Grilled BBQ Chicken Pizza with Pickles

It seems like every food blogger worth their salt has a recipe for barbecue chicken pizza. But we’re throwing our hat in the ring too, and our grilled BBQ chicken pizza with pickles is definitely our favorite. It’s savory, a little sweet, and a little tangy. It’s also grilled, which means that the crust is nice and toasty and not soggy at all.

Pull Up A Chair

Rachel: I love grilling pizza. It’s a great way to get a crispy crust without a pizza oven. And you don’t have to heat up your kitchen on a hot day because it’s cooked outside!

Emily: Barbecue chicken pizza is sometimes too sweet for me, but ours is so balanced with the dill pickles and fresh cilantro.

Why This is the Best BBQ Chicken Pizza

• Not too sweet. The dill pickles add some much-needed tanginess, and the mixture of honey mustard with the barbecue sauce on the chicken adds balance and more acidity. 
• Uses shortcuts to save time and effort. Rotisserie chicken, store-bought dough, and pre-made sauces cut down on time and keep this super low-effort. 
• No fancy pizza oven needed. If you have a gas grill, you can make this grilled pizza with perfectly toasted crust and melty cheese. No need to go out and buy a pizza oven. 
• Easy to customize. Use a different kind of meat (or keep it meatless), add green onions, change the cheese, top it with tomatoes, etc. It’s your pizza so make it how you like!

The Ingredients You’ll Need to Make This Pizza

• Pizza dough – use store-bought plain pizza dough for ease (we like Trader Joe’s pizza dough). 
• Chicken – rotisserie chicken or other pre-cooked chicken works best.
• Cheese – we like a mixture of shredded mozzarella and shredded jack. 
• Pickles – use store-bought dill pickles or make your own!
• Red onions – slice them thin with a mandolin or a sharp knife.
• Cilantro – for fresh notes. You can also use green onions if you hate cilantro. 
• Barbecue sauce – we like using a smoky and slightly sweet variety.
• Honey mustard – we prefer honey mustard that’s a little more on the tangy side, but you can use what kind you like, or swap it for yellow or spicy brown mustard.
• Olive oil – a little olive oil on the dough helps it toast up nicely. 
• Spices – salt and pepper to season the dough. 

This recipe was developed specifically with True Made Foods brand barbecue sauce and honey mustard, which are sweetened with fruits and veggies and no added sugar (save 10% with code CONKS).

How to Make BBQ Chicken Pizza on the Grill

Prepare the dough. Make sure your dough is rested according to the package instructions. Roll dough out to a 10-12 inch circle. If the dough is difficult to work with and won’t stay rolled out, let it rest for about 10 to 20 minutes before rolling it again. Transfer onto a lightly floured pizza peel or unrimmed baking sheet.

Prepare the chicken. Mix the chicken with the BBQ sauce and honey mustard in a bowl.  

Prepare the grill. Make sure the grill is cleaned and either oiled or made non-stick by rubbing it with a halved potato (cut a potato in half and rub the open side onto the grill; it works). Preheat your gas grill to about 400°F.

Cook the dough. Slide or lift the dough carefully to the grill. Brush the side of the dough that’s facing up with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Close the grill lid and cook for 3 minutes. Open the lid. The dough is ready to flip when it has bubbled up a little on the surface. Using a long spatula (a fish spatula works great), carefully flip the pizza dough over so that the oiled side is now face down. Brush another tbsp of olive oil onto the now face up side and season with salt and pepper. 

Add the toppings. Working fast, spread BBQ sauce on top of the dough, making sure to leave a small unsauced crust around the edges. Quickly sprinkle on the cheese, then distribute the pickles, then the chicken, and then the onions. This will take a few minutes total. 

Finish the pizza. Close the lid and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the crust is toasty and the cheese is fully melted. Remove the pizza from the grill and cut into 8 wedges. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Our Tips for Making BBQ Chicken Pizza with Pickles

• If you’re struggling to roll out your pizza dough, let it rest first. Resting it for 10-20 minutes lets the gluten relax enough for you to roll out and stretch the dough.
• Make sure the grates of your grill are cleaned and oiled. We like to rub the grates with a cut potato to make it non-stick. Trust us, it works. To do this, cut a potato in half, then stick a fork through the back of the potato, cut side facing forward, and rub the cut side of the potato onto the grill. The starch from the potato will act like a non-stick coating. It sounds crazy, but it actually works.

• Don’t let the grill get too hot. If you’re just cooking one pizza, you don’t need all of the burners on. We don’t want any flame-ups here!
• Be careful not to overcook the pizza. You want the crust to be toasted but not burnt, so keep an eye on it.

Serving and Storage Suggestions

We like to serve this BBQ chicken pizza with pickles as is, with our favorite orange margarita or frozen melon smoothie on the side. You can also eat it with a small green salad or fruit salad.

Grilled BBQ Chicken Pizza with Pickles

This grilled BBQ chicken pizza with pickles is the ultimate summer pizza recipe. It’s easy to make right on your grill, so there’s no need to heat up your oven on hot days, and it’s packed with flavor. It’s made with rotisserie chicken that gets tossed in barbecue sauce and honey mustard, and added to the pizza with a BBQ sauce base, lots of melty cheese, red onions, pickles, and cilantro.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time:20 minutes mins

Cook Time:15 minutes mins

Total Time:35 minutes mins

Course: Dinner, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: American, California

Keyword: Easy, summer

Servings: 8 slices

Author: Rachel & Emily Conklin

Equipment

• 1 Gas grill

Ingredients

Dough

• 16 oz pizza dough store-bought (1 pizza dough)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ¼ tsp pepper
• ¼ tsp salt

BBQ Honey Mustard Chicken

• ½ cup rotisserie chicken shredded
• 1 tbsp bbq sauce
• 1 tbsp honey mustard

Other Pizza Ingredients

• ⅓ cup bbq sauce for pizza crust
• ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• ¾ cup shredded monterey jack cheese
• ¼ cup dill pickles
• ⅛ red onion thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp cilantro leaves

Instructions

• Make sure your dough is rested according to the package instructions. Roll dough out to a 10-12 inch circle. If the dough is difficult to work with and won’t stay rolled out, let it rest for about 10 to 20 minutes before rolling it again.
  16 oz pizza dough
• Transfer onto a lightly floured pizza peel, unrimmed baking sheet, or upside down rimmed baking sheet for easy transfer.
• Mix the chicken with the BBQ sauce and honey mustard in a bowl and set aside.
  ½ cup rotisserie chicken, 1 tbsp bbq sauce, 1 tbsp honey mustard
• Make sure your gas grill is cleaned and either oiled or made non-stick by rubbing it with a halved potato (cut a potato in half and rub the open side onto the grill; it works).
• Preheat the grill to about 400°F.
• Slide or lift the dough carefully to the grill. Brush the side of the dough that’s facing up with 1 tbsp of olive oil and season with ⅛ tsp salt and ⅛ tsp pepper. Close the grill lid and cook for 3 minutes.
  1 tbsp olive oil, 0.13 tsp pepper, 0.13 tsp salt
• Open the lid. The dough is ready to flip when it has bubbled up a little on the surface. Using a long spatula (a fish spatula works great), carefully flip the pizza dough over so that the oiled side is now face down. Brush another tbsp of olive oil onto the now face up side and season with ⅛ tsp salt and ⅛ tsp pepper.
  1 tbsp olive oil, 0.13 tsp pepper, 0.13 tsp salt
• Working fast, spread ⅓ cup BBQ sauce on top of the dough, making sure to leave a small unsauced crust around the edges.
  ⅓ cup bbq sauce
• Quickly sprinkle on the cheese, then distribute the pickles, then the chicken and the onions. This will take a few minutes total.
  ¾ cup shredded mozzarella cheese, ¾ cup shredded monterey jack cheese, ¼ cup dill pickles, ⅛ red onion
• Close the lid and cook for 5-7 minutes, or until the crust is toasty and the cheese is fully melted.
• Remove the pizza from the grill and cut into 8 wedges. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

Notes

• If you’re struggling to roll out your pizza dough, let it rest for 10-20 minutes to let the gluten relax. 
• Make sure the grates of your grill are cleaned and oiled. We like to rub the grates with a cut potato to make it non-stick. Cut a potato in half, then rub the cut side of the potato onto the grill. 
• Don’t let the grill get too hot. If you’re just cooking one pizza, you don’t need all of the burners on.
• Be careful not to overcook the pizza. You want the crust to be toasted but not burnt, so keep an eye on it.

Serve with:

• Orange Margaritas
• Simple Green Salad
• Frozen Honeydew Smoothie
• Papaya with Lime Syrup

A Balanced BBQ Chicken Pizza with Flair

Barbecue chicken pizzas are classic for a reason. We think this one upgrades the traditional version with a better balance of sweet and tang. Using shortcuts and simple ingredients keeps this easy, and grilling it makes it fun and perfect for summer.