Recipe · 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.
Technique how-to
How the grilled pizza method works
A method demonstration from Meathead's AmazingRibs — watch it for the technique, then follow the ingredients and steps in our recipe above. We do not produce our own videos.
Meathead Goldwyn's technique translates directly to an electric grill with a preheated cast-iron skillet — the method our cast-iron pizza recipe uses.
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
Tips for this cook
- ★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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