Cheesy BBQ Chicken Pizza Rolls

4.56 from 9 votes

Cheesy soft rolls of pizza dough stuffed with tender chunks of chicken, sweet BBQ sauce, chopped red onion and salty bacon bits!

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Appetizer, Pizza

Cuisine: American

Keyword: BBQ, dinner, pizza, snack

Servings: rolls

Calories: 254kcal

Author: Tricia

Ingredients

1 pound pizza dough fresh, frozen or refrigerated, thawed
½ cup BBQ sauce (sweet) plus extra for serving
1 ¼ cups part-skim mozzarella cheese shredded, divided
1 cup cooked chicken finely chopped (rotisserie, poached, etc)
3 tablespoons red onion finely chopped
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
3 slices bacon cooked crisp, drained and finely chopped (optional)
fresh parsley leaves chopped for garnish
1 teaspoon vegetable oil for greasing the pan, plus more for oiling the bowl

Instructions

If frozen, follow instructions for thawing your pizza dough. If using refrigerated dough, place in a well oiled bowl, cover and allow to come to room temperature, 1 to 2 hours.
Lightly oil a large 9 or 10-inch round skillet or baking pan. Cast iron skillets work well for pizza. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Lightly flour a clean work surface and roll out the room temperature pizza dough to an 18x10-inch rectangle. If the dough springs back and won’t hold it’s shape, let it rest an additional 5 minutes, then roll again. Spread the BBQ sauce over the surface of the dough leaving a 1/2-inch border all around the edges.
Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese evenly across the surface of the dough, then top with the chicken, onion, red pepper flakes and bacon, if using.
Starting on the long side, roll the dough away from you into a tight cylinder, tucking and pulling just a bit as you go. Pinch the seams together to seal. Cut into 8 equal slices and place cut side down in the prepared pan. When cutting try using dental floss instead of a knife. It works amazingly well!
Bake for 25 minutes in a preheated 400°F oven. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese on top and continue baking for another 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.
Garnish with fresh parsley and serve immediately with additional BBQ sauce for dipping.

Notes

Substitute pizza sauce for the BBQ and use your favorite traditional toppings instead.
Since these bake quickly you’ll need to pre-cook or sauté hearty vegetables before adding to the rolls. Vegetables like peppers and mushrooms need to be cooked first too. Finely minced onion is fine added raw.
Pre-cook all meats used in the rolls.

Filling Inspiration: Ground beef, Italian sausage, Canadian bacon, ham and pepperoni. Parmesan cheese, well drained crushed pineapple, fresh basil leaves, olives, and jalapeños. Pesto, peppers, onions, mushrooms and spinach

Nutritional information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered as an estimate. When multiple ingredient alternatives are given, the first listed is calculated for nutrition. Garnishes and optional ingredients are not included.

Nutrition