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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Joseph says
dino I just brush dough with olive oil prior to adding my home made sauce great idea using skillet don’t need dat pizza stone
Jessica Robinson says
We love the cast iron pizza. But I use a pizza stone with Italian-style pizza.
Daniel Rushton says
Have been doing this for years,but deep dish style. Dough( no rise) sauce,mozzarella,sausage,sauce,mozzarella,sausage,sauce,parmesean. Love the idea of letting the dough rise and getting a crisp outer crust. Thanks for sharing
Jessica Robinson says
Daniel,
Thanks so much for stopping by! Glad you love homemade pizza!
Joce says
Perfect cast iron pizza recipe! Pizza was amazing!
Jessica Robinson says
Thank you so much Joce!!
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks so much for catching that error! Yes, this pizza is a favorite!
Lois. O says
I have a cast iron that I barely get to use, this looks like a perfect way to break them in. Thanks for sharing the recipe
Amy Nash says
Ha! That’s how I feel about my KitchenAid too! I’ve had it almost as long (13 years) and just barely had to have something fixed on it and it gets almost daily use! This pizza looks amazing and just might have to make an appearance at our house on New Year’s Eve!
Michelle @ Vitamin Sunshine says
I love the idea of using cast iron for a pizza! It looks perfect.
Jessica (Swanky Recipes) says
This cast iron pizza sounds like such a fun idea for a cozy night in with a glass of wine! Can’t wait to give it a try after the holiday season!
Julie says
I just read a Serious Eats article about cast iron pizza yesterday and thought it sounded brilliant! I have to give this a try soon.
Christine says
Yummmmm! I’m a pretty big fan of pizza, so this recipe is perfect for me 😉 Love that it can be made in a skillet!
Helene says
I have to get a cast iron!! This kitchen utensil comes so handy, I always wanted to try a cast iron pizza. I usually make pizza once a week but the conservative way. Your looks super tempting!
Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says
I highly agree with you and a Kitchen-Aid mixer. We’re on our 3rd. Yes we use it all the time plus make pasta, grind meat, etc. We love it and we couldn’t do without it. Also, we use our cast iron pan all the time — but we’ve never made a pizza on it. Yours looks delicious and I would never refuse pizza!!!
Wendy | Around My Family Table says
I never thought to make pizza in my cast iron, but that’s such a wonderful idea. Looks tasty.
Sarah says
Well, I have a cast iron pan, but not a stand mixer. I’ll have to try baking my pizzas in my pan though!! I love that idea!
Jessica Robinson says
You can always make dough by hand! The old-fashioned way!
Britt says
My pizza dough turned out crunchy like a cracker what did I do wrong??
Jessica Robinson says
Hi Britt,
Your pizza dough? Was that before you cooked it? My guess is… you added too much flour. I like to add most of the flour so you get a sticky ball that forms, then add the remaining flour on the butcher block (or whatever surface you use to knead) as I knead the dough. That way you don’t add too much flour. Let me know if I can assist you further!
Sam says
You can get really good dough in the frozen sections at grocery stores – my favorite one to use for pizza (and I can’t remember what the brand is) is a Walmart, it’s just regular bread dough and it comes in loaf shapes, it’s a clear and orange bag, and it’s amazing.
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks Sam! You can certainly find pizza dough in most grocery stores in the freezer section.
theresa couture says
Publix bakery sell an awsome dough
Jessica Robinson says
Theresa,
You can certainly use a store-bought pizza dough. But, this is a recipe for a Greek style pizza dough. Which is much different from any store-bought doughs.
Natalie says
YUM! This pizza looks so good! I love the idea of making it in an iron skillet.