Pizza
Apartment Electric Grill Pizza (No Outdoor Needed)
Grilled pizza is its own genre, separate from oven pizza, and in some ways it is the only style of pizza that a home cook can reliably execute at restaurant quality. Pizza ovens cost thousands and live outdoors. Home ovens max at 500F. But a high-end electric grill like the Ninja Woodfire Pro XL hits 700F, right in the Neapolitan sweet spot, and costs a fraction of what a dedicated pizza oven does. The technique is specific to the genre. You grill one side of the dough before topping, which gives you a crisp base and prevents the dreaded soggy-middle. The topped side cooks under a closed lid for 5-6 minutes, which is enough to melt the cheese and finish the second side of the crust. Total cook time is under 8 minutes, which matches what a proper wood-fired oven does.
Ingredients
- 1 lb pre-made pizza dough (or homemade)
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce
- 8 oz low-moisture mozzarella, grated
- 2 oz fresh mozzarella, torn
- 2 oz pepperoni slices
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Fresh basil leaves
- Red pepper flakes
Instructions
- 01
Let the dough come to room temperature for 30 minutes if it is cold. Cold dough will not stretch.
- 02
Stretch each half of the dough into a 10-inch round. Do not use a rolling pin, hand-stretch so you preserve air bubbles.
- 03
Preheat the grill to 600-700F with a pizza stone on the grates if you have one, or directly on oiled grates if not.
- 04
Brush the dough with olive oil on the underside. Transfer to the hot grill quickly.
- 05
Grill 2 minutes until the bottom is charred and puffed. Flip.
- 06
Top the cooked side with sauce, cheeses, and pepperoni quickly.
- 07
Close the lid and cook another 5-6 minutes until the cheese is bubbling and the crust is crisp.
- 08
Finish with basil, red pepper flakes, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Pro Tips
From our kitchen
- ★The 700F max temp on the Ninja Woodfire Pro XL is what makes real grilled pizza possible at home. Most grills that max at 500F produce a soft, pale crust.
- ★Pre-cook the bottom before topping. A raw-dough-with-toppings pizza will steam itself into a soggy mess by the time the cheese melts.
- ★Skip the pizza stone if you want authentic bar-marks. Dough directly on oiled grates gives you classic grilled-pizza aesthetics.
We recommend for this recipe
Ninja Woodfire Pro XL OG850
The Ninja Woodfire Pro XL OG850's 406 sq in surface and 700°f searing temperature and 30% more cooking space than standard make it our pick for this recipe.
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