Try something new on the grill this week - pizza! Grilled Margherita Pizza is an easy family dinner perfect for the summer! You may be wondering, how do I make my own pizza? Our Home Blogger, Shelby Kummer from Go Eat and Repeat shows us how!
Hotdogs, hamburgers, and veggies a plenty...but have you ever thought of using your grill to make pizza?
Making pizza on the grill is actually my favorite way to achieve that nice, crunchy crust. The high heat of the grill mimics the high heat in a pizza oven, so the crust is able to get crispier faster without burning.
Related: 16 BBQ Ideas You Need to Try
Simply allow the dough to reach room temperature on a greased baking sheet and throw it on the grill. Let it cook for a few minutes, add your toppings, and you are done! So simple, right? When it comes to homemade grilled pizza ideas, the sky's the limit!
Related: 7 Easy 30-Minute Dinners to Make Your Weeknights Better
And since nothing beats the classic, I made up my favorite margherita pizza with inspiration straight out of Italy. The sauce is simply tomatoes cooked down with garlic and salt. Spread on the pizza with some dollops of fresh mozzarella and julienned basil and you are done!
So don’t think you need to stick with just meat and veggies on your grill top; try out a pizza this week instead!
Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 10 minutes (1 hour inactive)
Ingredients:
For the sauce
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 2 large cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1 (28oz) can whole and peeled San Marzano tomatoes
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
For the pizza
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 11 oz pizza dough (I use a thin crust store bought kind sold in a tube)
- ⅓ lb fresh mozzarella, cut into thin slices
- 5 basil leaves, julienned
Directions:
- Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. Once warm, add in whole garlic cloves and cook 1 minute or until beginning to brown.
- Quickly add in the San Marzano tomatoes and their juice and allow to simmer.
- Add in salt and red pepper flakes and begin breaking up tomatoes with the back of your spoon.
- Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer 50 minutes or until reduced by about ⅕.
- Once simmered (or about halfway through simmering), remove the sauce from the heat and carefully blend sauce with an immersion blender until smooth.
- After 35 minutes on the stove, remove pizza dough from the refrigerator.
- Grease a baking sheet with remaining 2 tbs olive oil, place dough in the center, and stretch or roll dough to fit baking sheet.
- Heat the grill or grill pan to a medium heat. Once heated, place pizza dough onto the grill racks. Allow to cook for about 5 minutes or until the bottom crust is starting to develop dark brown grill marks.
- Pour on desired amount of sauce to the top of the pizza (I suggest about ⅓ cup). Place on slices of mozzarella cheese and close grill or cover grill pan with a baking sheet. Allow to cook 5 minutes or so until the cheese has melted. Sprinkle julienned basil onto the pizza and remove it from the grill. Cut up the pizza and serve immediately.
Notes: This recipe makes a lot of sauce. You can store any leftover sauce in an airtight container in the freezer for a few months, or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. It is also good on pasta!
This method gives the bottom crust a nice crispness but the top is still a little bit doughy. For a totally crisp crust, flip the crust over after 5 minutes of cooking and place toppings on previously grilled side.
Hello! My name is Shelby and I am the publisher, recipe developer, and photographer extraordinaire behind Go Eat and Repeat. I'm a twenty something adult finishing out my Masters degree while pursuing one of my greatest passions in life- food! When I'm not busy in the kitchen I can be found cuddling with my fur babies, out on a walk, or traveling to fun destinations! Follow Shelby on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram.
