No need to travel all the way to Chicago for this incredible Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza recipe, when you can make it at home! Try this easy, detailed deep dish pizza with step-by-step directions and a how to video for a thick and buttery, flaky crust and a rich, chunky tomato sauce, with plenty of gooey cheese.
If I was stuck on an island for the rest of my life and could only eat one dish, it would be pizza. I never get tired of pizza and love making it at home. According to Pizza Hut, pizza is often voted the number one most popular food in America and in fact, 94 percent of Americans eat it at least once a month! I love knowing that I’m doing my part as a pizza loving American 🙂
This deep dish pizza recipe makes enough dough and sauce for two 9-inch pizzas. I baked one pizza in a 9-inch cast iron skillet and the other in a 9-inch cake pan. Both came out beautifully but just a little different. The cast iron yielded a slightly crispier crust while the cake pan produced a softer, chewier crust. Both are fantastic and hold up extremely well under the thick layer of toppings.
If you allow the pizza to rest for 20 to 30 minutes before serving, it can easily be removed to a cutting board for slicing. This extra time to rest and cool ensures the toppings and cheese won’t spill out onto your plate. Not saying that’s a bad thing, in fact it’s super appealing to me! But if you don’t want to eat this deep dish pizza recipe with a fork, let it cool a while before enjoying.
Pizza is easily customizable to all your favorite toppings. We served this Chicago Style Deep Dish pizza recipe with big chunks of sweet Italian sausage and a few chopped kalamata olives. Since this recipe makes two pizzas, you can top each with different family favorites. Check the Notes section of the recipe for more delicious topping ideas. And please don’t let the long list of detailed instructions scare you off. This pizza dough and sauce recipes are easy to make and worth every single minute in the kitchen.
Once a month our adult children, their spouses and our grandchildren come over for Sunday supper. This Chicago Style Deep Dish pizza recipe is on the menu for our next family gathering. I’m going to double the recipe and let the whole family help by adding their favorite toppings. Such a fun way to enjoy family time and America’s favorite food!
Here are a few more pizza inspired recipes you might enjoy:
- Easy Pizza Dough
- Skillet Pizza Margherita
- Skinny Taco Pizza
- Easy Homemade Pizza Buns
- Basic Pizza Sauce
- Grilled Berry Pizza with Whipped Ricotta
Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza Recipe
Ingredients
PIZZA DOUGH
- 3¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
- One .25-ounce package rapid rise yeast
- 2 teaspoons granulated white sugar
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1¼ cups water (at room temperature)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (melted and cooled slightly)
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (at room temperature)
- 3 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon olive oil
PIZZA SAUCE
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1/2 medium red onion (minced)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes, no salt
- 1 teaspoon granulated white sugar
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
TOPPINGS:
- 1 pound Italian sausage (casings removed)
- 1/2 cup sliced olives
- 16 ounces shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese
- 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
TO MAKE THE PIZZA DOUGH:
- Using a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, cornmeal, yeast, sugar, salt on low speed until blended. Add the water and melted butter. Mix until combined, about 1 to 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again until well blended. Increase speed to medium and knead until the dough is shiny and smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 4 to 5 minutes.
- Coat the sides and bottom of a large mixing bowl with 1 teaspoon of olive oil. Transfer the pizza dough to the clean, oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest at room temperature until nearly doubled in size, about 1 hour.
TO MAKE THE PIZZA SAUCE:
- While the dough rises, prepare the pizza sauce. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter. Add the minced onion crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and sugar and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until the sauce has reduced to about 2 1/2 cups, about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the fresh basil and olive oil. Check the seasoning and add salt if needed. Cover and set aside.
TO LAMINATE THE PIZZA DOUGH:
- Adjust the oven rack to the lowest position and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Turn the dough out onto a clean countertop. Roll the dough into a 15 by 12-inch rectangle. Using an off-set spatula, spread the softened butter over the dough leaving a 1/2-inch border along the edges. Starting at the short end, tightly roll the dough into a cyclinder. With the seam-side down, flatten the dough into a 18 by 4-inch rectangle. Cut the rectangle in half crosswise. Working with one half at a time, fold the dough into thirds like a business letter. Pinch the seams together to form a ball. Repeat with the remaining dough and transfer the balls to the oiled bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in the refrigerator until nearly double in size, 45 to 50 minutes.
- While the dough rising, cook the Italian sausage in a large non-stick skillet. Break the sausage up into chunks and sauté until cooked through. Drain well and set aside.
TO ASSEMBLE AND BAKE THE PIZZAS:
- Coat two 9-inch cast iron skillets or cake pans with 1½ tablespoons of olive oil each.
- On a clean countertop, roll one of the dough balls into a 13-inch round disk about 1/4-inch thick. Roll the dough loosely around the rolling pin and transfer to the prepared skillet. Unroll the dough and lightly press into the pan, making sure you work it into the corners and 1-inch up the sides. If the dough resists, allow it to rest for 5 minutes before trying again. Repeat with the remaining dough ball.
- Sprinkle each pizza with 2 cups of the shredded mozzarella. Divide the sauce between the two pizzas, spreading with the back of a spoon until evenly distributed over the cheese layer. Divide the cooked Italian sausage between the two pizzas, scattering to cover the sauce. Top with the olives, then the Parmesan cheese.
- Bake until the crust is golden brown, about 20 to 30 minutes. If over-browning, tent the pizza with foil until cooked through. Remove the pizza from the oven and cool for 10-minutes before serving.
Notes
- vegetables such as fresh jalapeño peppers, spinach, olives, mushrooms, sweet bell peppers or red onions
- ham, Canadian bacon and sweet pineapple
- sliced pepperoni
- chopped cooked meatballs
- cooked and crumbled ground beef
- chopped browned smoked bacon
- grilled chicken
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Making it now for the second time since New Year’s Day. Very, very good recipe and results! Followed almost exactly except made one huge pizza first time around, so didn’t separate the dough. Don’t be alarmed if dough seems wet after first rise. It should be. Sauce is amazing and develops flavor as it concentrates. Re-season after it reduces. It’s SO good. Very authentic Chicago thick, chunky sauce. Reversing the order this time with sauce first, cheese then toppings. Like traditional thick crust vs deep dish. Want to get that extra hit of heat hitting the cheese.
I’m from Chicago and this recipe ranks up there withBurt’s, Uni/Due and Lou’s. Thanks for sharing.
I used to live in Chicago, and have recently moved to Texas. When we got here my new friends wanted Chicago style pizza. I’ve tried several recipes, but this one comes the closest. I make 1 pizza in my deep dish pizza pan. The buttery crust and perfect sauce make me feel home again!
Would it be possible to make the dough ahead of time and freeze the balls. If having a pizza party it would be so much easier to be able to have everything but the baking done in advance.
Yes! Prepare the dough until it’s ready to use, then freeze. Thaw overnight!
awesome. confused why to preheat oven but put dough ball in frig.
Best dough I have ever made. Will be in our family for years to come. Thank you!
Wow what can I say this is a fabulous pizza recipe. I have made it about a dozen times and the whole family loves it! Excellent instructions. A few tips from experience on the assembly instructions: 1) Coat the bottom only of the pan with the olive oil; this helps to keep the sides of the crust up against the edges of the pans. 3) I layer in this order: cheese(s), meats and veggies, then sauce on last with a sprinkling of parmesan on the top. 4) If you brush the top edges of the crust with some melted butter, it creates a golden, crisp edge. Lastly, I only use 1/8 tsp. of crushed red pepper since we are spice wimps. Still has a little edge to it!
I followed the recipe to a T. Excellent flavor and I live in the suburbs of Chicago I actually froze the making for the second pizza for another day. It would have been to much for just my husband and I
I absolutely loved this dough recipe and it is very reminiscent of authentic deep dishes we have eaten in Chicago! I made this vegan by using no meat, vegan butter and cheese. The dough came out perfect and it was much easier than anticipated. Looking forward to making this again soon!