Seven ingredients, one twelve-inch round, thirty-five minutes. The oven does most of the work at 475 degrees Fahrenheit with a stone or an inverted sheet pan already inside it.
Red onion goes on raw and thinly sliced, and it comes out of a fifteen-minute bake softened rather than cooked away — visible in the finished slices, which is the point.
Why This Recipe Works
- A preheated stone or inverted pan gives the base heat from below, which is what browns a crust deeply in a quarter of an hour.
- Half a cup of BBQ sauce is enough to cover the round without making the base wet.
- Thinly sliced red onion softens in the bake instead of staying raw and harsh.
- Brushing the crust edge with oil before topping gives it colour of its own.
- The second drizzle after the oven stays dark and glossy rather than baking dull.
Ingredient Notes
- BBQ sauce, in two parts
- Half a cup as the base and two more tablespoons for drizzling afterwards. The second lot never sees the oven, which is why it stays dark and glossy.
- Cooked shredded chicken
- A cup and a half, shredded and already cooked. Shredded rather than chopped, so it sits flat under the cheese.
- Red onion
- A third of a cup, thinly sliced and raw when it goes on. Thin enough that the bake softens it.
How to Make It
Very hot oven, stone inside
Get the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit with a pizza stone, or an inverted sheet pan, already heating inside it.
Stretch and oil the edge
Stretch dough into a 12-inch round on parchment and brush the crust edge with olive oil.
Sauce, chicken, cheese, onion
Spread 1/2 cup BBQ sauce over the dough, then add shredded chicken, mozzarella, and red onion.
Bake to deeply browned
Bake 11 to 15 minutes until the crust is deeply browned and the cheese bubbles.
The second drizzle
Drizzle with the remaining BBQ sauce.
Parsley, then slice
Finish with parsley and slice.
The Order Things Go On
Seven ingredients and a fixed sequence. Two of them are the same sauce added at two different moments, and that is what most distinguishes the finished pizza from a simpler one.
The dough, and its edge
1 lb stretched into a 12-inch round on parchment, with 1 tbsp of olive oil brushed onto the crust edge BEFORE anything else goes on. That oil is why the rim browns rather than drying out at 475F.
The BBQ sauce - first half
1/2 cup spread over the dough. This is the base and the identity: on a chicken pizza the sauce is what makes it one dish rather than another, and here it is barbecue rather than a white garlic-ranch sauce.
The chicken
1 1/2 cups of cooked shredded chicken, straight onto the sauce. Shredded so it lies flat and the mozzarella can cover it; already cooked, because eleven to fifteen minutes is timed for the crust.
The mozzarella
1 1/2 cups shredded, over the chicken. It bubbles at the surface where it can be seen, and holds the toppings down as the crust rises.
The red onion, raw and thin
1/3 cup thinly sliced, on top of the cheese. It goes on raw and comes out softened - thin is what makes that possible in a quarter of an hour.
The BBQ sauce - second half, after the oven
2 tbsp drizzled once the pizza is out. The only ingredient added after baking, and the reason the finished slices carry dark glossy lines: sauce that has been through a 475F oven has darkened and gone matte.
2 tbsp of chopped parsley over the drizzle, and then sliced. Both of the last two additions happen off the heat, so both are still bright on the plate.
Success Tips
- Give the stone a real preheat; it is what browns the base rather than just cooking it.
- Stretch on parchment so the loaded round can be moved onto the hot surface.
- Keep the second two tablespoons of sauce back for after the oven.
Serving Ideas
Four servings from one twelve-inch round, sliced onto white plates, the shredded BBQ chicken and red onion under bubbling mozzarella with the dark sauce drizzle and parsley over the top.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is this different from the garlic-ranch chicken pizza?
The base. That one is a white garlic-ranch sauce with Parmesan and dried herbs; this one is BBQ sauce with red onion and a second drizzle. On a chicken pizza, the sauce is the recipe.
Can I put all the BBQ sauce on before baking?
The recipe holds two tablespoons back on purpose. Baked, that sauce would darken and dull; drizzled after, it stays glossy on the finished slices.
Can I use raw chicken?
Cook it to 165 degrees Fahrenheit first. The eleven-to-fifteen-minute bake is timed for the crust and the cheese.
