Sometimes you think of something you want to try making, give it a whirl and it either comes out of the oven as something everyone loves or something they look cross-eyed at and poke a fork into a couple of times to see how rubbery it is! This recipe for Quick and Easy BBQ Chicken Pepper Pizza is definitely one of the before mention category!
It’s simple in the fact that you make a crust, top with some cooked chicken and peppers and then bake for a little while. And when it comes out? An absolute hit! (It actually reminded everyone who ate it of a little hole-in-the-wall pizzeria that used to be in a nearby town. Their wood-fired pizza was some of the best we’d had!)
A little note – I’ve found that too many dough recipes make just enough dough for you spread out thinly (with a few holes) and with none leftover for a crust. However, this particular recipe doesn’t do that! If you like thin crusts, I would suggest using half of the dough called for here, but if you like your crust a bit thicker (maybe the outer crust could even have stuffed cheese!?) then this recipe should be perfect for you!
Pizza Crust Dough:
2 1/2 T. yeast
1 1/4 cup warm water
1 t. sugar
1/2 t. salt
2 T. olive oil
3 cup flour
Pizza Topping:
3 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
1 green pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Ray’s)
1 T. Dijon mustard
Mozzarella cheese, finely shredded
Pepper
Olive Oil
Start by combining the yeast, sugar and salt together in a large bowl.
Pour in the warm water, stir a bit, and let sit for a few minutes or until bubbly .
When yeast mixture is bubbling, measure in the flour…
And add the olive oil. Mix it all together gently until the loose flour is incorporated into the dough and starts to form a ball.
When it makes a ball and is all mixed together (like this!) let it sit in a greased bowl to rise for about 20 minutes (give or take a few).
While your dough is rising, start cooking your chicken. I actually halved a couple of the chicken breasts (so they cooked faster), cracked some fresh black pepper over the top of them and then poured a smidgen of olive oil over the top. Let them cook (flipping a few times if necessary) until completely cooked through in the middle and brown on the outside.
Pull out of the skillet and chop them into bite sized pieces.
Into the same skillet you cooked the chicken, throw in the sliced pepper, onion and the minced garlic. Crack over them some fresh black pepper and then throw in some olive oil. Sauté over low heat for a few minutes.
When you turn the heat off, they should be soft, but still have a bite of crunch left – Just a bit. You don’t want them to be raw or mushy!
By now your dough should be ready – You’ll want to grease a pan and spread the dough out on it.
You should have enough dough to make a nice outer crust too! Now stick this in your preheated 400 degree oven for about 5 – 7 minutes so that it’s already partly cooked when you put the topping on it. This way the chicken and such shouldn’t sink into the dough and make a mushy mess.
Hopefully.
That’s the way it should turn out…
Good luck!
Wait… Why am I saying “good luck”? I made this stuff… I should know how it turns out!
Well anyway.. Back to the pizza!
By now, your peppers are feeling like we’ve forgotten them (not really!). So dump your chicken in with them (to keep them company, of course) and proceed with adding the BBQ sauce and Dijon mustard.
**Behind the scenes comment** – I LOVE Dijon mustard. It’s my latest obsession in the kitchen. I could add it to about anything and be quite happy. Except ice-cream. That’s a little too much for even me to handle!
Give your pepper/chicken/BBQ sauce mixture a little stir and go pull out the pizza crust!
It should be getting puffy and starting to brown a bit. Grab a stick of butter and run it lightly over the crust.
**Yes, another behind-scenes-comment!** – Why butter? Because I love it!
So now is the moment you’ve been waiting for.
The moment this has all been leading up to.
The processional is starting and the trumpets are–
Okay, I get it…
That’s enough.
Back to the pizza!
Now you can spread the pepper/chicken/BBQ sauce on the crust!
And sprinkle on lots of shredded cheese. Pop it back in the oven for about 20 – 25 minutes or until bubbly, hot, and lightly browned.
Pull out and let rest 5 minutes before serving.
Enjoy!
Ashleigh
Quick and Easy BBQ Chicken Pepper Pizza
Ingredients
Dough
- 2 - 1/2 T. yeast
- 1 - 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 t. sugar
- 1/2 t. salt
- 2 T. olive oil
- 3 cup flour
Pizza Topping
- 3 chicken breasts cooked and cubed
- 1 green pepper sliced
- 1 onion sliced
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 3/4 cup BBQ sauce Sweet Baby Ray's
- 1 T. Dijon mustard
- Mozzarella cheese finely shredded
- Pepper
- Olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Start making pizza dough by combining yeast, sugar, salt, and warm water. Set aside for a few minutes or until bubbly and then stir in the flour and olive oil.
- Set dough aside for 20 minutes to rise.
- Cook chicken in a skillet over medium-low heat with some pepper and olive oil (flipping a few times.)
- When cooked through, chop chicken into bite-sized pieces and set aside.
- In the same skillet you cooked the chicken in, sauté the pepper, onion, and garlic. When they're soft (but not mushy), stir in the chicken, BBQ sauce and Dijon mustard.
- Now spread your dough out on a greased pan and place in the oven for 5 - 7 minutes to start cooking before you add toppings to it.
- When crust is pulled out, spread out the BBQ mixture evenly on it and top with the cheese.
- Bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until starting to brown and bubble.
- Let rest 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Enjoy!
Elizabeth says
Oh gosh! It’s just gone 7am here in the UK and you now have me craving pizza! This looks like the ultimate comfort food – and I know what you mean about thin pizza dough with holes! Nothing’s more frustrating. Gorgeous recipe!
Tammy says
Well I come from a family of pizza loving picky eaters. We each take our pizza a different way.
I love this dough recipe because I make one large or two small out of it. Perfect. The toppings are awesome. Two thumbs way up for this one 😀