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An easy homemade Chicago-style, deep dish pizza in a cast iron skillet.

Deep Dish Skillet Pizza Casserole

This Deep Dish Skillet Pizza Casserole is a thick crust, Chicago-style pan pizza that is easy to make and is absolutely loaded with tangy pizza sauce and all your favorite pizza toppings.
5 from 1 vote
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Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: comfort food
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 8 slices
Calories: 574kcal
Author: Stacey | SouthernDiscourse.com

Ingredients

Homemade Pizza Crust

  • 1 ½ cups all purpose flour (¼ cup extra)
  • ¼ cup cornmeal (plus extra for dusting)
  • 1 tablespoon rapid rise yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup warm water
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil

Homemade Pizza Sauce

  • 28 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Pizza Toppings

  • 16 ounces ground Italian ground sausage
  • 6 ounces sliced pepperoni
  • 10 ounces shredded whole mozzarella
  • ¼ cup shredded parmesan

Instructions

Crust:

  • Use a fork to mix together the crust's dry ingredients. Add the warm water and and olive oil. Use a mixer and kneading arm to mix the ingredients until a soft dough ball is formed.
    Transfer the soft dough ball into a well-oiled metal or glass bowl and cover with a dish towel for about 45 minutes.
  • While dough is rising, preheat oven to 425℉, brown sausage, grate cheese and make sauce.

Sauce:

  • In a medium sauce pan over medium low heat, add all of the sauce ingredients and stir to combine until the sauce is warm and bubbly. Add sauce to browned sausage and mix together. Set aside.

Pizza:

  • Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to a 10-12 inch cast iron skillet. Use a paper towel to oil the bottom and sides of the skillet. Dust the bottom and up the side of the skillet with cornmeal. Add a little garlic powder and dried parsley for extra flavor, if desired.
  • Lightly dust the dough ball with flour. Remove from the bowl and place dough ball in the center of the skillet. Use your fingers to gently push the dough out towards the edges and half way up the sides of the skillet.
  • Layer:
    -½ of the grated mozzarella in the bottom of the crust.
    -½ of the meat & sauce mixture.
    -15-20 pepperoni slices
    -½ of the remaining mozzarella
    -all of the remaining meat mixture
    -15-20 pepperoni slices
    -remaining mozzarella cheese + the parmesan
    The pizza filling should completely fill the crust to the top its edge.
  • Bake uncovered in preheated oven on the bottom rack for 30-35 minutes. Check pizza around 20 minutes, if crust edges are getting too brown, cover with foil and continue to bake. Remove from oven. Allow to stand for 5-10 minutes before slicing.

Notes

    • If your dough is too sticky to make a soft ball, then add ¼ cup of flour a little at a time until the texture is pillow-like. Adding too much flour will make the dough stiff.
    • Dusting the skillet with cornmeal adds texture and flavor to the crust. It also helps to keep the dough from sticking to the pan.
    • I always sprinkle a little bit of garlic salt and dried parsley in the bottom of the skillet along with the cornmeal for a more flavorful pizza crust.
    • If you want fabulously melted cheese with that crave-able pizza cheese pull, you are going to have to shred/grate your own mozzarella cheese.
    • To avoid having a soggy pizza, bake your pizza as soon as you assemble it and be careful of adding too many veggies with a high water content.
    • Serve with a few red pepper flakes for added heat.

Nutrition

Calories: 574kcal | Carbohydrates: 32g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 38g | Sodium: 1393mg | Sugar: 6g