Easy Lodge Cast Iron Skillet Pizza

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5 from 3 votes

Easy Lodge Cast Iron Skillet Pizza

An easy, absolutely delicious deep dish pizza pie with a crispy crust!

Prep Time20

Cook Time25

pre-heat cast iron skillet10

Total Time55

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 368kcal

Author: Paige

Cost: $15-$25.00

Equipment

cast iron skillet, 9 or 10 inches
measuring cups and spoons
cheese grater
can opener
knife
Rolling Pin

Ingredients

1 package Prepared Pizza Crust (store bought) about 12 ounces
2 tablespoons Olive Oil, plus more for serving
1 pound Chicken Sausage, bulk
1 14.5 ounce can Diced Tomatoes, drained
¾ cup Prepared pizza sauce
1 clove Garlic, crushed
½ teaspoon Salt
½ teaspoon Black Pepper, freshly ground
¼ teaspoon Red Pepper flakes
½ teaspoon Oregano, dried
2 tablespoons Basil leaves, chopped, fresh see note
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, low moisture style, grated
¼ cup Parmesan Cheese, grated, plus more for serving

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 450F degrees. Use a 9 or 10" cast iron skillet for this recipe.
MAKE THE MEAT MIXTURE
Cook the sausage in a non-stick skillet. Drain any fat that may have accumulated on the bottom, then add in the drained tomatoes, pizza sauce, crushed garlic, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, oregano and one tablespoon (a couple of leaves) of the chopped fresh basil.
Cook the meat mixture on medium until the liquid has evaporated, 4-6 minutes. It will be chunky!
Let this mixture cool down while you prepare the pan and dough.
PREPARE THE CAST IRON PAN AND DOUGH
Roll out the prepared pizza dough to a rough 14" inch circle using a lightly floured rolling pin on a flat surface, such as a clean countertop.
Pre-heat the cast iron skillet by placing it on the bottom rack of the oven for ten minutes. Set the skillet on a large baking sheet if you'd like, to make removing it from the oven a bit easier as it will be hot.
Remove skillet from the oven and add two tablespoons of olive oil coating the entire bottom and up the sides the skillet using a pastry brush if needed, to go up the sides of the pan.
Carefully transfer the rolled out pizza dough directly into the skillet, and remember, the skillet is hot! Lightly press the dough into place up the sides of the skillet.
Don't be concerned with how it looks at this point. The goal is cover the bottom of the skillet with the dough roughly 1 1/2" inches up the sides.
Set the skillet back on the baking sheet to rest while you grate the cheese.
TO ASSEMBLE
Sprinkle half the cheese (one cup) on the bottom layer of the crust. Now spoon on all of the meat mixture on top of that, leaving about a inch border around the sides. Sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the meat mixture.
Next, sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top, and brush the outside edges of the pizza dough with a little olive oil to help them brown.
Bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 20-25 minutes. The edges will be golden brown and the bottom easy to lift with a spatula.
To serve, sprinkle the pizza with a little more Parmesan cheese, the remaining fresh basil (whole or chopped) and a drizzle of olive oil, if you like.
Let the pizza rest for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Notes

Bring your prepared pizza dough up to room temperature about 30 minutes before you start the recipe. I use a small bowl with some olive oil in it to prevent sticking.
If you aren't using fresh herbs, a good tip is one tablespoon of fresh herbs is roughly equivalent to one teaspoon of dried herbs.
Be sure to use low-moisture mozzarella cheese, but not the skim or no-fat kind. Two things: if you use a fresh mozzarella packaged in brine, your pizza crust will be soggy. This is bad. And if you use skim or no-fat mozzarella, well, lets just say your pizza will not be as melted and delicious as it was meant to be.

Nutrition