This Deep Dish Pizza Recipe Brings Chicago to You

If you've ever heard anything about the city of Chicago, specifically its food scene, it was most likely followed up by the phrase "deep-dish pizza." For locals, deep dish pizza is a savory treat and a Chicago food they can't live with out. If you're not a Chicago native, you may wonder what makes Chicago-style deep dish pizza distinct from every other ordinary slice of thin crust pizza you've consumed in your lifetime. 

Chicago-style deep dish pizza throws every preconceived notion of pizza out the window. For starters, the pizza is baked in a pan, comparable to a pie, and the pizza crust is substantially thick. Secondly, cheese is placed directly on top of the thick buttery crust, with the chunky tomato sauce going on top of the cheese, opposed to the typical sauce then cheese method. While this may go against all conventional norms of pizza making, it truly makes Chicago-style pizza its own. This deep dish pizza recipe tastes like the stuff you buy in the Windy City, minus the long drive to get there.

Pizza Sauce

• Prep Time:10 mins
• Cook Time:30 mins
• Total Time:40 mins
• Servings:8
• Medium

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 onion - diced
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 garlic clove - chopped
• 4 plum tomatoes - chopped
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 14 oz can diced tomatoes

• Step 1

  Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the diced onion. Season with salt, pepper, oregano, and crushed red pepper. Stir occasionally.
  
  #SpoonTIp: Crushed red pepper is the exact same thing as red chili flakes.

  

• Step 2

  After 5 minutes, add 1 clove of chopped garlic.

  

• Step 3

  After 2 minutes, add the can of diced tomatoes, 4 chopped plum tomatoes, and 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar. Bring to a simmer and reduce for 20 minutes.

  

Deep Dish Pizza

• Prep Time:10 secs
• Cook Time:30 secs
• Total Time:40 secs
• Servings:8
• Easy

Ingredients

• 1 package store-bought pizza crust
• 1/2 package spicy Italian sausage
• 2 cups shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 2 cups pizza sauce
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• Step 1

  Preheat the oven to 425ºF.

  

• Step 2

  Grease the bottom (not the sides) of a round cake pan. Place the dough in the pan, pressing it up the sides. Trim the excess dough.

  

• Step 3

  Generously cover the bottom of the dough with cheese. Place the ground sausage on top of the cheese, creating a layer of sausage.

  

• Step 4

  Spread 2 cups of the pizza sauce on top of the layer of sausage. Brush olive oil on top of the rim of the crust. Place the pizza in the oven and cook for 25 minutes uncovered.

  

• Step 5

  After 25 minutes, lay a piece of tinfoil over the pizza and cook for an additional 5-10 minutes.

  

• Step 6

  Remove the pizza from the oven. Add optional garnishes like fresh basil or Parmesan cheese.

  

• Step 7

  Serve up.

  

#SpoonTip: Chop the onions, garlic, and tomatoes, and then preheat the oven. Once the sauce is finished, all you have to do is assemble it on top of the pizza and pop it in the oven. After the steaming hot pizza pie is removed form the oven, grab a fork—yes, I said fork—and dig in.

If cooking up your own Chicago-style deep dish pizza seems a little too ambitious for you, plan a trip to Chicago and rely on some of the best pizza places in the city that have been perfecting the process for years.