Grilled Pizza

I love when the weather begins to take a turn for the warmer and it seems like every meal is done on the grill. One of my favorites is pizza.

You'll need to start with a batch of your favorite pizza dough. I like this recipe from Better Homes & Gardens:

Pizza Dough

2 1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup warm water (not hot)

2 tablespoons olive oil

In a large mixer bowl combine 1 1/4 cups of the flour, the yeast, and salt.  Stir in warm water and oil. Beat at low speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat 3 minutes at high speed. Stir in as much of the remaining flour as you can mix in with a spoon. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic. (6 to 8 minutes total).

Cover dough and let rest 10 minutes. Divide dough into as many pizzas as you'd like to make and roll out on a floured surface. (I recommend starting out with small pizzas while you get the hang of cooking them on the grill).

Place dough on floured pans.

Lightly cover the top of each crust with olive oil. (I like to use olive oil that can be sprayed on for this). Light grill and set at low-medium low. Hold pan over grill and carefully flip the dough (the side that you've oiled) onto the grates. If the dough gets crinkled, quickly use a spatula to straighten it out, by placing the spatula under the dough and using your hand on top of the dough to guide the dough out. Transferring the dough to the grill is the trickiest part and takes some practice. (This is why I recommend starting out with small crusts). Spray the side facing up with olive oil. Once the crust has very lightly browned and is stabile enough to turn, flip it with your spatula and lightly brown the other side. (You are not trying to completely cook the dough at this point, just giving it a light grilling). Place crusts back onto pans and return to the kitchen for toppings.

Now comes the fun part: your favorite toppings. Add anything you'd like. Here are some ideas:

Pesto, spinach, and parmesan:

Olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, fresh oregano and mozzarella: (fresh basil is even tastier, but I was out at the time)

A sudden windfall of 5 pounds of asparagus from my neighbor inspired this one: olive oil, asparagus, marinated feta, and pine nuts. (I should have added some ricotta or mozzarella too, as it was tasty, but a bit too dry).

And of course, kid favorites like cheese and ham with olives:

Take pizzas back to the grill and cook until the cheese is melted and the crust is browned to your liking:

Then remove from the grill, slice, and serve immediately.

Tips: I buy my pizza pans from a local restaurant supply store in Spokane. (Most cities have these stores). It's really helpful to have a lot of pans when feeding a crowd.

I usually double the dough so there's plenty to go around and to enjoy for leftovers the next day.

Comments

[Karen]

I am lucky enough to have a pizza oven from Italy in my backyard.....however what led to it was many uses of the BBQ as a pizza oven. Two things I learned was you need to get the BBQ hot before putting on the dough or they will sink through the grate and second instead of buying pizza stones I bought unglazed tiles at home depot, either 6x6 or 12x12 for less than a dollar apiece. Put several of them together directly on the grate or even in the oven and cook the pizza on them. When they get dirty you just throw them away. I also use 14x14 tiles as serving plates for the pizzas. You can cut on them, I don't have to have cutting boards for all the pizzas and they are easy to clean.

[Alice]

MMMMM, looks yummy! I've never tried to grill a pizza. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

[Tammy]

Gorgeous. I've never done pizza on the grill but I'm about to go out with a big pot of yellow squash, zucchini and beets. They're wonderful tossed with pasta. I love the look of your crush - nice and thin.

[Katyo]

psst.. the secret to getting the crust on the grill is to roll it out on parchment. you lift it on the parchment, get it on the grill then peel the parchment off and discard. perfect every time! (it took us far too long to figure this out, so I have to share! )

[Creative2xmom]

These look so yummy! I'm putting them on my "To Do List" post on next Sunday. Thanks for sharing

[Monica]

I've never tried pizza on the grill before -- this looks like a great idea :)

[katja]

you are so right, grilled pizza is the best plus we use fresh Mozzarella for the piiza, not shredded one.
This year we are going to get a pizza stone for the grill, it says that the pizza gets even better with it...cannot wait for the next bbq session in our garden, it is quite rainy today

[katja]

oh, and i forgot to say, we always use fresh Mozzarella for the pizza, this is so delicious, no shredded cheese

[katja]

yes, you are so right, no better way to eat a pizza!!! This year we are even getting a pizza stone to use on the grill. Cannot wait for our next bbq dinner;-)

[Tina]

Holy Cow! Is my mouth watering!!! Love the receipe and ideas...now it's off to the kitchen to get something to eat!

[Marcia]

My daughter made homemade pizza tonight, but I never thought about grilling it. This sounds and looks delicious. I love asparagus, so that one looks really tempting :)
Blessings,
Marcia
P.S. Jordan got up on his shortie legs yesterday! Thank you again for all of your encouragement :-)

[Julie M ~ The Little Red Shop]

Oh, yum! Thank you for passing along the dough recipe!

: )

Julie M.

[Jeni Berg]

I first tried grilling pizza last summer. Oh, it was so good! We loved how the crust puffed up and was crispy and had the smoky flavor added to it. The fresh ingredients only made it more fabulous!!

We'll enjoy trying a couple of your toppings, thanks for the ideas and for answering my question, fun!

[Kathleen]

This looks really delicious! Great tip on getting a bunch of pizza pans at a restaurant supply place. I'm putting it on my to do list!

[Debbie]

We do an elaborate deep-dish pizza as a tradition in our family, but this looks faster - and healthier! I'll give this a try next time we're craving pizza.

[Kristi Uvence]

Yummy! They look delicious!!

[holly]

SO doing this tomorrow night!!! Thanks for the fabulous ideas!! My mouth is watering!!

[Sheri Reid]

So you mentioned books in a post earlier this week..... I just finished my new favorite - The Bucolic Plague, by Josh Killmer-Purcell of Fabulous Beekman Boys fame. It's wonderful and makes me long to do all the things they - and you! - are doing. I highly recommend it to all and am giving it to all my best friends.
The pizza looks wonderful. Have a great weekend!

[Serena]

Yes, close the lid to melt the cheese. :) P.S. I love that others are offering tips on how they grill their pizzas here in the comments! Adding toppings after flipping works great too, just as others here have said. I like my crust to have a little more of a slight crunch, so I prefer the extra step, but it's just a matter of taste. Either works great!

[Juli P]

Pizza on the grill is delicious....but returning to the kitchen to top and then back to the grill again seems like too much work. I just top after I flip and done!

[Elaine/TinkerVerve]

I love grilled pizza - I really like the idea of using separate pans. I generally just roll out one piece of dough at a time and it makes it seem like more work...YUM!

[Susie Kilgroe]

When I make them I throw the toppings on outside as soon as I flip it over, then I close the lid a while. Of course I am a slave to the grill for a while. My daughters just love when I make them!

[Arriving]

So, after you add the toppings, you grill with the lid closed to melt the cheese?

[Rene Foust]

That looks so delicious!!!! My mouth is watering. I am going to give this a try. Thanks for sharing.

[Natalie VV]

Oh for goodness sake. I thought I was prepared for this, but you have me completely undone with grilled pizza hunger-envy!
I want to do this... either that or be in your neighborhood, purely by random happenstance, when you are grilling pizzas again!

[Everlasting Blooms]

Yep! Looks as good as it sounds...I'm for sure going to give this one a try :)

[Deb Grogan]

Looks yummy can't wait to try some....thanks for sharing :)

[Heather at FarmgirlGourmet]

Yum Serena! I've been craving grilled pizzas! Now...more. :) I hope you had a great show...I was bummed that I missed being able to go. Next year! :)