Want to try a Chicago deep dish pizza recipe? Now is your chance because Deep Dish Pizza Day is right around the corner! That’s right, the fifth of April is National Deep Dish Pizza Day in the US, and we couldn’t be happier about it.
Ike Sewell, a wonderful baker from Chicago, is credited with inventing the Chicago style deep dish pizza in 1943. The pizza is characterized by having a buttery crust that can be three inches tall. It also has a large amount of flavorsome sauce, delectable toppings, and cheese. The Chicago style deep dish pizza is utterly different from its competitor, the super-thin New York style, and while we love them both we certainly appreciate how decadent and wonderful deep dish pizza is. The luxury of the rich sauce and creamy cheese is something else, especially when you’re eating it in your jammies!
In this article, we’re going to talk through some stunning deep dish pizza recipes for you to try at home any day of the week.
Chicago Deep Dish Pizza Recipe List:
1. Recipe Girl
This is a superb Chicago deep dish pizza recipe that we absolutely adore. The thing that stands out the most is the use of fresh basil in this recipe. That’s sure to give the sauce a fragrant hit, ideal for the best Chicago style pizzas.
We love how well the lamination process for the dough is explained here. Lamination is where the dough is folded over itself in order to create pockets of (in this case) butter. The steps for this process are explained really well, ideal for people who might be giving this a first try on National Deep Dish Pizza Day.
2. Sally’s Baking Addiction
This blog has been a favorite of cooks everywhere since it began, and their Chicago style pizza definitely won’t disappoint.
There are quite a few things that we really appreciate about this Chicago deep dish pizza recipe. In particular, the one that stands out is how simple the sauce is. In truly traditional style for Italian cooking, this recipe focuses on using high-quality ingredients and keeping things simple. Making the slightly sweet marinara great by using fresh garlic and red pepper flakes is a stroke of genius!
3. Taste Of Home
Chicago style deep dish pizza can be quite complicated, so we love that this recipe is a lot more straightforward! There are two things that set this recipe apart: the tomato sauce and the spice blend.
Within the pizza sauce, a can of tomato sauce is used, which is a great idea to normalize the flavors within the sauce. If you have a sauce that’s too acidic, for example, adding a can of a delicious sauce will help you quickly and easily.
The seasoning blend used here is unique, too. Garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil, and pepper is used. This is different from a traditional Italian blend, which often may include rosemary and thyme as well. This will result in a sauce that’s a little less fragrant but may pack a more powerful savory punch.
4. Minimalist Baker
This is a wonderfully simple recipe from Minimalist Baker in which we actually don’t make the dough or the sauce. The dough that’s used is a more traditional Italian pizza dough (flour, water, salt, yeast, and olive oil), and the sauce is simple too. The recipe actually says that you can use store-bought if you’d like – making this recipe great for novice bakers this National Deep Dish Pizza Day.
The thing that makes baking a Chicago deep-dish pizza this way interesting is that the dough won’t have any butter in it. This makes for a crust with a non-traditional texture, but a delicious one all the same!
5. Del’s Cooking Twist
This is a great recipe ideal for anyone hoping to create an authentic, delicious Chicago deep dish pizza in their own home.
The thing that sets this recipe apart from the crowd is the use of crushed tomatoes with basil. While this may sound like a very small thing to change in the overall scheme of things, it will have a surprisingly large effect as the basil has been sitting in the tomatoes in a tin for a long time – the flavors will mix beautifully to help you create an amazing sauce.
If making your own deep dish isn’t your thing, try ordering in or going out for one. If you do that, check out our curated list of pizzerias serving deep dish pizza along with the best deals that satisfy your cravings (or curiosity!).
Lewis is a freelance writer from the UK who loves to cook, bake, and eat pizza. He’s been writing since 2019 and eating pizza for a lot longer than that.