Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza Recipe Cast Iron Skillet

This is a deep and hearty and meaty pizza. Use the homemade pizza sauce recipe included or feel free to use a store-bought pizza sauce. For those wanting even more meat, a layer of pepperoni would be very nice in this pizza, as well.

There’s lots to love about this Chicago Style Pizza. This deep dish pizza has lots of cheese and sausage and its topped off with a great pizza sauce and Parmesan cheese. And there’s the easy homemade crust, sturdy enough to hold all the fillings and it cooks up perfectly in the cast iron skillet.

Cast

Mozzarella – any block mozzarella will work fine here, though I’m partial to the low-moisture pizza mozzarella, for the best cheese pulls.

How To Make The Best Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

Pizza Sauce – I have included a recipe for a homemade sauce, which is delicious for this pizza. That said, if you are in a hurry, you can replace it with a nice, store-bought pizza sauce. Just note that you will need a good bit, so count on about 2 cups worth.

Sausage – I generally use Mild Italian Sausage, but you can use Hot, if you like a spicy pizza. Or, maybe a mixture of both. As you like.

Note 1: To make your own pizza sauce. Drain a 28 oz. can of whole plum tomatoes. Crush the tomatoes with a fork or your hands, leaving them just a little chunky. In a saucepan, heat a little olive oil. Add some diced onion (about 1/4 cup) and cook until softened. Add a couple of cloves of minced garlic. Add the tomatoes. Season with some dried oregano, basil , salt and pepper. Simmer on a low heat, stirring often for at least 15 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool at room temperature until needed.

Chicago Style Deep Dish Skillet Pizza — Plate And Pen

Be sure to read the “Ingredient and Cook's Notes (above the recipe card!), where I share more detailed tips, variations and substitution suggestions for this recipe!

Calories: 295 kcal , Carbohydrates: 28 g , Protein: 14 g , Fat: 14 g , Saturated Fat: 6 g , Cholesterol: 33 mg , Sodium: 650 mg , Potassium: 291 mg , Fiber: 2 g , Sugar: 5 g , Vitamin A: 554 IU , Vitamin C: 4 mg , Calcium: 264 mg , Iron: 2 mg

Perogies meet pizza in this sliced potato-topped pizza, spiced with jalapeno and topped with bacon, green onion and lots of cheese. Serve with sour cream.

Dan O's Veggie & Sausage Homemade Chicago Style Pizza Recipe

Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza – It’s easy to make classic thick-crust pan pizza at home with a cast iron skillet. Use homemade or store-bought dough, load with your favorite toppings, bake, and enjoy!

Our classic crock pot version (you read that right) of this recipe has long been a reader favorite. It’s pretty great because the slow steaming makes the pizza crust super

However, this Cast Iron Deep Dish Pizza recipe is faster to make, and just as tasty. Cooking the pizza in a cast iron skillet also creates

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza (skillet Recipe)

We’re big fans of traditional Chicago pizza traditionally loaded with cheese and sausage on the bottom, and a thick tomato sauce on top. However, you can add any toppings you like to this cast iron pizza!

Feel free to include a variety of cooked meats (like pepperoni and ham), or make as a vegetarian pizza recipe with lots of chopped veggies. Or do a combo of both! Even an all-cheese pizza is terrific, if you prefer.

With readymade dough (homemade or store-bought) the Chicago deep-dish pizza recipe takes only about an hour to prepare and bake. So any night of the week is great for a family pizza party!

Legit As I Can Get Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

First, set out a large 12-14 inch deep cast iron skillet. Brush the skillet with olive oil, then sprinkle the bottom with cornmeal. Flour a clean work surface and roll the pizza dough out into a circle, 2 inches wider than the bottom of the skillet. (So a 14-inch circle for a 12-inch skillet.)

Chicago

Move the crust to the skillet and press the dough around the sides of the skillet. Let it rest while you make the sauce.

Set a separate skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage and break it apart with a wooden spoon as it browns. Once cooked, turn off the heat and set aside.

Deep Dish Skillet Pizza Casserole

Make the pizza sauce: Set a medium saucepot over medium heat. Add the butter, chopped onion, and garlic. Sauté for 3-4 minutes to soften. Then add in the crushed tomatoes, Italian seasoning, sugar, and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Our favorite filling for the ‘za is browned sausage, but you can also use or add pepperoni, chopped ham, pieces of Canadian bacon, crispy crumbled bacon, cooked sliced chicken… Or just about any cooked protein you prefer!

Along with your meat (if using) before adding to the pizza. If you add them raw they will release moisture into the filling and make the crust soggy.

Deep Dish Pizza

Leftover cast iron pizza will keep well for up to 3 days in the refrigerator. Let the leftovers cool completely before transferring to an airtight container or wrapping in plastic cling wrap. Pieces can be microwaved, but I highly suggest that you reheat them in the oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes or so.

It's easy to make classic thick crust Chicago style pan pizza at home with a cast iron skillet. Use homemade or store bought dough, load with your favorite toppings, bake and enjoy!

We love our homemade pizza dough, but the store-bought refrigerated dough balls (usually found in the deli section) work great as well! You can also use the frozen dough balls in the freezer section. Just be sure to thaw them in the fridge overnight the day before using.

How To Make Deep Dish Pizza For Pizzeria Flavors At Home

Serving: 1 pc , Calories: 684 kcal , Carbohydrates: 51 g , Protein: 31 g , Fat: 41 g , Saturated Fat: 13 g , Polyunsaturated Fat: 4 g , Monounsaturated Fat: 13 g , Trans Fat: 1 g , Cholesterol: 81 mg , Sodium: 1775 mg , Potassium: 615 mg , Fiber: 4 g , Sugar: 12 g , Vitamin A: 623 IU , Vitamin C: 14 mg , Calcium: 192 mg , Iron: 5 mgChicago-style deep dish pizza is where the crust has a high edge and the pizza is filled generously with cheese and “toppings.” It’s a delicious and filling style of pizza and has been around since the early to mid-1900s!

I take my Chicago-style deep dish pizza very seriously. When I lived in Chicago I ate at just about every deep dish parlor and had strong opinions about all of them (as one should!).

I brought my love of deep dish pizza into my kitchen before I even left the windy city, and make this pie at least a few times a year! It’s one of my favorites for large gatherings as it is always a big hit and everyone leaves satisfied and with full bellies!

Crescent Roll Deep Dish Pizza

These days I use vegan mozzarella, but the dough is the same! And if it sits a bit lighter in my stomach, well, I’m certainly not going to complain and miiiiight just have an extra slice!

Chicago-style deep dish pizza is all about the crust. Get the crust down and you’re basically golden! Cause the crust bakes up golden… get it? ………….

It should be thick enough to support generous amounts of filling, cheese, and sauce. The crust should be buttery tasting and tender enough to cut with a butter knife.

Deep

Deep Dish Chicago Style Pizza

The dough is flavorful due to long ferment times, meaning this isn’t a recipe you can throw together in just a couple of hours. Though, I mean, the cooking time along kinda prevents that!

It’s worth every second though, and a little planning ahead either in the morning or the night before means you’ll have an easy pizza dinner!

Working from bottom to top, Chicago-style deep dish should have crust followed by a mixture of mozzarella and “toppings.” Of course here, the toppings are really the filling/stuffing. Then we have the sauce, which needs to be thick and not watery, because we can’t have a soggy pizza! Finally (and optionally) some parmesan sprinkled on top to finish the pie off!

Chicago Style Deep Dish “muffaletta” Pizzas

For deep dish pizza you need: all purpose flour, water, oil, yeast, sugar, salt, and this last one is optional–cream of tartar.

A lot of people are under the impression that deep dish pizza contains cornmeal. This is just not true, at least not for traditional Chicago-style deep dish.

Traditionally corn oil is used to make deep dish pizza (probably because Illinois is land of the corn), and the faint taste of corn is likely from the choice of oil.

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza Recipe • The Curious Chickpea

The second ingredient that may surprise you is cream of tartar. This is optional but works to slow down the proliferation of yeast. Slower yeast = slower rise = more flavor!