Cooking pizza on the grill is a lot easier than you might think. Next time your family is in the mood for pizza, don’t pick up the phone and order a greasy delivery pizza. Get the family involved and follow these easy steps to cook a much healthier and cheaper pizza on the grill.
Grilled Pizza Is a Better Alternative to Delivery
Ingredients
- 4 to 6 ounces Pizza dough a little bigger than a baseball for a 12 inch pizza. Most grocery stores carry pre-made pizza dough, look for it in the bakery department.
- 2 tablespoons pizza sauce sauce in the jar is just fine, on the pasta isle of your grocery store
- 1 handful mozzarella cheese add other cheeses if you want!
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour so things don't stick
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Toppings whatever you want!
Equipment:
- Cookie sheet or a pizza peel if you are fancy
- Rolling pin.
- Grilling tongs and/or spatula.
- Brush for your olive oil.
- (optional)
Instructions
- Clean and then light your grill and set it to high heat. Spraying a little cooking spray on the grate BEFORE you light the grill never hurts.
- Sprinkle some flour on your table or counter top so the dough doesn't stick and them put the mound of dough in the middle. Keep a light dusting on flour on the dough and your hands, it will make it much easier to handle.
- Pound the dough as flat as you can with your hand and then start to roll with the rolling pin.
- Continue to roll the dough from the middle out and get it as flat as you like your pizza crust. The dough will expand some when you cook it, so err on the flatter side to give it room to expand.
- Transfer your flattened dough to a cookie sheet that you have sprinkled with flower and take it out to the grill.
- Turn one of your burners down to about medium heat, but leave the others at high heat.
- Over the medium heat burner, gently slide the dough onto the burner by wiggling the cookie sheet. This may seem scary, but the dough quickly forms a crust and it is very easy to handle on the grill.
- Leave the lid open and observe the dough, pop any bubbles that form as it cooks to keep the air out.
- Using a spatula or tongs, monitor the underside of the dough. Some charring is fine, this adds distinct grill flavor, but when it starts to get firm you know it's close to flipping time. This step usually takes only a few minutes.
- When the dough is firm and has some char on the underside, carefully flip the dough back onto the flowered cookie sheet with the (now) grilled side up.
- Brush the grilled side of the dough with a little olive oil.
- Spoon the sauce onto the middle of the dough and then spread it with the back of the spoon out to the sides. The sauce should not be too thick, too much sauce makes your cheese and toppings slide off!
- Now sprinkle your cheese over the sauce and place on your toppings.
- Now it is time to transfer the pizza back onto the grill. Just like before, carefully slide your pizza off the cookie sheet and onto the grill.
- Continue to cook your pizza until the cheese has melted and the underside of the pizza is nice and crispy!
- Transfer it to a serving plate and allow to cool for a few minutes before you slice and serve.
Kids love to help build their pizza. Get them involved in rolling out the dough and then let them add their cheese and toppings. Grilling pizza makes for a great Friday evening at home with the family!
If putting the pizza dough directly on the grill makes you nervous (it looks like it will fall through!), try picking up one of these
PizzaQue Pizza Stones. We recently ordered one from Amazon and found ourselves making pizzas, quesadillas and flat breads for what seemed like a solid week! This thing is fun to use and will turn your grill into a pizza oven.
Favorite for the kids