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My easy and authentic Deep Dish Pizza recipe will guide you through making this classic at home! You’ll love the buttery homemade crust, flavorful pepperoni, thick tomato sauce, and a blend of melted cheeses.
Explore more delicious pizza options with our Taco Pizza and this summer favorite Grilled Pizza Capricciosa!
We love pizza for dinner, and I’m always thrilled to add a new rendition to the dinner line-up. From pizza burgers to pizza bites, anything pizza-related is welcome around here!
However, this homemade deep dish pizza recipe has my heart. I’m a Chicagoan (from the ‘burbs) – deep dish is what we’re known for. It is surprisingly simple to make, and it’s just as good as anything you can order in a restaurant – even better because you can customize it any way you like!
Why You’ll Love This Pizza Recipe
- Authentic Flavors: From the butter and cornmeal in the homemade pizza dough to the thick and savory sauce, this deep dish pizza recipe tastes like what you’d find in Chicago!
- Adaptable: This is a big one for me because everyone in my family likes different toppings. Luckily, when I make pizza myself, I can customize it to everyone’s taste.
What Makes a Pizza “Deep Dish?”
A deep dish pizza—also called a Chicago-style pizza—differs from other pizzas in that its dough is thick and crunchy from the addition of cornmeal. It’s also buttery because you’ll use butter in the dough! Deep dish pizza is typically about an inch deep, allowing for a lot of room for toppings and sauce. And about that sauce, you’ll find that the sauce is a lot thicker than sauce on a thinner-crust pizza.
What You’ll Need
Here’s everything you’ll need to gather up to make this deep dish pizza recipe. Check the recipe card at the end of this post for the full ingredient amounts.
Deep Dish Pizza Dough
- All-Purpose Flour – Flour forms the base of the dough. If you want to make this into a whole wheat pizza dough, substitute half of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour.
- Cornmeal – Use fine-ground cornmeal rather than polenta.
- Yeast – I use instant yeast for this recipe so that it can be added directly to the dough without the need for proofing.
- Granulated Sugar – A little sugar helps to activate the yeast. You can also use honey.
- Salt – Use fine-grain sea salt or table salt.
- Warm Water – The water should be fairly warm, but not so hot that you would burn a finger when testing it.
- Butter – I prefer unsalted butter so that it doesn’t make the dough too salty.
- Olive Oil
Tomato Sauce
- Crushed Tomatoes – For more flavor, choose “fire-roasted” tomatoes.
- Garlic – I suggest using fresh garlic for the sauce.
- Italian Seasoning – If needed, you can substitute dried oregano or basil, or a combination.
- Salt and Pepper – Needed to enhance all the flavors.
Toppings:
- Mozzarella Cheese – I used shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Edam Cheese – A good substitute for Edam is Gouda, if needed. Or use more mozzarella.
- Parmesan Cheese – Good ol’ freshly grated parmesan cheese for sprinkling over the top.
- Pepperoni – I use about 1/2 cup of pepperoni slices.
- Fresh Basil – To garnish the pizza.
Topping Ideas
The sky’s the limit when it comes to topping ideas! You can keep it simple and make a cheese pizza, add pepperoni as the recipe instructs, or pile up all of your favorite pizza toppings, like:
- Vegetables – I love a good vegetable-topped pizza! You can add chopped bell peppers of any color, sliced mushrooms, spinach, artichoke hearts, fresh tomatoes, and more.
- Meat – In addition to pepperoni, nice meat choices for pizza can include bacon, Canadian bacon, ham, sausage, or chicken.
- Cheese – Switch up the cheese and do a mix of sharp cheddar cheese and Jack cheese, or try rounds of fresh mozzarella cheese.
- Another Sauce – I love a pesto sauce pizza! Or, skip the sauce and drizzle the dough with olive oil, then layer on tomato slices, fresh mozzarella, and basil.
How To Make Deep Dish Pizza
You’ll need a bit of time to make this recipe because you’ll make homemade dough and sauce, but it’s so worth it!
- Make the dough. First, combine the flour, yellow cornmeal, instant yeast, sugar, and salt.
- Add the wet ingredients. Stir in the warm water and melted butter.
- Knead and rise. Then, knead the dough until smooth and elastic and let it rise for 1 hour.
- Make the sauce. Mix together the crushed tomatoes, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, sea salt, and black pepper, and simmer until thick.
- Roll out the dough. Preheat the oven to 425°F, grease a baking pan, then roll out the dough.
- Add to pan. Press the dough into the prepared pan.
- Add cheese. Spread a layer of shredded mozzarella and edam cheese evenly over the dough.
- Top with sauce. Pour the tomato sauce over the cheese.
- Add cheese and pepperoni. Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese over the sauce and top with pepperoni slices.
- Bake. Place the assembled pizza in the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Recipe Tips
Making a deep dish pizza may look complicated, but it’s quite similar to a regular pizza with a few extra steps. These tips will help guide you to pizza perfection.
- Use a Deep Pan: If you don’t have a specific “deep dish pizza” pan, you can use a cake tin with 2-inch sides. Make sure to lightly grease the bottom and sides of the pan with olive oil before adding the dough.
- Don’t Substitute the Dough: Regular pizza dough, while crisp and lovely, is not strong enough to hold up to the deep dish nature of this pizza. So make sure to follow the recipe for the homemade pizza dough for the best results.
- Simmer That Sauce: Don’t skimp on the time to simmer the sauce – it’s essential to create a thick tomato sauce so that it doesn’t sink into the dough and make it soggy.
- Pre-Bake the Crust: If you can, add a few extra minutes to pre-bake the pizza crust. This will help it hold up well to the toppings. You can pre-bake the base for 10 minutes at 450℉, then remove it from the oven and add the toppings.
Serving Suggestions
Add a glass of lemonade for the kids and pour yourself a glass of red wine when you sit down to a melty pan of deep dish pizza! Or, make a fresh salad to offset the richness of this pizza! I love a crunchy Mexican Street Corn Salad or a juicy Avocado Tomato Salad.
A warm bowl of soup and a slice of pizza is perfect on cold winter nights! Try my recipes for Italian Sausage Butternut Squash Soup or Creamy Potato Leek Soup.
I love dessert after a meal of deep dish pizza. Make a big pan of Cream Cheese Brownies or Pecan Pie Brownies, or whip up an easy batch of Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats!
How To Store Leftovers
You can enjoy deep pizza for the next few days by following these methods:
- Fridge – Wrap pizza slices in plastic wrap or place them in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Freezer – You can freeze the whole pizza before baking it by wrapping it in plastic wrap and foil and storing it in the freezer for up to 3 months. You may cook the pizza directly from frozen by following the recipe directions. You could also wrap individual slices of the baked pizza in plastic, place them in a sealable freezer-safe bag, and store them in the freezer for up to 2 months.
- To Reheat – Place the slices of pizza on a baking sheet and heat them in the oven at 425˚F until just heated through and the cheese is melted.
More Easy Dinner Ideas
Deep Dish Pizza
Ingredients
Deep Dish Pizza Dough:
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1¼ cups warm water
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- olive oil, for greasing
Tomato Sauce:
- 28 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1½ teaspoons Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Toppings:
- 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
- 2 cups shredded Edam cheese
- ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ½ cup sliced pepperoni
- Fresh basil, for garnish
Instructions
- Make the dough. In a large bowl, combine the flour, yellow cornmeal, instant yeast, sugar, and salt. Gradually add the warm water and melted butter to the dry ingredients. Mix with a wooden spoon until the dough begins to come together.
- Knead the dough. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for 5-7 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
- Let it rise. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Make the sauce. Meanwhile, combine the crushed tomatoes, minced garlic, Italian seasoning, sea salt, and black pepper in a medium saucepan.
- Cook. Simmer the sauce over medium heat for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside.
Assemble the Pizza:
- Prep. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Grease a deep-dish pizza pan (12-inch) or a cast-iron skillet with olive oil.
- Prepare the pizza crust. Punch down the risen dough and roll it out with a rolling pin. Then, press it into the prepared pan, covering the bottom and coming up the sides evenly.
- Layer the toppings. Spread a layer of shredded mozzarella and edam cheese evenly over the dough. Pour the tomato sauce over the cheese, spreading it out evenly.
- Add parmesan cheese and pepperoni slices. Sprinkle the grated parmesan cheese on top of the sauce. Arrange the sliced pepperoni over the parmesan cheese.
- Bake. Place the assembled pizza in the preheated oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly and slightly browned. Remove the pizza from the oven and let it cool for 5 to 8 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Serve. Garnish with fresh basil. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
