canned Tomatoes. We’ve found that Roma Tomatoes as well as the famous San Marzano Tomatoes are equally great for a Pizza Sauce

Adding a little bit of Tomato Paste to the Sauce and cooking it down for about 10 minutes is a great way to concentrate the flavor. This process does help, especially when making the Best BBQ Chicken Pizza, as the BBQ sauce is quite intense. Adding the Tomato Paste helps to balance the tomato flavor well with the BBQ Sauce

A delicious spicy dry rub adds such amazing flavor to the Chicken

If you want to keep things super simple then Salt and Pepper is really all you need for the Chicken. We do like to create a spicy version of a Piri-Piri Style seasoning for the Chicken. It goes well with this dish, and adds a lovely element of heat and flavor to the Pizza

Along with Onion Powder and Garlic Powder, add some Paprika and Cayenne Pepper and you’ve got a delicious dry rub that infiltrates it’s flavor throughout the tender Chicken Breasts

For the best result, add the dry rub to the Chicken then leave overnight in a sealed Ziploc flavor. Just like a wet marinade, the longer you leave a dry rub, the more intense the flavor will become. So the best approach is to marinade the Chicken at the same time you’re resting your dough overnight. That way both will be ready the next day for cooking!

While it is critical that you rest the dough overnight, you can totally add the Dry Rub to the Chicken on the same day. Just prepare the Chicken once you’ve brought the dough out of the refrigerator to get back to room temperature. It’ll still be the best BBQ Chicken Pizza you’ve ever eaten, don’t worry about that!

Find some good quality Mozzarella – it’ll make all the difference

Try to avoid dry packaged Mozzarella Cheese. If you can, get the Mozzarella Cheese that is swimming in whey. It’s super fresh and has a subtle, creamy flavor that doesn’t overpower the dish. It melts beautifully and looks stunning on the plate

Whatever you do, please do not use the processed Mozzarella Cheese that has already been shredded. It doesn’t melt well and tastes weird. It has almost a plastic type of quality taste to it. Best to avoid it at all costs and spend a few extra bucks on the good stuff. Remember, to make the Best BBQ Chicken Pizza you need the best quality ingredients you can find

Find your favorite BBQ Sauce and apply it liberally to the Pizza right before it goes in the Oven

If you are like me, you’ve got your favorite BBQ Sauce already in the refrigerator. Those BBQ Sauce fans are extremely loyal when it comes to their Sauce, so we won’t recommend a specific BBQ Sauce. Our only recommendation is to use your favorite!

BBQ Sauce has an immensely strong flavor, so you need to be a little careful when adding in to the pizza. Our approach is to apply it as the absolute last ingredient before the Pizza goes into the oven to be cooked. I like to place drops of BBQ Sauce in between small gaps on the Pizza where there is no cheese or toppings. Place it evenly around the Pizza to ensure that every bite has as lovely hit of BBQ Sauce in it

Just be careful with how much you add, however. I like to have a maximum of 2-3 drops per quarter. At most you want 10% of the Pizza to be covered with BBQ Sauce. We’ve found any more than that and the overwhelming flavor of the Pizza will be BBQ Sauce. All those other delicious ingredients will be lost in the mix. Better to be cautious and then you can always simply add more BBQ Sauce on your slice if you want a bit more!

Best BBQ Chicken Pizza Recipe

Ingredients

• 340g All-Purpose Flour
• 1 tsp. Yeast
• 1 cup of Warm Water
• ½ tsp. Sugar
• ½ tsp. Salt
• 1 ½ tbsps. Olive Oil
• 2 Large Chicken Breasts
• 400g / 14 oz. Canned Whole Tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. Tomato Paste
• ½ Red Onion, finely sliced
• 1 Bell Pepper, finely diced
• ½ cup Fresh Basil Leaves
• 2 x 100g Mozzarella Balls (1 per Pizza)
  
  

This recipe will provide enough dough for 2 Pizzas to feed 3-4 people

For the Chicken Dry Rub

• 1 tsp. Smoked Paprika
• 1 tsp. Onion Powder
• 1 tsp. Garlic Powder
• ½ tsp. Cayenne Pepper
• ½ tsp. Pepper
• 1 tsp. Salt
  
  

Equipment Needed: Stand Mixer with the hook attachment

Instructions

1. Combine the Yeast, Sugar, and Water into a mixing bowl and mix well and leave for 5 minutes for the yeast to bloom. (click here for a great video on how to bloom Yeast)
2. Add the Flour, Salt, and 1 tbsp. Olive Oil, then place the mixture into your Stand Mixer with the hook attachment
3. Mix on low to combine the ingredients, then increase the speed to medium and mix for 5 minutes until the dough is relatively firm and not too sticky
4. Add ½ tbsp. of Olive Oil into a large bowl then place the dough into the Bowl. Coat the dough well with Olive Oil, then cover with cling film and place in the fridge overnight to proof
5. In a Ziploc bag combine the Dry Rub Ingredients. Mix well then add the Chicken Breasts and coat well. Seal and refrigerate overnight
   
   

Preparing the Pizza and Toppings

6. When you are ready to make the Pizza, remove the dough from the fridge and let stand for 1 hour to come to room temperature
7. Divide the dough into 2 equal portions then shape into balls and let rest for another hour on the bench top (no need to cover)
8. While the dough is resting, pan fry the Chicken Breasts over medium heat for 15 minutes, turning occasionally until just cooked with an internal temperature of 150 degrees. Rest and then slice into bite sized cubes once cool
9. In a medium saucepan combine Canned Tomatoes, Tomato Paste, and 1 tsp. of Sugar. Cook for 15 minutes on medium to reduce. If using whole tomatoes, crush them with the back of a spoon in the sauce. Set aside to cool
   
   

Cooking the Pizza

10. Place a large Cast Iron Pan in the Oven then set the temperature to 425 F / 220 C. Remove the Pan after 20 minutes then shape the Pizza Dough to cover the entire base of the Pan
11. Add half the Sauce across the entire base of the Pizza. Then add the Chicken, Onions, Bell Peppers, Mozzarella (rip pieces into small chunks). Finish with dollops of BBQ Sauce scattered evenly across the Pizza. Add about 1 tsp. of Salt. Bake for 12 minutes
12. Once baked, finish the Pizza by adding 5-6 fresh Basil Leaves. Let cool for a few minutes before slicing and serving
    
    

There you have it, a recipe for the best BBQ Chicken Pizza that you’ll ever eat. Here are a couple of amazing dishes that go well with this Pizza. Why not add them to the meal plan and cook up a feast for the whole family tonight!

• Apple and Arugula Salad
• Homemade Garlic Knots
• Classic Bruschetta
• Kale Caesar Salad with White Anchovies
  
  

Also why not check in with us on social and let us know what you think of this recipe? You can find us on Instagram and Pinterest. Come say hi

Happy Cooking!