I’m already dreaming of Friday, so I’m going to throw a quick little pizza recipe at ya! BBQ Chicken Pizza is such a classic with its sweet, tangy, and salty BBQ sauce, bits of juicy chicken, creamy cheese, and savory onions. But, after making pizzas for a living for a couple of years, I learned that there are so many other fun things you can throw on top of your pizza! So keep reading to grab the classic recipe below, plus some of my other fun toppings that go really well with these BBQ flavors.
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“I make this recipe time and time again. Everytime I’m glad I made it instead of opting for takeout. So flavorful!”
Brittany
Easy Recipe for BBQ Chicken Pizza
Making your own BBQ chicken pizza at home is not only easy, but it’s way cheaper than ordering takeout. Plus, you get to customize it just the way you like. If I’m short on time, I use rotisserie chicken, which I chop up and mix with the BBQ sauce. You could even use canned chicken! If I don’t have chicken on hand, black beans make a great budget-friendly swap (mixed with the spices and sauce listed for the chicken). However you top it, homemade always wins.
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Servings 4 2 slices eachIngredients
Quick BBQ Chicken*
- ½ tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- ¼ tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
- ⅛ tsp salt ($0.02)
- ⅛ tsp black pepper (freshly cracked, $0.02)
- 1 chicken breast (boneless, skinless (about ⅔ lb.) $2.20*)
- ½ Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
- ¼ cup BBQ sauce ($0.16**)
Pizza
- 1 pizza dough ($0.62***)
- 4 oz. Monterey jack cheese (shredded, $0.98)
- ½ cup BBQ sauce ($0.32)
- 1 jalapeño (sliced, (optional) $0.33)
- ¼ cup red onion (sliced, $0.11)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the smoked paprika, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Season both sides of the chicken breast with the spices.
- Heat a skillet over medium. Add the cooking oil and swirl to coat the surface of the skillet. Add the seasoned chicken breast and cook for about 5-7 minutes on each side, or until cooked through (internal temperature of 165ºF). Transfer the chicken to a clean cutting board.
- Let the chicken rest for about 5 minutes, then chop into small pieces. Add ¼ cup BBQ sauce to the chopped chicken, and stir to coat the chicken in the sauce.
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Place the prepared pizza dough or crust on a pizza pan, then spread about ½ cup BBQ sauce over the surface.
- Add the cheese, BBQ chicken, sliced jalapeños, and sliced onion to the pizza.
- Bake the pizza for 10-12 minutes, or until the crust and cheese are golden brown. Slice into 8 pieces and serve.
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Equipment
- Small Bowl
- Skillet
- Pizza Pan
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!How to Make BBQ Chicken Pizza Step-by-Step Photos
Season the chicken: Combine ½ tsp smoked paprika, ¼ tsp garlic powder, ⅛ tsp salt, and ⅛ tsp pepper. Season both sides of one boneless, skinless chicken breast (about ⅔ lb.) with the spice mix.
Cook the chicken: Heat ½ Tbsp cooking oil in a skillet over medium. Once hot, add the seasoned chicken, and cook for about 5-7 minutes on each side, or until cooked through (internal temperature of 165ºF). You could also opt to make a batch of slow cooker BBQ chicken and use some of that to top your pizza.
Add the BBQ sauce: Transfer the cooked chicken to a clean cutting board. Let the chicken cool for a few minutes, then chop into small pieces. Add ¼ cup BBQ sauce and stir to coat the chicken in the sauce.
Assemble the pizza: Preheat the oven to 450ºF. Place a prepared pizza dough/crust on a pizza pan, then spread ½ cup BBQ sauce over the surface of the dough.
Top the pizza with 4 oz. shredded Monterey jack cheese and the chopped BBQ chicken.
Finally, add ¼ cup sliced red onion and one sliced jalapeño (optional) to the pizza.
Cook: Bake your BBQ chicken pizza in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the crust and cheese are golden brown. Slice into 8 pieces and enjoy!!
More Topping Ideas!
Here’s where it gets fun. Here are some of the other toppings I’ve enjoyed on my BBQ chicken pizzas over the years:
- Bacon
- Pineapple (don’t @ me)
- Feta (surprisingly delicious against that sweet BBQ sauce)
- Green onion
- Cilantro
- Cheddar cheese
- Ranch dressing
- Corn
- Black beans
Storage and Reheating
Any leftovers can be wrapped in plastic wrap/foil and stored in the fridge for up to 3-4 days. I like to use my air fryer to reheat pizza because it keeps it crisp and only takes a few minutes. Reheat your pizza in the air fryer at 350ºF for 2-3 minutes or until fully heated through. You can also use your oven, the microwave, or even a dry skillet on the stovetop to reheat pizza!
More Delicious Pizza Recipes
Our BBQ Chicken Pizza recipe was originally published 6/18/20. It was retested, reworked, and republished to be better than ever 6/30/25.
This is one of my favorite pizza recipes! I do the toppings a little different.. I normally use roasted red bell peppers, chicken; bacon and a little feta. It’s delicious 😋 Sometimes I’ll even use a cream sauce instead of the BBQ sauce.
I’m not wild about barbecue sauce flavors, but my grandsons loved this pizza. I do vote for making pizza at home. Dough is always inexpensive, particularly from Aldi’s, but I usually make it from scratch which only means a little planning early in the day. It’s also easy enough to make some and freeze it, or make extra whenever I do mix some up. We’re fairly traditional with toppings, but have rarely met a pizza someone in the family didn’t adore. I love veggies, the men in the family are meat eaters, and it’s easy enough to make pizzas small and give everyone a fave.
Everyone needs to get into cooking at home. It is more healthier and you know what you put into your food. Not saying that all restaurants is bad because they’re not it’s actually some five-star restaurants out here.
Added orange bell pepper and pineapple as well.. colorful and tasty!!
I make this recipe time and time again. Everytime I’m glad I made it instead of opting for takeout. So flavorful!
We just made this for supper. Easy Peary because we had the other half of a rotisserie chicken to use. My daughter added a green pepper too. So delicious. We also skipped the jalapeños.
This is so good!!!
I love the BBQ Chicken pizza from CPK and this recipe beats CPK hands down. It was delicious 😋
Looks great! Trying it tonight!
The first time I had BBQ chicken pizza, the pizza joint put toasted almond pieces on it. The crunch was a fun contrast with the chicken and cilantro.
I am in pizza heaven. This was the first pizza I’ve ever made and it was PERFECT. I used your regular homemade dough recipe and let it rise in the fridge overnight. It needed 12 minutes in my oven.
I beat down the chicken breast with a tenderizer first to get maximum surface area on my cast iron. I also used less BBQ sauce, 1/2 cup total on the pizza and the chicken. This cut back the calories a bit. Thank you!!
Oh yeah, sprinkle some cornmeal on the pizza tray before placing the dough!
Made it with your homemade pizza dough. First let me tell you that pizza dough is the best I ever made. Second,the chicken is sooo good,so tasty. Next time,i’ll double the chicken mix on the pizza. My family is not a fan of jalepenos, so I left it out. Gonna make that again for sure!
Looks delicious. Hear me out, try gouda for a BBQ chicken pizza. It’s amazing.
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