Cooking Pizza On The Grill With A Stone

grilled pizza on a cutting board topped with ricotta, sausage and fresh oregano

pizza cooking on the grill and grilled pizza that has been sliced

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.

Grilling pizza 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 grilled pizzas with a nice antipasto salad, melon prosciutto salad or even roasted artichokes.

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🍕 Ingredient notes
🔪 Step by step instructions
⭐ Expert tips
🍕 Pizza topping ideas
💭 Frequently asked questions
🥘 Alternative cooking methods
⏲️ Make ahead instructions
🍕 More pizza recipes
📖 Recipe
💬 Comments

🍕 Ingredient notes

marinara, ricotta, olive oil, cornmeal, sausage and fresh oregano on a sheet pan

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 pizza dough, whisk together half of the flour with the yeast, sugar, italian seasoning, and garlic powder. In a small bowl, stir together the warm water, olive oil, and salt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients to form a thick paste.

Slowly add the remaining flour, one half cup at a time until the dough forms a ball. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead till smooth.

wooden spoon stirring pizza dough and a ball of kneaded dough for pizza

Place the dough in an oiled bowl. Cover it and allow it to rise till doubled in size. Once risen, punch down the dough 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 to cover it completely in an even layer and brush it lightly with olive oil. Close the grill and pre-cook the crust for about 5 minutes until it's lightly browned on the bottom and the olive oil is bubbling on top.

pizza stone topped with cornmeal on a grill and pizza dough on a pizza stone on the grill

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.

pizza cooking on a grill with marinara, sausage and ricotta

The pizza should take another 5-7 minutes to finish cooking. The crust should be browned on the bottom and the cheese should be 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.

Allow the grilled pizzas to rest for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

slices of grilled pizza topped with marinara, ricotta and sausage

⭐ 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.

🍕 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

Can you cook pizza on the grill without a pizza stone?

If you don't have a pizza stone, use a sturdy baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal to pre-cook the crust on the grill or in the oven. Pre-cooked crusts can then be moved from the baking sheet to the grill grates. If using a premade crust, it can be added directly to the grill. Top with your desired sauce and toppings and finish cooking with the grill closed.

🥘 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 recipes that I know you will love too!

Italian Flatbread Pizzas
Breakfast Pizza with Ricotta Cheese
Cheesy Pizza Bread

Don't forget!If you make this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and give it a rating. I love to hear from each and every one of you! Tag me on Facebook and Instagram as well! It makes my day to see all of your photos of the food you have made.

📖 Recipe

Pizza on the Grill {with a stone}

grilled pizza on a wooden cutting board topped with marinara, ricotta, sausage and fresh oregano leaves

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Rising Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Yield: 8-10 servings 1x
Category: Main Course, Side Dish, Snack
Method: Grilling
Cuisine: American, Italian

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
marinara or pizza suace
cooked ground italian sausage
whole milk ricotta cheese
fresh oregano leaves

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 sauce 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 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.

Dough

Pizza dough recipe is adapted from Sugar Spun Run's best pizza dough recipe.
Pizza dough recipe yields dough for two 12-inch pizzas
Store bought dough may be used instead. Approximately 1 pound of dough is needed for each 12-inch pizza.

Premade Crust

Premade crust may be used instead of homemade or store bough pizza dough. Place the crust directly on the grill grates of a preheated grill. Top with desired toppings, close the lid and allow to finish cooking for 5-7 minutes.

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

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 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.

Alternative Cooking Methods

Oven - These pizzas can be cooked in an oven at 475˚, either on a baking sheet or pizza stone. Pre-cook the crusts for 5 minutes before adding toppings and placing them back in the oven to finish cooking.
Without a stone - Pizzas can be pre-cooked on a sturdy sheet pan sprinkled with cornmeal either in the oven or on the grill. Pre-cooked crusts can be transferred directly to the finish cooking on the grill grates with desired toppings.

Keywords: grilling pizza on a stone, pizza on the grill, pizza dough recipe, grilled pizza