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If you have never tried cooking pizza on the grill, now is the time to try! These easy-to-follow instructions include a recipe for homemade dough that makes the best crust for grilling pizza on a stone. Choose your favorite toppings and fire up the grill for the best pizza night at home!
Grilled pizza is one of our favorite summertime dinners. It gives the pizza such a unique flavor, and the crust gets perfectly crispy on the bottom while still staying chewy on the inside.
I love serving this pizza on the grill with a nice antipasto salad, easy spinach salad, melon prosciutto salad, and lemon sorbet or homemade black cherry ice cream!
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Important Notes About the Ingredients
- Dough/Crust - My Overnight Pizza Dough Recipe is easy to prepare and has amazing flavor. Store-bought pizza dough may be used, or even a premade pizza crust. Approximately 1 pound of pizza dough is needed for each 12-inch pizza.
- Sauce - I always have a batch of my Italian Sunday Sauce or Quick Marinara on hand to use for pizza, pasta, and other dishes. You can also use your favorite store-bought pizza sauce. You will need ½ cup of sauce for each 12-inch pizza.
- Toppings - This recipe includes Italian sausage, ricotta cheese, and fresh oregano toppings. However, you can use whatever your favorite toppings are for your pizza.
Want the quick version? Jump to the recipe card below. Or, keep reading for a detailed, step-by-step guide.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Prepare the dough - Mix and knead your pizza dough and let it rise. If you are using store-bought pizza dough, these steps can be skipped.
Heat - Preheat the grill on high heat and then place the pizza stone on the grill. Allow it to heat up for at least 5 minutes and then lightly sprinkle it with cornmeal.
Shape and grill - Stretch out the pizza dough and lay it on the pizza stone. Gently press it onto the stone in an even layer and then brush it with olive oil. Close the grill and let the crust cook for about 5 minutes till lightly browned on the bottom and the olive oil is bubbling on top.
Finish - Using kitchen tongs, slide the crust off of the stone and then directly onto the grill grates. Top the crust with the sauce and toppings, and then close the grill to finish cooking.
Cook and serve - Cook pizza another 5-7 minutes until the crust is browned on the bottom and the cheese is slightly melted. Remove the pizza from the grill and sprinkle it with any fresh toppings, like the oregano leaves. Repeat with any remaining pizza dough you have.
Glossary
If you don't recognize a tool or skill I mentioned, you can look it up in my Glossary of Cooking Terms and Definitions for more information!
Amanda's Expert Tips
- Make sure to sprinkle the pizza stone with cornmeal before adding the pizza dough. It helps to prevent sticking and makes it easy to slide to the grill grates when needed.
- Be careful not to overload the pizzas with toppings so they are easy to transfer off the stone and the grill.
- Allow the grilled pizzas to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving so the toppings don't slide off the pizza.
Pizza Topping Ideas
- Meat - salami, diced ham, grilled chicken, pepperoni, or meatballs
- Cheese - fresh mozzarella, parmesan, provolone, or feta
- Vegetables/Fruit - peppers, pineapple, olives, garlic, fresh herbs, or greens
- Sauce - alfredo sauce, pesto, or really good olive oil
Oven Cooking Method
- Oven - Cook pizzas in an oven at 475˚ on a baking sheet or pizza stone. Pre-bake the crusts for 5 minutes before adding toppings, then place them back in the oven to finish cooking.
Make-Ahead Instructions
Crust - Make the dough, allow it to rise, and then pre-cook the dough on the grill. Instead of adding the toppings, remove the crust from the grill and allow it to cool completely. Wrap the pre-cooked crust in plastic wrap and then store it in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw frozen crusts and then finish cooking them on the grill with your desired toppings.
More Pizza Recipes
If you loved this recipe for Pizza on the Grill, try these other pizza recipes that I know you will love too!
- Parmesan Bread Bites with Pizza Dough - Delicious garlic herb butter-coated bites with gooey cheese in the center.
- Cheesy White Pizza - A 30-minute, no-fuss authentic bianca pizza with lots of ricotta.
- Italian Flatbread Pizzas - A no yeast pizza that comes together in 5 minutes!
- Breakfast Pizza with Ricotta - A fun weekend breakfast or holiday brunch full of flavor and easy to make.
Recipe
Pizza on the Grill
Video
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 pounds pizza dough, homemade or store bought, divided into two pieces
- cornmeal, for dusting the stone
- olive oil, for the crust
- italian gravy, or pizza sauce
- cooked ground italian sausage
- whole milk ricotta cheese
- fresh oregano leaves
Instructions
- Preheat the grill on high heat and then add the pizza stone to allow it to heat up for at least 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the stone with cornmeal and then stretch out one of the pieces of pizza dough to the size of the stone. Lay it on the stone and gently press it down to cover it completely in an even layer.
- Brush the dough lightly with olive oil and close the grill to allow the crust to pre-cook for 5-7 minutes until it is lightly browned on the bottom and the olive oil is bubbling on the top.
- Using kitchen or grilling tongs, slide the crust off of the stone and directly onto the grill grates.
- Top the pizza crust with the sauce and toppings, then close the grill to finish cooking for about 5-7 minutes. The crust should be browned on the bottom, the sauce should be bubbling, and the cheese should be slightly melted.
- Remove the pizza from the grill and onto a cutting board. Sprinkle with fresh oregano and repeat with the remaining pizza dough.
- Allow the grilled pizzas to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.
Notes
Alternative Pizza Toppings
- Meat - salami, diced ham, grilled chicken, pepperoni
- Cheese - fresh mozzarella, parmesan, provolone or feta
- Vegetables/Fruit - peppers, pineapple, olives, garlic, fresh herbs or greens
- Sauce - alfredo sauce, pesto, olive oil
Alternative Cooking Methods
- Oven - Pre-cook the crusts in the oven at 475˚on a sheet pan or pizza stone for 5 minutes before adding toppings and placing them back in the oven to finish.
- Without a stone - Pre-cook crusts on a sturdy sheet pan sprinkled with cornmeal in the oven or on the grill. Top and finish in the oven or transfer to grill grates to finish cooking.
Sandi Watson
NEVER, never, never put a cold stone on a hot grill is what I have read on at least 10 different sites...I take their advice rather than putting a cold stone on the grill as you suggest since you are the only one I have found to give that advice...can't wait to try our stone for the first time to make a yummy pizza...I like the toppings you suggest, some I hadn't thought to use before...thanks for the suggestions...
Amanda Scarlati
Hey Sandi - Thanks for mentioning that, I should put more details instructions. I typically have my stone outside next to the grill so it's not cold, but warm when you put it on. Putting a cold stone onto a hot grill can cause damage and cracking. I'll make sure revise that so there is no confusing. Happy cooking!
Paul
There is no reason to slide the pizza off the stone and finish it on the grate. It will cook just fine on the hot stone.
Amanda
Hey Paul - It will cook just fine on the pizza stone. I happen to like the extra char and smoke from it being cooked right on the grates, but either way works!