Pizza on the Grill {with a stone}

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!

This post was originally published in September 2020 and has been updated for content.

Pizza on the grill 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 these pizza on the grill with a nice antipasto salad, melon prosciutto salad or even roasted artichokes.

🍕 Ingredient notes

• Dough/Crust - This homemade pizza dough recipe is adapted from one of my go to recipes for pizza dough from Sugar Spun Run. It's easy to put together and has amazing flavor. It is enough dough to make two 12-inch pizzas. 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 old school italian gravy 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 for the toppings. However, you can use whatever your favorite toppings are for your pizza.

🔪 Step by step instructions

To make the dough for this pizza on the grill, whisk together half of the flour with the yeast, sugar, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder. In a small bowl, stir together the wet ingredients and then mix them with the dry ingredients to form a paste. Slowly add the remaining flour, until the dough forms a ball, then knead until smooth.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover and allow it to rise till doubled in size. Once risen, punch down and divide into two equal pieces.

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.

Stretch out the pizza dough and lay it on the pizza stone. Gently press it onto the stone in an even layer and brush 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.

Using kitchen tongs, slide the crust off of the stone and directly onto the grill grates. Top the crust with the sauce and toppings and then close the grill to finish cooking.

The pizza should take another 5-7 minutes to finish cooking and the crust should be browned on the bottom and the cheese slightly melted. Remove the pizza off of the grill and sprinkle it with any fresh toppings, like the oregano leaves. Repeat with any remaining pizza dough you have.

⭐ 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 of 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
• Cheese - fresh mozzarella, parmesan, provolone, feta
• Vegetables/Fruit - peppers, pineapple, olives, garlic, fresh herbs, greens
• Sauce - alfredo sauce, pesto, olive oil

💭 Frequently asked questions

🥘 Alternative cooking methods

• Oven - These pizzas can be cooked in an oven at 475˚, either on a baking sheet or pizza stone. Pre-bake the crusts for 5 minutes before adding toppings and placing them back in the oven to finish cooking.

⏲️ Make ahead instructions

Dough - Follow the instructions for making the dough up until the rising time. Place the unrisen dough in an airtight container and store in the fridge for a few hours or up to overnight. Let the dough come to room temperature before stretching it out and cooking it.

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 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 inspired recipes that I know you will love too!

• Pizza Grilled Cheese
• Italian Flatbread Pizzas
• Breakfast Pizza
• Pizza Bread

📖 Recipe

Pizza on the Grill {with a stone}

Amanda

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!

5 from 12 votes

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 mins

Cook Time 25 mins

Rising Time 1 hr

Total Time 1 hr 35 mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine American, Italian

Servings 8 servings

Calories 441 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Pizza Dough

• 4 cups all purpose flour divided
• 4 teaspoons dry active yeast
• 1 Tablespoon granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 ½ cup warm water
• ¼ cup olive oil plus extra for greasing the bowl
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

Pizza Toppings & Assembly

• cornmeal
• olive oil
• italian gravy or pizza sauce
• cooked ground italian sausage
• whole milk ricotta cheese
• fresh oregano leaves

Instructions

 

Pizza Dough

• In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of the flour with the yeast, sugar, italian seasoning, and garlic powder. Whisk together to combine the ingredients and remove any lumps.
• In a small bowl, stir together the warm water, olive oil, and salt. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to form a thick paste.
• Slowly add in the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time until the dough starts to form a ball.
• Turn the loosely formed ball out onto a floured surface and continue to knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth, adding more flour if needed. The dough should be tacky when touched, but not sticky.
• Lightly grease a clean bowl with olive oil and add the dough. Roll the dough around in the olive oil so that it is completely covered with it. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap or a towel and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 30-45 minutes.
• When dough is risen, punch it down and divide into two equal pieces. 

Pizza Assembly

• 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 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 italian gravy and toppings and 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

• Make sure to sprinkle the pizza stone with cornmeal to prevent sticking and for easy of moving.
• Don't overload the pizzas with toppings so they are easy to transfer.
• Pizza dough recipe is adapted from Sugar Spun Run's best pizza dough recipe and yield enough dough for two 12-inch pizzas.
• Store bought dough or a pre-made crust may be substituted. Approximately 1 pound of dough is needed for each 12-inch pizza.

 

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

 

Make Ahead Instructions

Dough - Follow the instructions for making the dough and place the unrisen dough in an airtight container and store in the fridge for a few hours or up to overnight. Let the dough come to room temperature before using.

Crust - Make the dough, allow it to rise and then pre-cook the dough on the grill. Remove the crust from the grill, allow it to cool completely, then wrap in plastic wrap and store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 2 days or the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw frozen crusts before use.

 

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.

 

Nutrition

Serving: 1sliceCalories: 441kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 15gFat: 18gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 702mgPotassium: 266mgFiber: 4gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 197IUVitamin C: 2mgCalcium: 82mgIron: 4mg

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