Bbq ranch chicken pizza is loaded with flavor: tangy bbq sauce,
melted cheese, ranch seasoning, red onion, cilantro, and sweet
pickles. A drizzle of spicy red sriracha gives it a kick. And you can have it
on the table in about 30 minutes!
inspiration
This one is easy: I went to pizza night at a friend’s house and that put me in the mood to make my own pizza. It’s summer, and summer = barbecue. However, I wanted my bbq chicken pizza recipe to stand out from the billion others!
The first thing when creating a recipe is always to identify the staples: bbq sauce, cheese, chicken, cilantro, red onion. Then I thought about how to layer on more flavor for a memorable home pizza experience.
Two of my favorite things to put on a barbecue sandwich—or any sandwich, really—are dill pickles and sriracha. The first round with those turned out okay, but definitely not good enough, and it needed something. I kept the sriracha and switched out the dill pickles for sweet pickles, which balanced out the tangy sauce and spicy sriracha. I firmly believe that most pizzas need some kind of seasoning, and ranch is exactly what this one needed to go from fine to fantastic.
why i love this recipe
Making pizza is cheaper and faster than ordering in, and you’re not constricted to a restaurant’s topping options. You can get so much more creative and tailor things exactly to your taste! We’ve all had a pizza show up with three solitary pepperonis or a dump truck’s worth of spinach on it.
Bbq ranch chicken pizza has it all:tangy bbq sauce, cheese, flavorful cilantro and red onion, sweet pickles, spicy sriracha. It’s interesting but not weird, which is always the balance that I’m aiming for. It keeps well and it’s super easy to make—just chop up a couple of things, toss it all on, and bake it. It also keeps and heats up really well!
Bbq ranch chicken pizza is fun and summery, and an interesting twist on the usual recipes. You can throw it together in just 30 minutes, which makes it perfect for weekend celebrations or busy weeknights.
notes
Here are a few notes to make this recipe as successful as possible:
- Choose a pizza crust that you like. Not the precooked one from the pasta aisle. We want the refrigerated stuff you have to bake yourself. You might have to cook it a little longer than the instructions say.
- Don’t go overboard on the sauce. Barbecue sauce is strong so don’t put on so much it’ll overpower everything else!
- If you don’t like cilantro or sriracha, feel free to skip it!
- I didn’t include very many amounts here, but this recipe is like the pirate’s code: more guidelines than rules. The beauty of pizza is that you can tailor it to your own tastes and most specific amounts aren’t really that important.
- That being said, I recommend a lot of red onion.
- Sprinkle cheddar on the crust. It will bake in and be delicious.
What are you waiting for?
Not quite what you’re look for? Try this peach, pesto & prosciutto pizza or pepperoni pizza with spicy garlic honey!
bbq ranch chicken pizza
Ingredients
- 1 12-inch round pizza dough
- bbq sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's Original) to taste
- 1 ½ cups italian blend cheese shredded
- ½ cup sharp cheddar shredded
- 1 ½ tbsp ranch seasoning
- 2 tbsp cilantro roughly chopped
- red onion, sliced thinly into half-moons to taste
- rotisserie chicken, chopped to taste
- sweet pickle slices to taste
- sriracha for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450F. On a floured surface, roll out pizza crust to about 12 inches. I like to fold over the edge of the crust all the way around so it looks more like restaurant pizza, but you don't have to. Transfer pizza to a parchment-paper-lined baking sheet or pizza stone.
- Spread sauce over the dough, leaving the edges of the dough plain. Layer the cheeses next (be sure to put a little cheese on the plain edges–it will bake in and be delicious!) Sprinkle ranch seasoning over the entire pizza, including the edges. Follow the seasoning with cilantro, red onion (I like a lot), chicken, and sweet pickles.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until the bottom of the crust is golden brown. Slice and serve!