Father's Day Grilled White Pizza

Father's Day weekend is upon us, and I have every intention of celebrating all of the wonderful Dads and Grandpa's in our lives, especially my sweet husband and his love of pizza!

This recipe is fantastic to make ahead and bring it out for a fun night with your kids, company or a breezy weeknight dinner that will make a long week feel a little bit shorter. This recipe will allow you some time to get outside and enjoy summer (for a little bit) after a long day of work! If I wasn't expecting, I would pair this pizza with a delicious, crips rosé or a light red like Pino Noir. You could prepare all aspects of this pizza in advance and store in the fridge until ready for use (highly recommended).

I love a homemade crust, but you can easily purchase two bags of pre-made pizza dough at your local grocery store. Jewel has a great pre-made dough right in the gourmet cheese section of the store. I used this recipe and made it in advance, I only let it rise 30 minutes and it turned out light and crispy! Here are the "cliffs notes" from @kitchn.

Dough Ingredients (if making from scratch)

1 2/3 cups WARM water

2 tsp active dry or instant yeast

1/4 cup olive oil

5 cups all-purpose flour (plus 1/4 cup for rolling)

2 teaspoons salt

Dough Instructions

Pour the yeast and warm water in the bowl of your stand mixer for two minutes and let dissolve. Making sure your dough hook is attached, add the olive oil and salt. Then add flour in cup by cup with the mixer on low. Let the dough need in the mixer for 6-8 minutes or do it by hand on your counter. I suppose you could do this in a bowl with out a stand mixer but if you have one, I say make your life easier and use it! :)

Let rise for 30 minutes or longer (up to 1.5 hrs). Split in half and roll out into a circular shape on a flour covered counter top when ready for use.

When you are ready, roll out the dough and brush the top side with olive oil. Place on a pizza pan, oil side up.

Pizza Topping

Purchase pre cooked, shredded chicken or grill a couple chicken breasts yourself, like I did. I simply seasoned them with Italian seasoning. Like I said, you can do all of this in advance and place in containers until you are ready for grilling! You can use white or red sauce, or even a simple olive oil. We like it all! We always use whole milk mozzarella cheese as part skim does NOT melt properly. I like to use a combo of a ball of mozzarella (like Bell Gioioso), it is fresh and requires you to grate it yourself, along with a bag of shredded, whole milk Mozzarella.

Pizza Topping Ingredients

1lb grilled, shredded chicken (or precooked, shredded from the deli)

2 8oz Mozzarella Cheese Balls

1 5oz bag of shredded parmesan cheese

1 8oz bag of Shredded Mozzarella cheese

6 fresh basil leaves

1/2 finely diced red onion

White pizza sauce (or olive oil if you prefer!) See below for recipe

2 tbsp olive oil (to brush on dough for the grill)

Pizza Topping Instructions:

Put the shredded chicken, grated mozzarella, diced onion and white pizza sauce in separate bowls and get ready to bring it outside along with both prepared pizza rounds on sheet pans.

White Pizza Sauce

I used a variation of this recipe for the sauce, changed it up a bit for a creamier sauce! You can also purchase white pizza sauce from the grocery store.

3tbsp Butter

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1tsp Italian seasoning

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 1/4 cup 2% reduced-fat milk

1/2 cup (2 ounces) parmesan cheese

Make a roux by adding the butter to a saucepan, melt completely. Add minced garlic until fragrant, for about 15-30 seconds. Then add the flour a tablespoon at a time, sprinkling evenly, while stirring rapidly to avoid chunks from forming. Add in the pepper, salt and Italian seasoning. Then add the milk 1/4 cup at a time while beating rapidly on medium heat. When all the milk has been added and the sauce starts to thicken, remove from heat and add the cheese.

Grilling The Pizza (the final step!)

Bring all of your ingredients outside near your grill, being organized is a key step in this recipe because the pizza cooks in about 5-6 minutes.

Grilling Instructions:

1. Turn on the grill to medium heat, letting preheat for 10-15 minutes.

2. CAREFULLY brush the grates of your grill with olive oil using a paper towel, once you are ready for use.

3. Turn down the grill to medium-low heat, flip the olive oil brushed side of the pizza dough onto the grill and start a timer for 2-3 minutes. Grill marks should appear after 2 minutes, keep a close eye so the crust doesn't burn (unless you like that sort of thing).

4. Remove the crust from the grill using a large spatula, flipping the un-grilled side DOWN on your grill pan, your toppings will be placed on the GRILLED side of the pizza.

5. Immediately spread half the bowl of the white pizza sauce on the grilled side of the pizza. Reserve other half for second pizza.

6. Sprinkle 1 tbsp diced onions sparingly (for a mellow flavor), or go crazy if you love onions.

7. Sprinkle 1/2 cup shredded parmesan cheese, 1 cup fresh mozzarella and 1 cup shredded mozzarella.

8. Add 1 cups of diced chicken to the top of the pizza.

9. Carefully place un-grilled side of the pizza back on the grill for an additional 3 minutes on medium-low heat. You don't want the crust to burn, and essentially are just melting the cheese and adding grill marks.

10. Top pizza with fresh basil.

Feel free to adjust the measurements as this recipe is all about making the pizza yours! You can add less (or more) cheese, remove the onions, or add something else you like. You can make it all from scratch, or you can purchase it all pre-made from the grocery store. Try this technique using your favorite toppings. I often use olive oil, cheese and prosciutto topped with fresh basil for a lighter pizza.

Grilled pizza is a delicious summer meal that takes only a few minutes to cook, being prepared is key!

Happy Father's Day!