Make California Pizza Kitchen's Famous BBQ Chicken Pizza Right At Home

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A lot of restaurants offer some type of barbecue chicken pizza these days, but did you know the dish was actually invented by California Pizza Kitchen? Developer Patterson Watkins remembers eating it as a kid, and looking back, she says, "I was always curious as to why this pizza was so darn tasty and works so freaking well — On paper, it is kind of a mess of opposing pizza flavors, toppings, and ingredients." When she was researching her copycat recipe, she discovered the secret that harmonizes all these disparate flavors: "The addition of the smoked Gouda, blended into the mozzarella shreds, is the bond that ties. The flavor equalizer."

As Watkins explains, the bold and tangy barbecue sauce and the fresh, vibrant cilantro and scallions, along with the savory seasoned chicken, all come together under that smoky, cheesy umbrella. "I know it sounds odd that a simple cheese addition could achieve such culinary harmony, but I am giving smoked Gouda the credit it is due. It is the unsung hero of CPK's BBQ chicken pizza," she declares. So needless to say, it's a must-have ingredient. Actually, though, you could say that about every other ingredient in this recipe. Although you can always add to the pizza, you definitely won't want to take anything away from this unlikely, yet somehow perfect, marriage made in pizza heaven.

The main ingredients for this pizza are pizza dough, barbecue sauce, chicken breasts, smoked Gouda, mozzarella, red onion, and garlic cloves. You'll also need olive oil, salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning to flavor and cook the chicken, plus some cornmeal to keep the pizza dough from sticking to the pan. (It also helps make the bottom crust nicely crisp.)

If you want to be as true to CPK's original pizza as you possibly can, the chain's preferred brand of barbecue sauce is Gayle's Sweet 'N' Sassy, which is available online by the gallon. If that's too much 'cue for you and you can't find a smaller bottle, check out our ranking of grocery store barbecue sauces.

Preheat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat.

Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle with salt, Italian seasoning, and black pepper.

Place the seasoned chicken on the grill and cook for 3 minutes per side or until it's cooked through and lightly charred.

Remove the chicken from the grill and set it aside to cool for 5 minutes before dicing.

Transfer the diced chicken to a medium bowl, add 3 tablespoons of BBQ sauce, and toss to coat. Set aside.

Preheat the oven 450 F. Place a pizza stone in the oven to preheat as well.

Meanwhile, divide the pizza dough into two even portions.

Roll 1 piece of dough into a large circle, about 12 to 14 inches.

Sprinkle a cookie sheet with a little cornmeal.

Transfer the rolled dough to the prepared baking sheet.

Dock the center of the dough with a fork, leaving approximately 1 inch around the edges for the crust.

Spoon and spread ¼ cup of the BBQ sauce over the dough (again, leaving the 1-inch edge free from sauce).

Sprinkle the sauce with ½ cup of smoked Gouda and ½ cup of the mozzarella.

Top the cheese with half of the seasoned chicken.

Top with half of the sliced onion and garlic.

Sprinkle the pizza with ½ cup of mozzarella (this final cheese sprinkle will help secure the toppings). Carefully slide the topped pizza into the oven and onto the preheated pizza stone.

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes or until golden, bubbly, and crisp.

For the second pizza, repeat with the remaining ingredients (roll dough, add toppings, and bake) and sprinkle each pizza with fresh scallions and cilantro before slicing and serving.

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This CPK BBQ chicken pizza already includes the perfect balance of flavor and texture elements: sweet, smoky, meaty, tart, crunchy, and chewy. As this recipe makes two pizzas, however, you could leave one as-is and use the other to experiment with a few other CPK-style toppings. The chain itself suggests adding either bacon or pineapple or both, although you might want to put them on after the pizza is mostly cooked, so the bacon doesn't burn and the pineapple doesn't make the crust soggy.

CPK has also developed a spin-off pizza, the Original BBQ Chicken Mac'n'Cheese. Just like the name says, it's all of the original elements, plus cheesy macaroni. Other add-ons available for ordering at the restaurant include goat cheese along with more meats (ham, pepperoni, and sausage) and extra veggies (bell peppers, broccoli, mushrooms, olives, and tomatoes). The menu also offers a few condiments: truffle oil for drizzling and marinara or ranch for dipping. You may add any of these to your homemade pie while staying true to the total CPK BBQ Chicken Pizza experience. If you don't mind going rogue, though, both avocado and roasted corn could also bring a fresh new dimension, or you could spice things up with sliced jalapeños.

If you're concerned about the work involved in grilling the chicken, it's not absolutely necessary to do so. For starters, you can always use a stovetop grill pan instead of an outdoor barbecue grill. You could also bake or pan-fry the chicken. Pre-cooked chicken is another time-saving option, and leftover rotisserie chicken could also be used if that's what you have on hand. If you're cooking the chicken indoors (or not cooking it at all), you can always add a pinch of smoked paprika to the seasoning mixture to help make up for the lack of char-grilled flavor.

However you choose to prepare the chicken, this step can certainly be done in advance for convenience. Cooked chicken can be refrigerated for up to four days, but it's best to hold off on chopping and saucing it until you're ready to assemble and bake the pizza. The reason is that barbecue sauces tend to be somewhat acidic, so prolonged exposure could break down the meat fibers and make the chicken mushy.

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