Cowboy BBQ Chicken Pizza
My easy Cowboy Pizza recipe includes a homemade barbecue sauce base on a homemade stuffed pizza crust that’s topped with tender chicken, green onion, and lots of melted mozzarella cheese.
Today I’m going to show you how to make a barbecue chicken pizza that will make your taste buds yodel. We like to call this Cowboy Pizza in my household but no, it has no similarity to the Cowboy Pizza at Papa Murphy’s. Instead, it includes a homemade pizza crust topped with homemade barbecue sauce, tender cooked chicken pieces tossed in more bbq sauce, green onion, and lots of melted mozzarella cheese.
Let this Cowboy Pizza recipe work for you. Don’t want to use a homemade pizza crust? Use a store-bought one instead or my stuffed pizza crust (SO good). Don’t want to use homemade barbecue sauce on the base? Substitute it for my quick homemade pizza sauce. Want to add more toppings? Go right ahead! The choice is yours.
This is a very easy barbecue chicken pizza recipe and the steps are as simple as can be. Just add the base, then the toppings, and bake your pizza. It’ll be ready in no time. So when you’re looking for a healthy takeout alternative on pizza night, I hope you give my Cowboy Pizza recipe a go. You won’t regret it!
Recipe Ingredients
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Green onions
- Barbecue sauce (I’m using my homemade recipe but you can use your favorite store-bought bbq sauce).
- Cooked chicken (I’m using rotisserie chicken)
- Pizza crust
How to Make Cowboy Pizza
This is my homemade stuffed crust pizza recipe that you can put together in a little over five minutes and is easy as can be.
Click here for the recipe with step-by-step photos.
Remove the skin and chop up about a cup or two of chicken.
You don’t need this much but I was hungry when I made this.
Add in 3-4 tablespoons of bbq sauce of your choice.
Stir that up to coat.
Spread some bbq sauce over your crust.
How much you use is up to you. Personally, I like to use about double what is shown here but I toned it down a bit for this post.
Sprinkle sauce with just a little bit of dried oregano.
And a little bit of cheese.
Add chicken.
Top with sliced green onions and more cheese.
Bake this at 400 for 20-25 minutes. Serve hot.
God Bless the Cowboys and Cowboy Pizza. Yeehaw!
Storage
Store leftover pizza in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. I recommend reheating either in the oven or air fryer as the microwave will make it quite soggy.
Recipe FAQs
What toppings are on a Papa Murphy’s Cowboy Pizza?
These are the ingredients: pepperoni, Italian sausage, mushrooms, black olives, shredded cheddar cheese, mozzarella cheese, and traditional red sauce.
What are some good additional pizza toppings?
Oh, the list is truly endless when it comes to pizza toppings, but here are some suggestions:
- Protein: substitute the chicken for cooked ground beef, cooked bacon bits, pepperoni, salami, pulled pork, pulled chicken, or Italian sausage.
- Veggies: add chopped red or green bell pepper, black olives, sliced , sliced mushrooms, or chopped tomato.
- Cheese: use one or a variety of different kinds of cheese, like cheddar cheese, Colby cheese, or Monterey Jack cheese.
- Herbs: use Italian seasoning instead of or serve with chopped as a garnish.
Check out these other pizza-inspired recipes:
BBQ Chicken French Bread Pizza
Barbecue Chicken Pizza, Southern-Style
Air Fryer Pizza Rolls Made From Scratch
Ingredients
- 1 pizza crust
- 1 16-ounce bottle barbecue sauce
- 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1-2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon dried oregano
Instructions
- Toss chopped chicken with 4 tablespoons of barbecue sauce to lightly coat. Set aside.1 16-ounce bottle barbecue sauce, 1-2 cups cooked chicken, chopped
- Spread the remaining barbecue sauce over the pizza crust (less if you like). Sprinkle with oregano and then add half of the cheese.1 pizza crust, 1 16-ounce bottle barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon dried oregano, 1-2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- Add chicken to the top of the pizza and sprinkle with the remaining cheese, followed by onions.2 green onions, chopped
- Bake in a 400-degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until the crust is lightly brown and the cheese is bubbly. If you are using a store-bought crust, follow the baking directions on the package.
- Serve warm.
Nutrition
“Not everything that counts can be counted;
and not everything that can be counted, counts.”
~ Albert Einstein, Submitted by Wayne Walker
![Cook The Cover With Me! November [year] Southern Living](https://southernplate.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/cookthecover-scaled.jpg)
I’m definitely going to try this – WITH the homemade stuffed crust!!
Hey Christy,
For the pizza crust I use Pilsbury Hot Roll mix, it has instructions on the box for pizza crust. This would be for a quick crust.
Bill
PLEASE hire a PR person to assist you with mail(perhaps a college student part time), etc and a ONCE a week housekeeper….I realize its $ but its money well spent! I just cooked your mac n cheese, we are addressing my oldest childs wedding invites tonight(Sept 14th wedding in Huntsville) and Im preparing a meal for us ! Your cookbook is my GO TO recipe finder Christy!
Hey Laura! Would love to but running the site is far more expensive than it seems (more than twice my mortgage each month) but on the plus side, when people hear from me they are really hearing from me 🙂 Thank you for your wonderful advice though and the sweet heart in which it was given. Congratulations on the wedding!!!! And I’m honored that you use my recipes! Can’t wait for you to see the next book. Be sure and come to Bridge Street if you can tomorrow because I’d love to meet ya!
I wish I could meet you at B & N Bridgestreet sweet Christy, we are going to the beach(our daughter dances two different places) and its her only free week this summer. THANKS for your kind words! <3 Please get a housekeeper!!
We made this last night, and wow! Super quick, easy, and it was loved by all. Thanks Christy for this one!
Yes, there are bridges. But there is also such thing as actually overwhelming yourself. Sounds like you need to slow down and actually enjoy your kids!
You mean I can’t just leave out ketchup packets and juice boxes? 😉
Ha! My kid would be ecstatic!!! Seriously, I have to hide those things! She opens them and sucks the ketchup right out! She’s a chain sucker too! LOL! AAA… we all get there from time to time. I’m overwhelmed with cake orders right now. It passes… you breathe deep… and then get ready for the next ride! 🙂 MMMM! This is definitely going on the menu for next week!
I am going to have to try this. I don’t eat pizza very often but this sounds really yummy and easy.
I hope you get the chance to try it Sheryl, I think you will like it!!
Suggestion 1 – hit delete on the 60,000+ emails. Maybe just the ones 2+ months old. — not a chance you will catch up with that many. — Took me a week to get thru 800 after my vacation.
Love the recipes. Appreciate your honesty. Adore the fact that your family comes first. Those kids are only little once.
You need to find a Lazy river and an rubber tube to sit in.
Those are GREAT ideas Terry, especially the lazy river part!!