There's no need to have a fancy pizza oven. Grilled pizza makes traditional pizza taste just as good as if it were cooked in a brick oven. With a slightly smoky flavor and a perfectly crispy crust, this pizza recipe is a game changer!
Grilled Pizza Recipe
Oven-baked pizza on a pizza stone is super tasty, but there's just something special about cooking pizza over flames. The way the heat licks the bottom of the crust gives it such a unique crispy texture that you can't get anyway else.
But unless there's some new fancy way for every home to have a pizza oven, there's no way for we can make brick oven pizza in our own homes. However, by baking pizza on a hot grill you can get pretty close!
Make any of your favorite pizzas on the grill. From pepperoni pizza to bruschetta pizza, grilling them is the best way to prepare them.
This method truly makes the best homemade pizza. We love making it in the summer since our grill is typically out anyway. Summer grilling season is always filled with the best recipes like grilled chicken burgers and grilled chicken drumsticks.
So when we learned how to grill pizza, we made every Friday a pizza night! It's not difficult to do, and once you try it you'll never want to make homemade pizza in an oven again!
Why You'll Love this Recipe
- You can have pizza hot and ready in just under a half hour when you follow these step-by-step instructions!
- Grilling pizza is a great way to keep your oven space free when you're hosting guests and need to bake lots of other yummy recipes.
- It's really easy to make pizza on a grill. No special equipment needed! Just a good gas grill or charcoal grill.
Ingredients
Here is all of the ingredients you need to make your own pizza on a hot grill:
- pizza sauce
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- pizza dough
- pepperoni
- Italian seasoning
- plus all your favorite toppings!
Other Pizza Toppings
A pizza isn't complete without your favorite toppings. Here are a few ideas:
Cheese: Along with mozzarella, you can use asiago cheese, gruyere cheese, ricotta, and even some parmesan.
Meat: Pepperoni doesn't have to be the only meat you use on grilled pizza! Any of your favorite pizza toppings can still be used when you grill pizza. Bacon, sausage, Canadian bacon, grilled chicken, etc.
Vegetables: Roasted tomatoes are one of my favorite toppings to add to pizza. You can use tons of other vegetables like bell peppers, mushrooms, onions, spinach, and anything else you want.
How to Grill Pizza
After making your homemade pizza dough and homemade pizza sauce, preheat your grill before placing the crust inside.
On a sheet of parchment paper or lightly floured surface, roll the fresh dough out into a 12 inch circle using a rolling pin. If you find the dough sticks to the rolling pin too much, use wet hands or flour covered hands to manually stretch out the dough.
Brush olive oil on the pizza crust.
Make sure the grill grates are clean, and then place your unbaked pizza crust on parchment paper into the hot grill and bake for 10 minutes.
Hot Tip: Every grill is different, so your pizza may need a little longer than the recommended bake time. Just watch for the edges of the crust to get golden brown and for the bottom of the crust to get perfectly crispy. There may be grill marks on the crust too. Just don't let those get too dark!
Remove from the grill, add the sauce, cheese, Italian seasoning and whatever toppings you like.
Grill for 5 more minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.
Allow to cool slightly, then place your pizza on a cutting board and use a sharp knife or pizza cutter to slice into even slices.
Serve the freshly grilled pizza hot, and enjoy!
How to Store Leftover Grilled Pizza
Place leftovers into an airtight container or freezer safe zip top bag. Then store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Or, freeze leftover slices for up to 2 months. Allow to thaw before reheating.
To reheat, place slices into a preheated oven or toaster oven and heat until warmed through and the crust has crisped up. You can microwave pizza, but I find that reheating leftovers in the oven produces the best results!
What to Serve with Pizza
Pizza, of course, can be eaten all on it's own. However, I do have some incredibly tasty side dishes that you can eat with it.
Cheesy garlic bread is a classic side that goes wonderfully with pizza. You can also make a cold pasta salad to go with it!
Ranch dressing is a popular condiment to use as a drizzle on a complete pizza...some people use it as a dipping sauce too. Make this pizza a popular combo and serve it with baked wings!
Tips for Success
- My number one tip when grilling anything is to make sure you have a clean grill before you start. I have a whole post on how to clean a grill. Read up on how to clean between uses and how to give your grill a deep clean on a regular basis.
- When the crust is in the grill during the first bake, keep the lid of the grill closed and don't open it until the crust is finished. Once you build your pizza and place it back inside, keep the grill lid closed then as well. This will trap the most heat and bake your pizza evenly.
- Homemade dough and sauce will always give the best flavor. However, you can absolutely use your favorite dough and sauce from the grocery store.
FAQ
Pizza is most easily transferred when the crust is place on a sheet of parchment paper. You can grill parchment paper, so there is no need to remove it once the pizza is sitting on the hot grill grates! It will keep the pizza from sticking and will also catch any drips and grease that may fall while the pizza is baking.
It is not necessary to have a pizza stone to grill pizza. If you do have one and would like to use it, allow it to preheat inside the grill while the grill preheats. Then transfer the pizza dough onto the hot stone before baking it in the grill. Keep in mind that the pizza may cook a bit more quickly if you bake it on a hot pizza stone. So keep an eye on it and make sure you don't scorch the bottom of the crust.
More Pizza Recipes
- Pizza Muffins
- Easy Pizza Casserole Recipe
- Arugula Prosciutto Pizza with Ricotta
- Tomato Tart with Puff Pastry
If you make and love this recipe, please leave a ★★★★★ review below! It means so much to me when you try my recipes, and I'd love to know how it goes. Please leave a comment below if you have any questions.
Grilled Pizza
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 thin-crust pizza dough prepared and rolled thin
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ¼ cup pizza sauce
- ½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- toppings such as tomatoes, basil, pepperoni
Instructions
- Preheat your grill to 400°F (20°C) to 450°F (230°C)
- Add the olive oil to the pizza crust and use a basting brush to spread it into an even layer.
- Bake pizza crust on a pizza pan or on parchment paper on the grill grates for 10 minutes.
- Spoon the sauce over the hot pizza crust. Top with cheese, then your favorite pizza toppings.
- Place back onto the grill and continue baking for 5 minutes until the cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.
- Let cool slightly before slicing and serve!
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