How to Grill Pizza

A barbecued pizza probably brings to mind one styled after the smoky-sweet flavors of the grill, with a slathering of barbecue sauce and meats like chicken and beef piled on top. But what if we took things a bit further? That is, what if we actually barbecued the pizza itself?

While this might sound pretty out there, a BBQ pizza is nothing to scoff at. In addition to being a great method for cooking pizza at home on a charcoal or gas grill and without a stone, it also imbues your food with a unique flavor you just don’t get in a home oven.

Though it’s far from traditional, it’s almost a closer flavor experience to a pizza cooked by a real wood-burning fire.

Intrigued? Then we’ve got good news for you. Here’s our recipe guide for how to grill pizza that might just put the delivery places out of business.

Step #1. Prepare Ingredients

Step #2. Roll Out the Dough Balls

Use a rolling pin to roll out each dough ball into an oval, dusting with flour as needed. Grease a baking sheet and add the pizza dough.

Step #3. Add the Passata

Spread the passata over the dough. If you don’t know what passata is, it’s basically a tomato sauce using uncooked tomatoes that are strained so that the seeds and skin are removed.

Step #4. Add Mozzarella

Add the mozzarella cheese.

Step #5. Add Other Toppings

Let your guests or family add whatever toppings they like for each individual pizza.

Step #6. Heat the BBQ & Place Pizza on Grill

Heat the BBQ to high heat.

For gas grill: Light all of the burners to preheat the grill. Then, turn off half of the burners for an indirect and direct heat source.

For charcoal grill: Using long tongs, move all of the charcoal to cover only ½ of the grill. Doing this will give you a direct and indirect heat source.

Place the pizzas on the direct heat side of the grill (in the pan) and close the grill for 4-5 mins. This will make the crust easier to transfer to the grill.

Step #7. Finish Grilling the Pizza Over Indirect Heat

Now that the crust has baked a bit, place the pizzas onto the indirect heat area of the bbq grill (without the pan). This would be the area where there is no flame directly below the pizza.

Cover the BBQ and finish cooking until done, when cheese is melted and crust is fully cooked; slightly charred is perfectly fine. In fact, I love it like that!

Step #8. Serve & Enjoy

And now you know how to cook pizza on the grill. Simple, right? Delicious, definitely. I can’t even begin to describe how much I love that smoky flavor the bbq imparts on a grilled pizza.

Using the direct and indirect cooking zones on the grill strategically allows you to get plenty of that smokiness without the risk of burning or overcooking, all with the added bonus of some great grill marks on the bottom of the crust.

As you can probably tell, there’s hundreds of different ways you can spice up this recipe. Different toppings, sauces, types of dough, and more are all great ways to make this recipe your own. Give the delivery drivers the night off and get to cooking now that you’ve mastered the barbecue grilled pizza.

How to Grill Pizza

Joss D

While this might sound pretty out there, a BBQ pizza is nothing to scoff at. In addition to being a great method for cooking pizza at home on a charcoal or gas grill and without a stone, it also imbues your food with a unique flavor you just don't get in a home oven.

5 from 4 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Italian

Servings 4 individual pizzas

Calories 737 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 4 individual pizza dough balls
• ▢ 3 cups tomato sauce - Pasatta
• ▢ 3 cups mozzarella cheese - grated
• ▢ 1 cup onion - sliced
• ▢ 1 cup mushrooms - sliced
• ▢ 1 cup red peppers - sliced
• ▢ ½ cup black olives - sliced
• ▢ 1 cup arugula
• ▢ 3.5 oz prosciutto
• ▢ Basil
• ▢ Oregano

Instructions

 

• Use a rolling pin to roll out each dough ball into an oval, dusting with flour as needed. Grease a baking sheet and add the pizza dough.
  
• Spread the passata (tomato sauce) over the dough.
  
• Add the mozzarella cheese.
  
• Let your guests or family add whatever toppings they like for each individual pizza.
  
• Heat the BBQ to high heat.

  For gas grill: Light all of the burners to preheat the grill. Then, turn off half of the burners for an indirect and direct heat source.

  For charcoal grill: Using long tongs, move all of the charcoal to cover only ½ of the grill. Doing this will give you a direct and indirect heat source.

  Place the pizzas on the direct heat side of the grill (in the pan) and close the grill for 4 to 5 mins. This will make the crust easier to transfer to the grill.
  
• Now that the crust has baked a bit, place the pizzas onto the indirect heat area of the bbq grill (without the pan). This would be the area where there is no flame directly below the pizza. Cover the bbq and finish cooking until done, when cheese is melted and crust is fully cooked; slightly charred is perfectly fine.
  
• Serve & enjoy!
  

Equipment

BBQ

Nutrition

Calories: 737kcalCarbohydrates: 73gProtein: 34gFat: 35gSaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 82mgSodium: 2743mgPotassium: 953mgFiber: 6gSugar: 19gVitamin A: 2715IUVitamin C: 64.7mgCalcium: 477mgIron: 5.9mg

Nutrition information on In the Kitch is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It may not include toppings and/or sauces.

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Looking to further enhance your grilling skills? Check out…How to Grill Corn