Grilled Scallion and Eggplant Pizza Recipe

Grilling pizza at home is one of the best ways to achieve a crisp, blistered crust and fast cooking times. A charcoal or wood fire reaches far higher temperatures than most home ovens, producing a texture and smoky flavor that mimics a traditional wood-fired pizza. For this Grilled Spring Onion and Eggplant Pizza with Goat Cheese, I grilled the vegetables first so they could contribute smoky, caramelized layers of flavor to the finished pie.

The first bite exceeded my expectations. The sweet, slightly charred spring onions paired with tender, smoky eggplant and tangy goat cheese create a balanced, irresistible combination.

These are red spring onions, which are available year-round but peak from February through June. Harvested young, their green stems offer a scallion-like bite while the bulbs have a sweet, red-onion character. I sliced the larger bulbs lengthwise; if your spring onions are small, you can leave them whole.

To develop good color and flavor, grill the vegetables directly over the heat source on both sides until they show deep grill marks and are cooked through.

I don’t always make dough from scratch—even though it’s worth the effort—because homemade dough adds time. For busy evenings I keep Trader Joe’s par-baked pizza crusts in the freezer. They’re barely cooked, still dough-like, and heat up quickly on the grill. If you prefer to make your own dough, that’s excellent: grill one side of the stretched dough before adding toppings so it firms up and gets a charred base.

When the dough and vegetables are ready, layer shredded mozzarella, chopped grilled spring onions, sliced eggplant, and small dollops of goat cheese on the crust. Return the pizza to the grill until the crust is cooked through and the cheese is melted and bubbling.

Grilled Spring Onion and Eggplant Pizza

Author: Justin McChesney-Wachs

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Prep 10 minutes mins

Cook 25 minutes mins

Total 35 minutes mins

Elevate your pizza with grilled spring onions and eggplant—the grill adds crisp crust and wood-fired flavor in minutes.

Servings 2 10″ pizzas

Course Main

Cuisine Italian

Ingredients

• 1 bunch spring onions roots cut off and sliced lengthwise if onions are larger
• 1 eggplant sliced crosswise into 1/2″ pieces
• olive oil
• salt & pepper
• 2 10 ” pizza crusts
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella
• goat cheese

Instructions

1. Heat the grill to high. Brush eggplant slices with a generous amount of olive oil on both sides and drizzle the spring onions with olive oil. Place the vegetables directly over the flame and grill until they are nicely charred and tender.
2. Coarsely chop the grilled spring onions and slice the eggplant into strips for easier topping.
3. Shape the pizza dough to your desired size and place it on a pizza peel or board dusted with cornmeal. To make transferring easier, you can place the dough on a corn-meal-dusted sheet of parchment. Brush one side of the dough with olive oil, then place that oiled side directly on the grill. Cover and cook 2–3 minutes, until the crust firms and develops color.
4. Using tongs, transfer the crust back to the peel with the grilled side up. Layer on shredded mozzarella, the chopped spring onions, eggplant strips, and small dabs of goat cheese. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Slide the assembled pizza back onto the grill and cook about 5 minutes more, until the cheese melts and the dough is cooked through.
6. Remove from the grill, adjust seasoning if needed, slice, and serve immediately.

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