There's something immediately happy and comforting about pizza hugged in molten melty cheese. It's almost a universal welcome. This Barbecue Chicken Pizza with Goat Gouda is an elegant yet easy creation perfecting for wowing your family and friends.
Pizza is all about having fun and playing with flavors and textures. When it comes to crust, it's your canvas for exploring different combinations. It's the ultimate vehicle to fuse the worlds of sweet and savory or fuse different cuisines together.
Bring on the Cheese Please!
If the crust is your canvas, the cheese on pizza is not only the glue holding all of the flavors together, but the star of the show. For this Barbecue Chicken Pizza with Goat Cheese Gouda I am using Artikaas Youngsters Goat Cheese Gouda.
Mild and sweet, this gouda is the perfect balance of creamy yet firm. Perfect for grating, it is equally at home with figs on your cheese board as it is clinging to the roasted figs on this pizza.
This 100% goats milk cheese has that distinctive tang while also being smooth and rich. Gold trophy winner of the 2021 Specialty Food Association award in the Cheese-Non-Cow Milk or Mixed Milk category, this cheese takes this recipe from special to extraordinary.
Using traditional and sustainable methods going back 2,000 years, Artikaas' six generations of cheese making shines in each artisanal product. From soft and creamy cheese made from Dutch cows grazing on the first tender grasses of spring, to nutty bold 60 month aged Gouda, they have a cheese for every palate.
Building Your Barbecue Chicken Pizza with Goat Gouda
I love this recipe for pizza because of its ease and ability to customize. You have options beginning with the crust itself. Because the toppings take center stage on this summery cheesy pie, you can use your favorite store bought pizza crust. Equally as delicious, naan also provides a buttery and chewy base for the toppings to be layered on. If you have a beloved pizza crust recipe, feel free to substitute it for the store bought crust.
The next easy addition to this Barbecue Chicken Pizza with Goat Gouda is the chicken. You only need 1 cup of precooked chicken. This is a great way to utilize leftover chicken or even a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. Feel free to use what you love!
Also use your favorite barbecue sauce, although I do recommend using one with honey flavors. Because figs have that naturally sweet honeyed flavor, and honey plays part of the ingredient line up, you want a barbecue sauce to echo that flavor profile.
Red onions add another layer of natural sweetness, cooked down till jammy and caramelized. This step can easily be done ahead of time making this pizza come together that much more quickly.
The final flourish finishing off these dreamy and decadent pizzas provides not only freshness, but a peppery bite. Once you remove your pizzas from the oven, top them with either your favorite microgreens or arugula.
Need an idea on what to pair with Barbecue Chicken Pizza with Goat Gouda? Make sure you check out my recipe for Cherry Summer Salad.
Barbecue Chicken Pizza with Goat Gouda
Equipment
- sheet pan
- mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 2 store bought pizza crusts, naan, or favorite pizza dough
- 1 pkg Youngsters Goat Gouda
- 1 cup cooked chicken, shredded
- ½ cup barbecue sauce honey flavored
- 8 oz fresh figs, quartered
- 1 red onion, caramelized
- honey, for drizzling
- microgreens or arugula for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
- In a medium bowl add the chicken and barbecue sauce. Stir to evenly coat chicken.
- Shred the Youngsters Goat Gouda, set aside.
- To assemble your pizzas, spread a layer of the barbecue chicken on top of the crust.
- Even sprinkle the goat gouda over the pizzas and top with figs, caramelized onions, and a drizzle of honey.
- Bake for 15 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly and the figs are slightly roasted.
- Remove from the oven and top with either microgreens or arugula.
- Slice and enjoy!