5-ingredient grilled pesto pizza
by Katie Webster
August 15, 2014 (updated 2/9/20) Jump To Recipe
Yesterday I promised to bring you a vegetarian, family-friendly recipe for the grill, and here it is! It is a five-ingredient grilled pesto pizza that is ready in just 20 minutes! 
I made it using my home-made multi-grain pizza dough and my 5-minute classic basil pesto. It came together in a snap. If you’ve never tried grilling a pizza before, there are a few things you need to know about how to get the pizza on and off the grill successfully. I have learned the hard way, that there are certain things you need to do to have a happy dinner.
Tips for Grilling Pizza
- Have everything you need ready to go. This is called your mise en place. So I like to set up a little station next to the grill so that I’m ready to go when the crust is toasty. For this recipe you’ll need the rolled out dough, pesto with a little spatula for spreading, sliced tomato, cheddar and tongs.
- Use a pizza peel or un-rimmed baking sheet to get your dough on the grill. You just need to make sure that you use a lot of flour or cornmeal on the peel or baking sheet so the dough won’t stick and it will slide off easily onto the grill.
- You have to oil the grill rack. To oil the grill soak a clean paper towel with oil. Hold the paper towel with some tongs and then pull the towel toward you running it along the grill grate. Keeping it working toward you will help prevent flare-ups from burning your arm. Keep in mind it is important to do this right before you put the pizza dough onto the grill. If you wait too long before putting the dough onto it, the oil will burn off.
This recipe also appears on Rachel Cooks. If you have never visited over at Rachel’s blog, I think you’ll really like it. She is a busy mom just like me, and she loves to share healthy family-friendly meals on her blog. Follow her on Twitter | Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest.
Speaking of being busy, I have a side note that is totally unrelated to pizza. I just signed up for the training to become an instructor for Les Mills Body Attack in Boston next month. Yikes! I am going down for a two day sweat-a-thon and mind-bending training session to learn how to teach the best aerobics class ever. We are bringing Attack in at my club, BodyResolution next month, and I hope to start teaching some time in October. I am sort of scared, but really excited.
QUESTIONS:
Have you ever grilled pizza?
Do you take group fitness classes?
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5-ingredient grilled pesto pizza
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
Description
Don’t miss this vegetarian, family-friendly recipe for the grill! It is a five-ingredient grilled pesto pizza that is ready in just 20 minutes!
Ingredients
- 1 1-lb to 1.25-lb. ball pizza dough, preferably whole-grain
- All-purpose flour and/or cornmeal for dusting
- ½ cup basil pesto
- 1 large tomato, sliced
- 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium heat.
- Dust work surface with flour. Roll pizza dough out to 15 to 16 inches. Sprinkle flour or cornmeal on a large un-rimmed baking sheet or pizza peel. Transfer the pizza dough to the baking sheet or peel.
- Brush grill grate to clean it and oil it with an oil soaked towel. Slide the dough off the baking sheet or peel onto the grill and cook until it is firmed up and crisped on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Carefully, Flip the dough over using the peel or tongs and baking sheet. Spread the pesto over the dough. Top with tomatoes and cheddar. Cover the grill and cook until the cheese is melted and the bottom of the crust is crispy, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cuisine: American
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Katie Webster
Katie Webster studied art and photography at Skidmore College and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. She has been a professional recipe developer since 2001 when she first started working in the test kitchen at EatingWell magazine. Her recipes have been featured in numerous magazines including Shape, Fitness, Parents and several Edible Communities publications among others. Her cookbook, Maple {Quirk Books} was published in 2015. She launched Healthy Seasonal Recipes in 2009. She lives in Vermont with her husband, two teenage daughters and two yellow labs. In her free time, you can find her at the gym, cooking, stacking firewood, making maple syrup, and tending to her overgrown perennial garden.
Thanks for the recipe! Pesto is one of my favorite ingredients – I don’t do group fitness classes, but only because I’m not a member with a gym. It is so much more fun to exercise with a friend…much more motivating than going solo.
I just had a great panini last night with pesto on it. I dont ever get sick of that flavor! Thanks for coming by Doug!
This pizza looks awesome! Love your picture!!! You look very fit, Katie.
this is one dish I won’t feel guilty about after the gym!! Love a good quick-fix pesto, and this pizza just looked so fresh and delicious, I love the twist of grilling it! I’ve mentioned before that I’m a Les Mills follower, but I do a bunch of other strength-training type classes too, I love it! Getting strong is totally addicting lol. Good luck in Boston Katie!!
Interesting pizza with pesto..yummy:)
Thank you Ilona. Pesto is the best at this time of year!
No and no. I would love to try your grilled pizza though :-)) I prefer to exercise at home with CSI series on LOL..
You look so fit and fantastic, Katie.
Oh I love watching a bit of TV when I am not motivated. It is amazing how quickly the time goes by. Lately though the group fit classes get me motivated. Thank you for the compliment Angie.
Yes and yes! Adore pizza on the grill but don’t make it enough as we have a charcoal grill so more prep is needed vs. just turning on the gas.
As for as exercise classes, I shunned them for years as I pretty much stuck to running and that was my alone time in my head but ever since I signed up Boot Camp class 2x week 2 years ago, I love it – the balance it gives my exercise routine and the community feeling.
BTW, you look AMAZE BALLS, girl 🙂
I just got a charcoal grill for our patio and I love the flavor it gives, but I don’t always take the time to use it since it does require the set-up.
Bootcamp sounds great. I love that kind of stuff. Thanks for the compliment. 😉