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This Chicago deep dish pizza brings the iconic deep-pan, cheese-stuffed, sauce-on-top pie straight to your kitchen, and it is so worth the effort. I tackled it on a cozy snowy weekend when we were missing a trip to Chicago, and the whole family agreed it tasted like the real deal. If you love a from-scratch project like our homemade pizza hut cheese sticks, this one is calling your name.
A buttery, cornmeal-flecked crust cradles a thick layer of melty mozzarella, savory sausage, and a bright, herby tomato sauce spooned right on top.
Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 30 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 45 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes (plus rising)
- 🍽️ Serving: 2 pizzas (4 servings)
- ⚡ Calories: 1405kcal per pizza
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Cheesy, savory, and saucy
- ✋ Difficulty: Intermediate, a fun weekend project
Quick Answer
To make a Chicago deep dish pizza, prepare a buttery cornmeal dough and let it rise, then make a quick sausage filling and a chunky San Marzano tomato sauce. Press the dough into greased round pans, layer sliced mozzarella in the bottom, dollop on the sausage, and spread the sauce on top. Finish with Parmesan and bake at 400 degrees until the crust is deep golden and bubbly.
Jump to:
- Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Chicago Deep Dish Pizza FAQs
- Other Recommended Cozy Italian Dinners
- Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Cornmeal makes the crust crisp. Adding cornmeal and butter to the dough gives the deep dish crust its signature crunchy, almost flaky bottom that holds up to all the toppings.
- Cheese goes on the bottom. Layering the mozzarella against the crust protects it from the sauce so the bottom stays crisp instead of soggy, the true Chicago way.
- Sauce on top cooks down beautifully. Spreading the chunky tomato sauce on top lets it concentrate and caramelize slightly in the oven for deep, bright flavor.
- San Marzano tomatoes are worth it. These sweet, low-acid plum tomatoes crushed by hand make a rich, restaurant-quality sauce with very little effort.
- Round cake pans work perfectly. You do not need a special pan, two greased 9-inch round baking pans give you those tall, dramatic deep dish edges.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It tastes like an authentic Chicago pizzeria pie made right in your own oven.
- The buttery, crispy cornmeal crust with layers of cheese, sausage, and sauce is pure comfort food.
- It is a fun, rewarding weekend cooking project that feeds the whole family, like our spaghetti and meatballs.
Key Ingredients
Here are the key ingredients that make this Chicago deep dish pizza taste like the real thing.
- Cornmeal and butter: The secret to that crisp, golden, buttery deep dish crust.
- Active dry yeast: Gives the dough its rise and chewy-tender interior.
- Ground pork sausage filling: Seasoned with fennel, oregano, basil, and garlic for classic Italian sausage flavor.
- San Marzano plum tomatoes: Crushed by hand into a sweet, chunky sauce that defines the dish.
- Mozzarella and Parmesan: A thick layer of sliced mozzarella plus grated Parmigiano-Reggiano for the gooey, savory top.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
Make this Chicago deep dish pizza your own with a few easy swaps.
- Switch the meat: Use Italian sausage links squeezed from their casings, ground beef, or pepperoni instead of the pork filling.
- Go vegetarian: Skip the sausage and load the cheese layer with sauteed mushrooms, peppers, onions, and spinach.
- Add more cheese: Sneak a little provolone or extra Parmesan between the layers for an even cheesier pie.
- Make it spicy: Add crushed red pepper flakes to the sauce or use hot Italian sausage.
- Use one big pan: A 10-inch cast iron skillet makes one tall, deep dish pizza instead of two rounds.
How to Make Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
- Make the dough. In a stand mixer, combine the yeast, sugar, warm water, vegetable oil, olive oil, and melted butter. In a separate bowl, mix the salt, cornmeal, and flour, then gradually add the dry mixture to the wet with the dough hook until a smooth dough forms.
- Let it rise. Cover the bowl with a clean towel and place it in a warm spot until the dough has doubled in size.
- Make the sausage filling. Combine the ground pork with oregano, basil, garlic, crushed fennel seeds, salt, and pepper. Cover and chill until ready to assemble.
- Make the sauce. Crush the San Marzano tomatoes by hand, discarding any stems, then mix in the basil, oregano, garlic powder, and Parmesan. Cover and chill.
- Prep the pans. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Generously butter the bottoms and sides of two 9-inch round baking pans.
- Form the crusts. Divide the dough and press it evenly into the bottom and up the sides of each greased pan.
- Layer the cheese. Divide the sliced mozzarella between the pizzas, pressing it into an even layer and into the corners against the crust.
- Add toppings. Evenly dollop the raw sausage over the cheese, spread the tomato sauce on top, then finish with a drizzle of olive oil and the grated Parmesan.
- Bake. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes until the crust is deep golden brown and the pizza is bubbly.
- Cool and serve. Let the pizzas rest in the pans on a wire rack for a few minutes, then slice and serve hot.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Use a stand mixer with a dough hook to make the buttery dough come together easily, though a hand mixer works too.
- Grease the pans generously with butter so the crust crisps up and releases cleanly after baking.
- Crush the tomatoes by hand for that signature chunky, rustic Chicago sauce instead of a smooth puree.
- Keep the cheese on the bottom and sauce on top so the crust stays crisp, which is the key to authentic deep dish.
- Let it rest for several minutes after baking so the layers set and slice cleanly.
- Grind your own fennel with a mortar and pestle or spice grinder for the freshest, most fragrant sausage flavor.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
A slice of this Chicago deep dish pizza is a hearty meal all on its own, but it shines next to a crisp, lightly dressed green salad that cuts through the richness. The contrast of cool, fresh greens and warm, cheesy pizza is the perfect balance.
Round out pizza night with garlicky breadsticks, a tray of pizza hut cheese sticks, or a simple antipasto platter with olives, salami, and marinated vegetables. A glass of red wine or an Italian soda makes it feel like a real pizzeria night at home.
This pizza is fantastic for game day, family movie nights, or feeding a hungry crowd. Store leftover slices in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, and reheat in a hot oven or skillet to bring back that crispy crust. You can also freeze baked slices for up to 2 months.
Chicago Deep Dish Pizza FAQs
A Chicago deep dish pizza is baked in a deep round pan with very tall edges, and the layers are reversed from a regular pizza. The cheese goes directly on the crust, the toppings come next, and the chunky tomato sauce is spread on top, which keeps the thick crust crisp.
No, you do not need a special pan. Two greased 9-inch round cake pans work beautifully and give you those tall deep dish edges. A 10-inch cast iron skillet also works great if you want to make one large pizza instead.
In a Chicago deep dish pizza, the cheese is layered against the crust to create a barrier that protects it from the wet sauce. This is the secret to keeping the bottom crust crisp instead of soggy during the long bake.
Yes. You can make the dough and let it rise, then refrigerate it for up to a day before pressing it into the pans. The sausage filling and tomato sauce can also be made a day ahead and chilled, which actually helps the flavors develop.
A seasoned ground pork sausage filling with fennel, garlic, oregano, and basil gives the most classic Chicago flavor. You can also use Italian sausage links squeezed from their casings if that is easier to find.
Store leftover slices in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days or freeze for up to 2 months. For the best texture, reheat slices in a 375 degree oven or in a covered skillet so the crust crisps back up instead of going soft in the microwave.
Hungry for more cozy Italian comfort food? Try our reader-favorite spaghetti and meatballs next.
Craving more pizza? Our meatball pizza brings spaghetti and meatballs to a crust.
Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 1 1/4 ounce packet active dry yeast
- pinch granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup warm water
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick) melted and cooled
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 1/2 cups + 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Italian Sausage
- 1/2 pound ground pork
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds crushed fine with mortar and pestle or in a coffee/spice grinder
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cracks fresh black pepper
Pizza Sauce
- 1 3/4 cups canned San Marzano plum tomatoes half of a 28 ounce can
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil
- 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese or parmesan cheese
Pizza Assembly
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
- cooking spray
- 1 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese or parmesan cheese
Instructions
Pizza Dough
- It is easier to make the dough in a stand mixer, however, a hand mixer can be used. Place the yeast, sugar, warm water, vegetable oil, olive oil, and butter in the bottom of the stand mixer (or large bowl). Stir to combine, let sit until bubbles form, about 5 minutes.1 1/4 ounce packet active dry yeast, pinch granulated sugar, 3/4 cup warm water, 1/4 cup vegetable oil, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick)
- In a separate bowl, mix together the salt, cornmeal, and flour. Set aside.3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 cup cornmeal, 1 1/2 cups + 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Which the mixer on low speed with the dough hook attachment, gradually start adding the flour mixture into the wet mixture. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed. Once all the dry is mixed into the wet, place the mixer on high speed and beat for 6 minutes.
- Cover the bowl with a clean towel and place in a warm spot, such as a microwave or an oven with the light turned on. Let the dough rise for 1 hour or until dough is doubled in size. While the dough is rising, make the rest of the components.
Italian Sausage
- Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix together. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until ready to assemble.1/2 pound ground pork , 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/4 teaspoon dried basil, 2 garlic cloves, 1 1/2 teaspoons fennel seeds, 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, 2 cracks fresh black pepper
Pizza Sauce
- Crush plum tomatoes by hand, discard any stems. Mix in the rest of the ingredients, cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge until ready to assemble.1 3/4 cups canned San Marzano plum tomatoes, 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil, 1 1/2 teaspoons dried oregano, 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, 1 tablespoon freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Pizza Assembly
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. With the butter generously grease the bottom and sides of two 9-inch round baking pans (or one 16-inch round baking pan). Divide the dough between the two pans. Spray hands with cooking spray, work the dough into an even layer in the bottom of each pan and up the sides as much as you can.4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), cooking spray
- Divide the cheese between the two pizzas, making an even layer in the bottom. Press cheese into the corners of the pan, this will help the crust to stay put up the sides of the pan.1 pound sliced mozzarella cheese
- Evenly dollop the sausage on top of the cheese. Evenly spread sauce on top. Top each with a drizzle of olive oil and the parmesan cheese.2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
- Bake for 40-45 minutes until the crust is golden brown and bubbly. Remove from the oven and place the pans directly on a wired rack to cool. Cool slightly for 10-15 minutes before cutting, this is very important. You want the pizza to set up slightly. Slice in the pan and serve.
Notes
- For best results, always let the dough rise in a warm place until it doubles in size.
- For an extra kick, sprinkle some red pepper flakes on top.
- Don’t skip the cornmeal! It adds a unique texture and taste to the pizza crust.
- Freshly grated parmesan cheese over the top before baking adds a delightful buttery flavor.
Nutrition
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