The “Better Than Delivery” BBQ Chicken Pizza (Made with a Rotisserie Chicken Shortcut!)

It’s Sunday evening, a perfect time to start planning for a fun and easy dinner to look forward to this week. Is there any meal that brings more universal joy to a family night than a hot, cheesy, and delicious pizza? It’s the ultimate crowd-pleasing dinner that everyone at the table gets excited about.

But let’s be honest, ordering delivery can be expensive, and making a pizza completely from scratch can feel like a huge amount of work. What if I told you there was a secret weapon that could help you make a gourmet-tasting pizza at home, that’s actually faster than waiting for the delivery driver to arrive? Imagine using tender, flavourful, pre-cooked rotisserie chicken to create the most amazing topping in minutes.

Today, we are making the absolute best Easy BBQ Chicken Pizza using this brilliant shortcut. It’s a dish that is tangy, smoky, cheesy, and incredibly simple to assemble. Get ready to completely win pizza night forever.

The Ultimate Pizza Night Shortcut: Easy BBQ Chicken Pizza

This recipe for Easy BBQ Chicken Pizza is the ultimate weeknight shortcut to a fun and flavourful family dinner. It delivers all the classic sweet, tangy, and smoky flavours of a restaurant-style barbecue chicken pizza. The true genius of this recipe is using pre-cooked rotisserie chicken and a store-bought pizza crust, which makes it one of the fastest and simplest homemade pizzas you can possibly make.

A Perfect Rotisserie Chicken Dinner Idea for Quick Family Meals

You will find that this is a truly brilliant rotisserie chicken dinner idea. It’s a wonderfully creative and fun way to transform a simple, store-bought cooked chicken into an exciting and completely new meal. This recipe is also a star among quick family meals, a guaranteed hit with both kids and adults that makes for a perfect, easy-going Friday pizza night.

Your Guide: What to Do With Leftover Rotisserie Chicken

So you have leftovers from a roast, and you’re wondering, what to do with leftover rotisserie chicken? While you could make a simple soup or sandwich, one of the absolute best and most creative answers is to use it as a topping for a homemade pizza. The tender, already-cooked meat shreds beautifully and is the perfect protein to soak up a flavourful sauce like the barbecue sauce in this recipe. It’s the ultimate meal prep ingredient for a week of easy and delicious meals.

Why You’ll Love This BBQ Chicken Pizza

You are going to fall completely in love with this recipe because it is so much faster, more affordable, and more delicious than ordering pizza delivery. You’ll also adore what a fantastic way it is to use up any leftover cooked chicken you might have, transforming it into a new and exciting dinner. Best of all, the classic sweet and tangy BBQ flavour profile is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser that the entire family will devour.

Nutritional Benefits

While pizza is often considered an indulgence, making it at home allows you to have complete control over the quality of the ingredients. By making this BBQ Chicken Pizza yourself, you can use a whole-wheat crust for extra fiber, load it up with lean protein from the rotisserie chicken, and control the amount of cheese and sugar in the sauce. It’s a much more wholesome and balanced way to enjoy a fun, family-favorite pizza night.

Full Recipe

Are you ready to create the easiest and most delicious pizza of your week? This comprehensive guide will walk you through every simple step, from preparing the flavourful toppings to baking the pizza to golden, bubbly perfection. Get ready to master a new weeknight favourite that will have everyone asking for seconds.

A quick, easy, and incredibly delicious recipe for homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza using a rotisserie chicken shortcut. A store-bought pizza crust is topped with tangy BBQ sauce, shredded rotisserie chicken, red onions, and a generous amount of melted mozzarella cheese. This is the ultimate family-friendly pizza night dinner, ready in under 30 minutes.

Prep Time: 10 minutes | Cook Time: 15 minutes | Total Time: 25 minutes | Yield: 8 slices (1 large pizza) | Category: Dinner, Main Course | Method: Baking | Cuisine: American | Diet: N/A

Essential Ingredients for BBQ Chicken Pizza

This easy and flavourful pizza comes together with a handful of simple, convenient ingredients.

• Pizza Crust: 1 pre-baked pizza crust (12-14 inches)
• Rotisserie Chicken: 2 cups shredded cooked chicken from a rotisserie chicken
• BBQ Sauce: ½ cup of your favorite barbecue sauce
• Cheese: 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• Toppings:
  • ½ a red onion, thinly sliced
  • ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Ingredients Notes

A little more detail on our key ingredients will ensure your homemade pizza is a spectacular success.

• The Rotisserie Chicken: The star of our shortcut! Using a pre-cooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery store is what makes this recipe incredibly fast and easy. You can use both the white breast meat and the darker thigh meat for the most flavourful result.
• The Pizza Crust: For the ultimate convenience, this recipe uses a pre-baked store-bought pizza crust. This eliminates the time and effort of making dough from scratch. You can find these in the bread aisle or sometimes in the refrigerated or frozen sections of your grocery store.
• The BBQ Sauce: Since the barbecue sauce provides the primary flavour for the pizza, it’s important to use a brand and style that you genuinely love. You can choose a sauce that is more sweet, more smoky, or even a spicy variety to customize the final taste of your pizza.
• The Toppings: The classic combination of tangy BBQ sauce and chicken pairs beautifully with the sharp, bright flavour of thinly sliced red onion. The final sprinkle of fresh cilantro after the pizza is baked adds a wonderful, fresh, and herbaceous note that cuts through the richness of the cheese.

How to Make Easy BBQ Chicken Pizza

Let’s walk through the incredibly simple steps to assemble and bake this delicious pizza.

• Step 1: Prepare the Oven and Ingredients. First, preheat your oven to 220°C (425°F). Prepare all your toppings by shredding your rotisserie chicken and thinly slicing your red onion.
• Step 2: Prepare the BBQ Chicken. In a medium bowl, combine the 2 cups of shredded rotisserie chicken with about ¼ cup of the barbecue sauce. Toss everything together until the chicken is evenly and generously coated.
• Step 3: Sauce the Crust. Place your pre-baked pizza crust on a baking sheet or a pizza pan. Spread the remaining ¼ cup of barbecue sauce evenly all over the surface of the crust, leaving a small border around the edge.
• Step 4: Add the Toppings. Sprinkle about half of the shredded mozzarella cheese evenly over the BBQ sauce. Arrange the saucy BBQ chicken mixture over the cheese, followed by the thinly sliced red onions.
• Step 5: The Final Cheese Layer and Baking. Sprinkle the remaining half of the mozzarella cheese evenly all over the top of the chicken and onions. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is completely melted and bubbly.
• Step 6: Garnish and Serve. Carefully remove the pizza from the oven. Let it cool for a minute before garnishing with the fresh chopped cilantro. Slice and serve immediately.

Storage Options

Leftover BBQ Chicken Pizza makes for a fantastic and easy lunch the next day. Once the pizza has cooled completely, you can either wrap individual slices in foil or store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To reheat, you can use a microwave, but for the best result that keeps the crust crispy, it’s best to heat the slices in an air fryer or in a dry skillet on the stovetop over medium-low heat.

Variations and Substitutions

This simple pizza recipe is a wonderful and versatile template that you can easily adapt to your family’s tastes. For a sweet and tropical twist, you can add some drained pineapple tidbits to the pizza along with the chicken. For some extra savory flavour, feel free to add some cooked and crumbled bacon on top of the pizza before you bake it. You can also experiment with different cheeses, like a smoked Gouda or a spicy Pepper Jack, for a different flavour profile.

Practical & Valuable Tips

For the crispiest possible crust, it’s a great idea to place your pizza on a preheated pizza stone or a preheated baking sheet in the oven. To ensure the chicken is extra flavourful, tossing it in the BBQ sauce before you add it to the pizza allows it to get fully coated. Finally, always add fresh herbs like cilantro after the pizza comes out of the oven, as their delicate flavour and colour will be preserved.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Can I use raw chicken for this recipe instead of a rotisserie chicken? Yes, you can, but it will add to the cooking time. You would need to cook and shred about two boneless, skinless chicken breasts first before you proceed with assembling the pizza. The rotisserie chicken is the key to making this a super-fast meal.
2. What kind of pizza crust is best for this recipe? Any type of pre-baked pizza crust will work wonderfully for this easy recipe. You can use a thin crust, a traditional crust, or even a whole-wheat crust. You could also use a flatbread or naan bread as a base for individual-sized pizzas.
3. My pizza crust turned out soggy in the middle. How do I prevent that? A soggy crust is usually because too much sauce was used. Be sure to only use a thin, even layer of the BBQ sauce as your base. Also, ensure your oven is fully preheated to a hot temperature, which helps the crust to cook quickly and stay crisp.
4. What are some other great toppings for a BBQ chicken pizza? BBQ chicken pizza is fantastic with a variety of toppings! Some other delicious additions include sliced mushrooms, chopped bell peppers, jalapeños for a spicy kick, or even a drizzle of ranch dressing over the finished pizza.
5. Can I make this pizza on an outdoor grill? Yes, absolutely! Grilling pizza is a fantastic way to get a wonderfully crispy, smoky crust. Simply preheat your grill to a medium-high heat, place the prepared pizza directly on the grates, and cook with the lid closed for about 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the crust is charred.

Conclusion

This Easy BBQ Chicken Pizza is the ultimate shortcut to a fun, fast, and incredibly delicious pizza night at home. It’s a dish that proves you can create a meal that is better than delivery with just a few simple, convenient ingredients. It is a perfect, crowd-pleasing recipe that will save you time and money and bring a huge amount of joy to your family dinner table. This recipe for Easy BBQ Chicken Pizza is a true weeknight lifesaver. If you love this simple and flavour-packed meal, don’t forget to share it and save it to your favorite pizza night board on Pinterest!