Cooking Pizza In Cast Iron

This homemade cast iron skillet pizza is thicker like Pizza Hut, but made from scratch with whole foods, so it's healthy pizza - for real! Homemade pizza just met it's match. Get the easy recipe and wow your family for dinner this weekend, while saving money and clean eating! :: DontWastetheCrumbs.com

My husband's three favorite words: Home.Made.Pizza.

My three favorite words: Cast.Iron.Skillet. (I fell in love this past summer.)

What do you get when you put them together? Homemade Cast Iron Skillet Pizza.

Oh. My. Goodness.

You. Know. You. Want. This.

Because we want you to have a love affair with pizza too (um, hello?! It's a MERE FRACTION of take out!), we've shared our secrets on creating the perfect New York style pizza crust and the easiest homemade pizza sauce in the whole wide world.

We also showed you how to make pizza on the grill and Mr. Crumbs' college favorite buffalo chicken pizza (which you MUST try if you haven't already. seriously).

One day this past summer, after he found out about my love affair, Mr. Crumbs gave my cast iron skillet a second glance and did the unthinkable.

He made pizza in it.

While my mouth dropped in shock, my taste buds were in awe.

Y'all. It's like Chicago pizza in California. Not quite full-fledged deep-dish (to the point where you need a knife and fork), but definitely thicker than East Coast.

It's sorta kinda Sicilian, but not quite as thick all around. You could compare it to Pizza Hut (minus the processed ingredients part), but with a slightly softer crust.

And absolutely DELISH!

Homemade Cast Iron Skillet Pizza

So… yeah… we were a little confused as to how to actually interpret the result, but it's doesn't really matter because this pizza is SLAMMIN.

So here's the trick to making an easy and perfect homemade cast iron skillet pizza.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees and make the best pizza dough ever. (<– totally not bias)

Make the best pizza sauce ever. (<– seriously!) and after the dough has completed it's rise, split it in half.

If you want a Pizza Hut / Round Table type pizza, lightly coat the cast iron skillet with olive oil and DON'T pre-heat.

Press the dough out into a rough circle the size of your skillet (ours is 12″ in diameter) and lay it in the pan. Continue to press the dough out so that you get a little "lip" around the edge for your crust.

If you opted to preheat the skillet, please be VERY CAREFUL as the skillet will be incredibly hot.

If you're looking for a nice change of pace, consider carrot top pesto or homemade ranch dressing instead of traditional pizza sauce.

Then top appropriately. Pepperoni, diced chicken, leftover veggies from dinners this past week (<–great way to use up leftovers!).

Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbly and the crust is golden.

Drool. Then eat.

Homemade Cast Iron Skillet Pizza

Thick crusted pizza, covered with edge seared pepperoni, all in a large cast iron pan. Text overlay Perfect Cast Iron Pizza.

Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 8 slices 1x
Category: Main meals
Method: Bake
Cuisine: American

1 prepared batch of homemade pizza dough
1 prepared batch of homemade pizza sauce (or carrot top pesto)
8 oz mozzarella (fresh is best)
toppings, as desired

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
If you want a Pizza Hut / Round Table style pizza, lightly coat the cast iron skillet with olive oil. Otherwise, place the cast iron skillet in the oven for 30 minutes to preheat.
Meanwhile, divide the pizza dough into two. Pound one piece of the dough into a circle about the size of your cast iron skillet.
Very carefully place the dough into the cast iron skillet and press the dough out so that you get a lip around the edge for the crust. Please work carefully as a preheated cast iron skillet will be hot!
Smear about 1/4 – 1/2 cup of sauce on the bottom of the pizza.
Top with the appropriate toppings and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the cheese is bubble and the crust is golden.
Repeat with the second round of dough.
Enjoy your homemade cast iron skillet pizza!

Keywords: Cast iron skillet pizza

Additional Recipe Notes

If you want your cast iron skillet pizza to have a a crust with a little more crunch, baste the crust with a little bit of olive oil before putting in the oven.

When the pizza is done, slide it out onto a cutting board and let it sit for a few minutes before cutting. If you've seasoned your cast iron skillet the right way, this shouldn't be a problem. We like to use this pizza cutter because it doesn't make the cheese slide all over the place.