Buffalo Chicken Pizza Recipe That Slaps: Crispy, Saucy, and Addictively Cheesy

You want a game-changing dinner that tastes like a cheat code? This buffalo chicken pizza recipe hits you with fiery sauce, juicy chicken, and a golden, crackly crust that crunches like a highlight reel. It’s the mash-up you crave when wings won’t cut it and plain pizza feels boring.

Fast prep, huge flavor, and zero fancy culinary school required. Make it once, and suddenly you’re “the pizza person” in your friend group—sorry, that’s just how it goes.

What Makes This Recipe Awesome

Max flavor, minimal fuss: Buffalo sauce + ranch or blue cheese + melty mozzarella = outrageous payoff with simple moves.
Textural win: Crispy-edged crust, saucy middle, and chicken with bite. No soggy sadness here.
Flexible heat: You control the spice level.
Want it mild? Done. Want tears of joy?
Also doable.
Weeknight-friendly: Pre-cooked chicken or rotisserie chicken halves your work time.
Perfect for a crowd: Slice it party-style and watch it vanish faster than dessert.

What You’ll Need (Ingredients)

Pizza dough: 1 pound (store-bought or homemade), rested at room temp 45–60 minutes
Cooked chicken: 2 cups shredded or chopped (rotisserie works great)
Buffalo sauce: 1/2 cup (Frank’s RedHot or your favorite)
Unsalted butter: 2 tablespoons, melted (to mellow and gloss the sauce)
Mozzarella cheese: 2 cups shredded, low-moisture
Blue cheese or ranch dressing: 1/3 cup for drizzling (plus extra for serving)
Blue cheese crumbles (optional): 1/4 cup
Red onion: 1/4 cup thinly sliced
Celery: 1/4 cup finely diced (for crunch)
Green onions: 2, thinly sliced
Olive oil: 1 tablespoon (for the pan and crust)
Garlic powder: 1/2 teaspoon
Dried oregano: 1/2 teaspoon
Cornmeal or flour: for dusting your peel or sheet
Optional heat boosters: crushed red pepper flakes or a dash of cayenne

Let’s Get Cooking – Instructions

Preheat like you mean it: Set your oven to 500°F (260°C) with a pizza stone or inverted sheet pan inside. Let it heat for at least 30 minutes. High heat equals crisp glory.
Prep the buffalo chicken: In a bowl, whisk buffalo sauce + melted butter.
Toss in the chicken until coated. Taste. Adjust heat with more sauce or mellow with a touch more butter.
Stretch the dough: On a lightly floured surface, press and stretch the dough into a 12–14 inch round.
Keep the edges a bit thicker. No rolling pin domination—gentle hands give you better bubbles.
Dress the base: Dust a peel or parchment with cornmeal. Transfer dough.
Brush the top with olive oil and sprinkle with garlic powder + oregano for a flavor head start.
Sauce strategy: Lightly drizzle 2–3 tablespoons of the buffalo sauce mixture onto the dough and spread thin. Don’t flood it—this isn’t a soup.
Cheese layer 1: Sprinkle about 1 1/2 cups mozzarella evenly over the base.
Chicken + toppings: Scatter the buffalo chicken over the cheese. Add red onion and celery.
If you like funk, sprinkle blue cheese crumbles.
Cheese layer 2: Finish with the remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella to lock everything in.
Bake: Slide onto your screaming-hot stone/sheet and bake for 9–12 minutes, until the crust is puffed and deeply golden with browned cheese spots.
Final drizzle: Remove from the oven and immediately drizzle with ranch or blue cheese dressing. Add a touch more buffalo sauce if you’re living dangerously.
Finish and slice: Scatter green onions. Let rest 2 minutes, then slice.
Serve with extra dressing for dunking because you’re civilized.

Storage Tips

Fridge: Cool completely, then store slices in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Reheat: Best in a skillet over medium heat with a lid for 3–5 minutes; or air fryer at 375°F for 4–6 minutes. Oven at 400°F for 8–10 minutes works too.
Freezer: Freeze cooled slices, wrapped tightly, up to 2 months. Reheat from frozen in an air fryer or 425°F oven until hot and crisp.
Avoid microwave mush: It’ll soften the crust.
If you must, finish in a hot pan to bring back crunch.

What’s Great About This

Wing-night energy on a pizza base: All the buffalo vibes, none of the fryer mess.
Custom heat + tang: Adjust buffalo-to-butter and ranch-to-blue ratios like a soundboard.
Balanced texture: Creamy cheese, crunchy celery, tender chicken, crispy crust—chef’s kiss.
Budget-friendly crowd pleaser: One dough, a few staples, and you’ve got a party hero.

Don’t Make These Errors

Over-saucing the base: Too much buffalo under the cheese turns the middle soggy. Keep it thin and save extra sauce for the end.
Cold dough: If the dough is chilly, it’ll snap back and fight you. Let it rest at room temp so it stretches like a dream.
Low oven temp: A lukewarm oven equals pale crust.
Preheat properly—seriously, set a timer.
Wet mozzarella: Fresh mozz has high moisture. Use low-moisture, pre-shredded or block-shredded for a better melt and less pooling.
Skipping the oil/seasoning on the crust: That tiny step adds big pizzeria-level flavor.

Recipe Variations

BBQ Buffalo Hybrid: Mix buffalo with a little smoky BBQ sauce for sweet heat. Great with red onion and cilantro.
Cauliflower Crust: Go gluten-free with a sturdy cauli crust.
Keep toppings lighter to prevent breakage.
Hot-Honey Finish: Drizzle hot honey after baking. The sweet-spicy combo is dangerously good.
Grilled Pizza: Grill dough over medium-high heat 2–3 minutes per side, top, then close the lid to melt. Smoky vibes, summer hero status.
Ranch Base: Use a thin swipe of ranch as the sauce, then buffalo chicken on top.
It’s indulgent, IMO.
Veggie Boost: Add thin-sliced bell peppers or jalapeños. Keep slices thin to avoid waterlogging.
Protein Swap: Use shredded turkey, crispy bacon crumbles, or plant-based chicken strips.

FAQ

Can I use raw chicken on the pizza?

No. Use cooked chicken only.

Raw chicken won’t fully cook during the short bake time and will release moisture, ruining your texture and your evening.

What’s the best buffalo sauce for this?

Frank’s RedHot is the classic, but any medium-heat buffalo sauce works. Blend with melted butter for that silky, wing-night flavor.

Do I need a pizza stone?

It helps, but it’s not mandatory. An inverted baking sheet preheated in the oven also mimics a stone and delivers great browning.

How do I keep the crust from sticking?

Use a generous dusting of cornmeal or flour on your peel or parchment.

If you’re nervous, build the pizza on parchment and slide the parchment onto the stone.

Blue cheese or ranch—what’s better?

Both. Blue cheese brings bold tang; ranch is creamy and familiar. Use what your crowd prefers, or do a half-and-half drizzle for peace in the kingdom.

My crust browned before the cheese melted.
Help?

Lower oven rack by one notch and bake another minute or two. Also make sure your cheese is evenly distributed and not piled in one spot.

Can I make it ahead?

Yes. Mix the chicken with buffalo sauce up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate.

Assemble and bake fresh so the crust stays crisp.

How spicy is this?

Medium by default. For milder, add more butter or ranch drizzle. For spicier, add cayenne or extra buffalo sauce post-bake.

FYI: heat blooms after baking, so taste before adding more.

Final Thoughts

This buffalo chicken pizza recipe is the fast track to “how did you make this?” compliments with very little drama. Keep the sauce light underneath, blast it at high heat, and hit that post-bake drizzle like a pro. It’s bold, it’s messy-in-the-best-way, and it turns weeknights into highlight reels.

Make two—one for now, one for the “I’ll just have a small slice” crowd that never stops at one.