BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza

Homemade BBQ pulled pork and caramelized onions will be your new favorite pizza toppings after you taste a bite of this recipe.

Jump to Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. As Amazon Associates and through other affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying purchases if you click on a link – at no extra cost to you. We only promote products we actually use and truly love!

Move over, barbecue chicken pizza. There’s a new savory, smoky pie to contend with here: BBQ pulled pork pizza.

While we love a classic BBQ chicken pizza, we had to create our own version with pork, because frankly, we just think it’s better. Compared to using chicken, our barbecue pulled pork adds a more complex flavor and better texture to the pizza, and it’s much easier to spread evenly across the whole pie. 

One of my only complaints about BBQ chicken pizza is getting alternating bites of large chicken chunks or no chicken at all. With finely pulled pork, it’s easy to have that delicious, smoky bbq flavor in every. single. bite. 

Add in some caramelized onions and jalapenos for a kick, and this BBQ pork pizza will leave even your favorite BBQ chicken pizza feeling a little bland. We do apologize… kinda. 

A sheet pan pizza topped with bbq pulled pork

BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza Ingredients and Toppings

As with many specialty pizzas, there are three main components: the base, the toppings, and the crust. Here are all the ingredients you need for each to make this barbeque pulled pork pizza:

The Base

You may use a store bought pizza dough or make your own from scratch. However, if you decide to make it yourself, choose a sturdy pizza dough as this pizza can get quite hefty loaded up with pulled pork. 

You’ll also want to have some all-purpose flour on hand to stretch and shape the dough.

The Toppings

  • Pulled pork (we recommend making our slow cooker recipe here)
  • Caramelized onions
  • More Sweet Baby Ray’s Barbecue Sauce (or again, your favorite alternative)
  • Jalapeno pepper

If you’ve never made caramelized onions at home before, it’s easy! Check out our guide here on how to make perfect caramelized onions for detailed instructions and an ingredients list.

The Crust

  • Butter
  • Garlic powder
  • Onion powder
  • Sea salt

We love to add a little butter and seasoning to the outer edge of the crust before baking the pizza. This gives it just a little extra flavor and crisp, especially when using a store bought pizza dough.

Slices of bbq pulled pork pizza on plates

How To Make BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza

This specialty BBQ pulled pork pizza comes together in about 30 minutes of prep time and 20 minutes in the oven. Here’s how to make it: 

  1. First, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
  2. Next, prepare the toppings. Add the pulled pork, caramelized onions, and barbecue sauce to a bowl and stir to combine, then set aside. Combine the mozzarella and cheddar cheeses in a bowl and toss to combine.
  3. Then, stretch and shape the dough: Scoop some flour into a bowl and set it next to your working area. Lightly dust a large baking sheet with flour, spreading it around evenly. Then dust your palms with flour and stretch the dough, using both hands, until it is roughly the size of your pan. Use additional flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.
  4. Next, lay your stretched dough in the pan and lightly flour the bottom surface by reaching a floured hand gently underneath it, to prevent the dough from sticking to the pan.
  5. Then, top the pizza: Spoon barbecue sauce onto the dough a little at a time, spreading it around with the back of the spoon until the dough is covered in a thin, even layer, with about a half inch to one inch thick border uncoated for the crust. Sprinkle the cheese evenly over the pizza, then top with the pork mixture and diced jalapenos. Finally, drizzle with additional BBQ sauce to your liking.
  6. Finally, brush the crust with melted butter and sprinkle the garlic powder, onion powder, and salt evenly around the crust.
  7. Bake for about 18 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Let the pizza cool for at least 2 minutes before slicing and serving.

Stretching pizza dough isn’t always easy and may take a little bit of patience. If you’re new to this, work slowly and let gravity help you out – and don’t worry if your pizza isn’t the perfect shape! Pizza of all shapes and sizes is still pizza, and it will still be delicious.

The best part of making homemade pizza is that you can customize the toppings to fit your tastes! Adjust the amount of barbecue sauce you drizzle on at the end, skip the jalapenos if you don’t like anything spicy, and add as much or as little seasoning to the crust as you’d like. These small changes won’t change the overall makeup of this pizza, and it’ll still taste incredible.

Finally, when it comes to baking the pizza, note that your oven temperature and the hydration level of the dough will impact how long it takes to cook. Keep an eye on the pizza as it bakes and use visual cues to tell when it’s done, more than relying on the time estimates in our recipe. The crust should be golden, and the cheese should be just a little bubbly and browned on top.

A slice of bbq pulled pork pizza on a plate

Why You’ll Love This BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza Recipe

Making a unique pizza recipe at home is a fun and rewarding way to change up takeout pizza night or a date night in. Pizza is a great way to get into cooking – it’s never as complicated as it looks, and you get pizza out of it. But really, by splitting the cooking up into making individual ingredients and then purely assembling the pizza to bake it, it doesn’t get much easier!

So whether you love to cook, want to get into cooking, or are simply a pizza enthusiast, this BBQ pulled pork pizza recipe is for you. Give it a try and let us know what you think in the comments. And please don’t forget to rate and share!


Love this recipe? You may enjoy these unique pizza recipes, too:

To browse more of our latest recipes and seasonal dishes, visit our homepage here.

Like this recipe? Don’t forget to share it and follow us on Pinterest!

5 from 3 votes

BBQ Pulled Pork Pizza

Homemade BBQ pulled pork and caramelized onions will be your new favorite pizza toppings after you taste a bite of this recipe.
Servings 8 slices
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes

Equipment

Ingredients

The Base

The Toppings

The Crust

  • 1 tablespoon butter melted
  • Garlic powder
  • Onion powder
  • Sea salt

Instructions

  • Begin by preparing the toppings. In a medium skillet over medium heat, combine pulled pork, caramelized onions, and 1/4 cup barbecue sauce. Stir to combine and cook until warmed through, about 4-5 minutes. Set aside.
  • In a medium bowl, stir together mozzarella and cheddar cheeses until combined and set aside. Gather diced jalapeno and set aside.
  • Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  • Scoop some flour into a bowl and set it next to your working area. Lightly dust a large baking sheet with flour, spreading it around evenly. Then dust your palms with flour and stretch the dough, using both hands, until it is roughly the size of your pan. Use additional flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.*
  • Lay your stretched dough in the pan and lightly flour the bottom surface, reaching a hand gently underneath it, to prevent the dough from sticking to the pan.
  • Spoon up to a 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce onto the dough a little at a time, spreading it around with the back of a spoon. Continue until the dough is covered with a thin layer of sauce, leaving about a 1-inch border for the crust.
  • Next, sprinkle handfuls of the cheese blend onto the pizza. We recommend starting from the edges and working in towards the center, using a lighter hand, and then adding more cheese where needed to fill in the gaps.
  • Top the pizza with the pork and onion mixture and diced jalapenos, then drizzle with additional barbecue sauce.
  • Finally, season the crust. Lightly brush the crust with melted butter, then sprinkle with garlic powder, onion powder, and sea salt.
  • Bake for approximately 18 minutes, or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Let cool for at least 2 minutes before slicing.
  • Gently loosen pizza from the pan with a metal spatula, then slice, serve, and enjoy!

Notes

Pizza dough: Feel free to use any kind of pizza dough for this recipe – fresh or frozen (or even homemade if you’re feeling ambitious!). Our favorite store-bought dough is the Whole Foods brand. Just remember to leave the dough out for about 1-2 hours before working with it so that it reaches room temperature.
Pulled pork: It’s super easy to make delicious pulled pork at home if you have a slow cooker! Try our recipe here for easy slow cooker pulled pork.
Caramelized onions: For a fun twist on a classic, try our Beer-Caramelized Onions found here in our Pub Burger recipe!
Stretching the dough: For some helpful tips and more detail on stretching the dough, check out our Buffalo Chicken Pizza recipe!
Baking pizza: Pizza can be finicky and cooks at different rates depending on the hydration level of your dough, your oven’s actual temperature, and other factors. We recommend keeping an eye on your pizza as it cooks and using visual cues to tell when it’s done – use our time estimates as a rough guide.
Want more?Sign up for our newsletter here and never miss a new recipe!
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a rating and a comment below, and don’t forget to share with your friends and family if you loved it!
Share with us on Instagram!Post a picture of what you made and mention @candidcooksblog or tag #thecandidcooks!
Follow us on Pinterest!Visit our profile @thecandidcooks and don’t forget to pin this recipe!
Author: Alex
Calories: 303kcal
Course: Dinner, Main, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: bbq sauce, caramelized onions, cheddar cheese, mozzarella, pizza dough, pulled pork, sheet pan

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 899mg | Potassium: 105mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 269IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 109mg | Iron: 2mg

If you have any questions regarding the information presented in this post, please refer to our Nutrition Disclaimer here.

Looking for kitchen inspiration? Head over to our shop to see what we cook with every day, plus recommendations for foodie gifts and eco-friendly products.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Close
The Candid Cooks © Copyright 2021
Close