BBQ chickpea pizza

vegetarian

This BBQ chickpea pizza is perfect if you want a vegetarian pizza that’s a bit different, and absolutely full of smoky BBQ flavour.

A BBQ chickpea pizza cut into slices, shot from above.

I’m of the opinion that pretty much anything is better when served on pizza. If you love chickpeas slathered in BBQ sauce, adding pizza to the equation can only possibly be a good thing – so here’s a BBQ chickpea pizza!

A slice of BBQ chickpea pizza being dipped into a ramekin of BBQ sauce.

Chickpea pizza

I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen chickpeas on a pizza before. I’d certainly never eaten chickpea pizza until I made this one. But thank goodness I decided to give it a try, because it’s excellent.

Since my baked bean pizza worked so well the other week, I thought I’d try chickpeas on pizza too – beans and chickpeas are both pulses, so they should both work equally well, right?

And they do! This BBQ chickpea pizza is so, so good.

A slice of BBQ chickpea pizza with a bite taken, resting on top of a ramekin of BBQ sauce.

Why put chickpeas on pizza?

There’s no denying that chickpeas don’t have a huge amount of flavour on their own. So why bother adding them to your pizza?

Well… lots of reasons:

  • They’re the perfect little carrier for all that BBQ sauce
  • They bring another texture to your pizza
  • They make your pizza extra filling and hearty
  • They’re good for you, so you can eat an extra slice guilt-free

The chickpeas add that perfect little je ne sais quoi.

Along with some red onions and cherry tomatoes, it’s a really yummy combination that’s a little bit different to anything I’ve had before.

An uncooked cheese and tomato pizza on a baking tray.

How to make a BBQ chickpea pizza

First, you’ll need to start with a basic cheese and tomato pizza. I used a shop-bought pizza base, smeared it with tomato puree, and added a couple of nice big handfuls of grated cheese.

I used the pre-grated stuff (both mozzarella and cheddar) because it works really well on pizza, and it’s super low effort.

If you’re feeling ambitious, you could make your own homemade pizza base. Or if you’re pressed for time, you could even just begin with a shop-bought margherita pizza.

Next, the chickpeas!

Chickpeas and BBQ sauce mixed in a bowl.

BBQ chickpeas

To make the BBQ chickpeas, you just need to mix tinned chickpeas with BBQ sauce.

Yep, I never claimed this was a complicated recipe.

Use as much or as little sauce as you like. I tend to only like BBQ sauce in fairly small doses, so I didn’t go mad, but you can definitely be more heavy-handed if you’re a BBQ sauce lover.

An uncooked pizza topped with BBQ chickpeas, red onion and cherry tomatoes.

Add the BBQ chickpeas to your pizza, along with some sliced red onion and some cherry tomatoes, and pop it in the oven until it’s all gooey and crispy and delicious.

A BBQ chickpea pizza cut into slices on a chopping board.

As it cooks, all the toppings are essentially roasting, right there on top of the pizza.

Roasted onion – yum.
Roasted tomatoes – yuuum.
Roasted BBQ chickpeas – yuuuuum.

Not forgetting the gooey cheese underneath!

A BBQ chickpea pizza cut into slices on a board.

BBQ sauce on pizza

Here, it’s pretty common to use BBQ sauce on pizza, instead of the tomato sauce. But I didn’t want to do that, because I like tomato sauce, and I don’t love BBQ sauce enough to want it to be the only flavour on my pizza.

That’s why it works so well just coating the chickpeas in BBQ sauce, but still using regular tomato sauce underneath the cheese. It’s the best of both worlds!

If you’re a BBQ sauce fanatic, feel free to drizzle extra BBQ sauce over the top of your pizza, either before or after baking. Or just use it for dipping, like I did!

A slice of pizza with a bite taken.

BBQ chickpea pizza

This BBQ chickpea pizza is perfect if you want a vegetarian pizza that’s a bit different, and absolutely full of smoky BBQ flavour.

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 20 mins

Total Time: 30 mins

Servings: 2 people

  • 1 large pizza base
  • 3 tbsp tomato puree / paste (or any other tomato sauce)
  • 2 handfuls grated cheese (I used a mixture of mozzarella and cheddar)
  • 1/2 a 400g tin of chickpeas, drained (120g, or ~ 2/3 cup, when drained)
  • 1 tbsp BBQ sauce
  • A few thin slices red onion
  • 3 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
  • Fresh parsley or coriander (cilantro), finely chopped, to garnish (optional)
  • Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).

  • Place a large pizza base on a baking tray, and spread it with tomato puree (or any other tomato sauce). Top with plenty of grated cheese.

  • Add the chickpeas and BBQ sauce to a bowl, and mix well. Scatter them over the pizza, along with the sliced red onion and quartered cherry tomatoes.

  • Bake for around 20 minutes, or until crisped up to your liking. Serve topped with finely chopped coriander or parsley, if desired.

Course: Main meals

Cuisine: Italian

Author: Becca Heyes

Nutrition Facts

BBQ chickpea pizza

Amount Per Serving (0.5 pizza)

Calories 404
Calories from Fat 86

% Daily Value*

Fat 9.6g15%

Saturated Fat 2.8g14%

Cholesterol 13mg4%

Sodium 474mg20%

Potassium 735mg21%

Carbohydrates 54.4g18%

Fiber 6.7g27%

Sugar 10.9g12%

Protein 25.4g51%

Calcium 296mg30%

Iron 2mg11%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for 1/2 a pizza.

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