How To Grill A Pizza {You have to know these tips!!}

Making a Pizza in ovens is a pretty straightforward task to do.

All you need to do is prepare the ingredients for the pizza, turn the oven on and let the pizza cook in it.

So by putting it that way, cooking pizza traditionally in ovens is not that fun.

However, there are other ways to cook pizza such as grilling and we will be teaching that to you in this post.

Grilling a pizza is also not that complicated but there are some things that you can do and improve on if you already take and bake pizza on a grill.

Making this grilled pizza recipe really depends on your grill whether it be charcoal or pellet grills.

There are regular grills that use a chamber to put the food in it with a separate firebox, while there are others that have the same chamber.

The secret to cooking a perfect pizza is high temperature and consistent or even heat.

Grills usually depend on wood, charcoal, and wood pellets for pellet grills as fuel which is sometimes hard to control.

These types of fuel, although they can produce high temperatures, can sometimes heat up the chamber in an uneven manner.

That is why you need to take some unorthodox ways to cook pizza in them.

One advantage of grills over home ovens is that it uses real wood or charcoal which means that they can produce a lot of smoke that actually adds flavor to the pizza once it is finished.

Some may not like that taste but when you get used to it, there is no coming back.

So here we have the perfect recipe for you so that you have a clear view on how to grill a pizza.

We will also add some notes and tips by the end of this post.

There, you will see some simple yet helpful ways to improve your pizza grilling method.

The following recipe is how to cook pizza on the grill without a stone.

However, you can still make the pizza with stone if you know how to.

Table of Contents

Simple Pizza on a Grill

Ingredients

– 1 ball of dough

– half cup of extra virgin olive oil, divided

– 1 sliced onion

– Half cup of halved mushrooms

– Some pepperoni

– Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure

Step 1. Preheat the Grill

Load the pellet hopper if you are using a pellet grill or fill up the firebox of your charcoal grill.

I also recommend Traeger grills as the grills from Trager are really great for cooking different recipes. They use pellets which means that they can produce that smoky flavor.

While I like to cook frozen pizza on the grill like Papa Murphy’s, Jack’s, or Boboli’s, there is still that difference between the fresh flavors of a homemade pizza.

We always remind our readers that you should always do this first and now more than ever, preheating the grill beforehand is essential to this grilled pizza recipe.

You see, we say that preheating the grill will take longer so you will need to do it before going through the ingredients.

In this homemade recipe, that is also true but it is also beneficial to the dough.

You can also use other types of grill.

Knowing how to cook a pizza on a charcoal grill is great as this type of grill can get up to high temperatures.

If you want a little bit of smoky flavor, then I recommend that you see how to cook a pizza on a pellet grill.

Some people may ask whether the dough will fall through the grill grates which is acceptable since this recipe is how to cook pizza on the grill without a stone

Well, the answer to that may be yes or no and it really depends on how well you have preheated the grill.

So when the grill is preheated and the grates are nice and hot, the dough will just form into a slightly hardened crust with nice grill marks on them.

Preheat the grill to 400 or 500 degrees Fahrenheit.

You can go with either one as long as the grill can reach it, so if you have a more powerful grill, then you can go for 500 degrees.

Step 2. Stretching and Shaping

Now, there is a special way to do this step in this grilled pizza recipe.

Stretching and shaping the pizza dough is fairly easy yet you will need to make some adjustments.

This is especially true since it is about how to cook homemade pizza on the grill without a stone and you will need the pizza dough to be a bit thinner.

The advantage you are going to get with frozen pizza instead of fresh dough on the grill is that you get to skip this part. But the result of fresh dough on the grill is still unbeatable.

So first, pull out the pizza dough ball and start by massaging it on a lightly floured surface.

Start stretching by pushing your fingers from the center towards the edges of the pizza dough.

You can also go for another tactic by lifting up the dough and going around it using your fingers and letting its own weight stretch the dough out. Let it rest for 5 minutes on a floured surface.

After 5 minutes of resting the dough, start stretching it again with your fingers pushing to the edges until the dough makes a nice round crust that stretches at about 12 inches.

Most of the guides you will see will look like they are cooking flatbreads. Flatbread can also be cooked in grills so there is also nothing wrong if you use flatbreads as your crust.

Step 3. Pre-cook the Dough

Once you have stretched the homemade dough out, place it on a floured pizza peel, rub some olive oil on the grates of the grill and place the dough in it.

Take and bake one side cook for 2 minutes with the lid of the grill closed.

Making the pizza crust crispy will be easy with the help of a stone.

If you know how to grill a pizza on a stone on the grill, then you should definitely try that.

Open the grill after two minutes and then check if the bottom of the dough has a light brown color.

Most of the time, only half part of the dough will brown so you can use a tong and turn it 90 degrees.

If you went with a recipe of how to cook a pizza on a propane gas grill like Weber grill, then this will be easy.

How to cook a pizza on a charcoal grill is also good but you will have to wait longer to adjust the temperature.

Take and bake for another minute until the top of the dough starts bubbling and the bottom has browned lightly.

Take it off of the grill and place it upside down on a rack.

It is important that you put the dough on a rack so that the moisture from the inside will not make the dough soggy.

I do this because here we are learning how to cook pizza on the grill without a stone and since the stone is responsible to remove moisture, the lack of it needs some adjustment from our side.

Keep the grill covered so it retains the heat before you proceed to the next steps.

This is necessary even with a frozen pizza like Jack’s, Papa Murphy’s, or Boboli’s on the grill

Step 4. Toppings

With the grilled side up, lightly brush some olive oil on the crust of the grilled pizza recipe.

Put a ladle of pizza sauce on the dough and then spread it all over the crust leaving an inch or half on the sides.

Do not use too much sauce as it will make the crust soggy.

Then put the other ingredients like the mushrooms, onions, and pepperoni over the sauce and finish it with the mozzarella cheese.

Adding extra ingredients on the pizza is great if you are doing frozen pizza on the grill.

Step 5. Cook

Slide the pizza into the grill and let it cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.

Close the lid and only take it off of the grill if the bottom part of the crust begins to char and the cheese is bubbling.

If not, then you can leave the pizza in the grill for a bit longer.

Use a pizza peel or a spatula to take it off the grill, place it on a flat surface, and let it rest for a bit.

It may also take a little bit more time if you are cooking frozen pizza like Boboli’s, Papa Murphy’s, and Jack’s on the grill as the interior of the dough can stay cold. So always adjust the timer accordingly.

Step 6. Serve

Sprinkle some salt and pepper over the pizza if you think it needs some and then slice it and enjoy!

Notes

This grilled pizza recipe is pretty much experimental so you can add some fresh basil leaves in there or make it simpler by just using the cheese without pepperoni and it will still be great.
Leave the edges of the dough leveled with the center. Do not make a raised rim on the edges as it will not be good for the grilling process.

Tips

Now that you have a recipe to follow, here are the guides and tips that we have mentioned earlier.

Here, you can use some of these to make the pizza better the next time you cook one on a grill.

Gas or Wood/Charcoal

There are different types of grills nowadays. That differentiation is usually depending on the fuel that the grills are using.

Now, if you want more consistent heat and a more controllable temperature, then you can go for propane gas grills like Weber grills. Weber grills are great for cooking different recipes anywhere as the grills are portable.

Propane gas grills are great for traveling as you can easily carry a small propane gas tank anywhere with you.

But if you want a more unique flavor, then we suggest using wood or charcoal.

You see, smoke produces a little bit of flavor that sticks on the pizza or any recipe that you cook in the grill.

It is perfect for meat as it gives that barbecue-ish taste, so why not try it on pizza?

The challenge is to get a crispy crust without burning it which is really easy if you know how to grill a pizza on a stone.

You just need to be careful not to put the stone directly over the heat.

Pizza Peel

Always use a pizza peel. For those of you who are a little bit unfamiliar with pizza cooking, a pizza peel is like a long and large spatula that is made usually out of wood or stainless steel.

The pizza peel is an essential part of cooking pizza since it lets you handle the pizza without burning your hands.

You can use this to slide the pizza in the grill and out of it as well.

Make sure to use other accessories such as pizza stones so when you know how to grill a pizza on a stone, you will get better results.

Keep it Clean

This is one of the rarest recipes where we do not suggest using a pizza stone.

The dough should have direct contact with the grill grates so it can hold itself and harden a little faster.

When you grill a pizza, you need to make sure that the dough hardens.

In order to do this, you need to put it directly on the grill grates, so you should keep the grates clean. This also goes when you cook pizzas in ovens and other appliances.

Wipe the grates with a towel before putting the dough on it.

You should also rub some oil on it so that the dough will not stick on the grates when it is cooking. Remember to do this in ovens and other appliances as well.

Conclusion

Grilling is such a fun activity. You get to have fun outside and play all your favorite family games while waiting for some barbecue or steak that is being cooked on the grill.

You should also know how to grill a pizza on a stone as it gives you better results.

If you know how to grill a pizza on a stone, the crust of the pizza will be crispier.

At first, we might think of grilling pizza as a bit unconventional and maybe impossible.

But meat is not the only thing that you can cook on a grill.

In fact, you have a lot of options and recipes to cook when you own a grill – that includes pizza.

It just takes a little bit of practice to perfect it but it will certainly be better during barbecues.

See, you will not need to bring out another appliance such as the oven to cook pizza.

All you need is some practice and to follow the guides and recipe above to make the perfect grilled pizza.

So go ahead and try it the next time that you will be having some barbecues.

Just remember to keep it clean, and get as many pizzas as you want!

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How To Grill A Pizza {You have to know these tips!!}