This BBQ chicken and bacon pizza recipe is made with BBQ chicken, Sweet Baby Ray’s BBQ sauce, chopped bacon, caramelized onions, fresh mozzarella cheese, and a little shredded parmesan cheese. I made this recipe on a whim one night and decided to add bacon and parmesan because I had it in the fridge. OMG was that the missing final touch.
BBQ chicken pizza is exactly what we all need in our lives. I ended up teasing this recipe out a few weeks ago via the gram and got A LOT of ‘heart eye emojis’ in return so I figured it was time to share the secret recipe.
Caramelized Onions on Pizza
I swear by caramelizing the onions. This consists of slowly sautéing the onions in a little butter before topping your pizza. It’s easy to do and it brings out the onion’s natural sugars and flavors. After all, this is gourmet pizza and I think it makes a big difference.
The key to caramelized onions is to cook the onions on low heat or they will burn. Low and slow is the trick to perfect tender and golden brown onions that deliver tremendous flavor. It takes about 20-30 minutes but if you’re in a rush you can cook them until they’re just super tender.
BBQ Sauce Instead of Red Sauce?
BBQ chicken pizza uses BBQ sauce in place of red sauce. It sounds weird but it’s honestly the only way the recipe works. Look for Sweet Baby’s original BBQ sauce, It’s one of my favs and it has a nice subtle sweetness that balances all the savory toppings. Any of their BBQ sauces will work, I’d likely just skip any that are spicy. My only suggestion here is to keep the sauce thin. You don’t want globs of it.
How to Use a Pizza Stone
I cook all of my pizzas using a pizza stone. I heat the stone up for one hour in the oven at 500°F before baking. Slide the pizza in using a well-floured pizza peel and bake for 10-15 minutes for the perfect finish every time. You can read more about this method and how to make better pizza at home here.
A pizza stone delivers phenomenal crunch thanks to the very hot cooking surface. The dough will cook very quickly and render it crunchier on the outside with a tender inside.
More Pizza Recipes
- Butternut squash pizza
- Fig and proscuitto pizza
- Margherita pizza
- Buffalo chicken pizza
- Grilled pizza
- Skillet pizza
BBQ Chicken and Bacon Pizza Recipe
- Prep Time: 30 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 2-4 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 18–20 ounces pizza dough
- 1Â 8 ounce chicken breast cut into bite-sized chunks (fully cooked)
- 6–7 1/4 inch slices fresh mozzarella (8-ounce ball)
- 3–4 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped
- 1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I like Sweet Baby Ray’s)
- 1/2Â yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/3 cup flour (for crust)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 500°F and place the pizza stone in the oven and let preheat for one hour.
- Caramelize the onions:Â Add the onion slices and butter to a saucepan on low heat. Cook until onions are tender and golden brown, about 20-30 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Meanwhile, cut the chicken into small, bite-sized pieces. Cook with a little oil on medium heat in the same saucepan used for the onions. Cook until golden and fully cooked through, remove from the heat, and toss with some BBQ sauce until lightly coated. Set aside.
- Roll out the dough into a 12-inch crust. Sprinkle evenly with a little salt.
- Place a small handful of flour onto the pizza peel and spread evenly to prevent the dough from sticking to the pizza peel. Make sure the dough is well floured and doesn’t feel ‘sticky’ to the touch.
- Transfer the dough onto the peel. Evenly coat the top with BBQ sauce, leaving a 1-inch crust. Add the chicken, onions, bacon, and fresh mozzarella in that order. Finish with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
- Slide the finished pizza onto the pizza stone and bake for 10-15 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. Be sure to carefully watch the oven because all ovens will cook at different rates. Sometimes it will only take 10 minutes to fully cook. Remove from the oven, let cool, and serve.
Notes
If you don’t have the time or patience to caramelize the onions, sautee them for 10-15 minutes until golden and tender. They will still be delicious and less intense.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2 slices
- Calories: 1016
- Sugar: 20.2
- Sodium: 2248mg
- Fat: 24.5g
- Saturated Fat: 14.2g
- Carbohydrates: 120.2g
- Fiber: 6.1g
- Protein: 52.7g
- Cholesterol: 139mg
Keywords: bbq chicken pizza, bacon pizza
Adapted from: Allrecipes.com
This was of course, amazing! Very easy to make. I only bought a 10 inch skillet so I need to expand my inventory if we’re going to keep going here. Learn from my mistake, use the bigger skillet. Also, I had about 20 oz. of pizza dough and thought, “well, it will be good thicker”. My problem is always rolling out pizza dough, we have a love hate relationship and I would love some pointers. It was delicious. Surprisingly for such a thick crust, it still cooked in under 11 minutes at 500 degrees. There will be a do-over with a thinner crust and a bigger pan. I might even get daring and try different toppings. I think four people could have easily shared this and left full. Lesson learned! I truly enjoy reading your blog, normally when I find a recipe, I scroll right to the bottom and start cooking. (for obvious reasons if you’ve read other blogs) Yours are super informative, instructional and have great tips.
★★★★★
Thanks Jennifer – I’ve always been a fan of thinner crust personally. I will remove some if I find I just have too much. It takes patience, But always roll pizza dough from the center out and work your way around in a circle so it stays even. Also, it helps if the dough doesn’t have too much flower. Sometimes if it sticks to the counter just a little bit, it helps stretch it out. Thanks again for your kind words and all the great feedback!