This is sheet pan BBQ bacon chicken pizza with ranch sauce, bacon, chicken, and bbq sauce drizzled on top.
The tangy BBQ sauce and bacon bits on top set this chicken ranch pizza apart from the crowd. We love to serve it with Deviled Egg Macaroni Salad or a nice Caramelized Onion Dip with chips for game day.
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Sheet Pan BBQ Chicken Pizza is the best game day bbq pizza and crowd feeder. It is SO EASY to double this recipe to make multiple pizzas or regular cheese and pepperoni, or make tomato paste pizza sauce I created this easy sheet pan pizza dough recipe specifically to fit into an 13x18 inch baking sheet, so there's plenty to share.
Chicken bacon ranch pizza has a crispy but chewy crust, and it's sturdy and thick enough to hold up under A LOT of toppings like the cheese, onions, chicken, and bacon.
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Why This Recipe Works
- The pizza crust is crispy, baked at a high temperature, but thick enough to support the heavy toppings.
- Making the dough first while you prep the other ingredients is time-efficient, and the dough also has enough time to rise!
- The chicken is pre-cooked (canned or rotisserie) so it's safe!
- The bacon is cooked while the dough is rising, then sprinkled over the baked pizza so it's perfectly cooked and not too crispy.
- The BBQ sauce is put on AFTER the pizza bakes to preserve flavor and prevent burning!
🛒 Ingredients
- Cooked Chicken - you can use canned chicken, pre-cooked shredded chicken or rotisserie chicken.
- Ranch Dressing - I use light ranch or Cottage Cheese Ranch Dressing to be a little healthier, but normal ranch dressing is good as a pizza sauce too!
- Barbecue Sauce - I use Sweet Baby Rays, but you can use your favorite.
- Mozzarella Cheese - the classic used for pizza, you could also use a mix of mozzarella and swiss or gruyere.
- Bacon - regular or thick cut can be used, just cook them according to package directions.
- Cornmeal - used to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan, many pizza restaurants use a little on the bottom of their pizzas. This recipe uses yellow cornmeal, but white could also be used.
- Oil - olive oil or another neutral flavored oil can be used in this recipe, it helps to make the dough elastic and soft.
See the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and quantities.
✏️ Substitutions & Variations
- White granulated sugar - can use honey, coconut sugar, or pure maple syrup.
- Instead of onions, use shallots or roast whole garlic cloves to put on top. Yum!
- You can add tomatoes, bell peppers, or sliced jalapeños to make it spicy!
- Regular bacon can be switched out with turkey bacon.
🧑🍳 Instructions
Step 1.(above) In a measuring cup or small bowl, combine the warm water (100-115℉), the sugar, and the yeast and stir together gently. Let sit 5 minutes to activate the yeast.
Step 2. (above) In a mixing bowl, combine the olive oil, flour, salt, and yeast/water/sugar mixture.
TIP: Make sure the water is just WARM and not HOT. If it gets above 120 ℉ the yeast can start to die, which means the dough won't rise and the pizza crust won't be fluffy.
Step 3. (above) Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it's smooth and elastic. It's okay if it's sticky!
Step 4. (above) Shape the dough into a ball and let it rest in an oiled bowl for about 1 hour until almost doubled in size.
Step 5. (above) While the dough is rising, Preheat the oven to 375℉ and prepare the bacon by cooking in a frying pan or in the oven for 15 minutes on foil in a rimmed pan or until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel to drain the fat, then chop into small pieces when dry.
Step 6. (above) Spray a rimmed 18x13 inch baking sheet with baking spray, and sprinkle with cornmeal. You may have to tip the pan and tap it to get the cornmeal evenly distributed across the bottom of the pan.
TIP: While the dough is rising and the bacon is cooking, prepare everything else: drain the canned chicken (or shred the rotisserie chicken), slice the onions, and get out the BBQ sauce, ranch dressing, and cornmeal. That way everything is ready when the dough is finished rising!
Step 7. (above) After the dough has risen for an hour, preheat the oven to 450℉ and roll the dough into the prepared sheet pan evenly.
Step 8. (above) Spread the ranch dressing over the raw pizza dough, about 1 cup is needed to cover it.
Step 9. (above) Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced onions, and cooked shredded chicken on top of the pizza. Bake at 450℉ for 20-22 minutes, or until edges are browned and crispy.
Step 10. (above) Drizzle your favorite BBQ sauce over the pizza and sprinkle crumbled bacon evenly over the top of the pizza.
🍕 Serving Sheet Pan Pizza
Cool the pizza for 5-10 minutes in the baking sheet. Then use a pizza cutter or knife to cut into squares. It can be served straight from the pan, we slice it and let everyone serve themselves. It makes about 24 slices, 6 rows of 4 slices.
Make sure to serve it with a lovely green side salad like Golden Beet Salad with Balsamic Miso Dressing or a vibrant Creamy Lemon Pasta Salad.
❓Frequently Asked Questions
YES! Especially pizza with ranch sauce and mozzarella on top. BBQ chicken pizza is divine with barbeque sauce.
I cook mine until it's completely crispy and then put it on top of the already baked pizza.
I bake my bacon on a foil lined pan at 375℉ for 15-17 minutes until its crispy, then drain it on a paper towel and chop it into small pieces.
Yes, it's safer. You can use canned chicken or shredded precooked chicken, like rotisserie for this recipe.
Sheet pan pizza is baked at 450º F. Pizzas in general are baked at a high temperature to make the beautiful crispy crust and to ensure that the toppings are cooked properly.
🍗 More Easy Chicken Recipes
Did You Try This Recipe? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Make sure to leave a star rating and a comment below the recipe card. I love hearing from you, and it is so helpful to other readers! Better yet, share it with family and friends. Thank you!!
📝 Printable Recipe
BBQ Bacon Chicken Pizza
Ingredients
For the Dough:
- 1 ½ cups warm water (90-110ºF)
- 1 Tablespoon granulated white sugar
- ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- ¼ cup cornmeal
For the Toppings
- 1 cup light ranch dressing
- 4 cups mozzarella cheese
- ¼ yellow onion, sliced thinly
- 5 oz. canned or shredded chicken
- ½ cup BBQ Sauce, such as Sweet Baby Ray's
- 12 oz bacon, cooked and chopped
Instructions
For the dough:
- In a mixing bowl or stand mixer, combine warm water, sugar, and yeast. Stir until just combined and let rest 5 minutes or until foamy.
- Add flour, olive oil, and salt and mix with dough hood or knead by hand for 5-7 minutes, dough will be sticky. Transfer to oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise 1 hour at room temperature.
- Prepare bacon by cooking according to package directions. Slice onions.
Assembling the Pizza:
- Preheat the oven to 450ºF.
- Prepare a 18x13 inch baking sheet by spraying with cooking spray (oil) and then sprinkling with cornmeal.
- Roll the dough into the prepared baking sheet with a rolling pin, sprinkle flour onto dough if needed to prevent it sticking to the rolling pin.
- Spread the ranch dressing evenly over the dough, then sprinkle the mozzarella cheese, onions, and chicken on top.
- Bake for 20-22 minutes, crust should be golden brown on top. Drizzle BBQ sauce over the top of the pizza, then spread the crumbled bacon on top. Slice into squares and serve.
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