Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza Recipe - Chisel & Fork (2024)

Loaded with pepperoni, sausage, peppers, cheese and then topped with a homemade tomato sauce, this Chicago-style deep dish pizza recipe will have you thinking you're at Lou Malnati's.

Ahh the age-old debate - Chicago-style vs. New York style pizza. The biggest differences lie in the crust. New York pizza is known for thin, crispy crust topped with a thin layer of tomato sauce, cheese and assorted toppings while Chicago-style pizza features a thick crust with an inch-deep smothering of tomato sauce, cheese and toppings.

And most people have a favorite. However I am not one of those people. I love all pizzas and can't really pick one over the other. One thing I will say though is a deep dish pizza is much more filling.

So what brought about this pizza recipe? Well would you believe that I didn't have my first deep dish pizza until I was 28.

Yes you heard that right. Growing up I wasn't the biggest fan of tomato sauce so I would never order a pizza where it seemed to have more sauce that cheese. Luckily my pickiness subsided, but I still had never a Chicago-style deep dish pizza.

That was until I had to go to Chicago for work. I knew before even going I was going to try a deep dish pizza. And if you do your research, the most famous options are Lou Malnati's and Giordano's.

I decided to go with Lou Malnati's and I wasn't disappointed. I ended up ordering a pizza with peppers, sausage, garlic and pepperoni. After finishing it, I knew I had to come up with my own version.

And that's what brings about today's deep dish pizza recipe. With the same ingredients as my first ever deep dish, this pizza lives up to the hype.

The crust is a little more buttery than a regular pizza crust and it works perfectly with this. So if you've never made a Chicago-style pizza or you have but haven't had one in a while, give this a try.

Recipe Ingredients

• Active dry yeast - helps the dough rise.
• All-purpose flour - gives that chewy texture.
• Cornmeal - adds a little extra flavor to the pizza dough.
• Sugar - adds a slight sweetness.
• Unsalted butter - deep dish pizza dough has butter.
• Olive oil and canola oil - gets the dough to the right consistency.
• Sweet onion, garlic, basil - the base of flavor for the sauce.
• Crush tomatoes - diced tomatoes or tomato sauce works as well.
• Tomato paste - adds a richer tomato sauce.
• Salt, oregano, crushed red pepper - enhances the flavor of the sauce.
• Mild Italian sausage - spicy sausage works too.
• Green bell pepper - can also use red bell peppers.
• Pepperoni - just another flavor.
• Mozzarella - low-moisture is key.
• Parmesan - freshly grated is the only way to go.

How to Make a Deep Dish Pizza

1. In mixing bowl, combine yeast and warm water. Mix and then let sit for 10 minutes until foamy. (You want water temperature to be between 105°F and 110°F to activate the yeast)
2. Add flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, melted butter, olive oil and canola oil.
3. Mix on medium speed with the dough hook attachment for about 8 minutes. You might need to add more flour or some water, depending on consistency. The dough should bounce back when pressed and not stick to the sides of the bowl. You can also knead with your hands on a floured surface until dough comes together.
4. Rub the same bowl with a little bit of olive oil and place dough in bowl, turning to coat it. Cover with saran wrap and a towel in a warm place, allowing it to rise for at least 45 min or until the dough doubles in size. (I always just place on top of oven as I’m heating it up at same time) Use when ready to bake your pizza.
5. While dough is rising, heat olive oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper flakes and cook for another minute. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste and basil and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for about 35-40 minutes, until the sauce is slightly reduced and thick. Season with salt if needed.
6. Preheat oven to 425°F. With about 10 minutes left before dough is ready, in mediumskillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add sausage and break up with wooden spoon. Add green bell pepper and cook until sausage is browned and pepper is starting to brown. Set aside.

See Also

31 Easy Phyllo Dough RecipesQuick and Easy Stromboli Recipe - The Recipe CriticCaputo Gluten Free Flour: Review & RecipesCrinkle Phyllo Easy Spanakopita Recipe

7. Once dough is ready, place on a floured surface and roll out into a 12 inch circle. Coat bottom and sides ofskilletwith melted butter. Press the dough onto the bottom and up the sides of a 10 inch cash ironskillet. You want the dough to go up about 1 ½ inches up the side. If it’s too much, then trim the excess with a knife. Brush the top of the edges of the crust with butter.
8. Layer the bottom of the pizza with the mozzarella cheese.
9. Add a second layer of pepperoni.
10. Add a third layer of the sausage/pepper mixture.
11. Add about 1 ¼ cups of tomato sauce so it evenly covers meat and cheese. You don’t want too much, otherwise it will be runny. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan cheese.
12. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and filling is set. You may have to cover crust with aluminum foil about halfway through if it’s browning too quickly. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes.

What is in a Deep Dish Pizza?

It's a thickpizzabaked in a pan and layered with cheese, fillings like meat and vegetables, and sauce, in that order. The crust is more buttery than typical pizza crust.

When Did Deep Dish Pizza Originate?

It is generally accepted that the first deep-dish pizza appeared atPizzeria Unoin 1943. Even though most people attribute the pizza’s origins to the owners Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo, a 1956Chicago Daily Newsarticle suggests that it was Uno's original pizza chef, Rudy Malnati, who created the recipe. Alas we may never truly know.

Pro Tips/Recipe Notes

A cast iron deep dish pizza is unique but not all that different from the everyday pizza recipes we know in love. Below are a few tips to make a quality Chicago-style deep dish pizza:

• Get the Dough Right: A deep dish pizza crust has to be thick enough to withstand the weight of all of the toppings but also light and buttery. Cornmeal is actually an important ingredient with deep dish pizza crust as well as melted butter.
• Make Your Own Sauce: Yes you can use store-bought sauce but taking the extra time to make your own tomato sauce is important. It really is only slightly extra work and doesn't add any time to making the pizza as you cook the sauce while the dough rises.
• Use Deli Sliced Mozzarella: If you've watched Chicago-style deep dish pizzas being made on TV you might notice they use deli sliced mozzarella. It has less water and makes it perfect to get nice and stretchy when being baked.
• Don't Go Overboard on Sauce: I learned after the first time I made a Chicago-style deep dish pizza to not add to much sauce on top. If you add too much sauce, the pizza will be watery and won't hold together when you cut into it. You want to add just enough where the toppings get covered.

Other Pizza Recipes

• Barbecue Chicken Pizza
• Roasted Butternut Squash Apple Pizza
• Buffalo Chicken Pizza
• Peach Prosciutto Balsamic Pizza
• Sun-Dried Tomato Prosciutto Pesto Pizza

If you’ve tried this Chicago-style deep dish pizzaor any other recipe on Chisel & Fork, please let me know how it turned out in the comments below! You can also follow meonFacebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube to see more tasty meals and anything else I'm up to.