This cast iron pizza recipe is a dream! A heavy skillet makes a deep dish pizza crust that’s perfect every time.
Want the best homemade deep dish pizza of your life? Try this epic Cast Iron Pizza recipe! Your heavy cast iron skillet is one of the easiest ways to make epically tasty American-style pizza. The crust comes out beautifully puffed and golden, topped with gooey cheese that gets crispy towards the edges. Cast iron skillet pizza is one of the best uses for this heavy pan: in our opinion, at least! This recipe is no-fail: we’ve made it dozens of times with great results. Use our topping ideas below or any toppings you like! Let’s go.
Cast iron pizza: an overview
Here’s the thing about cast iron pizza: it takes a little longer than traditional Italian-style pizza, but it’s loads easier. Here at A Couple Cooks, we’ve years honing the art of Italian-style artisan pizza and the perfect Margherita. But this American-style cast iron skillet pizza also has a place in our kitchen: because it’s so easy to do. You’ll need to set aside 2 hours for prep, but most of the time is hands off. Here’s an overview of the process for this cast iron deep dish pizza recipe, in words and photos:
| Knead the dough | 15 minutes active |
| Proof dough in skillet | ~45 minutes to 1 hour, inactive |
| Proof dough again (and prep toppings) | 45 minutes, inactive (use time to prep toppings) |
| Top and bake pizza | 15 minutes, inactive |
The cast iron pizza pan you need
The only equipment you’ll need to make pan pizza is a cast iron skillet! Here’s what to know about the sizing:
- You’ll need a 10-inch skillet for this pan pizza! The dough size is designed especially to fit this size of pan.
- Got a 12-inch skillet? Make 1.5 times the recipe. If all you have is a 12-inch skillet, no problem! Just make 1.5 times the recipe (that’s some π r2 for you).
Deep dish pizza crust needs two proofs!
What’s the trick to the best cast iron deep dish pizza crust? Two proof times. If you’re an experienced baker (or watch the Great British Baking Show!), you’ll know this refers to resting the pizza dough. Proofing is when you let bread dough rest after you’ve added yeast, so that it rises.
The trick to getting the extra thick crust in this recipe is proofing the dough twice. Now, this means you’ll need to wait for 45 minutes not once but twice. The up-side is that you’ll get super thick, pillowy crust.
One more pro to the cast iron pan pizza method is that you don’t have to worry about shaping the dough, which is the hardest part of Italian-style pizza. Once it’s proofed twice, just press it out into the skillet and you’re ready to bake. Easy as pie! Pizza pie, that is.
Stovetop, then oven
One last note about the technique for a cast iron skillet pizza. Once you’ve topped your pizza, you don’t slide it into the oven. Nope, you’ll put it on a stovetop burner first and cook for 2 minutes. This quickly heats up the cast iron skillet so you don’t need to wait for that to happen during baking. So, you’ll get a blazing hot sear on the pizza from the moment it enters the oven!
Bake only one cast iron pizza at a time!
Here’s another thing to note about cast iron pizza. You can only cook one pizza at a time. Unless of course, you have two 10-inch cast iron skillets laying about. Typically one pizza might not sound like enough to feed a family. Here’s what to know:
- It’s a deep dish pizza, so it’s very filling. There’s so much crust, so it’s almost like eating two pieces of Italian-style pizza at once.
- Accessorize with several veggie-based side dishes. These days, we’ve taken to eating pizza with more side dishes — so that our meal is a little more well-rounded! Here are some ideas for sides to go with pizza. On an every day basis, we whip up a recipe of our pan fried broccoli.
Cast iron skillet pizza topping ideas
Last thing to note about this cast iron skillet pizza. You can use our topping ideas in the recipe below OR make your own toppings! The toppings in the recipe are based on our Veggie Supreme pizza and they make your kitchen smell like a Pizza Hut. Really, we can’t speak more highly of them! But there are lots of ideas for other ways to top this pizza. Here are our favorites, in approximate order of deliciousness:
- Classic American-style cheese pizza
- Italian-style Margherita toppings
- Everyone’s favorite Pesto pizza
- Garlicky and cheesy Shrimp alfredo pizza
- Our personal fave, Taco pizza (*so good*)
- Gooey White pizza (Pizza Bianca) or Ricotta pizza
- Cozy Spinach artichoke pizza
- Classy Burrata pizza
And that’s it! Let us know in the comments below how it goes, and what other questions you might have. Bon appetit!
More cast iron skillet recipes
What else to cook in your cast iron skillet? So many thing! Here are favorite cast iron skillet recipes to try:
- Whip up homey Cast Iron Potatoes
- Opt for a tasty Breakfast Vegetable Scramble
- Throw together Easy Shakshuka with Feta
- Get the perfect sear on Blackened Shrimp
- Make gooey Skillet Mexican Cheese Dip
- Use it for cooking Garlic Naan Bread
This cast iron pizza recipe is…
Vegetarian.
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Easy Cast Iron Pizza
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 8 slices (1 large pizza) 1x
Description
This cast iron pizza recipe is a dream! A heavy skillet makes a fluffy deep dish pizza crust that’s perfect every time.
Ingredients
For the pizza dough (for a 10-inch cast iron skillet*)
- 188 grams (1 ½ cups) Tipo 00 or all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon instant or active dry yeast
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon oregano
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 118 grams (½ cup) warm water
- ½ tablespoon olive oil
For the topping**
- 4 baby bella mushrooms or one portabella mushroom
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 bell pepper (or 1/4 green and 1/4 red)
- 1 handful thinly sliced red onion
- ½ cup Easy Pizza Sauce
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup shredded Parmesan cheese
- Dried oregano
Instructions
- Make the dough (15 minutes): Combine the flour, yeast, salt, oregano and garlic powder in a bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Stir to combine. Add the water and olive oil and stir until a raggy dough forms. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface.
- Knead the dough by pushing with the base of your palm, then reforming it into a ball. Continue kneading for 8 minutes until the dough feels pillowy and has a smooth, stretchy exterior. If the dough is very sticky, add a small amount of flour while kneading. Alternatively: attach the dough hook to a stand mixer and start the mixer on medium-low speed, then allow the mixer to knead for 8 minutes.
- Proof the dough (45 minutes to 1 hour): Generously the oil bottom and sides of a 10” cast iron skillet with olive oil. When the kneading is finished, use floured hands to gently shape the dough into a boule (ball shape) by folding the dough under itself. Set the dough in the center of the skillet and dab the dough with a bit of olive oil to keep it moist. Cover with a damp towel and allow them to rise until doubled in size and spread out, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Press and proof again (45 minutes): Remove the towel and drizzle with a tad of olive oil. Use your fingers to press the dough out into a circle to the edges of the pan. Cover and rest for 45 minutes.
- Preheat: When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 475F.
- Prep the toppings: Slice the baby bella mushrooms. Heat the olive oil in a small skillet. Saute the mushrooms and fennel seeds for about 3 to 5 minutes, until they become golden brown and start to release moisture. Add 2 pinches of kosher salt and cook another minute, then remove from the heat.
- Finely dice the green pepper. Thinly slice the red pepper. Thinly slice the red onion.
- Top and bake the pizza (20 minutes): When the dough is ready, spread the pizza sauce over the dough using the back of a spoon to create a thin layer all the way to the edges of the dough. Add the mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese. Top with the mushrooms, peppers, and red onion. Sprinkle with dried oregano and a few pinches of kosher salt. Top with another light sprinkle of mozzarella cheese.
- Place the skillet on a stovetop burner on high heat for two minutes. Then transfer to the oven and bake 13 to 17 minutes until the cheese is browned. Run a butter knife around the edge of the pan so that the cheese doesn’t stick, then cool it to cool slightly. After a minute or so, remove the pizza to a cutting board and slice it into pieces. Serve immediately.
Notes
**If you have a 12-inch skillet, make 1.5 times the recipe.
*Or, use any pizza toppings you like! Go to our Pizza Recipes for inspiration.
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: Italian inspired
- Diet: Vegetarian
Keywords: Cast iron pizza, cast iron skillet pizza, cast iron pizza recipe, cast iron deep dish pizza, cast iron pan pizza
HI, I made your pizza dough ahead and have it in the fridge ready to use tonight. I wasn’t planning on cast iron pizza but this looks sooo good. could I use that dough or should I just try this one another night?
Hmmm. I would go ahead and make normal pizza tonight and save the cast iron for another night!
However, if you really wanted to you could thaw the dough as Step 3 in the cast iron recipe and move forward with that.
Thanks, I will try next time because I just ran out of time. I am very excited for pizza night.
FYI the pizza was a big hit. The dough was amazing, and so easy to make. I did burn the bottom of the cast iron pizza, maybe I had the burner up to high…I will definitely make it again and again until I master it.
★★★★★
Hi I am trying this now..question no sugar in the dough recipe?
Correct!
So we really enjoyed the cast iron pizza and I bought a 12 in cast iron pan bec the 10 in skillet I used is a little small for the 4 of us and I can just use it for pizzas.
My daughter who is the pickiest eater is also a fan!
Excited to try it on the 12 in!
Also used your pizza sauce recipe but I did cook it a little on the stove to thicken it. I am a fan of a saucy pizza!
Can you make this recipe with whole wheat flour?
You can, but the dough will not get nice and risen and chewy in the same way that white flour will.