Name: Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 100 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 300 g Pizza Dough, room temperature; 1¼ cup Mozzarella Cheese, grated or sliced; 180 g Italian Sausage, casings removed if needed; ¾ cup Tomato Puree, thick; ⅓ cup Onion, finely chopped; 2 clove Garlic, minced; ¾ tsp Dried Oregano, crumbled; 1 tbsp Olive Oil, for pan and sauce; ¾ tsp Salt, divided; ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper, freshly ground if possible

1 hr 40 mintotal

1 hr 10 min hands-on30 min hands-off

Prep 25 min · Cook 45 min

Serves: 2
Difficulty: Hard
Spice: Medium

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Method

Heat the oven to 220°C. Oil a deep round baking pan and press the rested pizza dough across the base and up the sides.
Add mozzarella cheese directly over the dough, spreading it evenly across the base.
Crumble the Italian sausage over the cheese in an even layer.
Mix tomato puree with onion, garlic, oregano, salt, black pepper, and a little olive oil, then spoon it over the sausage.
Bake until the crust is deeply golden, the sausage is cooked through, and the tomato layer looks thick and bubbling. Rest before slicing.

How to tell it's done

The crust should be tall and golden, with melted cheese, cooked sausage, and a thick tomato top layer.

Getting it right

Tip

Layering cheese under the tomato sauce helps protect the crust from becoming soggy.

What to serve it with

Serve warm in thick wedges with a simple salad.

Common mistakes

The base is soggy.: The cheese goes directly on the dough and the sauce on top — that order is not stylistic, it is what keeps the tomato off the crust through a long bake. Reversing it gives you a wet-bottomed pizza.
The crust slumps down the sides of the pan.: Press the dough firmly up the walls and let it rest a few minutes before filling. Dough stretched under tension springs back and pulls away as it bakes.

Substitutions

Deep-dish pizza needs a sturdy dough; very thin flatbread-style bases will not hold the filling.
Use low-moisture mozzarella if available to reduce sogginess.
Italian sausage is traditional for this version, but the spice level can vary by sausage brand.
Resting before slicing helps the layers hold together.
For gluten-free or dairy-free adaptations, replace the dough and cheese as needed, then review the final ingredient labels and cross-contact risk before changing the gluten or dairy allergen flags.

Storing and reheating

Keeps three days in the fridge. Reheat in a hot oven or a covered pan on the hob — a microwave turns the crust to bread. It freezes for two months in slices, wrapped tightly.

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