My Favorite Summer Meal - Grilled Pizza

Once the weather gets nice, I love to make dinner on the grill. We don't eat meat other than seafood, so we aren't breaking out the grill to cook up burgers or steaks. We grill a lot of delicious vegetables, but one of my all-time favorite things to make on the grill is pizza.

The first time I saw someone put raw pizza dough on a gas grill, I inwardly cringed, imagining the horrible clean-up that would be required to remove the stuck-on dough from the grill grates. But to my surprise, the dough didn't stick. I was intrigued and decided to give it a try. I didn't want to invest too much sweat equity in a meal I still wasn't convinced would work out, so I bought a ball of pizza dough at my local grocery store, a small jar of sauce, and a package of shredded mozzarella cheese.

Spoiler - it came out great!!!

Watch Me Make It

The Recipe

There is no shame in buying a ball of pizza dough. My grocery store sells refrigerated dough in a cooler near the deli section, and it's pretty good. If you want to make your own, try this super simple (and delicious) recipe or play around to find your own favorite recipe.

The Dough

• 3/4 C warm water

• 2 1/4 tsp dry yeast (instant or active)

• 1-2 tsp honey (or sugar)

• 2 TBSP olive oil

• 2 1/3 C flour (use any combination of All Purpose and/or Whole Wheat)

• 3/4 tsp salt

• 1/4+ each of garlic powder and Italian seasoning (or dried basil or oregano)

1. Whisk together the first 4 ingredients, allow to sit for 5-10 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients until blended, using your hands to work the dough for a few minutes.

2. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and allow it to rise until nearly doubled. This will take 1-3 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen. Warmer = Faster.

3. Light your gas grill (or heat up a grill pan on your kitchen stove). You want the grates to be clean and hot.

4. Using tongs and a paper towel, gently rub a little oil on the grates (be careful not to start the paper towel on fire.

5. Roll out the dough. You can roll it out into one big pizza, but I prefer to cut the dough in half and make two smaller pizzas.

6. Place the dough on the hot grill. Let it cook a couple of minutes, watching to be sure it doesn't burn (however, a few dark spots make it taste delicious!!!) If the dough puffs up, give it a little poke to break the surface and let out steam.

7. Use the tongs to flip the dough. Again, allow it to cook for a couple of minutes. The exact time will depend on the temperature of your grill.

8. Once you flip the dough, you can add toppings, lower the temperature, and allow the cheese to melt. I prefer to bring the cooked crust into the house, add my toppings, and then place it in a preheated oven to warm the toppings and melt the cheese.

The Sauce

I often just buy a jar of organic sauce, but you can also make your own. Here are a couple of easy recipes:

Recipe 1, Recipe 2, Recipe 3.

But there are other options to traditional pizza sauce. I am a big fan of using pesto instead of red sauce. You can also place roasted red peppers in a food processor and use that in place of a tomato-based sauce. Or use minced garlic and olive oil to make a white pizza.

Toppings

This could be an endless list. Yes, you could stick with shredded mozzarella cheese and pepperoni if that's your favorite. If you want to change it up, try a different cheese. Don't just look at the options in the shredded cheese section of your grocery store. You can easily shred a block of any other cheese you want, slice up some fresh mozzarella, add crumbles of feta, or use small spoonfuls of ricotta cheese.

I love veggies on my pizza. Chop up your favorites - broccoli, cauliflower, onion, mushrooms, bell peppers, grape tomatoes, asparagus, sliced peppercini, sundried tomatoes, or artichoke hearts. Take it up a notch by also grilling some veggies while you're grilling your crust. Eggplant, zucchini, red bell pepper, and onions are great grilled.

Add fresh herbs like basil or chives. Or add a salty bite with capers or olives. I've never tried it, but I know some people like things such as pineapple or pickles. Experiment and make it delicious!

Serving Ideas

If this pizza is your dinner, serve it up with a nice side salad or roasted vegetables.

or

Cut the pizza into small squares and serve it as an appetizer, as a party snack, or add it to a charcuterie board.

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