This blackstone pizza brings crisp edges, gooey cheese, and plenty of topping room to the griddle for a mighty satisfying meal.
This blackstone pizza has everything you want when pizza night rolls around: a golden, crisp bottom, a pleasantly chewy center, bubbling mozzarella, bright tomato sauce, and pepperoni with little curled edges that catch just enough heat to become flavorful and lightly crisp!
It cooks right on your outdoor griddle, so you can skip heating up your kitchen and enjoy that wonderful smell of warm bread, toasted cheese, garlic, and oregano drifting through your backyard while everyone suddenly finds a reason to stand near you.
Ingredients
For Pizza Dough
- 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water, about 105°F to 110°F
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon instant yeast
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour, about 300 grams, plus more as needed
- 1 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 teaspoons olive oil, plus a little for greasing your bowl
For Quick Pizza Sauce
- 2/3 cup canned crushed tomatoes
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small garlic clove, finely grated
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes, optional
- Pinch of ground black pepper
For Topping
- 8 ounces low-moisture whole-milk mozzarella, freshly shredded
- 3 ounces pepperoni, approximately 36 to 40 small slices
- 1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, torn
- 1 teaspoon olive oil for griddle surface, divided
- 1 tablespoon olive oil for finishing crust
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- Pinch of dried parsley or Italian seasoning, optional
How to Make Blackstone Pizza
Pour warm water into a large mixing bowl, sprinkle in sugar and yeast, and stir gently until sugar begins dissolving.
Let this mixture stand for about 5 minutes, especially if you are unsure whether your yeast is fresh. You should see a few bubbles or a light foamy layer beginning to form.
Water should feel pleasantly warm rather than hot because overly hot water can damage yeast, while cold water will make you wonder whether dough plans to rise sometime before next Tuesday!
Add bread flour, salt, and 2 teaspoons olive oil, then stir with a sturdy spoon until a shaggy dough forms and no large pockets of dry flour remain.
Turn dough onto a lightly floured counter and knead for 7 to 9 minutes, pressing it forward with heel of your hand, folding it back, and turning it slightly after each push.
Dough will begin slightly rough and sticky, but it should gradually become smooth, stretchy, and only faintly tacky.
Add extra flour one tablespoon at a time only when dough clings heavily to your hands or counter. Do not bury it beneath flour just because it feels a little sticky, since too much flour creates a dense crust instead of a tender, airy one.
Shape dough into a smooth ball, place it inside a lightly oiled bowl, turn it once so every side receives a thin coating, and cover bowl with plastic wrap or a clean damp towel.
Leave it in a warm area for 60 to 90 minutes, until dough appears nearly doubled in size.
Look for a soft, puffy appearance rather than watching a timer alone because yeast works faster in a warm room and takes longer when your kitchen feels cool.
While dough rises, stir crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, olive oil, grated garlic, oregano, salt, sugar, crushed red pepper, and black pepper together in a small bowl. Taste a tiny spoonful and make a small adjustment if needed.
Canned tomatoes vary in acidity, so add another pinch of sugar only when sauce tastes noticeably sharp. Keep sauce fairly thick, and resist pouring in water because moisture is not your friend during this quick griddle cook.
Place pepperoni slices on a clean, cool section of your Blackstone, switch burner underneath to medium-low, and cook pepperoni for 30 to 45 seconds per side once surface reaches approximately 325°F. You are not trying to turn every slice into a chip.
You only want fat to begin rendering and edges to darken slightly. Transfer pepperoni to a paper towel-lined plate, scrape griddle clean, switch off all burners, and let cooking surface cool before placing raw dough onto it.
Blackstone specifically recommends precooking pepperoni because pizza cooks too quickly to heat and crisp it properly when added straight from its package.
Once dough has risen, press it gently to release large gas pockets, divide it into two equal portions, and shape each portion into a ball. Cover one ball while you work with another so its surface does not dry out.
Press first ball into a thick disk on a lightly floured counter, then stretch it gradually into a 10-inch circle. Use your fingertips to press from center outward while leaving a slightly thicker border around its edge.
If dough keeps snapping back, cover it and let it rest for 10 minutes before trying again. Resting relaxes gluten, which is far easier than arguing with dough and losing!
Poke stretched dough lightly with a fork across its center, leaving outer 1/2-inch border untouched. These small holes help stop large bubbles from lifting your pizza away from griddle.
Do not attack dough with your fork or pierce it so aggressively that it begins looking like a kitchen colander. A few evenly spaced holes are enough.
Make sure griddle is switched off and cool enough that oil does not smoke when it touches surface.
Spread about 1/2 teaspoon olive oil across an area slightly larger than your dough, then carefully place stretched dough onto that area.
Straighten its edges immediately with your fingertips or spatula because once cooking begins, its shape is officially committed. Switch burner underneath to medium-low and allow exposed griddle surface near pizza to climb gradually toward 325°F to 350°F.
Blackstone notes that most griddle cooking works well from approximately 300°F to 400°F, and an infrared thermometer provides a much safer reading than guessing with your hand.
Cook first side for 4 to 6 minutes, rotating dough a quarter turn after about 2 minutes so hot spots do not create one dark patch. Slide your spatula underneath several areas and check often.
You want an even golden-brown base with a few deeper toasted marks, while top should look dry rather than glossy and raw. If bottom darkens before top firms, reduce burner immediately or move dough toward a cooler section.
Blackstone burners can vary with outdoor temperature, wind, and griddle size, so your eyes and nose matter just as much as a timer. When you smell toasted bread rather than raw flour, you are close!
Slide two wide spatulas under crust and flip it carefully, keeping cooked side facing upward.
Work quickly but calmly from this point. Sprinkle approximately 1 cup mozzarella directly over cooked side, leaving a narrow border, then spoon about 1/3 cup sauce over cheese in small patches and gently spread it without pressing hard.
Cheese goes first because it forms a protective layer between sauce and crust, which helps keep your pizza crisp. Arrange half of your precooked pepperoni on top and finish with half of Parmesan.
Cover pizza with a large basting dome and continue cooking over medium-low heat for 3 to 5 minutes.
Check bottom after first 90 seconds, rotate pizza, and reduce burner to low if crust is coloring faster than cheese melts.
If bottom looks ready but cheese still needs another minute, move pizza onto a warming rack or cooler section, cover it again, and allow trapped heat to finish melting cheese.
A dome helps hold heat around pizza, creating a small oven-like space above griddle, but avoid splashing water beneath it because excess steam can soften your carefully browned crust.
Blackstone suggests using a dome and warns that too much added water can make pizza soggy.
Your pizza is ready when mozzarella looks fully melted with a few gentle bubbles, pepperoni edges have curled slightly, sauce is hot, and bottom feels crisp when you lift it with a spatula.
Transfer pizza to a cutting board and let it rest for 3 minutes. This brief pause allows cheese to settle so it stays on each slice instead of sliding away in one heroic sheet when you take your first bite.
Stir remaining tablespoon olive oil with garlic powder and dried parsley, then brush this mixture lightly around hot outer crust.
Add torn basil, slice pizza into six pieces, and repeat entire cooking process with second dough ball, allowing griddle surface to cool before placing fresh dough down.
Since your equipment is already arranged and your toppings are waiting, second pizza usually comes together much faster!
Serving Suggestions
Serve this blackstone pizza straight from your cutting board with a crisp Caesar salad, chopped Italian salad, or simple bowl of arugula dressed with lemon juice and olive oil.
Fresh greens provide a cool, peppery contrast to hot cheese and crisp pepperoni.
For a larger backyard meal, add Blackstone-cooked chicken wings, garlic butter mushrooms, grilled zucchini, or charred bell peppers. You can cook vegetables before starting your pizza, then keep them warm on a cooler side of your griddle.
For dipping, warm a little remaining pizza sauce and serve it beside garlic ranch, hot honey, or crushed red pepper flakes. A drizzle of hot honey over pepperoni creates a sweet-spicy finish that disappears very quickly, so consider making enough to prevent negotiations at your table!
Once you learn how quickly crust browns, how little sauce you truly need, and exactly when to move pizza away from a hot spot, this Blackstone Pizza becomes one of those recipes people start requesting before your griddle has even cooled!
Serve it while cheese is still stretchy, scatter fresh basil over every bubbling slice, and prepare yourself for that glorious little silence that happens when everyone takes their first bite at once!
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