Make it vegetarian OR meat lovers grilled pizza!
Pizza is America’s favorite food, according to a survey by the California Pizza Kitchen. (I’m sure they were COMPLETELY unbiased, LOL).
But it is summer, and we love to grill. So can we combine these two loves? Yes, we CAN! Grilled Pizza!
How to grill pizza
Grilled pizza is essentially just a technique to get used to, particularly for the crust. Once you have that figured out, the rest is easy. The pizza can then be customized with whatever ingredients are preferred.
Please note: I do all my grilling on a gas grill. In theory this can also be done on a charcoal grill, but temperature control might be more tricky. I also want to say that it took me a few tries to get the hang of this, so I don’t recommend trying this for the first time when a crowd is involved. Might be best to practice a few times 😀
But once you get the hang of it, this is truly a fun meal to make!
Have a recipe for pizza dough you want to try (like the Ooni pizza dough recipe) or already love? By all means use it here!
But this time I decided to approach this the easy way, and just used purchased frozen pizza dough. Same thing for the sauce –it is easy to make, but even easier to buy a can of it. Easy button!
The type I found was Rhodes brand. After using this dough several times, I finally came up with an approach that has provided consistently good results:
Prepare the pizza dough
Place the frozen dough on a plate or bowl, cover with plastic wrap (sprayed with cooking spray to prevent sticking) and place it in the refrigerator overnight to thaw.
The following day, take the cold dough out of the fridge and allow it to warm to room temperature for at least an hour. The dough will rise slightly.
Find a large surface to work the dough (I use a very large cutting board). Treat the surface with semolina flour before transferring the dough from the bowl or plate.
Split the dough into two pieces. One large pizza is incredibly tricky to work with on the grill.
With a rolling pin, roll out each section of dough to form a rough rectangle. Turn the dough over and keep dusting with the flour to prevent sticking to the work surface.
Grill the pizza dough
Heat the grill to high heat – turn all burners to their highest setting and close the lid while it heats up. On my gas grill, the temperature gauge gets over 400°F.
Once the grill is ready, give the dough one final roll to flatten and even it out. Then take the dough, still on the cutting board, out to the grill.
Two large spatulas will be needed to handle the dough. It is very floppy at this stage.
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Carefully transfer the dough to the grill, maintaining its shape as well as you are able. If the grill is very hot, the dough will begin to cook immediately.
Sometimes bubbles will start to form in the dough while it is cooking.
I just smash those bubbles down with the spatula.
Let the dough cook uncovered for only a minute or two. Lift an edge to peek at how it is cooking. When it is slightly charred/there are visible grill marks, it is ready to flip.
Using both spatulas, pick up the dough and flip it over. I recommend flipping right-left and not front-back. Cook the other side for a minute or two. Keep in mind, this step is primarily needed to “set” the dough. The pizza will finish cooking once the toppings are on it, so do not feel compelled to fully cook the crust at this step.
Remove the partially cooked crust to the cutting board. Turn the burners on the grill down to medium.
Add pizza toppings to the crust
Add toppings to the crust: sauce, vegetables, and of course CHEESE. (Note, if one side of the crust is more charred, I like to put my toppings on that side. The other side will have the additional exposure to the heat in the next step)
Vegetarian version with sliced tomato, fresh mozzarella, and shredded cheese.
Grill the pizza
Return the pizza to the grill, close the grill and allow the heat to cook the pizza. Slower cooking for this step seems to work the best. If the heat is too high, you will end up with a burnt crust and unmelted cheese, which will be very sad. Every grill is different, but on mine this takes about 10-15 minutes.
Once the pizza looks done (c’mon, we all know what that looks like, right?) remove it from the grill with the spatulas. Let it set for a few minutes before cutting.
When I make a vegetarian grilled pizza, I like to add arugula - if you'd like to try this, it should be added right after the pizza is removed from the heat. It is DELICIOUS!
And of course, not everyone wants a vegetarian pizza, so here is a meat lovers grilled pizza - this one has sausage and pepperoni.
And that is the real beauty of making your own pizza, it provides the opportunity to be as creative as you want to be with the toppings!
Give this grilled pizza a try!
📖 Recipe
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Grilled Pizza – Vegetarian
Ingredients
- ½ frozen pizza dough
- 4 oz ½ cup pizza sauce
- 2 TB pesto
- 2 cups cheese shredded
- 2 oz fresh mozzarella cheese torn into bite-sized pieces
- 2 small tomatoes sliced
- ½ cup arugula
- ¼ cup semolina flour as needed
Instructions
- The day before making the pizza, remove the dough from the freezer. Place it on a plate or bowl. Spray plastic wrap with cooking spray and use this to cover the dough, with the sprayed side toward the dough. Place in refrigerator to thaw overnight.
- The following day, remove the plate/bowl with dough from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature, for at least an hour. The dough will rise slightly.
- Prepare a large cutting board or similar surface with semolina flour. Transfer the dough to the prepared surface and dust some more flour on top. Take a knife and cut the dough into two portions. Reserve one of the portions for a separate pizza.
- Using a rolling pin, begin rolling out one portion of the dough. Continue to dust with flour, roll out, turn over and roll again until it is the desired size. A rectangle or square shape works the best.
- Preheat gas grill by turning on all burners to high and closing the lid as it preheats. If the grill has a temperature gauge, once it reads over 400 you should be good to go.
- Take the entire cutting board out to the grill. Using two large spatulas transfer the pizza dough onto the hot grill. Leave the grill cover open and monitor the dough – it will only need about 2 minutes per side. Peek at the bottom of the crust using a spatula; if it looks slightly charred, it is time to flip. Using both spatulas, flip the dough over. The crust is now partially set and holds its shape. Let the second side cook for 2 minutes, then remove the crust from the heat and turn the burners down to medium.
- Mix the sauce with the pesto and spread it on the crust. Add the rest of the toppings (except the arugulto the pizza. I prefer to add some of the shredded cheese first, then the veggies and fresh mozzarella, finishing with the rest of the cheese.
- Once all ingredients are on the crust, transfer the pizza back to the grill. Close the lid and let the pizza bake for about 10-15 minutes. Check for “doneness” and adjust cooking time as needed.
- Add arugula to the top of the cooked pizza.
- Remove from heat, slice and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
📖 Recipe
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Grilled Pizza-Meat Lovers
Ingredients
- ½ frozen pizza dough
- 4 oz (½ cup) pizza sauce
- 2 cups cheese shredded
- ½ pound Italian sausage
- 2 oz pepperoni sliced
- 4 cup semolina flour as needed
Instructions
- The day before making the pizza, remove the dough from the freezer. Place it on a plate or bowl. Spray plastic wrap with cooking spray and use this to cover the dough, with the sprayed side toward the dough. Place in refrigerator to thaw overnight.
- The following day, remove the plate/bowl of dough from the refrigerator and allow it to come to room temperature, for at least an hour. The dough will rise slightly.
- Cook the sausage on a stovetop, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks.
- Prepare a large cutting board or similar surface with semolina flour. Transfer the dough to the prepared surface and dust some more flour on top. Take a knife and cut the dough into two portions. Reserve one of the portions for a separate pizza.
- Using a rolling pin, begin rolling out one portion of the dough. Continue to dust with flour, roll out, turn over and roll again until it is the desired size. A rectangle or square shape works the best.
- Preheat the gas grill by turning on all burners to high and closing the lid as it preheats. If the grill has a temperature gauge, once it reads over 400 you should be good to go.
- Take the entire cutting board out to the grill. Using two large spatulas transfer the pizza dough onto the hot grill. Leave the grill cover open and monitor the dough – it will only need about 2 minutes per side. Peek at the bottom of the crust using a spatula; if it looks slightly charred, it is time to flip. Using both spatulas, flip the dough over. The crust is now partially set and holds its shape. Let the second side cook for 2 minutes, then remove the crust from the heat and turn the burners down to medium.
- Add toppings to the pizza. Start with the sauce, follow with the rest of the ingredients. I prefer to add some of the cheese first, then the meat, finishing with the rest of the cheese.
- Once all ingredients are on the crust, transfer the pizza back to the grill. Close the lid and let the pizza bake for about 10-15 minutes. Check for “doneness” and adjust cooking time as needed.
- Remove from heat, slice and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
More grilling ideas
Need more grilling ideas? Try grilled margarita shrimp or sweet and sour pork kabobs!
Blake Moon
Grilled pizza?! How cool!
Sula
And delicious!
Big Trouble
ARE YOU KIDDING ME??? These look friggin amazing! What a great idea, too, Sula! Wow, nice work. I can't wait to try these on my own this summer.
Sula
Do it! They are truly amazing!