Tasty Tuesday: Grilled Tomato Pesto Pizza
My urges to cook on weeknights has really been lacking lately, so I took myself completely by surprise when I was motivated enough one night to make a grilled pizza. With Chris at an evening meeting, I was on my own for dinner, so I made my own mini tomato pesto pizza with fresh mozzarella.
I had never thought about grilling pizza until last summer when my sister and her husband were visiting. They made us a fancy schmancy pizza that was delicious. My first solo attempt at grilled pizza was a total fail because I tried to make it too big, and loaded it too heavy with toppings. So this time I kept it nice and small.
The first step is to prepare your crust. For this mini pizza, I used half of a store-bought crust (seeing how it was spur-of-the-moment, I didn’t have time to whip up my own). Shape your dough and use olive oil to get one side ready for grilling.
Once your grill is warmed up, flip the crust oil side down onto the grill and let it cook for several minutes until it is firm enough to pick up (I used a wooden pizza peel to help with my process).
Remove the crust from the grill completely and flip it over so that the grilled side is up (you can see that I grilled mine a little too hot!).
Put your toppings on the grilled side. I chose a layer of store-bought pesto sauce with fresh mozzarella and tomatoes. Once your toppings are on, return the pizza to the grill and let it cook until the crust is cooked through and your toppings are warmed/melted.
Slide the pizza off the grill…
And you’re ready for serving!
It was quite delicious if I do say so myself.
Have you tried grilling pizza? Have you found any tips or tricks that work well, like keeping the crust small? Any preferred grilled pizza toppings?
I’m a big fan of grilled pizza! I find that large whole wheat pita rounds work well. They definitely get crispy, but that’s what I like. Sometimes, I let the grill warm up, put the pizza on and then shut the heat off. With the grill closed, the trapped heat melts the cheese and the crust doesn’t burn. Easy peasy!
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Yum! I’ve never had grilled pizza before, but I think I need to try it now! I absolutely love tomatoes, pesto, and fresh mozz – great combination!
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I <3 grilled Pizza
The first time I tried it, I was convinced it wasn't going to work, (the dough would go through the grill slats, I would burn myself, and a million other ways im sure I could mess things up!) but it was so easy! My favorite toppings are fresh mozzarella & asparagus, but now I MUST try pesto as sauce!
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That looks great! I’ve always heard that grilling pizza is the best, but wasn’t quite sure how to pull it off. I made homemade pizza for the first time earlier this year–it definitely is satisfying
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I have homemade crust in the freezer now, so I think grilled pizza is in our future. I’ve never tried it but I love the idea of avoiding turning on the oven.
And, is it strange that I have never tried pesto?
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so strange….my coworker was just asking me this morning if i ever thought of doing this. now i will, since i have step by step instructions, with pictures to boot! i can’t thank you enough for this post. and that fresh melted cheese looks fantastic!
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