I’ve been on a major pizza kick lately. The kind of obsessed where I can find just about any excuse for a pizza night. The Bruins are on? Can’t have hockey night without pizza. Friday or Saturday? Weekends practically require pizza. A rainy, chilly week late in May? Totally calls for comfort food. We’ve been making so much pizza that at this point we’re a well-oiled machine with an efficient system in place for making the dough, topping the pizzas and getting them in and out of the oven. If I’ve thought ahead, made the dough in advance and stashed it in the freezer, homemade pizza is a really easy weeknight meal, and way cheaper than ordering it from a local shop. As long as we have mozzarella on hand (which is the case about 90% of the time), we’ll use that along with whatever other toppings we can rustle up from our fridge and pantry.
A few days ago I grilled several chicken breasts with the intention of using a portion to top my salad for lunch that day and saving the rest for lunches later in the week. I had one salad but then I fell in love with the idea of using the leftovers to make buffalo chicken pizza instead. I searched and searched until I found a recipe that was exactly what I pictured in my mind – a base of tangy ranch-like sauce topped with shredded chicken (coated with hot sauce), cheese and sweet red onions. With each component I made, I got more excited about this pizza, and when it finally emerged from the oven, I gave serious thought to skipping the photos and just digging in. I’m really glad I did take a few shots though so I could share it; I even bumped it ahead of a few other posts I had planned so I could tell you about it before the weekend. This is probably among my favorite pizzas I’ve ever made – everything just works together to create a really flavorful and not overly spicy result.
I barely adapted this recipe from the awesome Bridget over at The Way the Cookie Crumbles. Mainly, I omitted the blue cheese, which we aren’t big fans of, and compensated with extra mozzarella. I made the buffalo and white sauces in advance and refrigerated them, leaving only the assembly for the last minute. Also, I doubled this recipe & made two 12-inch pizzas.
Buffalo Chicken Pizza
barely adapted from The Way the Cookie Crumbles
1 lb pizza dough, stretched to a 12-inch round (I haven’t blogged a recent favorite, but this one is in heavy rotation too)
Buffalo Sauce
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 cup Frank’s hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
White Sauce
1 tablespoon plain yogurt (I used nonfat Greek yogurt)
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
pinch of sugar
pinch of garlic powder
1 large (or 2 small) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup red onion, diced
At least 30 minutes before you plan to bake the pizza, preheat oven to 500 F. Set a pizza stone on the bottom rack of your oven.
To make the buffalo sauce, add the butter to a medium saucepan set over medium-low heat. Cook until melted, then mix in the hot sauce, brown sugar and cider vinegar. Add the shredded chicken and toss to coat with the sauce.
To make the white sauce, mix the yogurt, mayonnaise, sugar, garlic powder and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a small bowl to combine. Set aside.
Transfer the dough to a well-floured pizza peel, if you have one. (We don’t, so I always use parchment paper.) Spread the white sauce in a thin, even layer over the dough, leaving a small border around the edge. Top with the chicken, then the mozzarella and finally the red onion. Bake on the preheated pizza stone (or the back of a baking sheet if you don’t have one) for about 10-12 minutes, or until the crust is browned and the cheese is bubbling and browned. Transfer the pizza to a cutting board and let stand for 5 minutes before slicing.
This flavour of pizza used to be my favorite when I ate meat. It’s such a good combination of goodness in your mouth. Cool recipe!
My partner, Peter, became the Prince of Pizza through years of practice. So I am heartened to see such enthusiasm for it. We just got some pizza dough from Trader Joe’s yesterday and I am looking for ward to what he will do with it over the weekend.
This looks awesome Tracey! Frank’s Hot Sauce happens to be what I keep in the fridge as I’m not crazy about Tabasco. We also do not care for bleu cheese or gorgonzola so I’ll use mozzarella too. thank you!!
The best intended health food always turns into pizza somehow! 😉 Happy Weekend
We’re big buffalo chicken fans at our house, but I haven’t found a buffalo chicken pizza that I like yet. This looks like it is the winner. Beautiful pictures, too.
There’s always a good excuse to have pizza! Especially one that looks as good as this.
This looks really good. I’ve never had a buffalo type pizza before because I’m allergic to red onions, but the pizza dough looks incredible!!
Wow – this looks amazing! I love buffalo chicken! I am with you on skipping the blue cheese!
This really does look yummy – and I’m not usually a BBQ chicken person. I think my daughter could be enticed into eating it though (she’s the only child on earth who doesn’t like pizza). Lately I’ve been on a pizza kick too – my baking stones have moved into the oven and the grill, so we’re ready to go.
Sounds like I need to send my husband to your house 🙂 We make quite a bit of pizza here too, but I think he’d eat it every night. Looking forward to your new crust recipe as I’m always looking for one. These toppings sound great!
Oh girl… This pizza looks amazing. I love trying out new pizza recipes! Yum!
Hooray for no blue cheese! That’s one thing that I just cannot get excited about. The pizza sounds great. I never tire of pizza, and I love non-standard toppings!
Our local pizza place makes a pizza very similar to this only they add bacon and green peppers too. Mmmm
This is definitely bookmarked, my husband will go crazy for this pizza!
This is why I love pizza recipes…they are so adaptable! This one sounded good to me immediately and I am reading through thinking I can make this a thin crust, I can make this with blue cheese, I can make this!!!! Looks great. Thanks.
I really want to start making pizza. I have printed out your dough to try. I think this is a great summer food because it can be cooked on the BBQ, and then served with a salad keeping me out of a hot kitchen at the end of the day, and everyone can customize their own.
the Bruins are making things stressful! I could use a pizza like this to help get through the next game
After you put the pizza on the pizza stone do you turn off the oven that was preheated to 500??? first time making pizza 🙂
@Amy – No, you want to leave the oven on 500 F the entire time you’re cooking the pizza. It just takes a while to get the baking stone heated, hence the recommendation to preheat for 30 minutes.
Good luck! Once you learn to make homemade pizza you’ll find yourself ordering take-out much less 🙂
I loved this recipe – my husband and I love buffalo stuff, but it’s hard to find a recipe with no ranch or blue cheese. I really liked the yogurt sauce and the red onions! Thank you for sharing!