Caprese Pizza On The Grill
A Caprese Salad is a fantastic light, refreshing summer recipe, right?? Have you ever made a Caprese Pizza? Summer is about grilling and fresh foods, so lets combine the two and make a grilled pizza.
Whether you want a Caprese Pizza or a Caprese Flatbread, either work here. You can choose to grill the pizza or bake it in the oven or pizza oven.
Table of Contents
Why you will love this Caprese Pizza recipe
- The fresh flavors of tomatoes, basil and mozzarella pair so well with the balsamic glaze. Add the softness and crunch of the pizza crust and you have a home run!
- Your oven just can't compete with the high temps of a pizza oven. However, your grill can!
- Pizza dough
- Olive or avocado oil
- S&P
- Plum tomatoes
- Fresh Mozzarella
- Basil
- Balsamic Glaze (optional but delish)
Don't feel like making pizza dough? Me neither. Support a local small business. I almost always pop in my local pizza place and buy a couple pizza dough disks from them. For $4 or so, its fresh, perfect, ready to use AND made by the experts! It's way better vs any store-bought variety.
For Caprese Flatbread Pizza, bake it in the oven on a parchment paper lined baking sheet or use a pizza stone or pizza oven. If the flatbread you choose is flimsy, the grill is not an option (unless you have it on a pizza tray/stone on the grill).
I have a thing for warm tomatoes and roasted tomatoes so this pizza hits that mark for me. The heat of the grill makes the tomatoes pleasantly warm and tender. This pizza is a great idea for a meatless summer meal that satisfies.
Turn just about any idea for pizza into a flatbread as well. So many varieties of flatbread to choose from these days in the grocery store. From super thin to a little thicker (like naan). Or make your own.
Pizza Grilling Tips
- Start with a cleaned and oiled grill.
- Have all pizza topping ingredients prepped and at the ready (see recipe card instructions).
- After you shape your pizza dough (a rustic shape circular, rectangular or square), brush on side with oil and season with a little S&P and if you like Italian seasoning.
- Grill pizza oil side down with lid closed for 3 minutes.
- Either quickly remove to a baking or pizza pan that has flour on the bottom so the (mostly uncooked dough side does not stick) and add your toppings. OR top while grill is open (this will be HOT and you have to move fast).
- Slide pizza back onto grill, close grill and turn off burners directly below pizza (if that is an option, if not it's fine). Cook another 3 minutes or so, pull it from the grill, slice and enjoy!
Remember, the better your ingredients, the better the overall pizza will be.
Variations
- Making a garlic infused oil adds extra flavor.
- Add microgreens or arugula to your flatbread.
- You can use pre-shredded mozzarella cheese in a pinch however fresh is better in my opinion.
- Add red pepper flakes to your oil or sprinkle overtop for a little kick.
Ingredients
Once you get the hand of making pizza on the grill, you'll start creating all sorts of pizza flavor combinations. Have fun testing them out and finding your favorite pizza toppings!
Pizza / Flatbread Recipes to try
Enjoy! XO Colleen
Originally posted October, 2016. Updated June, 2024.
Caprese Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 disc fresh pizza dough
- ½ TBS olive oil or avocado oil for brushing
- S&P
- fresh Mozzarella cheese, sliced or torn
- 2 plum tomatoes (or 3 if small), cut into slices
- Fresh basil leaves
- Balsamic glaze (optional)
Instructions
- Make your seasoned oil by combining ¼ cup of olive or avocado oil, 1 clove of garlic minced (or 1 TBS garlic paste), Salt & pepper.
- Clean, oil and preheat your grill to high (all burners on).
- Shape your pizza dough (circular, rectangular, square) rustic is fine. Brush once side of dough lightly with seasoned oil.
- Drizzle or brush a bit of the seasoned oil onto the tomato slices and mozzarella pieces. You may want to add a little extra S&P to those as well.
- Place pizza dough oiled side down onto your grill (lowering the burners just below it after you do. Close the lid and allow it to cook 3-4 minutes.
- Carefully remove pizza to a tray, brush uncooked side lightly with seasoned oil and add mozzarella and tomatoes to the cooked side. Season with a little S&P (and red pepper flakes if you want a little kick).
- Place pizza back onto the grill. Close lid and finish cooking for 3-4 minutes.
- Remove pizza, add basil and drizzle with balsamic glaze if using, slice and enjoy!
