Cast Iron Pizza is the perfect comfort food! Making homemade pizza in cast iron gives you crispy edges, chewy on the inside – the perfect deep-dish pizza crust.
Baking in cast iron helps distribute the heat more evenly, giving the crust crispy on the exterior and soft inside. Use whatever dough you want, store-bought or homemade, and your favorite toppings.
Our family loves making homemade pizza. We love the thick, buttery crust and simple toppings like shredded mozzarellas cheese and a touch of sweet sausage for this cast iron pizza recipe. So much better than pizza from our local restaurant!
Homemade pizza is one of our favorites. Especially when making pizza in cast iron. It gives you the most delicious crispy outside, chewy inside, deep-dish style pizza.
Pizza dough will keep for a few days in the refrigerator and about a month in the freezer. Make pizza dough a day or two in advance, plop it in the fridge and make skillet pizza later in the week.
Why this recipe works
- Uses simple ingredients – readily available in your local grocery store.
- Use homemade or store-bought pizza dough – make pizza dough from scratch or use store-bought pizza dough. Either way will work for this deep-dish pizza!
- Prep ahead of time – make pizza a day ahead of time and refrigerate overnight. Let warm up for about an hour before making homemade pizza.
- Restaurant-style pizza made at home! – restaurant-style pizza with homemade pizza sauce, in your PJ’s on your own couch!
- Incredible flavors! – cast iron pizza is buttery and cooks so well in cast iron that is chewy on the inside and has a crispy, buttery crust. Simple toppings will do!
What you’ll need
- Pizza dough – Store-bought will work, but we love this Greek-style pizza dough (recipe below) or homemade pizza dough.
- Cheese – the best cheese for pizza is shredded mozzarella or a pizza blend cheese. Top with freshly grated Parmesan cheese or Asiago. It melts nicely and gives you a little browning.
- Pizza sauce – use your favorite marinara sauce or make your homemade pizza sauce. Spread a thin layer of sauce across the bottom of the dough.
- Toppings – Italian sausage links, cut into pieces, sweet sausage, or hamburger. As long as you keep the meat toppings small, there is no need to precook.
- Italian seasoning – sprinkle the top of the pizza before it’s cooked with some Italian seasoning for additional flavor.
For more great recipes made in cast iron skillets be sure and try Cast Iron Cinnamon Rolls, Homemade Apple Pie, Apple Hand Pies, Skillet Blueberry Pie, and Homemade Apple Crisp.
How to make Cast Iron Pizza
- Make homemade pizza dough or use store-bought dough. (Directions and pizza dough recipe below.)
- Grease the skillet– Spray your cast iron skillet with cooking spray or use a clean paper towel to lightly coat the pan with vegetable or olive oil.
- Divide pizza dough– Once the dough has risen in your mixing bowl, divide the pizza dough into rounds.
- Add dough to skillet Gently roll out a one piece of dough using a rolling pin into a sphere slightly larger than the bottom of your skillet. Try and keep the edges of the dough slightly thicker than the center. Place the rolled out dough into the cast-iron skillet. Use your fingers to gently gather the edges and form a crust edge.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.
Use ingredients you have in the fridge for your toppings. I used homemade marinara sauce, sweet sausage, caramelized onions and pizza-blend cheese.
Step 6: Once your dough has risen in the cast-iron skillet, spoon on marinara sauce, sprinkle with cheese and any other toppings you might want. Gently brush the edges of the crust with an egg wash before baking.
Cook in a preheated 500 degree F oven for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese bubbly.
Seasoning cast iron
Seasoning is the process of oil being baked into cast iron through forming a protective layer on top of your cookware. The more you use your cast iron, the more it gives your skillet a natural, easy-release finish and makes cooking and cleaning easy.
Without proper seasoning of cast iron, iron cookware would corrode and rust due to the oxygen and moisture in the air.
- Wash and scrub skillet – I prefer to use soap (Dawn dish detergent) on the exterior of my cast iron skillets and only inside if needed.
- Dry thoroughly – use paper towels or a lint-free clean kitchen cloth.
- Apply oil or fat – spread a thin layer of lard, vegetable shortening or canola oil in the inside of the skillet. Use either a clean, dry paper towel or pastry brush to spread the fat.
- Bake for 1 hour – preheat the oven to 350-400 degrees F. Line the bottom rack with aluminum foil. Place your cast iron cookware upside down on the center rack. Bake for 1 hour.
- Cool in the oven – turn off the heat and let the cast iron skillet cool in the oven. This will allow the seasoning to adhere to the iron.
- Repeat the process if needed.
Recipe FAQs
No, you do not. But, generally, I preheat the oven to 500-550 degrees F and let the dough rise in the cast iron skillet on top of the warm oven. This warms the entire pan.
Yes! Cast Iron is the BEST for homemade pizza. A cast-iron skillet coated with a little bit of oil is gives you the best crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, deep-dish pizza crust.
To prevent pizza from sticking to a cast iron skillet, spray with cooking spray or coat with a few tablespoons of canola or vegetable oil. Use a clean, dry paper towel to spread the oil around in the cast iron skillet. Then stretch your pizza dough and press it into the cast-iron pan.
More Cast Iron Recipes
- Cast Iron Pork Tenderloin
- Chicken Fajitas
- Skillet Pork Chops
- Cast Iron Skillet Chicken
- Cast Iron Peach Pie
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Cast Iron Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 1 cup warm milk
- ½ cup lukewarm water
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast (1 packet)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar (or honey)
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 5 to 5 ½ cups all-purpose flour or 00 pizza flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
Cast Iron Pizza
- ½ cup tomato sauce
- 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- additional toppings of your choice; pepperoni, Italian sausage, ground beef, vegetables
- grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
Cast Iron Pizza Dough
- In either a saucepan or in the microwave, warm the milk. Just slightly warmer than lukewarm.
- Pour the warmed milk into a large mixing bowl of a stand-mixer. Add the lukewarm water, yeast and sugar or honey and stir with a spoon or whisk. Let sit for 3 or 4 minutes. Then add the eggs and olive oil and stir.
- Add the flour and salt, mix using the beater attachment. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula or rubber table scraper. Beat on medium to high speed for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough gently for 5 minutes or so. Shape the dough into a round. Spray the mixer bowl with cooking spray or coat with a touch of olive oil. Place the dough back into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm kitchen for 1 hour or until doubled. Punch down and let rise again, another hour.
Cast Iron Pizza
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and cut into 4 even pieces. Shaped into rounds and let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Cover loosely with plastic wrap.
- Gently roll out a one piece of dough using a rolling pin into a sphere slightly larger than the bottom of your skillet. Try and keep the edges of the dough slightly thicker than the center.
- Grease a 10 or 12-inch cast-iron skillet with a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Place the rolled out dough into the cast-iron skillet. Use your fingers to gently gather the edges and form a crust edge. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour.
- Gently brush the edges of the crust with an egg wash before baking.
- Spoon sauce in the center and spread out towards the crust edges with the back of a tablespoon. Sprinkle with cheese and any toppings you desire. Bake in a preheated 500 degree F oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbly.
Recipe Notes
Cast Iron Pizza
Pizza dough This recipe is a Greek-style pizza dough, traditional in New England. But, you can certainly use store-bought pizza dough for this pizza recipe. Storing pizza dough Simply spray a large zip-style bag with cooking spray and place 1 or 2 rounds in each bag. Place them in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.Nutrition
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David says
This was delicious. The crust was wonderful and crispy on the edges while moist and focaccia like throughout. This will become a part of my repertoire!
Jessica Robinson says
Happy to hear you thoroughly enjoyed it!
Karri says
Would this dough work on a flat pan or stone or does it need a pan with sides?
Jessica Robinson says
It’s likely you could. But this type of dough is really a pan pizza style. There’s an Italian pizza dough that’s meant for a pizza stone on our website. Just search pizza.
Kate says
just made it now, but used a quick pizza home made dough. because I didn’t think about dinner that soon! Oops!
looks delicious, waiting for it to cool some
Jessica Robinson says
Oh so happy to hear you enjoyed!
Karel Mahr says
How do
You make you make using store bought pizza dough
Jessica Robinson says
Karel,
Just put the store-bought pizza dough after rolling it into a sphere into a greased skillet and put on toppings you desire. Bake as directed.
Mike says
I’m a little confused. Which pan is used for this recipe? You have 2 pans listed under “Equipment”, a 17 inch and a 12 inch cast iron pan. Please clarify that for me. Thanks.
Jessica Robinson says
Hey! If you look, we tell readers they can use whatever size skillet they have or prefer. We love making pizza in a 17-inch skillet. However, that’s a really heavy skillet and some don’t like that. Make whatever size pizza you prefer. Stretch the dough as thick or thin as you want.
KC says
Love this recipe! Makes awesome pizza using a cast iron pan! It is easy to do. My family loved it!❤️
Jessica Robinson says
Thank you so much!
Kristen says
I made this tonight and the crust ended up really light and airy, like white loaf bread. Is that how’s it’s supposed to be? It doesn’t taste like regular pizza crust.
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks for letting us know you made this crust. It is a Greek style pizza crust. It’s possible you had it a little too thick. This pizza dough is definitely a little different than Italian style pizza dough. I would recommend going a little thinner with the crust next time and be sure and brush the edges of the crust with an egg wash before cooking.
Donna says
Made this tonight for supper with bacon, sausage, and onion. It was excellent!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks for letting us know you enjoyed it Donna!
Melissa says
I made up two pizzas which turned out fine. The other two dough balls I froze. When I thawed them in the fridge overnight I then placed them in my cast iron skillets. After an hour they had barely risen. Why did they not rise like the ones I baked initially?
Jessica Robinson says
Hello Melissa,
We generally use the pizza dough right away fresh. However, you can freeze pizza dough. My mom always did it. But, it needs to be in a very warm area to rise properly out of the freezer. My mom would even cover the rolled out pizza dough with a clean dry kitchen cloth to insulate it better. You can let the dough rise in an oven that you preheat to about 160 degrees F and then turn off, to use it as a proofer. Frozen dough will only last about 1 month or so in the freezer. Any longer and it won’t rise properly. Let me know if I can help you further!
Laura says
This a great pizza recipe! Loved it. Thanks for posting such great instruction.
Mindy T says
I am baking crust now, I have two extra in the fridge in bags with a little olive oil. Do you let it rise for an hour still in skillet? After it’s been refrigerated?
Jessica Robinson says
I would roll out the pizza dough and shape it into the skillet. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let come to room temperature. Probably about 30 minutes or so…
Please let me know if you need anything else.
Joyce says
I used to use shredded mozzarella cheese but now I use overlapping slices for better cheese coverage. I won’t be going back to shredded.
Jessica Robinson says
Yes, you are welcome to do sliced cheese instead of shredded.
Adriana says
Thank you for sharing your great recipe, my family loved it. I didn’t have time to rise the dough the 3rd time and it came out great! I used 5 cups of flour total and added Italian seasoning to my flour and doubled the salt. I was able to make 5 10″ inch pizzas.
Jessica Robinson says
Adriana,
So happy to hear you loved the pizza recipe!! Italian seasoning to your flour (or even fresh chopped herbs) is a great addition!
Jim says
It looks like you could halve this recipe? There are only 2 of us….what do you think?
Jessica Robinson says
You can definitely halve the recipe. But pizza dough is also freezer friendly!
SARAH TRAVIS says
How do you unfreeze the pizza dough
Jessica Robinson says
Sarah,
Just place the pizza dough into the fridge and thaw overnight. It may get a little gas in the bag from the expansion of yeast, so you’ll just need to open up the bag to release it a bit.