With the grilling season around the corner make sure you check out our favorite pizza toppings for grilled pizza. These pizzas are guaranteed to come out great on your pizza stone.
Remember to prepare your pizza dough (see our pizza dough recipe) for toppings by first spreading a thin layer of olive oil (to the edges), and seasoning with salt and pepper. To maximize your prep time, once rolled, place the dough on a cookie sheet or pizza peel. If using fresh dough, first sprinkle a liberal amount of cornmeal on the peel/sheet to avoid sticking while transferring to the pizza stone.
Margherita Pizza
The Margherita pizza is the classic example of simple flavors using quality ingredients. This isn’t your ordinary cheese pizza. Your care in using quality ingredients like homemade tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese and fresh basil will yield amazing results.
Drain the sliced mozzarella on a paper towel before dressing the pizza to avoid a soggy pizza. The end result should be a crisp crust with gooey, melted cheese!
Ingredients:
- Basic red pizza sauce (our recipe)
- Fresh ball mozzarella, sliced thin
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (optional)
- Fresh basil, torn
- Salt and pepper
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- Pizza dough rolled to ¼ inch thick
Dress the pizza with your favorite, basic red pizza sauce. Top with thinly sliced mozzarella. Sprinkle freshly torn basil on top (alternatively you can add the basil when the pizza is removed from the grill). Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Chicken Fajita Pizza
The Chicken Fajita Pizza is a delicious meal with a kick! In place of a basic tomato sauce, we start with a homemade Chipotle pepper mayonnaise. Fresh toppings like grilled chicken, avocado and a squeeze of lime juice help create an amazing balance of flavors that you just have to try!
Ingredients:
- Chipotle pepper mayonnaise (see recipe below)
- Fontina cheese, shredded
- Roasted red peppers, sliced
- Red onion, thinly sliced
- Grilled chicken breast, thinly sliced (see brining technique below)
- Fresh avocado, small dice
- Fresh cilantro, chopped or torn
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh lime, squeezed over pizza after it comes off the grill
Spread an even layer of the chipotle pepper mayonnaise on the pizza shell to within a ½ inch of the edges. Sprinkle shredded fontina cheese over the mayonnaise. Next, layer thinly sliced grilled chicken over the cheese. We brined and grilled our chicken breast prior to dressing the pizza. See the brining recipe below.
Next, add sliced roasted red peppers, thinly sliced red onion, cubes of freshly cut ripe avocado, and fresh cilantro. Season with salt and pepper. Once the finished pizza comes off the grill, cut a fresh lime, and squeeze some juice to taste over the top.
Chicken Breast – Brining Technique
Please be sure to fully cook all proteins such as chicken, beef and pork before putting on any pizza.
Using a large bowl, fill ¾ with water. Add ½ cup of kosher salt and ½ cup of brown sugar. These do not need to be exact measurements. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar. Add your favorite aromatics like sliced onion, bay leaf, whole peppercorns, etc. Place chicken breast in brine and let sit, covered in refrigerator, for at least two hours. We also have an article specifically about brining.
Chipotle Pepper Mayonnaise
This mayonnaise can be prepared and refrigerated a day in advance. We use canned Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce from our local supermarket for convenience.
Ingredients
- 2 or 3 Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
- ½ Cup Mayonnaise (low-fat works great too)
- ½ Cup Sour Cream (low-fat works great too)
- 2 or 3 cloves of garlic
- Zest from 1 lime
- Juice from ½ lime
- ½ Tablespoon of Olive Oil
- ¼ Teaspoon of Chipotle pepper powder (optional)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Mince the peppers. Using salt as an abrasive, mince the garlic as fine as possible. Or use a mortar and pestle to grind the garlic into a paste. Zest and mince the rind of one lime. Cut the lime in half and squeeze into small mixing bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl and whisk. Check for taste. Let sit covered in refrigerator for at least an hour. Check for taste again and season according to your preferences. This mayo goes great on just about everything. Try it on burgers, in fajitas, and even on grilled fish!
Red Sky Delight
The Red Sky Delight pizza isn’t fancy but offers basic, fresh toppings that even my finicky eater enjoys! If your picky eaters won’t eat the red peppers because they can see them, try pureeing them and adding them to the red pizza sauce. Try fontina as an alternative to mozzarella. It’s a mild creamy cheese with a nutty flavor. You can find it in the artisan cheese section of your grocery store.
Ingredients
- Basic red pizza sauce (see our recipe)
- Fontina, shredded
- Pepperoni, slices or small chunks
- Roasted Red peppers, diced or sliced
- Fresh basil, torn
- Grated parmesan cheese, sprinkle to finish
Dress the pizza shell with your favorite red pizza sauce. Add shredded fontina cheese, pepperoni and roasted red peppers. Top with some fresh, torn basil and a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese. Drizzle a little olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Lobstah Pizzah
Paying homage to our New England roots, we couldn’t resist creating a pizza based on a personal favorite. Fresh, simple toppings keep the flavors well balanced. Pair with a sparkling white wine as a treat!
Ingredients
- Fresh Roma tomato topping (see recipe below)
- Freshly cooked lobster, 1-1 ¼ lbs, par-boiled, meat removed
- Mild goat cheese (Chevre), 3 oz.
- Fresh scallion, sliced
- Drizzle of truffle oil to finish
- Freshly squeezed lemon to finish
Prepare your pizza dough for toppings by first spreading a thin layer of olive oil (to the edges), and seasoning with salt and pepper. To maximize your prep time, once rolled, place the dough on a cookie sheet or pizza peel. If using fresh dough, first sprinkle a liberal amount of cornmeal on the peel/sheet to avoid sticking while transferring to the pizza stone.
Dress pizza dough with tomato mixture and dollop with goat cheese. Add sliced lobster meat and a sprinkle of sliced scallion. When pizza is hot off the grill, finish with truffle oil (or extra virgin olive oil) and fresh lemon.
Fresh Roma Tomato Topping
- 1 Fresh Roma tomato, chopped and seeded
- 1 Tablespoon fresh oregano, chopped fine
- 1 Tablespoon fresh basil, sliced into thin ribbons (chiffonade)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
Combine first 3 ingredients in bowl. Drizzle olive oil; add salt and pepper and mix. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Taste again and season to your liking.
Lobster Meat Topping
Parboil or steam a 1 ¼ lbs lobster (about 5 minutes) and shock it in salted, cold water to stop the cooking process. Remove the meat from the shell and refrigerate it until pizza preparation time. Thinly slice the meat when ready to dress the pizza. The time on the grill will finish cooking the lobster.
The Iberian
The Iberian pizza is inspired by flavors from Spain and Portugal. We use a delicious homemade Romesco sauce as the base, which is a roasted red pepper puree that’s easy to make. Mild goat cheese tames the spicy dried chorizo. We’ve also tried this
recipe with kalamata olives and sliced fresh garlic. Have fun trying new flavors!
Ingredients
- Romesco sauce (roasted red pepper puree – see recipe below)
- Mild goat cheese (Chevre), small dollops
- Chorizo, sliced into thin discs
- Fresh scallion, sliced thin just before using
Dress the shell with the Romesco sauce, and dollop with goat cheese. Top with the chorizo and sprinkle fresh scallion on top. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Romesco Sauce
- 2 Slices, white sandwich bread
- 3 Tablespoons slivered almonds
- 1 Whole peeled, seeded fresh tomato (alternatively, San Marzano canned tomato)
- 12 oz. (1 jar) Roasted red peppers, drained
- 1 ½ Cloves fresh garlic, minced
- 2 Tablespoons Olive oil
- 1 ½ Tablespoons Sherry vinegar
- ¾ Teaspoon Chipotle chili pepper powder
- Salt and pepper to taste
Remove crusts from bread; toast until lightly brown. Cut into cubes and put aside. Using a dry pan lightly toast almonds on medium heat, about 4 minutes. In a food processor, pulse bread and almonds first until the nuts are finely ground. Add tomato, red pepper, garlic, oil, vinegar, chipotle pepper powder and salt and pulse until the sauce thickens, another 30 – 50 seconds. Scrape down the sides as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate up to 2 days.
Spinach Special Pizza
Fresh baby spinach makes a wonderful base for a delicious pizza. Add your favorite toppings, but don’t forget that cheese plays an important role too! Smoked mozzarella is another terrific alternative to traditional mozzarella. It’s rich, smoky flavor and creamy texture adds a great punch. Find it in the artisan cheese section of your local grocery store.
Ingredients
- Basic red pizza sauce (our recipe)
- Smoked mozzarella, shredded
- Fresh baby spinach
- BBQ chicken, fully-cooked, sliced (see brining technique above)
- Roasted red peppers, diced or sliced
Dress the pizza shell with your favorite pizza sauce. Sprinkle shredded smoked mozzarella. Add a single layer of fresh baby spinach leaves. Top with thin slices of cooked BBQ chicken. We brined our chicken overnight, and grilled it prior to dressing the pizza. This brining technique, outlined below, helps keeps the chicken moist during the pizza grilling process. Finish with the roasted red peppers, a drizzle of olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper.
Pepperoni Pizza
The Pepperoni is an all-time favorite in our house. Our kids love to roll out and dress their own personal pepperoni pizzas. Shredded fontina has become our preferred cheese choice for this pizza. Its creamy texture and mild, nutty flavor make it a nice alternative to traditional, shredded mozzarella. Fontina can be found in the artisan cheese section of your grocery store.
Ingredients:
- Basic red pizza sauce (our recipe)
- Fontina, shredded
- Pepperoni, sliced
- Fresh basil, torn
- Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (optional)
- Salt and pepper
- Olive oil
Dress the pizza with your favorite, basic red pizza sauce. Sprinkle shredded fontina cheese on top, and add sliced pepperoni. Finish with some torn, fresh basil. Sometimes we’ll sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top before grilling. Drizzle with some olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper.