Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Buffalo chicken pizza holds a special place in our hearts, so of course we had to come up with our own recipe to make at home. Five years ago on a cold, snowy Boston night, we had our first “real” dinner together (aka, not in the dining hall) in the warmth of a local joint ironically called New York Pizza. It was then that we discovered our mutual love of buffalo chicken pizza, and we’ve been together ever since! 

And we’ve eaten many, many pizzas together over the years.

Which is why making pizza is one of our favorite “date night in” activities to this day. Pizza is always a delicious meal, it goes great with a glass of wine, and it’s often a two-person process. One of us (usually Alex) stretches and shapes the dough, while the other (Nicole) prepares the toppings. Then we both get to assemble the pizza together and put our unique touch on it before it goes in the oven.

So if you’re looking for a fun dinner recipe to make at home with your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, kids, or best friends, we can highly recommend trying something like this buffalo chicken pizza! You’ll have a ton of fun and end up with a delicious meal that’ll be enjoyed by everyone.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza Ingredients

There are 3 components to this homemade buffalo chicken pizza: the base, the toppings, and the crust. And while you can use store-bought ingredients to simplify this recipe, we recommend making your own buffalo chicken to top this pizza – so we’ve included an ingredients list for that here as well.

Here’s a summary of everything you’ll need to make our buffalo chicken pizza:

The Base

• Pizza dough
• Flour
• Butter
• Frank’s Red Hot
• Ranch dressing
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Shredded mild cheddar cheese

For this recipe you can use either store bought pizza dough, or make your own from scratch. If you are looking to make pizza dough from scratch, we can’t recommend Marc Vetri’s Mastering Pizza cookbook enough! This is our most often used cookbook, and it has taken our pizza making to the next level.

Our buffalo chicken pizza doesn’t have a tomato sauce. Instead, we like to make a buffalo ranch sauce with melted butter, Frank’s Red Hot, and ranch dressing. It’s creamy and a little spicy, which makes it the perfect complement to the savory toppings on this pizza.

The Toppings

• Buffalo chicken
• Red onion
• Scallions
• Ranch dressing

This recipe also includes directions for making your own buffalo chicken using the following ingredients, but you are also welcome to use store-bought buffalo chicken or make your own version.

Buffalo Chicken

• Chicken tenderloins
• Frank’s Red Hot
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Chili powder
• Ground cayenne pepper
• Salt

The Crust

• Butter
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Sea salt

We love adding a little extra flavor to the crust, especially when using a store bought pizza dough. A little butter, salt, garlic, and onion make for a flavorful and crispy crust that enhances any pizza.

How To Make Buffalo Chicken Ranch Pizza

If you’re making the buffalo chicken from scratch before assembling the pizza, it’ll take about 40 minutes of prep time in addition to about 20 minutes for baking the pizza. All in all, not bad for a specialty pizza! However, you can reduce the prep time by making the buffalo chicken ahead of time or using store bought buffalo chicken.

Here is how to make our easy buffalo chicken pizza recipe:

1. First, make the baked buffalo chicken. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine chicken, Frank’s Red Hot, garlic powder, onion powder, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt. Stir well to combine, making sure the chicken is evenly coated in the marinade. Set aside and marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes. 
2. Then, transfer the chicken to a foil-lined pan and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until cooked through. Let it rest for 2 to 3 minutes before slicing into strips, then set aside.
3. In the meantime, prepare the buffalo ranch pizza sauce. Add melted butter, Frank’s Red Hot, and light ranch dressing to a small bowl and whisk to combine. Microwave the sauce for 10 to 15 seconds at a time, as needed, to ensure a smooth texture as you whisk it.
4. Next, combine mozzarella and cheddar cheese in a bowl and set aside.
5. Then, stretch the dough and prepare to bake the pizza. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and lightly dust a large baking sheet with flour, spreading it around evenly on the pan. Then, dust your palms with flour and begin to stretch the dough. Working over the baking sheet, use both hands (and gravity!) to rotate and stretch the dough into a rectangle roughly the size of your pan. Use additional flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking to your hands.
6. Lay your stretched dough flat in the pan. Dust your hands lightly with flour again and gently reach underneath the dough to give the bottom side a very light coating of flour (this will keep it from sticking to the pan).
7. Finally, assemble the pizza. Spoon the buffalo pizza 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 half-inch border for the crust. You will likely have some sauce leftover – that’s okay! You’ll drizzle it on the pizza after it bakes.
8. Next, sprinkle handfuls of the cheese blend onto the pizza. Start from the edges and work in towards the center, using a lighter hand, then add more cheese where needed to fill in the gaps. 
9. Then, top the pizza with sliced buffalo chicken, red onion, and scallions.
10. Finally, season the crust to add some extra flavor! Brush the crust with melted butter and sprinkle lightly with garlic powder, onion powder, and sea salt.
11. Bake the pizza for about 16 to 18 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Cool for at least 2 minutes before slicing.
12. Finally, drizzle the pizza with the remaining buffalo sauce and light ranch dressing. Serve immediately.

Here are two important tips to help you on your pizza making adventure:

1. Stretching the dough – Stretching 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 will still be delicious.
2. Baking – 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.

Why You’ll Love This Easy Buffalo Chicken Pizza

There really is nothing like the enjoyment of making your own specialty pizza. It is a fun and approachable recipe to make, and rewards you with a delicious pizza that seems like it could have only come from your local pizzeria!

While we love our takeout pizza and it’s always a go-to in our house, changing it up with a fun homemade pizza date night is one of our favorite activities. That’s because pizza making is a great activity to do with your loved ones! Whether it’s with your partner or your kids, there’s something for everyone to help with. And we truly believe that getting to share the process of making a meal together, and then enjoying it together, is a great way to spread a little love and make a new memory. 
So next time you’re looking for a fun dinner at home, try this easy buffalo chicken pizza recipe with your loved ones. We’d love to hear about some of your favorite cooking memories in the comments below. And if you found this recipe helpful please remember to rate and share below!