Homemade Pizza on a Pellet Grill

For me, making homemade pizza was one of the most challenging foods to make from scratch. Making a good dough that didn’t stick to my peel and collapse over my pizza stone took forever. Nothing has made me more angry on the grill then making pizza. I’ve ruined so many pizzas with the final “toss” from the peel to the stone then I’d care to admit. The pizza flops over itself and turns into the ugliest calzone you’ve ever seen. I should post some pics of these messes.

However, I have finally come up with a dough recipe that works, a sauce that rocks, and an overall method that works quite well with a pellet grill. How lucky you are to read this recipe before your first attempt at homemade pizza. This method will save you a lot of money on wasted cheese, swear jar deposits and heartache. Come to think of it, Pellet Grill Pizza is the epitome of Angry BBQ. My most angry moments in BBQ have come from making pizza.

Follow along and I assure you, this will go quite well. There are still some land mines to avoid, but I’ll explain the key challenges you need to look out for.

Pizza making Tips

I wish someone made this list for me years ago. Here are my top tips I’ve learnt the HARD WAY.

1. Get your dough recipe figured out. Keep it simple. Follow my recipe to a TEE. It needs to rise and it can’t be too sticky.
2. Use Cornmeal. Right before I build my pizza, I sprinkle a lot of cornmeal on the wooden peel and I build my pizza on top of the cornmeal. The cornmeal aids in letting your pizza slide of the wood peel and on to the stone. Cornmeal also adds a nice texture to the crust.
3. Easy on the Sauce. If you load your pizza with sauce, there is a good chance it can run over the side of the dough. If that happens, the chances of your pizza sticking to your peel increase dramatically. I love a lot of sauce, but I have cut back and I make damn sure the sauce is not on the edges of the pizza.
4. Get Quality Peels and Pizza Stone. Large wooden peel for unbaked pies, and metal peel for finished pies from the stone. Do not cheap out. Make sure they are large and strong. Get a good large pizza stone as well. It’s not fun when you pizza is larger then the stone. NOT FUN.
5. Buy Salami and Pepperoni in Bulk. I have a meat slicer and it saves my a lot of money. I always buy my salami and pepperoni in 3kg/5lbs. chubs and then use my slicer to cut them thin. I vac pack them and freeze them for later use.
6. Time. Give yourself some time to do this. The dough takes a while until it is ready. Make the sauce well before pizza building time and pre-cut all your toppings. You want to build your pizza as fast as possible so the dough doesn’t stick to your peel.
7. Weigh Your Dough Ingredients. Measuring by volume doesn’t work. Different flours weigh differently. Just like bread, you should always weigh and not measure based on volume.

Those are probably the most important items to keep in mind when making pizza from scratch.

The Dough – Making Pizza Dough That Doesn’t Suck

Dough can be simple, and it can also be challenging. I’ve gone through a lot of dough recipes and I’ve finally settled on one that won’t ruin your pizza. The worst doughs I’ve made have been sticky, easily torn, or not pliable. This dough recipe rises nicely, is formable and doesn’t tear easily. I can toss it and stretch it without worrying too much. Makes 2 x 12″ pizzas.

Equipment

• Mixer with Dough Hook
• Digital Scale
• Large Bowl
• Plastic Wrap
• Measuring Spoons

Ingredients

• 500 grams White Bread Flour
• 5 grams Quick Rise Yeast
• 320 grams Water at 105 Fahrenheit (warm water is important for yeast activation)
• 1 TBSP Kosher Salt ( I don’t bother weighing the salt)
• 1 TBSP Olive Oil

Instructions

1. Mix the warm water and yeast into the mixer bowl. Stir and let sit for 4-5 minutes.
2. Add the flour and salt to the mixer bowl. Mix for approximately 8-10 minutes at low/medium speed. A uniform dough ball should be formed.
3. Lightly oil the sides of the large bowl with olive oil and transfer the dough ball to this large bowl. Cover in plastic wrap and leave on the counter at room temperature.
4. Take note of the dough ball size. When it rises to double it’s original size, continue to step 5.
5. Flour a work surface and divide the dough ball into two equal sizes. Roll in the flour and form into two tight balls.
6. Place the balls into another oiled container and refrigerate.

Pizza Sauce recipe

I love this pizza sauce and I’m quite proud of it. It has some sweet and salty aspects which compliments pizza in general. It is easy and only uses the average ingredients you typically keep in your pantry. This recipe makes enough sauce for 3-4 pizzas. If you’re making a BBQ themed pizza, try my bbq sauce next time. It’s great on a BBQ chicken pizza.

Equipment

• Sauce Pot
• Wooden Spoon
• Measuring Cups
• Measuring Spoons

Ingredients

• 13.5oz / 400ml Can of Tomato Sauce (I use Hunts)
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1/2 tsp Coarse Black Pepper
• 1 tsp Garlic Salt
• 5 TBSP Liquid Honey (you can add to taste)
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Oregano

Instructions

1. Simply add all the ingredients into the sauce pot.
2. Mix well with medium/low heat.
3. Allow the sauce to simmer for a couple minutes and then remove from heat
4. Cool down and store for later use.

Making the Actual Pizza

Now that the dough and sauce are ready and waiting for the actual pizza build, it is time to think about your toppings. I’m a simple man when it comes to pizza. I like the standard ham, salami, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, cheese and that’s about it. You can put whatever toppings you want. That is up to you and probably your extremely picky kids. This total recipe will make 2 x 12″ pizzas with some sauce leftover.

Equipment

• Pellet Grill: I’ve done this on Traeger’s and Yoder’s. I get the best results on my Yoder YS640s because I can get the direct flame on the left hand side of the cook box and it can heat up to 550-600F without a problem. You want a lot of heat when making pizza.
• Pizza Stone
• Pizza Peels: Wood and Metal
• Cutting Board
• Large Knife or Pizza Slicer
• Meat Slicer: I use Chef’s Choice Slicers. They are affordable and work quite well.

Mike’s Recommended Pizza Making Gear

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Ingredients

• 2 Pizza Dough Balls
• 1 Cup Pizza Sauce
• 3 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 1.5 Cups Sliced Mushrooms
• 1/2 Onion Chopped
• 300 Grams Sliced Salami
• 300 Grams Sliced Pepperoni
• 3 TBSP Cornmeal
• 3 TBSP Flour

Instructions

• Start by heating up your pellet grill and stone. I turn the pellet grill up to 550F or more and get the stone heating up for about 45-60mins. You want a hot stone.
• Prep all your toppings and have everything ready before you start to build the pizza.
• Flour a workspace on your counter and roll your dough ball in the flour. Start forming an outer crust ridge into the ball as shown. Then start to stretch the pizza dough. I use various methods like tossing, and punching the dough.

• Once your dough is formed into a 12″ circle, you can start building the pie.
• Start by sprinkling cornmeal on your wooden peel. I add it generously. Then place the pizza dough on the peel.
• Start by applying the sauce. Spread evenly. Stay away from the crust. We don’t want the dough to stick to the peel.

• Keep adding your favorite toppings and cheese.
• Once built to your liking, it is time to slide the pizza from the peel to the hot pizza stone. This can be tricky. You want to line the pizza up with the stone and make a quick pull back motion so the pizza slides off.

• Depending on the heat output of your pellet grill, the pizza can be done in 10-20 minutes. A Traeger will take around 15-20 minutes and a Yoder will be more like 10-15 minutes. Keep your eye on the pizza at the half way mark, you might have to rotate it to keep it baking evenly.
• Once the cheese and crust are golden, use your metal peel and remove from the grill. Put the pizza on a cutting board, and slice immediately.

And that is it. The trickiest part is sliding the pizza off the peel to the pizza stone. This takes practice. A helpful crutch is to build the pizza on parchment paper and transfer the pizza with the paper. I don’t like this method because it is cheating and most parchment paper cannot withstand the heat of these grills.

Good luck and enjoy learning how to make your own pizza from scratch. Jannah and the kids love my recipe and prefer it to delivery.

If you’re serious about baking pizza, then checkout the review we did on the Yoder Wood Fired Oven attachment for their pellet grills. These create much higher and even temps for pizza. Get that golden brown cheese top without burning the bottom crust/dough.

Print Recipe

5 from 2 votes

Homemade Pellet Grill Pizza

Full recipe on how to make a pizza from scratch with your pellet grill. Includes dough, and sauce recipe.

Prep Time3 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time4 hours hrs

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, BBQ, Italian

Keyword: homemade pizza, pellet grill pizza, pellet smoker, pizza dough, pizza sauce

Servings: 8

Calories: 795kcal

Author: Michael Haas

Cost: 25

Equipment

• Mixer with Dough Hook
• Digital Scale
• Large Bowl
• Plastic Wrap
• Measuring Spoons
• Sauce Pot
• Wooden Spoon
• Measuring cups
• Measuring Spoons
• Pellet Grill I've done this on Traeger's and Yoder's. I get the best results on my Yoder YS640s because I can get the direct flame on the left hand side of the cook box and it can heat up to 550-600F without a problem. You want a lot of heat when making pizza.
• Pizza Stone
• Pizza Peels
• Cutting Board
• Large Knife or Pizza Slicer
• Meat Slicer I use Chef's Choice Slicers. They are affordable and work quite well.

Ingredients

Pizza Dough

• 500 grams White Bread Flour
• 5 grams Quick Rise Yeast
• 320 grams Water At 105 Fahrenheit warm water is important for yeast activation
• 1 TBSP Kosher Salt I don’t bother weighing the salt
• 1 TBSP Olive Oil

Pizza Sauce

• 13.5 oz Tomato Sauce I use Hunts
• 1 tsp Kosher Salt
• 1/2 tsp Coarse Black Pepper
• 1 tsp Garlic Salt
• 5 TBSP Liquid Honey you can add to taste
• 1 tsp Cumin
• 1 tsp Oregano

Pizza Build

• 3 Cups Mozzarella Cheese Shredded
• 1.5 Cups Mushrooms Sliced
• 1/2 Onion Chopped
• 300 Grams Salami Thinly Sliced
• 300 Grams Pepperoni Thinly Sliced
• 3 TBSP Cornmeal
• 3 TBSP Flour

Instructions

Pizza Dough

• Mix the warm water and yeast into the mixer bowl. Stir and let sit for 4-5 minutes.
  
• Add the flour and salt to the mixer bowl. Mix for approximately 8-10 minutes at low/medium speed. A uniform dough ball should be formed.
  
• Lightly oil the sides of the large bowl with olive oil and transfer the dough ball to this large bowl. Cover in plastic wrap and leave on the counter at room temperature.
  
• Take note of the dough ball size. When it rises to double it’s original size, continue to step 5.
  
• Flour a work surface and divide the dough ball into two equal sizes. Roll in the flour and form into two tight balls.
  
• Place the balls into another oiled container and refrigerate.
  

Pizza Sauce

• Simply add all the ingredients into the sauce pot.
  
• Mix well with medium/low heat.
• Allow the sauce to simmer for a couple minutes and then remove from heat
• Cool down and store for later use.
  

Pizza Build

• Start by heating up your pellet grill and stone. I turn the pellet grill up to 550F or more and get the stone heating up for about 45-60mins. You want a hot stone.
• Prep all your toppings and have everything ready before you start to build the pizza.
• Flour a workspace on your counter and roll your dough ball in the flour. Start forming an outer crust ridge into the ball as shown. Then start to stretch the pizza dough. I use various methods like tossing, and punching the dough.
  
• Once your dough is formed into a 12″ circle, you can start building the pie.
  
• Start by sprinkling cornmeal on your wooden peel. I add it generously. Then place the pizza dough on the peel.
  
• Start by applying the sauce. Spread evenly. Stay away from the crust. We don’t want the dough to stick to the peel.
  
• Keep adding your favorite toppings and cheese.
  
• Once built to your liking, it is time to slide the pizza from the peel to the hot pizza stone. This can be tricky. You want to line the pizza up with the stone and make a quick pull back motion, so the pizza slides off.
  
• Depending on the heat output of your pellet grill, the pizza can be done in 10-20 minutes. A Traeger will take around 15-20 minutes and a Yoder will be more like 10-15 minutes. Keep your eye on the pizza at the halfway mark, you might have to rotate it to keep it baking evenly.
  
• Once the cheese and crust are golden, use your metal peel and remove from the grill. Put the pizza on a cutting board, and slice immediately.
  

Nutrition

Calories: 795kcal | Carbohydrates: 67g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 43g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 18g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 99mg | Sodium: 3390mg | Potassium: 586mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 501IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 253mg | Iron: 3mg