Hello, fellow pizza lovers! Today I’m hear to tell you all about our dinner of choice lately – you guessed it, pizza.
I’ve got a picky toddler. Lately, I haven’t had the energy to really battle meal times with him, and I know I can always get pizza in him for dinner. A few years ago, my mother-in-law introduced us to cooking pizza on the grill, and I’ve been utilizing this method a lot this summer to avoid turning on our oven.
You’ll need a pizza grill pan – ours is similar to this one. (I’ll be honest, you probably don’t NEED the grill pan, I know you can put the dough directly on the grates, but I appreciate the pan holding everything conveniently together.)
Preheat your grill to medium – medium high heat for 8-10 minutes. You are looking to hit 550 degrees, ideally. From here, you can choose to use a frozen pre-made pizza or fresh dough to create your own.
I typically use fresh dough, so that I can control the ingredients. Our favorite is good old Trader Joe’s dough, but most grocers typically have fresh pizza dough for sale as well. Spray or brush the grill pan with oil. I roll out my dough directly on the pan to resemble a circle, but it typically looks like an amoeba. That’s okay. Then top with sauce, cheese, and any additional toppings. (As mentioned, my son is incredibly picky and I’m just grateful he will eat turkey pepperoni!)
I find it easier to roll out the dough directly onto the pan and then continue to top. The less you have to mess with it, the better. Then, once your grill is heated, place the pan on the grill and lower the heat to medium. Close the lid – but don’t go too far! Depending on how thin you rolled out your crust, your pizza could be cooked in as little as 3 minutes! Mine typically take 7-10 minutes. You’ll know when it’s done when the crust fluffs up and the cheese starts to slightly brown.
Getting the pizza off of the grill can be tricky if you don’t have the right equipment. I typically turn my burners off and then slide the pizza from the grill pan onto a pizza stone or cookie sheet. The grill pan is typically too hot to handle right away.
This is a great dinner to get the kids involved in, as well! When time permits, I like to create a few mini pizzas with my son and let him go to town topping them. Be sure to note that mini pizzas will cook up much faster. Enjoy!