How To Make Stovetop Skillet Pizza
Serves4 to 6
Makes2 (10-inch) pizzas
Hot summer days are tough for a pizza-lover — especially if that pizza-lover doesn’t have a grill to take the pizza party outside. A few years back, my husband and I (both hardcore pizza devotees) started experimenting with stovetop pizzas to avoid turning our apartment into a sauna during the summer months, and this soon became a favorite technique.
Besides eliminating the need for a hot oven, stovetop pizzas are super fast and perfect for when you’re just making one or two personal pizzas. Here’s the method we’ve settled on as our favorite.
Tips For Making Stovetop Pizza
- Prep the dough and toppings ahead of time; it only takes 10 minutes to make a stovetop pizza.
- Stretch the dough to a 10-inch round so it is thin enough to cook through.
- Cook the crust on high heat, then flip and reduce the heat to medium.
- Cover the pan to make sure the cheese melts and the toppings get cooked.
High Heat, Then Medium Heat
The tricky part when cooking pizza on the stovetop is making sure the crust gets baked but doesn’t start to burn. Start with cooking the crust by itself on high heat, then flip and reduce the heat to medium. This should be enough to develop golden, toasty spots on both sides without tipping it over into burning. It’s fine to peek at the underside with a spatula and adjust the heat up or down as needed.
Cover the Pizza to Cook the Top
Once you’ve cooked the first side and flipped the pizza crust, then add the toppings. Cover the pan to make sure the cheese melts and the other toppings get warmed through. For a more traditional oven-baked pizza, with all the crispy bits, you can run the pizza under the broiler for a minute or two toward the end of cooking. Once the cheese has melted to your liking, the pizza is ready!
Make-Ahead Pizza Dinner for One or Two
Pizza, in general, is a great make-ahead dinner. You can prep everything, including the dough and toppings, and keep it all refrigerated until you’re ready to cook. With everything ready to go, actually cooking these stovetop pizzas takes 10 minutes, tops. It’s okay if the dough is still a little chilly from the fridge; it will still cook just fine!
I also think these stovetop pizzas are best suited for quick weeknight dinners for one or two! More than that, and I feel that one person would get stuck at the stove while everyone else at the party gets to chow down. No fun. For bigger parties, it’s best to stick to the oven or grilling methods for cooking pizza.
Tester’s Notes
Most pizza recipes insist you crank your oven as high as it will go, lest you serve a soggy slice. There is no way I’m doing that in the dog days of summer or when my oven is already occupied during a holiday baking marathon. Stovetop skillet pizza is the smart solution.
Some cooks using Kitchn’s original skillet pizza post wound up with burned bottoms and unmelted cheese. We hear you and have made some adjustments to ensure each stovetop pie you make is a success. Here are a few key updates for success.
- Stretch the dough to a 10-inch round and use a 12-inch skillet so the dough is thin enough to cook through.
- Maintain medium heat, rather than medium-high. This gives the crust a little extra time to cook through and develop a nice light golden-brown color. Once flipped, the first side will be the top of your pizza. Medium heat also means that once the pie is flipped and topped you can cover it until the cheese melts without risk of burning.
We also included optional instructions for broiling the pizza at the very end if you want a deeply golden crust with lots of browned and bubbling cheese, but you won’t be disappointed if you keep this a strictly stovetop affair.
— Patty, March 2018
How To Make Skillet Pizza on the Stovetop
Makes 2 (10-inch) pizzas
Serves 4 to 6
Nutritional Info
Ingredients
- 1 pound
pizza dough, at room temperature 1 hour
- 1 to 2 teaspoons
vegetable or olive oil
- 1/2 to 1 cup
pizza sauce
- 1 to 2 cups
shredded cheese, such as mozzarella
- 1 to 2 cups
toppings, like diced onions, diced peppers, cooked sausage, or any other favorite toppings
Equipment
10- to 12-inch skillet with a lid — cast iron, stainless steel, or nonstick
Flat spatula
Instructions
Prepare the toppings. Have the sauce, shredded cheese, and other toppings ready to go. Cook any raw toppings that you want cooked before assembling the pizza. Arrange all of the toppings within easy reach of the stove, where you'll be cooking the pizza.
Roll out the pizza dough. Divide the dough in half. Lightly flour your counter and then press or roll one piece of the dough into a round that's slightly smaller than the skillet you will be using -- you will need a 10 or 12-inch cast iron, stainless steel, or nonstick skillet.
Heat the skillet. Place the skillet over medium-high heat and add a teaspoon or two of the oil. You want just enough oil to slick the bottom of the pan. Heat until the oil is shimmering.
Cook the pizza for 1 minute. Transfer the round of pizza dough to the pan. Cook until you see large bubbles forming on top and the underside shows golden spots, about 1 minute. You can deflate the bubbles with the edge of your spatula — or leave them! They'll turn into crispy bits once you flip the pizza.
Flip the crust and add toppings. Use a flat spatula to flip the pizza dough. Immediately top with a few spoonfuls of sauce, a generous sprinkle of cheese, and other toppings.
Cover and reduce the heat to medium. Cover the skillet and reduce the heat to medium. This helps the cheese melt and prevents the bottom of the pizza from burning.
Cook the pizza for another 4 to 5 minutes. After 4 minutes, peek under the lid and see if the cheese has melted. Cover and continue cooking if needed; adjust the heat as needed to make sure the bottom gets golden-brown but doesn't burn. The pizza is ready as soon as the cheese has melted to your liking.
Transfer to a cutting board and enjoy! Transfer the pizza to a cutting board with the spatula and let it cool slightly before slicing and serving. Meanwhile, start cooking the other pizza with the remaining dough, sauce, and toppings.
Recipe Notes
For crispier pizza: If you'd like a more crispy, deeply golden top, run the pizza under the broiler for a minute or two at the end of cooking, until the top starts to develop toasted spots.