Deep Dish Skillet Pizza
The recipe and photography for this post was provided by Carolyn Hodges of The Dinner Shift.
Classic pizza meets cheesy, saucy casserole in this deep dish skillet pizza. Unlike traditional pizza, the toppings (turkey sausage, green pepper and mushroom) are sandwiched between layers of cheese and sauce and baked to melty perfection in a heavy skillet.
My kids would likely scoff at mushrooms and green peppers on top of their pizza, but never complain when they’re stuffed into a deep dish-style pie. You’ll likely need to eat these slices with a fork and knife!
To cut down on prep time, this recipe calls for Pillsbury’s refrigerated pizza dough (look for it near the refrigerated cinnamon rolls and biscuits). It’s the perfect amount of dough for a 10-inch skillet and so easy to work with. If you opt to make your own dough, you’ll need about 12 ounces for this recipe.
Deep Dish Skillet Pizza
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients
- 11 oz. Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 1 lb. turkey sausage
- 1 green bell pepper, finely chopped
- 8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced
- Salt and pepper
- Dried Italian herbs, fennel seeds and crushed red pepper, optional seasonings
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
- 1 ½ cups pizza sauce, divided
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 450˚F. Remove the pizza dough from the refrigerator.
- Heat 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the turkey sausage and brown, crumbling into small pieces using a wooden spoon or potato masher.
- Once the turkey is cooked through, stir in the bell pepper and mushrooms. Continue to sauté for 10 minutes or until the mushrooms reduce by half.
- Season sausage mixture to taste with salt and pepper and dried herbs, if desired. Set aside.
- Oil the bottom and sides of a 10-inch cast iron or heavy, oven-safe skillet with the remaining Tbsp. of olive oil. Unroll the pizza dough and place it into the skillet, folding the corners in to make it fit (This does not need to be perfect or pretty!). Press the dough up the sides by at least 1 inch.
- Sprinkle 1 cup of the mozzarella on top of the pizza crust followed by 1 cup of the pizza sauce, using a spoon to spread it to the edges.
- Spoon in the sausage mixture and use the back of a spoon to gently press it into the sauce. Top with remaining ½ cup sauce, 1 cup mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Transfer skillet to the preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden brown. If crust and cheese begin to brown too quickly, cover loosely with foil. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.
Interested in making this recipe? Order the ingredients online for Curbside Grocery Pickup or Delivery.
