Grilled Pizza with Pesto and Tomatoes {5 ingredients!}
Posted: 08/15/2014
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You’re only 5 ingredients and a hot grill away from a mouthwatering grilled pizza with pesto and tomatoes.
Hi everyone! As I mentioned Monday, I’m enlisting the help of a few friends filling in some recipe gaps while I’m totally swamped with moving, etc. As I said, I’ll still be around with a few recipes — did you see my DIY Enchilada Pasta Bar? The creamy enchilada sauce is to die for. Today I’m happy to introduce you to Katie of Healthy Seasonal Recipes. Take it away, Katie!
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Hey guys! I am so happy to be here today on Rachel’s blog, and to meet you all. Earlier this month, Rachel asked me if I would be interested in guest posting, and I literally jumped at the opportunity. Ok maybe not literally, but I was so excited I thought about jumping! Anyhoo, I am super pumped to be here today and to share this 5-ingredient grilled pesto tomato pizza recipe with you.
I have been on this minimal ingredients, minimal effort recipe kick this summer, and I am kinda in love with it. I’m thinking you probably are appreciative of this kind of recipe too. I mean there are only a few more days before the kids go back to school, and we need to maximize our summer chilling time to the fullest.
Why spend a whole ton of time in the kitchen fussing over dinner, when we can put together something as yummy as this 5-ingredient pizza in no time at all? Seriously, the longest part of this recipe is preheating the grill, and that, my friends, is not so difficult.
Have you ever grilled pizza before? I have tried it a whole ton of times, and love it. Especially when the weather is warm and I don’t want to turn on my oven. Plus, it is so dang fast.
I made this recipe with home-made crust and my 5-minute pesto that I had on hand from my bumper crop of basil, but using store bought dough and pesto works great, too, and make this a weeknight no-brainer.
I have a few cook’s notes about how to have success when grilling a pizza. First off, you know how when you make a stir fry you have to have all your stuff next to the stove before you begin because it goes so fast? Right, well, culinerds like me call this Mise en Place.
Well, that’s what you need to do when you’re getting ready to grill a pizza. You need all your mise en place ready to go. 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.
The second thing you need to know is how to get the dough onto the grill without folding it onto itself or stretching it so thin that it burns in the middle. This is what stops a lot of people from grilling pizza, but I want to let you know that it is not hard.
I have a pizza peel that I got at the King Arthur Flour store here in Vermont (Oh my gosh, if you ever come to visit here in VT please be sure to go by there. It is crazy awesome. It is a baker’s dream. You can also order one from their store online.)
I use the pizza peel, but you can also use an un-rimmed baking sheet, and it works just as well. 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.
Which brings me to the last tip: 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 all burn off.
And that’s it. I hope you enjoy this yummy end-of-summer pizza recipe. Please leave a comment below letting me know if you try it. And I would absolutely love it if you visited me over at Healthy Seasonal Recipes too!
Loving this pizza? Try:
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
servings
You’re only 5 ingredients and a hot grill away from a mouthwatering grilled pizza with pesto and tomatoes.
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 paper 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.
Nutrition Information
Serving: 1slice, Calories: 693kcal, Carbohydrates: 93g, Protein: 20g, Fat: 27g, Saturated Fat: 7g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 17g, Cholesterol: 28mg, Sodium: 691mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 4g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
~Katie
About Katie: Katie Webster is a freelance recipe developer and recovering food stylist living in Vermont with her two sassy daughters and very patient husband. She studied art and photography at Skidmore College and has a degree in culinary arts from the New England Culinary Institute. She is a contributing editor at EatingWell Magazine and regularly contributes to Fitness Magazine, Parents Magazine and Parents.com. She is a group fitness instructor and always saves room for a bit of chocolate. To keep up with Katie, you can check out her blog about cooking from scratch with seasonal ingredients at her blog Healthy Seasonal Recipes. Or you can follow her Social Media: Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | G+
Bev says
Healthy and delicious, just the pizza recipe I was looking for. Thanks for sharing.
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
I love how simple and perfect this pizza is-some of my fave flavors too!
Rachel @ Baked by Rachel says
Love this pizza! I still need to tackle grilling one though lol I tried once and it was a hot mess.
Phi @ The Sweetphi Blog says
Love the sound of this recipe! I’m all about things with minimal ingredients and minimal effort lol. Definitely going to have to try this out.
Sidenote-good luck Rachel!!
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes says
Thank you so much for having me today Rachel! It is a total honor. Good luck with the move.
Katrina @ Warm Vanilla Sugar says
loving the simplicity of this! such a yummy pizza :)