halie ribosomes: The Taste Tester: BBQ Chicken Pizza (Happy Pi Day!)

Friday, March 15, 2013

The Taste Tester: BBQ Chicken Pizza (Happy Pi Day!)

I was going to have an actual pie recipe for you today, but I've been trying to eat dessert only once per week. So, as it turns out I am actually going to share a pizza recipe with you. Pizza Pie. That's a thing, right?

I happen to be in love with this pizza. David and I have been searching for a tasty BBQ chicken pizza for a long time. We really like this one mainly because the sauce is tomato based, not BBQ sauce based. It sounds a little backwards for a BBQ pizza, I know. But we noticed that pizzas with just BBQ sauce as the base taste a little too vinegar-y (which we weren't too fond of).?

This particular recipe also adds pineapple as a topping, which we were skeptical of at first but it definitely paired well with the chicken and the sauce.

So far it's the best BBQ chicken pizza I've ever eaten. I think some crumbled bacon and sliced red onion would be perfect toppings for this pizza as well (in addition to the other toppings). Oh, and I should mention that we froze these pizzas. You can find a tutorial on making frozen pizzas here.

BBQ Chicken Pizza

enough pizza dough for 3 (12") pizzas *I (1 1/2) my favorite recipe, which I linked here

Sauce:

2 teaspoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 large tomato, finely chopped

4 teaspoons italian seasoning

salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

1 cup of your favorite BBQ sauce

Pizza Toppings:

2 chicken breasts, seasoned with salt and pepper and grilled with BBQ sauce (then let cool and slice)
1 small can pineapple tidbits
3 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
3 cups cheddar cheese, grated
fresh cilantro, chopped

Prepare pizza dough and roll into 3 (12") rounds.

To make the sauce, briefly saute the garlic in olive oil. Add the tomato paste, tomato sauce, diced tomato, and italian seasoning. Bring to a boil, then immediately reduce to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let simmer for 20 minutes (this is a great time to grill that chicken if you have not already done so). Once sauce is finished simmering, remove it from the heat and stir in the BBQ sauce.

Spread one cup or so of sauce over each pizza dough round. Sprinkle each pizza with 2 cups of cheese (1 cup of mozzarella, 1 cup of cheddar). Then top with chicken, pineapple, and cilantro. Bake at 425 for 12-15 minutes (18-22 minutes if your pizza is frozen).