The Pioneer Woman's Go-to Air Fryer Pizza Bagel Recipe Has a Tangy Twist & It's the Perfect Quick Dinner for Busy Nights

The air fryer has revolutionized the way we reheat, bake, fry, and even prepare entire dinners. And although she admittedly was a bit late to “the air fryer game,” The Pioneer Woman (a.k.a Ree Drummond) has now officially become an air fryer lover, and she has a recipe that you’ll want to add to your weekly rotation of air fryer snacks and quick meals. It’s a tangy BBQ chicken pizza bagel, and it’s so fast and easy to prepare thanks to a few shortcuts you can take along the way.

“I was a little bit late to the air fryer game, and I’ll admit, it took me a little bit of time to figure out what to do with them,” Drummond said in a clip from her show posted to Food Network’s YouTube page. “But once I did, oh my gosh, it opened up a whole world — particularly in the world of snacks.”

And this BBQ chicken bagel pizza is a snack that definitely “comes to life” in the air fryer, and is hearty enough that you could whip it up as a quick dinner on busy weeknights, too.

To make this treat, first start by shredding some store-bought rotisserie chicken (here’s the shortcut!) and mixing it with some of your favorite BBQ sauce. “You want it to be saucy, but not totally inundated with sauce,” she said.

Drummond likes to build her pizza on an onion bagel, but you can use any bagel you’d like. Cut the bagel in half and spread a bit more BBQ sauce on each half. She then tops the bagels with shredded Monterey Jack cheese and the BBQ chicken she prepared. Finally, the pizzas are topped with pickled jalepeños before being loaded into the air fryer for about seven minutes.

When the bagels are crispy and the cheese has melted to perfection, pull them out of the air fryer and top them with a bit of pickled red onion and cilantro before taking a bite.

Once you give these BBQ chicken air fryer pizzas a try, you’ll be hooked! Customize them with your favorite cheeses and toppings, and treat yourself to a delicious, quick meal or snack any day of the week.

Before you go, check out our slideshow below: