Cast Iron Margherita Pizza Recipe

A quick, easy and delicious trick for getting that brick oven style pizza at home! Use your cast iron skillet to make this tasty Cast Iron Margherita Pizza!

My love for good pizza runs deep! Everywhere we travel to, I always do a little research to see if they have a pizza place worth check out. From fast food pizza delivery, to Chicago deep dish style to wood-fired I’ve tried it all. And all along the way I’ve remained partial to a good Margherita pizza. From time to time I will stray, but really my heart belongs to that delicious crispy crust with tomato, fresh mozzarella and basil. I love a good wood-fired or brick oven crust, but it can be hard to replicate at home. Until now. Did you know you can get that crispy crust at home by using your oven and a cast iron skillet? Until a few days ago, I had no idea. Now I will be making this Cast Iron Margherita Pizza at home on a regular basis.

Sometimes I make my dough from scratch using my bread machine, but honestly, there are so many really good quality store bought options these days. I grabbed an herb and garlic variety from the freezer section and it was perfect for this pizza. I simply divided it in half to be the perfect size for my skillet and made one pizza. This pizza would serve two, so if you wanted to make a few pizzas in different varies, this is pretty quick and you could make a couple varieties to please everyone.

Skillet Margherita Polenta Pizza

One of the most important aspects of this pizza is the cheese, so I wanted to take a minute to discuss why I used the exact combo of cheese that I did. I LOVE fresh mozzarella and I think it’s super important to use here. BUT, too much and will make your pizza watery on top. So I used both some Italian cheese blend (shredded) as well as fresh to get all that fresh flavor but none of the watery stuff on top.

If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, they are inexpensive and a great investment. You can make so many delicious meals in a cast iron skillet!

Recipe: Skillet Pizza Margherita

Remember a few weeks ago when I shared this barbecue chicken pizza recipe? And I mentioned that we love to make homemade pizza in a cast iron skillet? Well, here’s that recipe! *cue loud cheering*

Why are we cheering? Because cast iron pizza is the best pizza! It’s easy to make, it has that camping-out vibe that we are obsessed with this time of year, and everything just tastes better in cast iron. See this cookie recipe and this fruit crumble recipe for proof.

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Sometimes I kinda hate turning on the oven in the summer, and further heating up the house – but cast iron pizza is my most consistent exception to that rule.

Margherita Pizza Dip

Let’s talk ingredients here – this cast iron margherita pizza has marinara sauce, fresh mozzarella cheese (YUM!), thin slices of tomato, some sausage, and it’s all topped off with fresh basil and a heavy sprinkle of parmesan. Ok, more like a tidal wave than a sprinkle, but hey – that’s the only way to do pizza.

I know this isn’t quite what a classic margherita pizza would have. But, I’m really big on using up the ingredients you have on hand, and we had some cooked sausage in the fridge that was begging to be given a new, more tasty home than the sad bottom of a tupperware container.

I’m also not really sure if a traditional margherita pizza would ever be made in a cast iron skillet, but it’s delicious so let’s just roll with it. ‘Kay? Kay.

Recipe: Cast Iron Margherita Pizza

Oh we should talk crust. This crust isn’t a deep dish, but it also isn’t a thin crust. It’s crispy on the edges, and delightfully soft everywhere else. You know how some pizza restaurants have “hand-tossed crust” as an option? That’s probably the best way to describe this. Hand-tossed and out-of-this-world!

Can we all agree to make this pizza and let our lives be changed, just a little bit, by it’s deliciousness? I promise I am not exaggerating here – it was SO HARD not to eat the whole pizza in one sitting once I took that first bite of pizza perfection.

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