I have been wanting to make grilled pizza for a long time. It has always intimidated me. However, with David‘s help, we grilled our first veggie pizzas for Meatless Monday. They were amazing!
I took several shortcuts for the initial recipe because I didn’t want to spend a lot of time on something that wasn’t going to work out. I used store-bought pizza dough instead of making my own.
Grilled veggie pizzas are made easy with these step by step directions. The grilled crust is topped with mozzarella cheese, sauce, and your choice of vegetable toppings, then grilled to perfection for a fun outdoor treat.
How To Make Grilled Veggie Pizzas
PREPARE THE PIZZA DOUGH:
Allow refrigerated dough to come up to room temperature, or if using a recipe to make the dough and have it ready for the grill. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide it into pieces as needed.
For a typical 10-12 inch pizza divide in half or quarters and roll each piece into a ball. Using a rolling pin, roll out each ball into flattened circles (it doesn’t have to be perfect), dust with flour, as needed. Stack the dough on a plate, and divide each with parchment paper to help separate them.
PREPARE THE SAUCE:
Make the sauce and allow it to simmer a bit on the stove or warm jarred sauce.
PREP THE TOPPINGS:
Brush the red bell pepper with cooking oil and have it ready to go onto the grill. Chop and slice the veggies and have them close by. They need to be ready to go onto the pizza dough immediately when needed.
FIRE UP THE GRILL:
Preheat a grill to medium-high.
FIRE ROAST THE PEPPER:
Place the bell pepper over direct heat and cook until charred and blistered, about 15 minutes (see note). If you have other veggies you wish to roast, now would be a good time to do so. After the pepper is charred, place it into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap (the steam will continue to cook it).
NOTE: If using charcoal, remember you don’t want to grill to get too hot, because it will start to burn the crust before the cheese melts. Cooking the pepper or other veggies first will allow the heat to come down just a bit before adding the dough.
GRILL THE CRUST:
Oil the grill with a rolled-up towel and tongs, then carefully add the dough. Grill until the top is bubbly and the bottom is marked; about 2 minutes. Flip with tongs and grill until just marked on the other side. Remove from the grill and transfer to a baking sheet; repeat with any remaining dough you may have.
ADD THE TOPPINGS TO THE GRILLED VEGGIE PIZZA:
Remove the pepper from the bowl and slice and dice it. Working on the baking sheets, top the crusts with sauce, veggies, and cheeses.
FINISH THE GRILLED VEGGIE PIZZAS:
Return the pizzas to the grill. Cover the grill and cook until the cheese melts, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the grill and serve in about 3 minutes.
All I can say is WOW!!!
Heck if I know why David and I haven’t done this years ago?!?!
What a great Meatless Monday we had! I hope you are less intimidated about grilling pizza on a charcoal grill and will give these amazing grilled veggie pizzas a try this summer.
Grilled Veggie Pizzas
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough store-bought or make your own
- 1 cup pizza sauce store-bought or make your own
- 1 roasted red bell pepper sliced
- ¼ cup black olives sliced
- ¼ cup onions sliced thin
- 6 slices tomato sliced thin
- ½ cup mushrooms sliced
- ½ cup marinated artichokes chopped
- ½ cup parmesan cheese freshly grated
- 2 cups mozzarella cheese shredded
- red pepper flakes for garnish (optional)
Instructions
PREPARE THE DOUGH
- Allow refrigerated dough to come up to room temperature, or if using a recipe to make the dough and have it ready for the grill. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide into pieces as needed. For a typical 10 to 12-inch pizza divide in half or quarters and roll each piece into a ball. Using a rolling pin, roll out each ball into flattened circles (it doesn’t have to be perfect), dust with flour, as needed. Stack the dough on a plate, and divide with parchment paper to help separate them.
PREPARE THE SAUCE
- Make the sauce and allow it to simmer a bit on the stove or warm jarred sauce.
PREP THE TOPPINGS
- Brush the red bell pepper with cooking oil and have it ready to go onto the grill. Chop and slice the veggies and have them close by. They need to be ready to go onto the pizza dough immediately when needed.
FIRE UP THE GRILL
- Preheat a grill to medium-high.
FIRE ROAST THE PEPPER
- Place the bell pepper over direct heat and cook until charred and blistered, about 15 minutes*. If you have other veggies you wish to roast, now would be a good time to do so. After the pepper is charred, place it into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap (the steam will continue to cook it).
GRILL THE CRUST
- Oil the grill with a rolled-up towel and tongs, then carefully add the dough. Grill until the top is bubbly and the bottom is marked; about 2 minutes. Flip with tongs and grill until just marked on the other side. Remove from the grill and transfer to a baking sheet; repeat with any remaining dough you may have.
ADD THE TOPPINGS
- Remove the pepper from the bowl and slice and dice it. Working on the baking sheets, top the crusts with sauce, veggies, and cheeses.
FINISH THE PIZZAS
- Return the pizzas to the grill. Cover the grill and cook until the cheese melts, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the grill and serve in about 3 minutes.
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