Grilled Pizza

We love to cook outside. But sometimes we want more than just burgers and dogs. Pizza is one of our favorite things to throw on the grill and while it may look intimidating, it's actually pretty easy if you approach it with a little confidence. One of the keys to grilled pizza (any pizza for that matter) is the temperature of your dough. You want it to be almost room temperature so that it's pliable and doesn't spring back, but still sturdy enough to work with. Pull the dough out of the fridge first, gather and prep the rest of your ingredients, then light the grill. Your dough will be perfectly tempered when you're ready to go. 

Makes 4 10-12-inch pizzas

  • Vegetable oil for grates
  • 1 28-oz. can whole peeled tomatoes, drained, crushed, and drained again
  • 2 lbs. prepared pizza dough, room temperature, divided into 4 pieces
  • Olive oil, for brushing and drizzling
  • Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 lb. fresh mozzarella
  • Torn fresh basil leaves
  • Crushed red pepper flakes
1

grilled-pizza-step-1
Photo by Greg DuPree

Prepare a gas or charcoal grill for indirect heat; clean and lightly oil grates. Season the tomatoes with ½ teaspoon salt. Working with one piece of dough at a time, gently stretch or roll each piece to a 10 to 12-inch round (it doesn’t need to be perfect, so a little oval or square is OK). Place round on a baking sheet, brush both sides with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper.

2

grilled-pizza-step-2
Photo by Greg DuPree

Quickly and confidently place dough on hot grates over direct heat.

Grill, undisturbed, until bubbles appear on the surface of the dough, about 2 minutes.

3

grilled-pizza-step-3
Photo by Greg DuPree

Using tongs and a wide metal spatula, flip dough and place over indirect heat. Top with crushed tomatoes.

4

grilled-pizza-step-4
Photo by Greg DuPree

Add mozzarella and season with salt and pepper.

5

grilled-pizza-step-5
Photo by Greg DuPree

Cover and grill until cheese is melted and underside of dough is lightly charred, 4 to 5 minutes more (the time it takes will vary as your coals die, so keep an eye on it).

6

grilled-pizza
Photo by Greg DuPree

Using tongs and a spatula, transfer pizza to a board and top with basil leaves, crushed red pepper flakes and a drizzle of olive oil.

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