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A slice of Chicago style deep dish pizza being lifted from a deep dish pan
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4.97 from 28 votes

Chicago Deep Dish Pizza

This Chicago Deep Dish Pizza - Gino's Copycat is so incredibly good. It's loaded with melty cheese on bottom, then topped with meat and marinara sauce.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Refrigeration12 hours
Total Time13 hours
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American, Italian
Keyword: Deep Dish Pizza, Pizza
Servings: 8
Calories: 597kcal
Author: Erica Walker

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 cup lukewarm water
  • 1 (0.25-ounce) packet active dry yeast
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • ⅓ cup corn oil
  • 1 teaspoon cream of tartar
  • 1 pound bread flour

Pizza Sauce

  • 1 (28-ounce) can San Marzano tomatoes, undrained
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon dried basil
  • ½ teaspoon dried oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon fresh ground black pepper

Toppings

  • 16 ounces shredded mozzarella (Low-moisture part skim NOT low fat. It won't turn out good if you use low fat)
  • 25 slices pepperoni
  • 10 ounces Italian sausage uncooked, pinched into little pieces

Instructions

Crust

  • In a bowl, combine water, yeast, sugar, oil, and cream of tartar. Mix with your hand or a whisk until the yeast dissolves.
    Bowl of yeast mixture for Homemade Pizza Dough.
  • Pour in bread flour a little at a time. Mix with your hand or a dough mixer. Knead until firm, about 10 minutes. Add more flour if needed.
    Mixing bowl with dry and wet ingredients for Homemade Pizza Dough.
  • Brush a bowl with oil. Roll the dough into a ball and put it in the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel. Let sit on the counter overnight.
    Greased bowl with risen Homemade Pizza Dough.

Pizza Sauce

  • Pour tomatoes into a bowl. Using a potato masher or just your hands, mash the tomatoes up so that there are no chunks bigger than a quarter.
    A bowl with tomatoes that have been crushed by hand
  • Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and stir. Adjust the salt and pepper to taste. Do not use too much basil or oregano.
    A bowl of tomato sauce with seasonings sprinkled over the top

Assembly

  • Preheat oven to 350.
    Prepare a 14-inch deep-dish pizza pan or a round cake pan with straight sides by coating the inside of it with a very healthy coating of melted butter or oil.
    Roll the dough out to about 3 inches larger in diameter than the bottom of the pan, then place inside the pan and pinch the dough up along the sides.
    A plain uncooked deep dish pizza crust
  • Sprinkle the cheese on the crust.
    Deep dish pizza crust with cheese
  • Add the pepperoni and sausage pieces.
    An uncooked deep dish pizza with cheese, pepperoni, and sausage
  • Cover with the sauce.
    An uncooked Chicago style deep dish pizza like Gino's East with sauce over the top
  • Bake for about 45 minutes, until the crust starts to brown and the cheese starts to bubble up through the sauce. The little edges of the pepperoni should also start to crisp, and the sausage should be cooked through.
    A cooked copycat of a Gino's East pizza in a deep dish pan

Video

Notes

  • Don't like the toppings? Swap them out for your favorites! 
  • Try to get tomatoes with the DOP label so you know they are real Italian tomatoes. 
  • Use low-moisture part-skim mozzarella, not low-fat. It won't turn out well if you use low-fat. 
  • To prep ahead, make the sauce in advance. It will stay good in the fridge for up to a week.
  • To store, keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 1 month. 

Nutrition

Calories: 597kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 508mg | Potassium: 437mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1210IU | Vitamin C: 13.6mg | Calcium: 309mg | Iron: 2.4mg