How to Cook Pizza on a Grill

Welcome! This post may contain affiliate links which means I may earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you. You can read my disclosure for more details.

If you would like to try a new way to cook your pizza, try using your grill.

I have done this before in the past last summer, and decided to do it again this evening. Of course I realized, maybe others out in cyberspace could benefit from my experience.

How to Prepare for Grilling Pizza

I preheated the gas grill to about 500 degrees F. Prepared the pizza (in my case it was a margherita pizza on a store bought crust – not a thin crust like it should have been) and rubbed the bottom with a little bit of olive oil – just a little – not enough that it would drip. I also rubbed the crust with the oil as well.

I placed the pizza directly on the grill making sure the grates where thoroughly cleaned. Closed the lid and cooked it for about 7 minutes.

Note: Check it frequently so the bottom does not burn. The olive oil will cause the bottom to crisp up faster.

If you are using a thicker crust and find the bottom has browned, but the top has not, I recommend placing the pizza in a pizza pan and broil in the oven for 1 minute or until it is where you want it to be. I did this today since my crust was thick and did not brown to my satisfaction on top. It worked like a charm and tasted amazing!

Tips for Pizza Grilling

1. Do not walk away. Keep an eye on it – you cannot “undo” a burnt pizza.

2. Using an indoor grill pan will not produce the same flavors as using an outdoor grill. You will still get those cool markings, but it won’t be the same.

3. You will not walk away with a pizza identical to a Napolitan style brick oven pizza. A brick oven will radiate intense heat all around the pizza, a grill will not do this. Don’t let that deter you however, you will still be happy with a grilled pizza.

4. If using fresh mozzarella, remember the cheese will spread considerably. Use fresh mozzarella for a margherita pizza (no sauce, just fresh mozzarella, fresh sliced tomatoes and fresh basil).

5. I drizzled olive oil on top – looking back I do not think that was necessary.

If interested in learning how to grill different pizzas on the grill, try Pizza on the Grill: 100 Feisty Fire-Roasted Recipes for Pizza & More. I was happy to see there were actually recipe books for this topic. What fun and what a great addition to your next cook out menu!

Enjoy and buon appitito! If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also enjoy making focaccia from pizza dough.

Liz

Simple Italian Cooking

Click here for more Italian recipes