Deep Dish Pizza
Makes approx. 8 Thick Slices
Ingredients
1 Lb., Pizza Dough, store-bought or homemade
12″ Cast Iron Skillet
1 Tablespoon, Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon, Butter, melted
1 Cup, Pizza Sauce *store-bought or homemade
4 Sausage Links *I used a turkey sausage in this recipe
1 lb., Bacon, cooked & chopped
2 Cups, Mozzarella Cheese, shredded
1 Cup, Parmesan or Parmesano-Reggiano Cheese, grated
1 Tablespoon, Italian Seasoning
1 Teaspoon, Garlic Powder
1 Teaspoon, Oregano
Instructions
Deep Dish Pizza-Ready for the oven!
Preheat oven to 400 Degrees.
For the sausage, I like to remove the casings that are on the meat before sauteing them. This helps to break up the meat easier. On the stove, over medium-high heat, add the sausage. Cook, breaking up the sausage links so that you have chunks of the meat. Remove from oven, set aside.
Deep Dish Pizza-Adding Sausage & Bacon
Cook the bacon in the oven at 350 Degrees (this can be made ahead of time). Place the bacon onto a baking sheet (that is sprayed with cooking spray) and bake for approx. 15 minutes or until nice and crispy. If you don’t want bacon you can simply add the sausage without the bacon.
Roll pizza dough out on a floured surface. Add oil to the cast iron skillet and the melted butter. Coast the entire pan with the oil/butter. Place the pizza dough into the skillet and press down into the bottom of pan and push up the sides about 1 1/2 “.
Build your layers: start by adding a layer of the sausage and/or bacon. Then add your layer of mozzarella cheese. Then add the layer of sauce. Season the pizza with Italian seasonings, oregano and garlic powder. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top (just enough to cover the top of pizza). You can reserve some of the Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on after it is done baking.
Bake in the oven, on the bottom rack, for approx. 20-25 minutes or until crust is a nice golden brown. Remove from oven, let sit for about 5 minutes to allow the pizza to set nicely. Slice and serve. I added another sprinkle of Parmesan cheese to the top of the pizza before serving.
Mangia! Enjoy!
Tips
You can add anything you like to these pizzas. You can add your favorite meats, like pepperoni or chicken. You can add any veggies you may like. You really cannot go wrong. Have fun creating your favorite pizza. You can also use any of your favorite seasonings.
These pizzas are very thick so they are also very filling. My kids only ate 1 piece and adults 1-2 slices.
Using a cast iron skillet makes all the difference with this pizza. It cooks it perfectly.
For the sauce, I typically like the chunky tomato sauce in this pizza similar to a classic Chicago Style Deep Dish. My kids do not like those chunks of tomato so for this recipe I used a can of pizza sauce. I would love to add a can of Fire Roasted Tomatoes which are my favorite. I like to use “Hunts”. I would mix those with a pizza sauce for my sauce layer.
Click here for my pizza dough recipe: Pizza Dough Recipe
The deliciousness has landed!!!!!
You are too sweet!! thank you!!