The Baker Upstairs: Barbecue Chicken Pizza


Barbecue Chicken Pizza

This flavorful and savory barbecue chicken pizza is the perfect way to jazz up your pizza night at home!


Once upon a time, when my kids were very little and life was much simpler and less busy, we used to have pizza night every week. My husband was working full time and going to school part time, and our schedule was very stable from week to week, so it was easy to plan a fun pizza night every Friday as a reward for getting through the week. I developed a great easy pizza dough recipe, and got so quick at making it that I could have a hot cheese pizza on the table in less than 30 minutes. It was something fun for our whole family to look forward to, and we did it religiously for about two years, from when my youngest was a baby until she was well into toddlerhood. 

As time went on, however, I started working outside of the home as a nurse, my husband started nursing school, our kids started elementary school and extracurricular activities, and life just got busier and busier. These days my husband's schedule at the hospital changes from week to week, my pre-teen has what seems like an endless social calendar, and my youngest is busy with gymnastics and school activities. I've been missing those simple pizza nights from years ago, though, and I decided it was high time we brought them back. They won't always be on the same night each week, since we have such varied schedules, but I think we can make it work. We've successfully had pizza night for the last three weeks in a row, and everyone in my family is pretty excited about it. It's fun to experiment with different toppings and flavor combinations, and we've had so much fun talking and laughing together over hot slices of pizza. 

This barbecue chicken pizza is a copycat of a pizza my husband and I had on our first date, from a little local pizza place called Gepetto's. I've been making it for years, and it is one of my favorite pizzas! It has a barbecue/marinara sauce blend, and it's topped with chicken, mozzarella and feta cheeses, and red onions. After it's baked, it's drizzled with a little more barbecue sauce and sprinkled with some chopped fresh cilantro. It's so delicious and flavorful, and a favorite with both kids and adults! My nearly 12 year old is absolutely nuts for this pizza, and could probably eat a whole pizza herself if I let her. :) I'm looking forward to sharing more fun pizza recipes with you as we make them, so follow along to keep up with our pizza night adventures!
Barbecue Chicken Pizza

1 ball of pizza dough (make your own or use store-bought)
1/2 cup pizza sauce
1/4 cup barbecue sauce, plus more for drizzling
1 1/2 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken
8 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
fresh cilantro, chopped

Preheat the oven to 500 with a pizza stone or overturned cookie sheet inside for at least 30 minutes. Sprinkle a sheet of parchment paper with cornmeal. Gently stretch the pizza dough out into a circle that is 12-14 inches in diameter. Spread the pizza sauce over the dough, leaving a one inch margin around the edges. Drizzle the barbecue sauce over the pizza sauce. Sprinkle the chicken over the top of the sauce, then spread the mozzarella cheese evenly over the top of the chicken. Sprinkle the feta and red onion over the top of the pizza. Transfer the pizza to the pizza stone or cookie sheet using a pizza peel or a large cutting board. Bake the pizza for 8-9 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the crust is lightly browned. Drizzle with barbecue sauce and sprinkle with the chopped cilantro. Serve hot.

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