Fire up the grill for this easy, smoky grilled barbecue chicken pizza. The texture and taste are better than any pizza from a brick oven.
If you haven't tried grilled pizza, toss aside every other dinner idea and get your hands on some pizza dough. I first experienced grilled pizza when I was part of a cooking group and our theme for the month was "grilled anything". My cooking friends and I threw some dough on the grill and topped it with tomato sauce, roasted veggies and some cheese.
Holy cow...the texture is unlike any pizza crust texture you have ever experienced. It's crunchy without being over done and tender without being doughy. It's the pizza crust that inspires me to stand in front of the grill in the middle of winter, bundled up in my ski jacket, hat and gloves. Yep, I will do almost anything for great pizza.
The very next night, I made my own version...Grilled Shrimp and Pesto Pizza...for my family. They were just as blown away as I was.
There is one trick to grilled pizza and you will find yourself running around like a chicken with its head cut off if you don't follow this little tip.
Be prepared.
Before you toss the dough on the grill, make sure that all of your toppings are lined up in a nice little row, ready to arrange on top of the pizza as soon as the dough puffs up. Believe me, you will not have time to run back to the kitchen to gather everything together.
This smoky, crunchy, tender grilled barbecue chicken pizza is something that requires a pizza happy dance. The barbecue sauce is homemade, which requires about 3 minutes of whisking things together and another 5 minutes of simmering. It's well worth the extra 8 minutes!
If you have leftover chicken, this is the perfect way to use it up. Just shred the chicken breast with your fingers or a fork. Add a little mozzarella, some red bell pepper and a couple of slices of red onion. Voilà...awesome grilled pizza!
Printable Recipe
Smoky Grilled Barbecue Chicken Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
The Sauce:
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
The Pizza:
- 2 portions store-bought or homemade whole wheat pizza dough 2 pounds total
- 5 ounces fresh mozzarella sliced
- 1 large cooked chicken breast shredded
- ½ large red bell pepper thinly sliced
- ½ red onion thinly sliced
Instructions
The Barbecue Sauce:
- In a medium saucepan, whisk together the brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar, water, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, salt and pepper.
- Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer, whisking frequently, for 5 minutes.
The Pizza:
- Heat the grill to medium-heat. Lightly oil the grate.
- Roll out the dough into 6 (6-inch) rounds. Lay them on a flour-covered cutting board until you’re ready to use them.
- Before the pizzas go on the grill, be sure to have all of your ingredients ready and sitting right beside the barbecue.
- Place the pizza dough rounds on the grill. Depending on the size of your grill, you may have to do this in 2 batches. Close the lid and grill for about 2 minutes, or until there are grill marks on the bottom of each round.
- Flip the rounds. As they start to puff up, press down slightly with the back of a metal spatula to get rid of some of the air inside the dough. Quickly divide the barbecue sauce, mozzarella cheese, chicken, red bell pepper and onion evenly among the pizzas.
- Close the lid and grill until the cheese melts, about 3 more minutes. Remove from the grill, cut and serve.
Nutrition
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Laura (Tutti Dolci)
I love grilled pizza, a perfect weeknight meal!
Christine at Cook the Story
Can't wait to try this on pizza night. It looks delicious!
Jeanette | Jeanette's Healthy Living
My kids would love this pizza!