Gluten-Free BBQ Chicken Pizza

This Gluten-Free BBQ Chicken Pizza is the perfect flavor for your next family pizza night! This barbecue-inspired pizza combines our homemade gluten-free pizza crust with tender BBQ chicken, two kinds of cheese, savory veggies, and a few fresh finishes we know you’ll LOVE.

We spent the last few months on a MAJOR pizza kick at our house. Over the summer, we made an effort to branch out from our traditional pepperoni pizza on movie night to try making more fun flavors at home.

Best pizza summer ever.

We made all kinds of variations, like Pesto Caprese, white sauce pizza, and Hawaiian, but one of our favorites was this gluten-free BBQ Chicken Pizza recipe. This recipe swaps out the traditional pizza sauce for sweet & tangy BBQ sauce, and adds toppings like smoky BBQ chicken, lots of cheese (including one unexpected variety!), and fresh toppings, like sliced red onions and a sprinkle of cilantro.

It’s smoky, savory, sweet, tangy, and DELICIOUS–a total crowd pleaser! Best of all? This delicious pizza starts with a simple ingredients list…

Simple Ingredients To Start

• Gluten-Free Pizza Dough. We’re gluten-free so we’re starting with our homemade gluten-free pizza crust. Otherwise, you’ll need a 12-inch pizza crust (store-bought, or homemade!)
• Olive Oil. We’ll use olive oil to shape the pizza dough, and brush a bit on the crust at the end for a prettier look.
• BBQ Sauce. Tangy, smoky, sweet BBQ sauce does double duty in this gluten-free pizza recipe, since we’ll use it for the pizza sauce AND for the chicken. Feel free to use your favorite BBQ sauce from the store, or try our yummy Homemade BBQ sauce. I recommend BBQ sauce that’s decently thick, so it doesn’t make your crust soggy.
• Cooked Chicken. For simplicity, I usually make this BBQ chicken pizza with leftover rotisserie chicken or grilled chicken, but feel free to use baked, broiled or pan-cooked chicken instead!
• Red Onion. Thinly sliced or finely diced red onion is a classic pairing.
• Mozzarella Cheese. Always a must! I usually use part-skim mozzarella since it grates and melts so well. I highly recommend grating your own cheese for best results!
• Smoked Gouda Cheese (Maybe). Why use smoked gouda? Well, it mimics the smoky flavor of the BBQ sauce! It’s a tip we got from a local pizzeria, and from the popular BBQ Chicken Pizza at California Pizza Kitchen. If it doesn’t fit your budget, or you can’t find it, feel free to use a little sharp cheddar cheese, Monterey Jack, or more mozzarella.
• Fresh Cilantro. A must for me! You’ll garnish this gluten-free BBQ chicken pizza with fresh cilantro for a bright pop of green and a delicious, fresh flavor. (Can’t stand cilantro? Swap in green onions, chives, or fresh parsley.)
• A Few Finishing Touches. One secret for pretty pizza is adding a few little finishing touches after it comes out of the oven. I love a bit of coarse salt and freshly grated black pepper, but you can also add parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, or dried parsley.

How To Make Homemade BBQ Chicken Pizza, Step By Step

As always, you can find the full recipe with ingredient amounts, detailed instructions, and tips in the recipe card below.

1. Preheat & Prep. To start, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Line a pizza pan or sheet pan with parchment paper, and drizzle with 1/2 Tablespoon olive oil.
2. Par-Bake Pizza Crust. Pat the pizza dough out into a 12-inch circle. Bake in preheated oven for 8-10 minutes. (If using pre-made crust, you can skip this step.)
3. Coat Chicken. Add chicken to a medium bowl, and drizzle with 1/4 cup BBQ sauce. Gently stir to evenly coat the chicken in BBQ sauce. It may not be fully coated, and this is fine!
4. Top Pizza. Spread 1/4-1/3 cup of barbecue sauce over the pre-baked crust, leaving a small border around the edge. (Feel free to use a bit more or less sauce here, to taste). Add 1 cup mozzarella cheese and 1/4 cup smoked gouda cheese, followed by the BBQ sauce coated chicken, and sliced onions. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella and 1/4 cup smoked gouda cheese.
5. Bake Pizza for 12-14 minutes, or until the crust is just golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbling.
6. Garnish. If desired, brush the freshly baked crust with olive oil. Sprinkle fresh cilantro, a pinch of coarse salt, and a little black pepper on top of the pizza. Feel free to add additional garnish, such as parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, or parsley, to taste.
7. Serve & Store. Cut pizza into 8 equal pieces and enjoy warm. Store leftover pizza in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 2 days.

FAQ + Tips And Tricks For The Best Gluten-Free BBQ Chicken Pizza

Can I Use Another Gluten-Free Crust? Yes. While we recommend our homemade pizza crust any time you can make it, you can use store-bought gluten-free pizza dough (like Trader Joe’s or Manini’s), or you can use a pre-made gluten-free pizza crust. I do NOT recommend cauliflower crust for this recipe, since the toppings are a bit more substantial and heavy. I find that cauliflower crust can’t stand up to the toppings well.

What Toppings Go On BBQ Chicken Pizza? Different restaurants and pizzerias have varying recipes, but the most classic BBQ chicken pizza toppings are BBQ sauce, cheese, chicken, red onions, and cilantro.

Do You Put The BBQ Chicken Under The Cheese or On Top The Cheese? Both! In our recipe, we start with a base of cheese, then add BBQ chicken and red onions, topped with more cheese. Then, you’ll finish the pizza with cilantro after baking!

Try A Pizza Pan! Sheet pans will absolutely work, but if you make a lot of pizza, like we do, we can’t recommend these pizza pans enough. They’re easy to clean, cook evenly, and they’re easy to store. They make REALLY good pizza, even without a pizza stone. Win-win-win! 

Recipe Card