Ok, so I am apparently late to the party when it comes to Barbecue Chicken Pizza. I recently made this recipe, and I’m pretty sure this is my new favorite kind of pizza! Although, I am obsessed with pretty much any pizza variety I find. You are going to be blown away by this Deep Dish Barbecue Chicken Pizza recipe! It has the most delicious crispy, caramelized crust! I’ve taken the flavor over the top by adding diced red onion, bacon, cilantro, and 2 kinds of cheeses. This recipe is the perfect way to use up an extra cooked chicken breast from another meal too!
For any good pizza at home, you need to start with an amazing dough for the base.
My favorite pizza dough, is a frozen variety by Tiseo’s. We just thaw it in the fridge the night before we plan to use it, or leave it on the counter for about 4 hours prior to using.
If you prefer to make your own, and need a good homemade pizza dough recipe, this one is excellent: https://www.recipetineats.com/pizza-dough-recipe/
Seasoning the Cast Iron Pan
The real key to making this recipe is properly seasoning your cast iron pan. I drizzled in about a tablespoon of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, then sprinkled in about a teaspoon of cornmeal. This provides us with a non-stick surface for the pizza dough. The only seasonings needed are a little kosher salt, black pepper, and oregano.
Once your pan is properly seasoned you need to do 3 things:
- Gather all your toppings and have them chopped, diced, and ready before assembly can begin. *Pro tip: Leave the shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese in the fridge until you are absolutely ready to use it. This will help the cheese brown better and keep the top of the pizza from getting orange and oily
- Preheat your oven broiler on High
- Place your seasoned pan on a large stove burner and turn the heat to medium
Assembling the Deep Dish Barbecue Chicken Pizza
Now, this part is important: Be careful to use your time efficiently, you have about 6-8 minutes to top the pizza after the dough in the pan has been placed on the burner. Set a timer so you can keep track. The bottom of the pizza dough is cooking while you are adding the toppings. For my stove, it takes precisely 7 minutes to get the bottom of the crust golden-brown.
Next, spread your dough out evenly and press gently into your seasoned cast iron pan while heating on the burner.
Spread the barbecue sauce over the dough evenly, and completely from edge to edge.
Add the shredded mozzarella cheese, diced red onion, barbecue chicken, and bacon.
Top with shredded cheddar cheese.
After about 7 minutes have passed on the burner during assembly, place your pizza in the pre-heated high broil oven on a high rack. Broil for 4-5 minutes until the cheese and crust are brown and bubbly and toppings start to soften.
Remove pizza from the oven. Don’t rest your pizza on the hot burner you were using during assembly. Put it on a cool surface or hot pad, and let it rest for a minute or two.
Then, take a butter knife and scrape the caramelized crust from the sides of the pan. After another minute or two, take some tongues or a large spatula and transfer the pizza to a cutting board.
You should have a beautiful golden brown crust if you look under your pizza! Pretty perfect for only 15 minutes of cook time!
Top with fresh cilantro, slice, and enjoy!
This pizza is a thing of beauty! I just cannot get over how delicious it is! Might be making this one weekly!
It will definitely hit the spot if you are a lover of crispy crusts!
Deep Dish Barbecue Chicken Pizza
Equipment
- 12inch Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 1 frozen Tiseo's Pizza Dough Ball, thawed (or homemade dough)
- 1/3 cup Barbecue Sauce (Sweet Baby Ray's)
- 3/4 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
- 1 medium Cooked Chicken Breast (diced, coated with Barbecue Sauce)
- 1/4 cup Diced Red Onion
- 1/4 cup Bacon Bits
- 1/8 cup Chopped Fresh Cilantro
Cast Iron Pan Seasoning
- 1 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Cornmeal
- pinch Kosher Salt and Black Pepper
- 1/4 tsp Dried Oregano
Instructions
- Thaw frozen pizza dough, or prepare homemade dough as desired.
- Drizzle olive oil into cast iron skillet, sprinkle cornmeal, salt, pepper, and oregano.
- Gather sauce, toppings and chop/prepare as needed. Keep shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese in fridge until you are absolutely ready to use it.
- Work your dough until it is evenly thin (either with your hands or a rolling pin) and about 12 inches in diameter.
- Preheat oven broiler on high. Place one oven rack in the highest position. Move the seasoned cast iron pan onto a large stove burner over medium to medium-high heat.Gently press the prepared pizza dough into the pan warming on the burner.
- Set a timer for 6-8 minutes to get your pizza assembled. My stove cooks the pizza dough bottom perfectly at exactly 7 minutes. Spread the barbecue sauce from edge to edge.
- Remove shredded mozzarella from the fridge, and top the pizza from edge to edge.
- Add the diced barbecue chicken, red onion, and bacon bits. Remove shredded cheddar cheese from the fridge and sprinkle over the rest of the toppings.
- After about 7 minutes have passed with the pan on the stove burner, your pizza should be finished being assembled.
- Place your cast iron skillet in the pre-heated high broil oven on the highest rack. Broil for 4-5 minutes until the cheese and crust are brown and bubbly and toppings start to soften.
- Let the pizza rest for 1 minute, then scrape the sides of the pan/crust with a butter knife. This will prevent the pizza from sticking. Top with fresh cilantro. Transfer pizza to a cutting board to slice. Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Like this recipe? Try my traditional cast iron deep dish pizza recipe!