BBQ Chicken Pizza

I'm not a big pizza eater, but from time to time, I will crave pizza. My favorites include Supreme, Thai Chicken, Caprese, and BBQ Chicken. I had never made my own pizza at home, but one day I was inspired to re-create one of my favorites -- the BBQ Chicken Pizza. It was fairly simple to throw together, and after it turned out so well, I wondered why I hadn't tried making it myself sooner :) I make it regularly now, and we rarely have any leftovers :)

We like everything spicy, so I always add either some chili paste or crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce! Occasionally I will top it with sliced jalapenos instead, but I rarely have those on hand. Eventually, I'd like to try this recipe with some homemade pizza dough, but we'll save that for another day, after I'm brave enough to bake with yeast ;)

I admit that today I was in a bit of a rush, so I only sautéed the onions until translucent and cooked through; I did not fully caramelize them. This isn't a pizza that photographs very well, but I promise it tastes much better than it looks!

BBQ Chicken Pizza
from my own kitchen!

1 to 2 tbsp olive oil
1/3 red onion, sliced (I only had yellow onions on hand today, which was fine)
1/2 cup BBQ sauce (I typically use KC Masterpiece, but have been meaning to try Sweet Baby Ray's)
2 tsp honey
1/2 to 1 tsp Sambal Oelek chili paste, or crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
store bought pizza dough, i.e. Pillsbury
1 to 1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, boiled and diced/shredded
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and sauté onions on low heat, stirring frequently, until golden and caramelized (you can heat them on medium low heat until slightly golden around the edges if you are short on time). Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the BBQ sauce, honey, and chili paste.

Unroll pizza dough onto baking sheet or pizza stone. Spread BBQ sauce over the pizza dough, top with chicken, caramelized onions, then shredded cheese. Sprinkle cilantro over the top if desired.

Bake for 13-18 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is golden.

*Alternatively, you can bake the pizza dough alone in the oven for 8 minutes, then add the sauce and toppings and bake an additional 6-11 minutes, or until golden.