Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza

Published March 25, 2015. Updated March 5, 2020

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Such a tasty Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza recipe! Pizza crust is layered with smokey bbq sauce, chicken pieces, creamy mozzarella, sweet pineapple, and flavorful red onion and cilantro. The best pizza recipe ever? It just might be!  

close up of sliced Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza

I’ve got pizza on my mind lately. Oh wait, I always have pizza on my mind. It’s been one of my favorites foods as long as I can remember, and I have the feeling that is never going to change.

Pizza is just comfort food at it’s best, and when done right it’s sure to please. I love how creative you can be with homemade pizza!

Pizza topping options are endless, and you don’t need to just stop at Italian or American flavors. A few I still need to try are Thai pizza, enchilada pizza, and a potato rosemary pizza (and that list goes on and on).

Today, I went with the classic BBQ chicken pizza, but gave it a Hawaiian spin. This Hawaiian pizza will be very familiar to you if you’ve ever ordered something similar at California Pizza Kitchen.

To be honest, I’ve never ordered there (I think I’ve only been there once or twice my whole life), I just used their idea for inspiration. Their chicken pizza uses Gouda cheese, which would also be delicious if you wanted to use half mozzarella and half Gouda for this recipe.

I also added bacon would taste great, because really can you go wrong with bacon? Plus, I thought this BBQ chicken pizza needed that saltiness to balance out the sweetness from the pineapple.

And you can use homemade or store bought bbq sauce for this recipe. My favorite store-bought sauce is Bulls Eye Original). It has a good depth of flavor, so when I don’t have an hour to wait for a bbq sauce to simmer, I usually go with that one.

You will love this homemade pizza recipe! I know I will be making it time and time again, and doesn’t it have summer written all over it? I’m sure this will be one of my go-to pizzas this summer, and I’m sure I’ll even be grilling it!

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza on parchment paper

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza Ingredients

  • Pizza dough
  • Chicken breasts
  • Olive oil
  • Barbecue sauce
  • Bacon
  • Mozzarella
  • Fresh pineapple
  • Red onion
  • Cilantro
  • Garlic
  • Black pepper

How to Make Homemade Pizza

  • Preheat oven to 475 degrees F, and preheat grill to medium-high heat.
  • Brush chicken with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill until cooked through, brushing with bbq sauce during the last few minutes.
  • Whisk together remaining olive oil and garlic. Brush pizza dough with the mixture and let rest 10 minutes.
  • Cut chicken into cubes. Brush pizza dough with remaining bbq sauce, then add the toppings.
  • Bake in preheated oven until crust is golden brown, 11 – 13 minutes.

close up of whole Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza

Can I Use Canned Pineapple on This BBQ Chicken Pizza?

Yes, but you should drain off as much excess liquid as possible and pat the pineapple dry with paper towels first.

Can I Use Pre-Made Chicken for This Recipe?

Of course! If you have leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken, you can use that instead of grilled chicken.

Tips for the Best Chicken Pizza

  • If you prefer pizza with a crispier crust, preheat a pizza stone in the oven and slide the Hawaiian pizza onto it using a pizza peel.
  • Run the red onion under water to remove its harsh bite.
  • Cut your toppings into small pieces so they cook fully in the oven.

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5 from 3 votes

Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza

Such a tasty pizza recipe! Pizza crust is layered with smokey bbq sauce, chicken pieces, creamy mozzarella, sweet pineapple, and flavorful red onion and cilantro.
Servings: 5
Prep20 minutes
Cook20 minutes
Ready in: 40 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
  • Preheat a grill to medium-high heat. Brush both sides of chicken lightly with 1 Tbsp of the olive oil and season both sides with salt and pepper. Grill until cooked through, rotating once halfway through cooking, and brushing with 3 Tbsp of the barbecue sauce during last 1 - 2 minutes of grilling. Remove from grill and set aside to cool 5 minutes.
  • Spread pizza dough out on a floured sheet of parchment paper over a pizza tray to a 12-inch round. In a mixing bowl whisk together remaining olive oil and garlic. Brush entire surface of dough with olive oil mixture and let rest 10 minutes.
  • Cut chicken into cubes. Brush dough with remaining barbecue sauce (1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp). Top with 1/3 of the mozzarella then top with chicken, pineapple, bacon and red onion. Sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and season with freshly ground black pepper. 
  • Bake in preheated oven until crust is golden, about 11 - 13 minutes. Slice and serve warm topped with cilantro.

Notes

  • If you prefer pizza with a crispier crust, preheat a pizza stone in the oven and slide the Hawaiian pizza onto it using a pizza peel. 
  • Recipe source: Cooking Classy, inspired by CPK
Nutrition Facts
Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza
Amount Per Serving
Calories 654 Calories from Fat 243
% Daily Value*
Fat 27g42%
Saturated Fat 9g56%
Cholesterol 80mg27%
Sodium 1588mg69%
Potassium 476mg14%
Carbohydrates 68g23%
Fiber 2g8%
Sugar 24g27%
Protein 29g58%
Vitamin A 463IU9%
Vitamin C 18mg22%
Calcium 352mg35%
Iron 3mg17%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Nutrition values are estimates only. See full disclaimer here.