Smoked Pizza
Smoked pizza is one of the best ways to make your homemade pizza taste like it was baked in a wood-fired oven. This easy recipe is perfect for even novice uses of a pellet grill! You'll be glad you learned how to smoke a pizza.
Smoked Pizza Recipe
Did you know you can bake pizza in a smoker? Well, now you do! And I gotta tell ya, smoked pizza has the most delicious rustic flavor.
The melted cheese and homemade pizza crust takes on a subtle smoke flavor that truly makes this pizza mouthwateringly good. Smoking pizza still gives it a perfectly crisp crust too, it won't make it soggy at all!
I've been on a mission to find the best way to bake pizza at home. And so far, the favorites are smoking and grilling pizza. Of course, you can always bake it in your oven too! But these two methods are producing the best results with flavors that are really similar to what's created in a pizza oven.
If pizza is what you turn to on busy evenings, then this recipe is perfect for you. Sure, ordering a pizza is really easy too but making it at home ensures you're eating more fresh ingredients and the pizza tastes so much better too.
Why You'll Love this Recipe
You can make pizza right at home in just as much time, or less, than it takes to order and wait for it to be delivered. Using your smoker is an easy way to make the perfect pizza every single time.
- It will only take about 25 minutes to prep and smoke this gooey and cheesy pepperoni pizza. All you need is simple ingredients and just under a half hour to make the best pizza ever.
- When you make your own pizza you can customize it to add any ingredients you want. Even more than what your nearest pizza chain location may have! Get adventurous and make a tasty creation.
- You can easily store and reheat leftover pizza. Pizza reheats well, doesn't dry out, and everyone will always eat pizza leftovers!
Make some chocolate chip pudding cookies or M&M cookie bars for dessert and you've got the best Friday pizza night all ready to go!
Ingredients
Ready to make the most perfect smoked pizza? Here is everything you need to add to your grocery list:
- pizza crust (homemade or store bought)
- pizza sauce
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- pepperoni slices
- pizza seasoning
- melted butter
- garlic powder
- salt
- black pepper
Toppings for Smoked Pizza
This smoked pizza recipe is for a classic pepperoni pizza, but you can add any toppings you want. However, I do recommend building your pizza on a homemade pizza crust instead of store-bought pizza dough.
To make the best pizza, use homemade pizza sauce instead of tomato sauce bought in a store. The flavor is so much better and will taste more like traditional pizza.
Some different toppings you can try:
- Meat: Bacon, canadian bacon, grilled chicken, meatballs, Italian sausage
- Cheese: Parmesan cheese, asiago, goat cheese, fresh mozzarella, gruyere
- Veggies: Roasted tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, spinach, olives
- Other: Fresh basil, minced garlic, whole garlic cloves, bbq sauce, ranch dressing, basil walnut pesto
How to Make Smoked Pizza
Follow these instructions to learn how to smoke a pizza on the smoker for pizza night! It's really as easy as one, two, three...
1. Prep the Pizza
Begin by preheating your pellet grill to 500°F (260°C). If you plan on making your pizza on a good pizza stone, place it on the grill while it preheats.
Roll out your pizza homemade pizza dough with a rolling pin on a lightly floured surface or parchment paper. Place onto the preheated pizza stone or a sheet of parchment paper.
Hot Tip: Be sure to roll out the pizza dough into an even layer of thickness so that it bakes evenly. It is especially important to make sure that the center of the pizza crust is thin and evenly stretched.
Then spread pizza sauce in an even layer over the homemade dough, leaving some space around the outside edge.
Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top of the sauce.
Place pepperonis and any of your other favorite toppings on top.
Then sprinkle the remaining mozzarella over the pepperoni and add pizza seasoning over the top layer of cheese.
Use a basting brush or pastry brush and brush the edges of the crusts with melted butter.
Then, sprinkle salt, pepper, and garlic powder over the melted butter.
Hot Tip: To prevent the parchment paper from burning, trim around the edges before placing the pizza inside of the smoker.
2. Smoke the Pizza
Slide your pizza onto a cutting board or flat baking sheet to transfer it to the smoker.
Then place the pizza directly onto the grill grates or onto the preheated pizza stone.
Smoke pizza for 10-15 minutes until the cheese is melted and the bottom of the crust and edges are golden brown.
The top of cheese should also be slightly crispy and golden brown.
Remove the pizza from the smoker and then allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Slice pizza with a pizza cutter or sharp knife and serve while hot!
Before serving, you can garnish your tasty pizza with fresh herbs, fresh parmesan, red pepper flakes or a drizzle of your favorite sauce to pair with pizza.
How to Store Leftover Smoked Pizza
Allow the cheesy pepperoni pizza to cool completely to room temperature. By allowing it cool, it will last longer and the crust will crisp up better when reheated.
Then place the leftover slices into an airtight container or freezer safe zip top plastic bag. Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
You can also freeze your leftovers for one to two months if store properly. Reheat from frozen or allow to thaw before reheating.
To reheat leftover pizza, place in the oven or toaster oven until warmed through. Pizza can be reheated in the microwave too, but if you want to have a crispy crust the oven is the best option.
What to Serve with Smoked Pizza
As a family, we always like to make a big batch of cheesy garlic bread to go with our pizza. If you need some easy vegetables to make with it, oven roasted broccoli goes with anything!
Pizza and pasta is always a good combo, and this lemon ricotta pasta would be so yum.
Or, you can just keep things extra simple and serve a strawberry spinach salad with your tasty homemade pizza.
Pizza is a great as a party appetizer too. Serve a crispy and gooey smoked pizza alongside some chicken wings or maybe whipped feta dip. Buffalo chicken meatballs are a great pairing as well!
While your pellet smoker is already on, try this smoked queso and air fryer tortilla chips.
Tips for Success
Here are some tips and tricks for making this recipe:
- Don't overload your crust with too much pizza sauce. A thin layer of sauce will provide plenty of flavor and will keep the pizza crust from getting soggy.
- Make sure your smoker is clean before placing the pizza or pizza stone inside. A clean smoker will ensure the best flavor and will cook your food more evenly. I have a post on how to clean a gas grill. Many of the tips and tricks in there will apply to how to clean a smoker as well!
- Keep the lid closed as the pizza bakes. This will keep the interior of the pellet smoker at a consistent temperature and give the pizza a nice smoky flavor and crispy crust.
FAQ
While I recommend making your own pizza and smoking it, you can smoke a store bought frozen pizza. It will take the store-bought pizza to a whole new level and give it a much better flavor. Cooking pizza in a traditional oven is good, but pellet grill pizza has an extra crispy crust and yummy smoked flavor.
It is not absolutely necessary to smoke pizza on a pizza stone or pizza pan. In fact, pizza will cook perfectly in the smoker on just a simple sheet or parchment paper. However, the bottom of the crust will have an extra crisp to it if you bake it on a pizza stone.
Do not put raw dough directly onto grill grates. It will likely stick and the pizza could sag and fall through the gaps. You don't want a big mess on your hands, so make sure you place you pizza onto a pizza stone, pizza pan, or parchment paper.
More Pizza Recipes
Did you make this recipe?
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.
Smoked Pizza
Equipment
Ingredients
Homemade Pizza Crust
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water 110ºF
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
Pizza Toppings
- 1 cup pizza sauce
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ½ cup pepperoni slices
- 1 teaspoon pizza seasoning
- 2 tablespoons butter melted
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
Pizza Dough
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add active dry yeast, warm water and honey. Mix together with dough hook attachment. Let sit for 5 minutes until foamy.
- Once the yeast is active, add salt, olive oil and all-purpose flour to stand mixer bowl and mix dough together for 3-5 minutes. Dough should be tacky but doesn’t stick to your hands. Add more flour a tablespoon at a time until it is easy to work with.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a ball. Let dough rest in a bowl covered for at least 10 minutes (up to 30 minutes) before rolling it out.
- Preheat oven to 450ºF, letting the pizza pan preheat in oven.
- Split the dough into two equal sized pieces, then roll dough to about ½ inch thickness, trying to keep the shape rounded and about 12 inches. Transfer the dough to a sheet of parchment paper.
Smoked Pizza
- Spread pizza sauce evenly on pizza crust, leaving about ½ inch around the outside.
- Sprinkle half of the mozzarella cheese on crust.
- Lay pepperoni on top of cheese and then sprinkle the remaining cheese on the pepperoni.
- Sprinkle pizza seasoning across pizza toppings.
- Using a brush, brush melted butter on the outside of the crust that is not covered with sauce. Then sprinkle salt, pepper and garlic powder on top of butter.
- If desired, trim edges of parchment paper around pizza crust to prevent paper burning on the grill.
- Use a cutting board to transfer pizza to grill. Place pizza crust on top of pizza stone or the parchment paper with pizza crust on top onto the grill. Smoke pizza for 10-15 minutes at 500º until the cheese is melted and the pizza crust is golden brown.
- Cool for at least 5 minutes then use a pizza cutter to slice into pieces and serve.
I'm really craving for a pizza that has that smokey taste, as if, it is baked using a traditional wood fired oven, and I'm so glad I found this! I followed it and the result is really good -- so tasty! Two thumbs up for this 🙂
This one is good! Made several since finding your recipe, all got thumbs up from my boys.
This is ridiculously tasty. I thought pepperoni pizza couldn't get any tastier but the smoked flavor makes it that much more delicious. Highly recommend!
Thanks to this recipe I satisfied my family's craving for pizza! I played around with my toppings and it was the best pizza ever! Will be making this again for sure.
I love my Traeger Grill, but I never would have thought to put pizza on it! This turned out excellent! Love that I didn't have to heat the oven and the flavor was spot on.
Man I out literally everything on my Traeger lol it’s sooooo good