Grilled Corn Tomato and Pesto Pizza

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Grilled Corn, Tomato and Pesto Pizza features some of summer’s best produce! Topped with pesto, dollops of ricotta cheese, grilled corn, sweet tomatoes and fresh basil.

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Overhead photo of Grilled Corn, Tomato and Pesto Pizza with dollops of ricotta and fresh basil leaves.

I couldn’t let summer slip away without sharing a new grilled pizza recipe. Grilling pizza is my favorite way to make it especially in the summer. Turning the oven on to nearly 500 degree. when it’s 95 degrees outside is never a great idea. Aside from keeping the heat outside, grilling also gives the pizza great flavor and a nice, crispy crust!

I decided to make this Grilled Corn, Tomato and Pesto Pizza as a way to use some of the tomatoes and basil from my garden. Grilling our local Colorado corn and adding it to the pizza was a no brainer. There’s no better time to eat corn than in the summer.

Overhead photo of Grilled Corn, Tomato and Pesto Pizza with dollops of ricotta and fresh basil leaves.

The sauce for the grilled pizza is pesto. I generally prefer this to tomato sauce on pizza. There’s a lot of great recipes for fresh basil pesto out there if you’re feeling adventurous and want to make your own. If not, my go-to for store bought pesto is Blue Moose of Boulder Basil Pesto.

Overhead photo of Grilled Corn, Tomato and Pesto Pizza with dollops of ricotta and fresh basil leaves. A small bowl of pesto and basil leaves behind the pizza.

Ingredients For Grilled Corn Tomato and Pesto Pizza

  • pizza dough
  • corn
  • tomatoes
  • pesto
  • ricotta cheese
  • fresh basil
Overhead photo of a corner slice of Grilled Corn, Tomato and Pesto Pizza with dollops of ricotta and basil leaves.

How to Grill Pizza

  1. Make sure the grill grates are clean. You don’t want last nights’ burger remnants stuck to the crust. 
  2. Roll or or use your hands to stretch/shape the pizza dough on a sheet pan with a little olive oil. Flip it at least once so both sides are coated in oil. The oil keeps the dough from sticking to the pan, makes it easier to transfer onto the grill, ensures it won’t stick to the grill and gives you a crisp crust.
  3. Don’t make the pizza too big. The bigger it is the harder it is to transfer onto the grill. To be safe you can always divide the dough in half and make two smaller pizzas.
  4. Have your sauce and toppings prepped and organized. I like to have each ingredient in a separate bowl or divided out on a plate. Don’t use ingredients that need a lot of cooking time. For this pizza none of the ingredients need to be cooked and can even be applied after the pizza dough is cooked.
Closeup photo of Grilled Corn, Tomato and Pesto Pizza with dollops of ricotta and fresh basil.

How to Make Grilled Corn Tomato and Pesto Pizza

Slice the tomatoes and sprinkle with salt. Let them sit for about 10 minutes. The salt will draw out some of their juices so they don’t make the pizza soggy. Blot them with a paper towel before putting them on the pizza.

On a large sheet pan add a drizzle of olive oil. Use your hands to stretch and shape the dough into the size you want. Flip the dough once so that both sides are coated with olive oil.

Preheat grill to 475° F. Once the grill is hot place the fresh corn on and grill for about 6-8 minutes, turn it every couple minutes. Remove the corn from the grill, let it cool, then cut the kernels off of the cob. If you don’t want to bother with grilling the corn use defrosted frozen corn. I highly recommend fire roasted corn if you go this route. I’ve found it at both Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods.

Closeup photo of a corner slices of Grilled Corn, Tomato and Pesto Pizza with dollops of ricotta cheese and fresh basil.

Use your hands, a large spatula or a pizza peel to place the dough on the hot grill. Close the lid and grill the dough for 2-3 minutes. Use a spatula to flip the dough over and grill another 2-3 minutes or until puffy, browned and cooked through. 

Remove the crust from the grill and back onto the sheet pan. Spread pesto all over the top, then add dollops of ricotta cheese. Arrange the corn, tomato slices and basil leaves evenly over the pizza. Garnish with extra pesto if desired and serve.

Grilled Corn, Tomato and Pesto Pizza Pinterest Collage
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Grilled Corn, Tomato and Pesto Pizza

Prep: 15 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Grilled Corn, Tomato and Pesto Pizza features some of summer's best produce! Topped with pesto, dollops of ricotta cheese, grilled corn, sweet tomatoes and fresh basil.
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Ingredients 

  • 1 pound pizza dough
  • 2 ears of corn grilled and cut off the cob (may be replaced with 1/2 cup defrosted frozen corn)
  • 2-3 tomatoes sliced thin
  • 3 tablespoons pesto plus extra for garnish
  • 3/4 cup part skim ricotta cheese
  • Fresh basil leaves

Instructions 

  • Slice the tomatoes and sprinkle them with salt. Let them sit for about 10 minutes then blot them with a paper towel before putting them on the pizza.
  • On a large sheet pan or pizza stone add a drizzle of olive oil. Stretch and shape the dough into the size pizza you want flipping the dough once so both sides are coated with olive oil.
  • Preheat grill to 475-500ยฐ F. If using fresh corn, place it on and grill for 6-8 minutes, turning it every 2 minutes. Remove it from the grill and let it cool. Once cool enough to handle cut the kernels off of the cob.
  • Place the prepared pizza dough on the hot grill. Close the lid and grill the dough for 2-3 minutes. Use a spatula to flip the dough over and grill another 2-3 minutes or until puffy, browned and cooked through.ย 
  • Remove the crust from the grill and spread pesto all over the top, then add dollops of ricotta cheese. Arrange the corn, tomato slices and basil leaves evenly over the pizza. Garnish with extra pesto if desired and serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 460kcalCarbohydrates: 65gProtein: 16gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 515mgFiber: 4gSugar: 6g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Tried this? Leave a comment below!

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2 Comments

  1. shannon says:

    How would you go about making this without a grill?

  2. Elsie Funk says:

    This was delicious! Grilling the pizza dough made it so much better. We added some fresh mozzarella to the ricotta and it was perfect!