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Grilled BBQ Chicken Pizza

This grilled BBQ pizza features warm, spiced sauce, chicken, red onion for bite, gooey mozzarella, butternut squash, and more for a wonderful fall dinner recipe.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time6 minutes
Total Time16 minutes
Course: Main Dishes
Cuisine: American, Grilling
Servings: 3 medium pizzas

Ingredients

  • My go-to pizza dough recipe see the post for recipe link
  • 3-4 tablespoons of BBQ sauce per pizza *I love Sweet Baby Ray's; see notes
  • Small pieces of cooked chicken I use grilled BBQ chicken breasts
  • Thinly sliced or diced red onion
  • Buffalo mozzarella cheese torn in pieces, or you can buy "pearls"; see notes
  • Freshly-grated parmesan cheese
  • A tiny bit of shredded cheddar cheese
  • Optional: roasted butternut squash pieces pine nuts, fresh cilantro (garnish)

Instructions

  • First, you make your dough (if you're going that route).  The one I use is super easy and super delicious.  Or you can definitely pick up some from the store. Prep all your ingredients.
  • So I have like 5 different methods for awesome grilled pizza, but here is my current favorite. Lay a piece of parchment paper on a cutting board or platter.  Roll or stretch your dough out quite thin, and into a circle...or quite frankly whatever the hell shape it wants to be.  South America is a(n accidental) favorite of mine.  
  • Go ahead and top your pizza.  A thin layer of BBQ sauce, a little freshly-grated parmesan.  Then I add some small pieces of grilled BBQ chicken, a little bit of finely-diced red onion, small pieces of butternut squash, and then some of the little mozzarella pearls.  Throw a tiny bit of shredded cheddar on there too.  
  • Then use scissors to cut around the parchment paper very close to the dough.  I had issues with all the excess parchment ending up as black burnt bits in my pizza---this method eliminates that problem.
  • Preheat your grill to medium, probably around 500 degrees.  When it's hot, gently slide the pizza and parchment paper directly onto the grates. Close the lid and let cook for 2-3 minutes. 
  • Then (this will depend on your grill, so you may need to play around a bit) you can use tongs to slide the parchment paper out and discard it.  Keep cooking the pizzas directly on the grill for another few minutes.
  • For me, I've found I need to then either turn the heat directly under the pizza down significantly, or off (and keep the other burners on for more indirect heat).  On my old grill I could keep the burners as-is, so it will depend on how intense your grill is (my new Weber's pretty intense).
  • You'll want to keep a very close eye on the bottom, you don't want to burn it.  Once your cheese is melted and the dough seems cooked through and crisp, use tongs, a pizza peel, or a large spatula to slide it off the grill and onto a large platter or cutting board.
  • Let it sit for five or so minutes, then cut and serve.

Notes

  • An assembly line-type approach can work here if you're making more than one pizza
  • I'd definitely go with a more Memphis/Kansas City type of sweeter, thicker BBQ sauce vs. a vinegar one; Sweet Baby Ray's is a favorite of mine
  • You want the fresh buffalo mozzarella that is NOT in water
  • My pizza dough recipe makes about 3 medium pizzas (maybe 4 people?)