📍 Illinois

Chicago deep-dish pizza

Name: Chicago deep-dish pizza
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 35 min
Total time: 135 min
Yield: 6 servings
Ingredients: 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup fine cornmeal; 1 packet active dry yeast (7 g); 1 cup warm water; 60 g melted butter; 1 teaspoon salt; 400 g sliced mozzarella cheese; 300 g thick tomato sauce with oregano and garlic; 200 g crumbled Italian sausage

· Lunch

A tall, thick-crusted pan pizza with the cheese on the bottom, a generous filling, and tomato sauce on top, a Chicago trademark.

Editorial content by WorldBites · 2026-10-04 · Contact

Chicago deep-dish pizza: A tall, thick-crusted pan pizza with the cheese on the bottom, a generous filling, and tomato sauce on top, a Chicago trademark. — Photo: Prayitno · CC BY 2.0 · via Wikimedia CommonsPhoto resized, converted to WebP and cropped for display.

⏱ 135 min🍽 6 servings📊 Intermediate🏷 Commonly associated

Preparation: 40 min
Cooking: 35 min
Waiting and resting: 60 min

History

It is credited to Pizzeria Uno in Chicago, where this deep version baked in a steel pan became popular in the late 1940s. Unlike Neapolitan pizza, the dough forms a kind of deep tart: first the cheese, then the toppings, and finally the sauce, so the cheese doesn't burn during the long bake. It became a culinary symbol of the city.

Ingredients

Adjust quantitiesServings

Only numeric quantities at the start of an ingredient are adjusted. Descriptive quantities, seasoning to taste and timings remain unchanged; check them when changing servings.

Preparation

1
Mix both flours, yeast, salt, water and butter; knead, cover and let rise 60 minutes until doubled.
2
Roll out the dough and line a greased deep pan, pressing it up the sides.
3
Cover the bottom with the mozzarella slices to protect it from the sauce.
4
Add the sausage or other toppings and finish with the tomato sauce on top.
5
Bake at 220°C for about 30 to 35 minutes until the edge turns golden.
6
Let rest a few minutes before cutting into deep slices.