BBQ Chicken Pizza

When Lloyd and I lived in his condo, he would order pizza every couple of weeks from a place up the street.  His order always semi-disgusted me.  It wasn’t the bbq chicken pizza he ordered that grossed me out, so much as what he ordered with it.

He did not get salad. He did not get bread sticks.

Not garlic bread.  Not fries. 

No, not even another appetizer.

My 7 37 year old boyfriend always got bbq chicken pizza with a side of fried dough.

I know.  Try not to vomit.  My stomach churns just remembering hearing him place the order. 

Pizza is wonderful.  BBQ chicken pizza is even more wonderful.  Fried dough is heavenly.

But BBQ chicken pizza, chased by fried dough?!  The combination of the two always made me queasy.  Why not throw in some cotton candy while you’re at it? 

I live with a sick, sick man.

Luckily, we have since moved, and we no longer order pizza from a place where he can also order carnival food alongside his dinner.  When I saw The Pioneer Woman post a recipe for CPK’s BBQ Chicken Pizza, I knew it would be right up Lloyd’s alley. 

She did not follow up with a recipe for fried dough to serve with said pizza, and I thank her for that. 

BBQ Chicken Pizza

Original recipe here

Print this recipe!

Ingredients

• Pizza Dough
• 2 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• ½ cups Barbecue Sauce
• Olive Oil, For Drizzling
• Salt For Sprinkling
• 12 ounces, Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Sliced Thinly
• 1/4 whole Red Onion, Sliced Thin
• Chopped Cilantro, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Pour BBQ sauce over chicken breasts and turn to coat. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until chicken is done. Remove from oven and cut into a fine dice. Set aside.
3. Increase oven temperature to 500 degrees.
4. Roll out pizza dough.Drizzle a little olive oil on the crust, then sprinkle on a little salt.
5. Spoon a couple of tablespoons of extra BBQ sauce on the crust and spread it evenly. Top sauce with sliced mozzarella. Sprinkle on diced chicken and thinly sliced red onion.
6. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are bubbly. (Broil if necessary). 
7. Remove from the oven and sprinkle on plenty of chopped cilantro. Cut into squares and serve.

I made this for NYE, along with a Fig-Prosciutto Pizza.  The PW knows her gourmet pizzas. 

Both were winners, but this one went over with LLoyd especially well.  Well, after he picked off all of the onions, of course.  And before he realized I would not be serving fried dough for dessert. 

Again, I can’t say enough wonderful things about Trader Joe’s whole what pizza dough.  It had the perfect chew and the slightest crisp.  I liked the ‘q sauce base for the pizza in lieu of red sauce.  It was a bit smoky, a bit tangy, and complemented the melted mozzarella nicely, which browned up perfectly after a quick broil.  The red onion added a little zing, and the cilantro gave it some pizzazz.  This recipe took all the best parts of a summer cookout and combined them onto a pizza crust! 

I don’t know about where you live, but here in MA, there are rumors of a Nor’easter coming into town tonight.  Although I love New England, crazy weather and all, I couldn’t care less about snow after Christmas!  Have a great day!