Buffalo Chicken Pizza

So far, it’s Buffalo Chicken Rolls, Buffalo Chicken Salad, Buffalo Chicken Meatballs, Buffalo Chicken Dip, and even a Buffalo Chicken Jerky.

Earlier this year, we were working on our Buffalo Chicken Sloppy Joes recipe*, I had an idea: Buffalo Chicken Pizza.

I hadn’t heard of it before, but was disappointed to Google and see that it was, indeed, a thing already. Boo.

Anyway, that didn’t stop us from designing our own version, with a homemade crust, creamy Buffalo and ranch sauce, sauced chicken, and more.

We finally got around to actually working up the recipe lately, and it was a resounding success. With all the sports talk lately - realizing that the Super Bowl is on the horizon - I figure it’s time to share the recipe!

Let me tell you, he lived off that thing for a week! (Froze half the day I made it, then thawed and reheated after the first half was gone.)

Here’s what he had to say about it:

“When you combine with comfort of pizza with the comfort of buffalo chicken wings ... It’s just GREAT! I’m shocked that it’s not something I’ve seen on any pizza menu, you’d think everyone would have a version!

It’s got a nice heat that’s not overwhelming, but just makes you want more.

I love that it’s got a fair amount of chicken, too. A good hit of protein on what could otherwise be an ENTIRELY unhealthy meal choice is always nice.

The celery retains a little bit of crunch, and adds a nice pop of flavour and texture to each slice. LOVE it!”

So there you have it. If you’re a pizza fan and a fan of buffalo wings, you’ll definitely want to try this fun mash-up recipe!

Slated to be published to 2 Nerds in a Truck in April - be sure to head over and subscribe to new posts, so you don’t miss it!

Ingredients

This recipe uses super basic ingredients, you won’t have any trouble finding everything you need in any large grocery store.

As always, I’ve got a few ingredient notes for you:

All-Purpose Flour

I use all purpose flour for the pizza crust on this recipe, for a nice neutral base. If you’d like to use whole wheat flour, you can swap in whole wheat flour for up to about ⅓ of the flour, without impacting the texture much.

Any more than that, and you’re going to want to add a little more water.

If you want to make this as a gluten free Buffalo Chicken Pizza, I recommend using my Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix recipe.

By far the best gluten free pizza recipe I’ve ever come up with, and produces a MUCH better pizza than retail or restaurant pizza we’ve tried!

Pulled Chicken

I like using pulled chicken for this recipe, because it’s cheap, easy, and has a great texture as a pizza topping.

To make mine, I simmer a couple chicken breasts in water or chicken broth, until cooked through. (165 degrees F when an instant-read meat thermometer is inserted into the center of each breast).

Then I drain the liquid off, and use an electric hand mixer to shred the chicken. Regular beater attachments, just have at it until the chicken pieces are the size you want.

Alternatively, you can use two forks to pull the chicken breasts apart... I’m too lazy. Now that I know to use the electric mixer, I won’t go back to manual!

Frank’s Redhot Sauce

I use regular Frank’s Red Hot Sauce, NOT Buffalo sauce.

Buffalo sauce is basically the original cayenne pepper sauce, but with fat added. When making it at home, it’s a bunch of butter - I have no idea what the canned version uses.

Either way, it’s not going to work well as a 1:1 substitute for the hot sauce, which this recipe was developed to use.

Monterey Jack Cheese

I love Monterey Jack cheese as a base for anything to do with Buffalo wings, so I used it in this pizza recipe.

Alternately, marble jack or mild cheddar would be my next choices. Pizza mozzarella would also work, either alone or in combination with any of the other cheese types mentioned.

Celery

We love celery with Buffalo style chicken wings, so we decided to include it as the vegetable.

Yes, celery is a weird choice for a pizza, but in this case... it just works.

I prefer to thinly slice them on a diagonal - or “Star Trekked”, as we call it.

To do this, I stack the celery ribs, lay them on the side, and cut thin slices on an angle, as pictured below:

Everything Else

Rounding out this recipe, you will need:

Ranch Dressing
Red Onion
Green Onions
Honey
Olive Oil
Active Dry Yeast
Cayenne Powder
Garlic Powder
Salt

... I just really don’t have anything to add, as far as these last few ingredients go. You can swap warm beer for the warm water, but that’s about it - pretty straightforward stuff!

How to Make Buffalo Chicken Pizza

The full recipe is in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, here is the pictorial walk through:

Homemade Pizza Dough

Add honey warm water, stir till well blended. Add yeast and stir again. Allow to sit (somewhere warm!) for 10 minutes.

Add the yeast mixture to the bowl, stir to combine into a loose dough.

Dump dough out onto a floured surface, knead until soft and elastic, 5-10 minutes. (OR: mix it in a stand mixer with a dough hook for 5 minutes or so!)

Put 1 tablespoon olive oil into a large bowl, add dough, flip over to coat. cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for one hour.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza Sauce

While dough is raising for the second time, make the sauce:

Whisk together hot sauce and ranch dressing. Add the Cayenne and Garlic Powder, whisk well to combine. Taste, add more cayenne and/or garlic powder, if you like.

Cover sauce with plastic wrap, chill until ready to use.

Assembly

Preheat oven to 400F

I like to dump my pizza dough onto a pizza pan that I’ve sprayed with olive oil or cooking spray, then roll in out right in the pan. The dough should be of a relatively even thickness throughout the pan, with a bit pushed up around the sides as an outer crust.

Scatter most of the cheese over the sauced pizza, then scatter sauced chicken over the cheese.

Remove from oven, garnish with additional hot sauce, if desired, as well as some green onion slices. Serve immediately.

Leftovers

Once cooled to room temperature, leftover pizza can be wrapped in plastic wrap or transferred to an airtight container and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Best served reheated - we’ll usually microwave a slice for 30 seconds or so, then finish it in the air fryer for a freshly baked taste.

More Pizza - and Pizza Inspired! - Recipes

Love pizza in every form? Here are some more tasty pizza recipes to try!

Breakfast Pizza
Campfire Calzones
Campfire Pizza
Crab Rangoon Pizza
Deluxe Pizza Strata
Frozen Dessert Pizza
Gluten-Free Bacon Poutine Pizza
Gluten Free Detroit Style Pizza
Gluten-Free Pizza Bites
Gluten Free Pizza Crust Mix
Gluten-Free Stuffed Crust Pizza
Hawaiian Pizza Skewers
Ham & Swiss Breakfast Pizza
Homemade Bagel Bites
Keto Pierogi Pizza
Keto Smoked Salmon Pizza
Pie Iron Pizzas
Pierogi Pizza
Pizza Stuffed Peppers
Portabello Mushroom Pizzas
Smoked Salmon Pizza
St Patrick's Day Pizza