Upgrade Your Lackluster Frozen Pizzas By Throwing Them On The Grill

On busy weeknights when you're short on time and energy, nothing beats a frozen pizza for a quick, crowd-pleasing meal. Yet, oftentimes quick and frozen can taste a bit underwhelming and mediocre. If you find your basic, oven-cooked frozen pie to be a little dull, try grilling it, instead. The intense heat of the grill will result in a delicious charred flavor and the perfect crispy crust, not to mention the cheese bubbles and melts flawlessly. As a bonus, grilling is also a great way to keep the heat out of the kitchen, which is exactly what you want on those hot summer nights.

While people have cooked pizza in wood-fired ovens for centuries to deliver a smoky flavor to their pie, grilled pizza is a newer concept, catching on in the 1990's. It's hard to pinpoint who grilled the first pizza, but George Germon, the late founder of long-standing Al Forno restaurant in Rhode Island, is often credited with popularizing grilled pizza. Germon discovered that grilling a pizza can deliver tremendous nuanced flavor, as much as a wood-fired pizza oven, and his customers agreed.

While you can also make mouthwatering pizza from scratch on the grill, you can save time by grilling a frozen pizza instead. With a few helpful tips you can upgrade your store-bought za into a charred, restaurant-worthy, pie in no time.

Making a tasty grilled pie starts with choosing the best type of frozen pizza. Thin to medium crust pizza tends to work better on the grill since thicker crusts take longer to cook and therefore are easier to burn. Also, stick with a standard 10 to 12 inch pizza so it fits nicely on the grill and avoid pizzas with overloaded toppings that risk falling off.

If using a gas grill, preheat your grill (for about 15 minutes), then place the pizza directly on the grates or on a pizza stone and close the lid. For a standard size, thin to medium crust pizza it will only take about 10 to 12 minutes to cook. Some spots on the grill may be hotter than others so it's advised to turn the pizza after five minutes or halfway through cooking.

Charcoal grills will add more smoky flavor to your pizza. When grilling with charcoal, it's best to use a two-zone charcoal arrangement, cooking the pizza on both direct and indirect heat. Arrange the lit charcoals on one side of the grill, then place the pizza so that half of it is over the charcoal (the direct heat) and close the lid. Turn the pizza every five minutes or so to ensure it cooks evenly. When the cheese is fully melted and the crust looks crispy and charred, use a large spatula or pizza peel to remove your perfectly grilled pizza, let cool, and enjoy.

Before you start grilling, don't forget to try out some budget-friendly hacks to elevate frozen pizza, like adding a tad more cheese and fresh veggies, or brushing butter on the crust. Boost the flavor with a drizzle of barbecue sauce, ranch, or hot honey which can single handedly save your mediocre pizza. If you're worried about the toppings falling off into the grill and you want more flavorful veggies, a useful tip is to grill your veggies (tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, onions) before adding them to your pizza. Using skewers, simply grill your veggies alongside your pizza, then, after you've removed the pizza from the grill, add the tasty grilled veggies on top.

Another helpful suggestion is to use a pizza stone when you grill your frozen pizza. A pizza stone is a thick slab of ceramic or stone that you can cook pizza on in the oven or grill (not all pizza stones are grill-safe so make sure to check the specifications before using one on the grill). Pizza stones are designed to retain heat, helping to crisp up the bottom of your pizza and deliver a delicious golden-brown crust. They also make it easy to maneuver your pizza on and off the grill. If you choose to use a pizza stone, set it on top of a cold, unlit grill, then preheat the grill with the stone on it, allowing it to heat up before placing your pizza on top.