Food & Cooking Recipes Main Dish Recipes Pizza Recipes Grilled Pepper and Red Onion Pizzas 5.0 (1) These personal pizzas make an easy summer dinner. Prep Time: 10 mins Cook Time: 30 mins Total Time: 40 mins Servings: 4 Jump to recipe Our grilled pizza recipe is a produce-packed, vegetarian meal that’s perfect for summer. Both the crust and vegetable topping get kissed by the grill, which means even more of that smoky, charred taste ends up on your plate. A creamy and tangy mixture of goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, and lemon zest stands in for the more typical tomato sauce and becomes soft and melty from the heat of the grill. The pizzas are finished with a tangle of lightly dressed arugula, which adds a welcomed dose of freshness to the finished pizzas (use baby spinach, escarole, mesclun, or thinly sliced radicchio if you prefer). Easy and light, this meat-free grilled recipe is a summertime win. How to Grill Pizza Like a Pro, For Crispy Crusts and Melty Cheese Credit: Carson Downing Why Make Pizza On the Grill? We'll never tire of pizza baked in the oven, but there's something magical that happens when yeasty, stretchy dough hits a hot grill. Grilling pizza results in smoky flavor and enviable char marks, giving the popular dish an outdoorsy update. It's also incredibly quick: These personal pizzas need just one to two minutes per side before they're ready to be topped, plus an additional minute or so for the vegetables and cheese blend to heat through. Pizza Dough Dos and Don'ts Do let it warm up: An hour or so before you plan to cook, pull your pizza dough from the fridge and let it come to room temperature on the counter. It'll be so much easier to stretch than cold, stiff dough—which will shrink right back at you—and will give the gluten in the dough a chance to relax, leading to a chewier, better textured crust. Don't forget the flour (or oil): Keep things stick-free by lightly flouring your work surface and hands before stretching the dough. (Just don't use too much, which can impact the crust's texture.) Instead of flour, you can lightly coat your work surface and hands with olive oil, which will give you a similar stick-free result. Do use a rolling pin: Stretching by hand might be the go-to technique for creating a crust, but don't be afraid to reach for a rolling pin if it makes things easier for you, especially if you're getting kids involved in the process. It can be particularly useful for achieving a similar thickness from edge to edge, which will help ensure your crust cooks evenly. Don't weigh it down: When topping your dough, remember that less is more. Adding too many toppings can make the crust soggy, wet, and difficult to eat. It can also throw off the amount of time the pizza needs to cook, leaving you with an overcooked crust and undercooked toppings. Make sure you thoroughly clean and oil your grill before cooking: This is especially important when you're adding something sticky to the grates like pizza dough. Neglecting to do so can cause bits of cooked-on food to end up on your dough (which is not the kind of grilled flavor we're going for!). Directions Credit: Carson Downing Heat grill and grill peppers and onion: Heat grill to medium-high. Toss peppers and onion with 1 tablespoon oil and season with salt and pepper; grill, flipping once, 7 to 10 minutes. Credit: Carson Downing Mix goat cheese with lemon, Parmesan, and oil: Combine goat cheese, Parmesan, lemon zest, and 2 teaspoons oil. Credit: Carson Downing Prep baking sheet, stretch one piece of dough on sheet, oil and grill: Generously brush a rimmed baking sheet with oil. Stretch one piece of dough into an 8-inch oval on sheet. Brush top with oil; season with salt. Brush grates with oil. Grill pizza, top-side down, until bubbles form, 1 to 2 minutes. Credit: Carson Downing Credit: Carson Downing Flip dough, add toppings, and grill: Flip; dollop with a quarter of cheese mixture, peppers, and onion. Grill, moving occasionally with tongs, until cheese melts and bottom is crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Repeat grilling remaining 3 pieces of dough. Credit: Carson Downing Credit: Carson Downing Instead of topping and grilling the pizzas one by one, you can grill the crusts first, cooking the second side until just set (about 30 seconds) before transferring them to the baking sheet. Top each with cheese and vegetables and return them to the grill for one more minute to cook through before finishing with arugula and serving. Toss arugula and use to top pizzas: Toss arugula with lemon juice and remaining 1 teaspoon oil; season with salt and pepper. Top pizzas with arugula and sprinkle with red-pepper flakes; serve. Credit: Carson Downing Variations Go mini: For an even sweeter flavor and fun look, use 10 to 12 mini bell peppers instead of the two larger ones. Slice reach mini pepper in half, then remove the stems and the few seeds before grilling. Swap the Parm: In place of grated Parmesan, use pecorino Romano cheese, which will have a slightly sharper, saltier flavor and be just as delicious blended with the goat cheese. Use different greens: Use any baby greens instead of arugula, like baby spinach, kale, or a spring mix. With its slightly bitter flavor, thinly sliced radicchio would also make an excellent topper. What to Serve With Grilled Pizza To round out the meal, consider serving a juicy or crunchy vegetable salad or side with your pizzas, like our tomato and avocado salad, a classic Greek salad, or this light and tangy zucchini recipe. If you're serving this for company and looking for an easy appetizer to kick things off, try our grilled prosciutto-wrapped melon or whip up a creamy dip like this one featuring edamame or this herby hearts of palm starter. You can also never go wrong with a gazpacho—particularly when it's too hot to turn on the stove—so check out our classic Spanish recipe or this peach-and-tomato number. 5 More Meatless Pizza Recipes to Try Tricolor-Salad Pizza Skillet Pizza With Eggplant and Greens White Pizza With Pickled Peppers and Onions Lemon-and-Italian-Cheese Pizza Vegetable Lovers' Deep-Dish Pizza Updated by Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds Esther Reynolds is an experienced recipe developer, recipe tester, food editor, and writer with over a decade of experience in the food and media industries.