Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

The Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza seems to be an all-time classic when you even mention the words “pizza pie”. Unlike other pizza preparations, this style allows you the opportunity to really pile on all those tasty ingredients.

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

Making this pizza is very easy when using your cast iron skillet (paid link). Once you get the hang of forming the dough along the edges of the skillet, your pizza making skills will be endless. I’ve also been known to use a springform (paid link) pan as it results in a softer crust (see that pizza recipe here).

You can swap out the beef in the recipe for any meat of your choice or go meatless for a cheesy vegetarian alternative. That’s the beauty of making pizza…everyone can be a happy camper. You can also check out my individual (personal) cast iron pizza recipe when you are making a pizza for a party of one or two.

How to Make a Deep Dish Pizza:

Begin this recipe by preheating your oven to 425 degrees so it can be hot and ready when the deep dish is prepped and ready to go.

Spread your pastry flour evenly over your kitchen countertop and place your fresh pizza dough onto the flour. Begin to form the dough into a circular shape. You’ll need to use a pizza roller to make sure the pizza dough is at least 13 inches in diameter. Adjust this size depending on the size of your cast iron (my skillet is 12.5 inches).

Now that the dough is ready, you can start working on the ground beef. Place the ground beef in a large bowl and season it evenly. Cook your beef at medium heat until browned breaking the meat into smaller pieces as it cooks. Set it to the side once done.

Chicago Style Deep Dish Italian Beef Pizza

Lightly coat the cast iron skillet (paid link) with olive oil and place the pizza dough inside the skillet. Form the dough around the bottom and edges of the skillet.

Cut your low-moisture mozzarella cheese block into slices and spread them evenly over the top of the pizza dough.

Chicago Style Deep Dish Italian Beef Pizza

Add your cooked ground beef over the low-moisture mozzarella cheese. Chop the fresh moist mozzarella and place it on top of your beef layer. You’ll add your shredded mozzarella at this point as well.

Chicago Style Deep Dish Italian Beef Pizza

Using a slotted spoon, spread the crushed tomatoes evenly over the top of the pizza and finish it off with oregano and grated Parmesan cheese.

Chicago Style Deep Dish Italian Beef Pizza

I bake my deep dish pizza at 425 degrees for the first 15 minutes then lower the temperature to 400 degrees to ensure the crust will have a nice golden brown texture.

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

The thick crust topped off with layers of fresh cheese and crushed tomato can stop any hungry soul in their tracks. If you want to take a ride to the windy city without having to pay for airfare, this awesome deep-dish delight can do like “The Staple Sisters” and take you there.

Check out my other deep dish pizza recipes:

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Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza

Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza


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5 from 1 review

  • Author: Eric Jones
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 8 1x

Description

The Chicago Style Deep Dish Pizza seems to be an all-time classic when you even mention the words “pizza pie”. Unlike other pizza preparations this style allows you the opportunity to really pile on all those tasty ingredients.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 lb. Fresh Pizza Dough
  • 1 lb. Low Moisture Part Skim Mozzarella Cheese Block
  • 8 oz. Fresh Moist Mozzarella Cheese Ball
  • 1 lb. Lean Ground Beef
  • 28 oz. Muir Glenn Fire Roasted Crushed Tomatoes (paid link)
  • 1 tbsp. Parmesan Grated Cheese
  • 1/4 tbsp. Oregano
  • 2 tbsp. Italian Seasoning
  • 1/2 cup Shredded Mozzarella Cheese


Instructions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.
  2. Spread pastry flour over kitchen counter top. Place the fresh dough onto flour and begin to shape dough into a circle using hands. Finish shaping and flattening with roller to a diameter of 13 inches.
  3. In a large bowl, add ground beef and Italian seasoning and mix well with hands. Cook ground beef in medium-heat pan until meat is cooked; breaking the meat apart as it cooks.
  4. In a cast iron skillet (paid link), lightly coat the bottom with olive oil and add your rolled dough into the skillet. Form the dough onto the sides of the skillet creating a wall-like shape around the skillet. Don’t fold the dough over the edge.
  5. Chop your Low Moisture Mozzarella Cheese block into thick slices and place evenly along the bottom of the crust. Add your cooked and drained ground beef over the cheese in the skillet. Chop your 8 oz fresh mozzarella ball into small pieces and add on top of the beef. Add the shredded mozzarella over the ingredients evenly.
  6. Pour your crushed tomatoes in a bowl and use a slotted spoon to spread the crushed tomatoes evenly over the ingredients. Spread oregano over the top of the crushed tomatoes. Top off with grated Parmesan cheese.
  7. Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes and lower the temperature to 400 degrees for the last 15 minutes of cook time. Once complete, allow the cool then serve.

Equipment

  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Category: Dinner
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Italian

Nutrition

  • Calories: 691
  • Fat: 46.2g

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6 Comments

  1. Geeze…I suppose I gained 2lbs just looking!
    And you’re exactly right: I’ll be happier gaining 3 lbs more with eating some LOL. Thanks for giving us your great pizza idea Eric! Your blessings are abundant for everyone.






    1. Eric Jones says:

      That is much appreciated, Jimmy-Oh!

  2. What makes pizza dough different from bread dough

    1. Ted one difference between pizza dough and bread dough is that pizza dough gets rolled out as a flat disk instead of being baked as a loaf or a bun.