Can You Cook A Pizza On A Barbecue?

If you’ve ever made pizza at home in your oven, you might wonder why it doesn’t taste exactly like your favorite cozy Italian spot down the streets. Even with the right dough and the right ingredients, your home oven cannot manage the heat necessary to give pizza it's crisp bottom, blistered crust, and perfectly melted cheese. 

Once you have pizza this way, it’s impossible to go back!

Cooking Pizza On A BBQ Grill

Grilling pizza is one of the best ways to infuse it with the charred flavor of a professional pizza, with a crispy crust that just isn’t possible in your home oven. Whether you decide to grill a pre-made pizza or you’ve made your dough from scratch, grilling a pizza takes it to the next level. You’ll never want to eat it any other way. 

You can grill frozen pizzas right on your grill grates, and any other pizza on a stone or tray. With pizza, you want to cook it as quickly as possible so all the ingredients can cook evenly and the dough becomes crisp and blistered. It’s difficult to reach the 500 F and above necessary to properly cook pizza, and when you grill your pie you don’t have to worry about overheating the house. Plus, whether you’re using charcoal or gas, the natural smoke from the grill infuses your pizza with terrific flavor that’s impossible to get from a regular oven.

Not to mention, barbecuing a pizza is easy! Because of the heat, the dough shouldn’t ever fall through the grates. With a properly heated grill, you will get a lovely brown crust time after time. Read on to see how we do it.

How To Grill Frozen Pizza

• For frozen pizza, it’s best to follow the directions that are printed on the box. Remove it from its packaging and use the directions as a guideline, modifying them according to the heat of your grill.
• Cook thin-crust pizzas on high heat for 5 to 6 minutes, and regular crust for 12 to 15 minutes. Because the heat is much higher than your kitchen oven, attend to the pizza while it cooks to ensure it doesn’t burn.
• You will know the pizza is done when the crust turns golden brown. For frozen pizzas, there should be grill marks on the underside of the pizza.

If you’re worried about the pizza sticking to the grates, use a pizza stone or ceramic tiles. Fresh dough cooks more evenly on a pizza stone. If you are using homemade dough, start from scratch and then freeze or refrigerate the dough beforehand.

How To Grill Fresh Pizza

• Place the pizza stone on the grill grates and then preheat your grill.
• Knead your dough on a floured surface for 5 minutes.
• Turn and stretch your dough using your hands (using a rolling pin on fresh dough pushes out the air, ruining the rise and the crust).
• Transfer the dough to your pizza peel, and pile on your favorite sauce, cheese, and toppings.
• If your dough is sticky and fighting with your pizza peel, use cornmeal or parchment paper.
• Using the peel, transfer your pizza to the preheated stone or tiles and close the lid of your barbecue grill. Cooking times may vary based on your dough and toppings, but it’s a good idea to check every five minutes or so. 
• Remove your grilled pizza from the stone using the peel. Slice, serve to friends and family, and enjoy!

Pizza Stones For Grill Vs Ceramic Tiles

To get the crispiest pizza crust possible, pizza stones are a must. There are a surprising amount of options out there, and a huge variety of stones to choose from.  Our Easylife Tech Pizza Stones are designed to be amongst the top tier, consisting of high performance cordierite and enameling to make them non-stick.  Some pizza stones don’t resemble stones at all—they are made from different materials, are in different sizes, and can fit into grills, ovens, smokers, and more.

Baking your pizza on your BBQ is always an option, and this will deliver a beautiful golden crust that your entire family will enjoy. However, this can be tricky, as a pizza stone can go directly onto a grill or open flame. You can also use pizza stones to cook and bake other items, such as bread and cookies. Pizza stones are incredibly versatile and are a great addition to any pit master’s repertoire. 

Pizza stones can come in many different materials, such as steel, cast iron, cordierite, and ceramic. 

Ceramic pizza tiles can be even more convenient than pizza stones, whether you wish to cook personal pizzas or fit them together to grill a pizza of any size. Plus, they are far easier to store, as you can stack them to save space. You can also dedicate stones to gluten-free or vegan pizzas and others to the more meaty pizzas. They are perfect for calzones, petite pizzas, and buns.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can You Put Pizza On Foil In BBQ?

You can, especially if you want a pizza that has even crispier, crunchier crust. First, spread the aluminum foil out over the grates of your grill, the non-stick side up. Stretch your dough out as you would make any other pizza, oiling both sides. Place the oiled pizza crust on the aluminum foil sheet, and wait for it to brown. Once one side is brown and crisp and the other has bubbled up nicely, pull the dough from the foil. Dress the pizza with your sauce and cheese and toppings, and return it to the grill until the cheese is melted. Slice and enjoy.

How Long Do You Cook A Pizza On A BBQ?

When cooking a pizza from fresh dough on a barbecue, you can pre-grill the pizza dough for a few minutes on both sides to crisp it up before adding the toppings, and return it to the grill for another 2-3 minutes until the cheese is done. Or, using a pizza stone, you can put the entire pizza on the grill with your peal and cook 5-7 minutes for a thin crust, and up to 10-12 minutes for a thicker crust. Frequently check your pizza to ensure it reaches your desired doneness. 

How Do You Cook Pizza On A Gas Grill?

If your gas grill has thin, close-together grates, you can cook the dough directly over the hot grill. The dough should puff up almost immediately, bubbling on one side. Using spatulas, turn the dough over and grill the other side. Remove the dough, brush one side with oil, add your sauce, toppings, and cheese, and return to the grill for a few minutes until the pizza is exactly how you want it.