BBQ Chicken Pizza

Since Mr. Foodie is from deep dish pizza mecca of the world, Chicago, he feels that he is the authority on all things related pizza. I'm from Los Angeles. We aren't pizza snobs, although I don't like the store bought frozen assortment. I'll take a pan crust pizza from Pizza Hut any day. But not Mr. Foodie. Apparently, if you're from Chicago you're picky about your pizza. And to top it off, Mr. Foodie doesn't eat pork or beef. So that means no pepperoni or Italian sausage on my pizza. Meat on my pizza is a must.

When we go out to eat pizza, I get to indulge in toppings of my choice. But when we are at home, I have no choice but to compromise. Thank the food gods that there is turkey Italian sausage out there. But in the spirit of compromise and variety, I have started experimenting with different toppings. So in an ode to California Pizza Kitchen (a favorite high school hang out) I made this BBQ chicken pizza.

I haven't made pizza dough from scratch but I do like buying already made dough and rolling it out. I like having control of how thick or thin I want the crust to be, although the dough sometimes gets the best of me. To save time, I use store bought rotisserie chicken. This pizza is so quick to make and tastes just like it came from the restaurant. So next time you're in the mood for pizza, don't call the delivery guy, try this recipe and enjoy.

BBQ Chicken Pizza
(8 slices)
Printable Recipe

flour, for surface
pizza dough
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup of Gouda cheese, shredded
½ store brought rotisserie chicken, chopped
¼ cup BBQ sauce
½ medium red onion, sliced
¼ cup chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Mix the chicken with half of the BBQ sauce. Set aside

Flour your hands and work surface liberally. Knead dough and roll out using a rolling pin, to approximately 12-14 inches in diameter. Place on lightly floured baking sheet (I have a round one I use or you can use a pizza stone). Brush the dough with the olive oil and garlic mixture. Bake in oven for 5-6 min.

Remove from oven and spread remaining BBQ sauce on pizza dough. Sprinkle with shredded cheese. Scatter the chicken over the entire pizza. Add the sliced onions and cilantro

Bake in oven for 10-15 minutes, until edges are brown and to your desired doneness. Remove from oven, slice and serve immediately.