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The day I realised I’d never need to order pizza again was the day I made this homemade pizza on the BBQ at home.

Making pizza on a BBQ is one of those things that sounds like a bit of a project but is actually far more straightforward than it has any right to be, and the result is genuinely on another level. You get this smoky, slightly charred base that no kitchen oven can replicate, proper melted cheese, and toppings that cook in minutes over live fire.

This recipe makes two pizzas on the same dough and sauce base. One is loaded with smoky marinated chicken, bacon and mozzarella, finished with fresh rosemary and a drizzle of honey straight off the heat. The other is a veggie one with olives, peppers, sweetcorn and fresh oregano. Both are brilliant. You will fight over the chicken one.

Makes 2 pizzas | Prep time: 25 mins + 1 hour proving | Cook time: 30 mins

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How to make Chicken & Bacon BBQ Pizza with Honey

Ingredients:

For the dough: 500g strong bread flour (plus extra for dusting), 7g instant yeast, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp caster sugar, 2 tbsp olive oil and 320ml warm water

Tomato sauce: 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes, 2 tbsp tomato purée, 3 garlic cloves, 1 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper

Smoky BBQ chicken: 2 chicken breasts, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp smoked paprika, 1 garlic clove, juice of ½ lemon, ½ tsp chilli flakes, salt and pepper

For the toppings: 2 balls of mozzarella, 2 rashers of bacon, a generous handful of black, olives, 1 bell pepper, large handful of sweetcorn

To serve: 2 tbsp honey (drizzled over the chicken pizza after cooking), fresh rosemary and fresh oregano

Method:

Marinate the chicken first. Slash each breast a few times so the marinade can really get in. Mix together the olive oil, soy sauce, smoked paprika, garlic, lemon juice, chilli flakes, salt and pepper. Coat the chicken thoroughly, cover and refrigerate. Even 30 minutes makes a difference and a few hours is ideal. Once marinated, cook the chicken breasts for 5 – 6 minutes each side until cooked through with a bit of char on the outside. Slice into bite-sized pieces once cool.

Make the dough. Combine the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the olive oil and warm water. Mix until a rough dough forms, then turn out onto a well-floured surface and knead for 8 – 10 minutes until smooth and springy. Place back in the bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave somewhere warm for at least an hour, until doubled in size. I popped mine in the airing cupboard which worked a treat!

Make the sauce. Warm the olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and cook gently for a minute. Add the chopped tomatoes and purée, stir well, season generously and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes until slightly reduced. Set aside.

Get the BBQ ready. Light your charcoal and let it fully ash over. Place the pizza stones on the grill grate, close the lid and leave them to preheat for at least 30 minutes. You want the temperature as high as possible – ideally 250 – 300°C+. Open all the vents to push the heat up. This step is non-negotiable. A cold stone gives you a soggy base.

Build and cook the pizzas. Divide the proved dough in half. On a well-floured surface, stretch and push each piece out as thinly as you can – thinner than feels right. Spoon a thin layer of sauce over each base, leaving a border for the crust. Bear in mind, you’ll need to move the pizzas from wherever you’re building them, to placing them on the BBQ stones. So I used 2 x well-floured wooden chopping boards for this part of the process.

Pizza 1: Top with torn mozzarella, sliced chicken, bacon and a scattering of fresh rosemary.

Pizza 2: Top with torn mozzarella, olives, sliced peppers, sweetcorn and fresh oregano.

Work quickly once the toppings are on, then carefully slide each pizza directly onto a hot stone. Close the lid, rotating halfway through if you can. It’s ready when the base is crisp and the crust has some colour. It will be wildly variable depending on your BBQ, the heat and the outside conditions, so keep a close eye and try to keep the lid closed as much as possible.

Finish the chicken pizza with a generous drizzle of honey the moment it comes off the heat. Eat immediately.

A few notes:

Be generous with the flour when stretching the dough – it’s your main defence against sticking. Work fast once the toppings are on for the same reason.

Don’t overload the toppings. On a BBQ pizza, less really is more; too much weight and the base won’t cook through before everything else is done.

The honey drizzle on the chicken and bacon pizza is not optional. It sounds like a small thing and yet it’s completely transformative.

When it comes to cleaning the stone, never use soap. Let it cool fully, scrape off any residue, and leave it at that. It will discolour over time and that’s absolutely fine.

If you’re looking for another awesome BBQ recipe, then I can also highly recommend my Homemade BBQ Smash Burgers.