Deep Dish Sausage Pizza with Spinach Salad

Deep Dish Sausage Pizza Recipe

This delicious deep dish pizza is one of my favorite weeknight and weekend meals to make, because with my pizza dough made ahead of time, it’s so quick and easy! And who wants to spend more time than necessary slaving over the stove any day of the week?

Deep Dish Sausage Pizza

Once every few weeks, I’ll make a big batch of pizza dough and store individual portions in the freezer for later. Then, later in the week I’ll be fishing through there for some meat or whatever, and oh, would you look at that! It’s a little surprise bundle of pizza dough all wrapped up and ready to be ravaged with toppings. Dinner is decided!

Deep Dish Pizza Recipe

All you need to do is stretch out the dough a little, top it with diced tomatoes and freshly grated mozzarella, and go wild with whatever toppings you like. I used crumbled sautéed sausage and Italian spices, but feel free to use what you like – ham, green peppers, chicken, olives, proscuitto, pineapple. The options are endless!

Easy Deep Dish Pizza

After baking for just half an hour, the pizza crust is perfectly crisp, the cheese is gooey, and the sausage and herbs are melted all together in a medley of deliciousness. Served with a little spinach and tomato salad (or if you’re feeling a little naughty, no salad. I won’t tell) with a balsamic dressing, this simple and scrumptious meal will have you going back for seconds!

Deep Dish Sausage Pizza with Spinach Salad

Deep Dish Sausage Pizza with Spinach Salad

Yield: 4 to 5

Ingredients

  • 3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
  • 6 ounces Italian sausage, casings removed
  • 12 ounces pizza dough, homemade or store bought, room temp
  • 1/2 pound mozzarella, grated (2 cups)
  • 1 14.5- ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 bunches spinach, about 8 cups
  • 2 large tomatoes, cut into small chunks
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • Salt and black pepper

Instructions

  1. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a pan and cook sausage over medium heat until browned, 6-7 minutes. As it cooks, break the sausage into crumbles with a potato masher (this makes it much easier!) or large spoon. Drain on a paper towel-lined plate and set aside.
  2. Heat oven to 400° F. Coat a 9-inch oven-proof skillet or cake pan with 1 ½ tablespoons of the oil. Stretch and press the dough into the pan, covering the bottom and sides. Top with half the mozzarella, then the tomatoes, oregano, and remaining mozzarella.
  3. Scatter the crumbled sausage over the pizza. Bake until the crust is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, toss the spinach with the tomatoes, vinegar, the remaining tablespoon of oil, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Serve with the pizza.
  5. Enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?

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Join the Conversation

  1. I just love your photos, they are so vivid and colorful! The pizza looks delicious, It’s such a good idea to make the dough ahead of time! Have a nice week ;)

  2. OH MY!!!! So excited to make this! I love pizza, and I love love love sausage! What a beautiful picture, too!

  3. What an outstanding recipe. I have never made a deep dish pizza at home before – can only think because my hubby enjoys a thin crust but I have to try your recipe.
    :-) Mandy

  4. Yum! This looks great! Gorgeous photos!

  5. Fabulous photos. Great recipe.

  6. I am always on the hunt of a new pizza recipe to make on Firdays and this one fits really well! Great recipe Georgia.

    Have a great week ahead.

  7. I love skillet pizza! I haven’t made it on my own before though – although I definitely have it on my list after dusting off and reseasoning my cast iron skillet recently.
    Gorgeous photos, as always!

  8. my husband would LOVE this! Thanks for the recipe :)

  9. Gosh, that pizza looks positively sumptuous. It is brimming with goodies :D
    *kisses* HH

  10. Looks SO good! Now I am totally craving pizza, which is a good/bad thing :)

  11. I love deep dish pizza. When I was younger I used to wipe off the sauce and cheese and just eat the crust. Crazy, I know, but that crust is just delicious. Can’t wait to try this!

  12. Oh… YUM… that looks like the best deep dish pizza I have seen!! I’m free for dinner any time during the week :)

  13. Deep dish pizza in a skillet – what a fabulous idea! Love that you have the dough made ahead of time, too. I must try it – thank you for sharing!

  14. Ooh, I love that you baked this in a skillet. So fun!

  15. I agree, I love that you made this in a skillet!

  16. Hi Georgia! Your photos are always so bright and making us feel so nice and warm…very comforting. Your blog name fits so well. :-) I love spending a few minutes on your blog whenever your post is up. Just very cozy feeling. Pizza looks lovely and I like the skillet and make me want to buy one!

  17. Hi Georgia! I just found your blog too after your wonderful comment on my blog :-) This deep dish pizza is definitely going on my list of must make dishes-I’ve been looking for a deep dish pizza recipe and I am so happy to have one now! Thanks for sharing!

  18. Can I please move in next to you?! Please!!

  19. Georgia, I love this idea for a skillet pizza. Have never tried, but we would all love it. I must start making my own dough asap! Thanks for a great recipe. Soooo glad you made it to the flower fields too :)

  20. I loooove deep dish pizza! Yum!

  21. Hi Georgia!

    What a light bright airy look you have here at The Comfort of Cooking! Love the look of that thick crusted deep dish pizza! We have pizza a lot during baseball season, as we tend to watch Red Sox games and relax with dinner in front of the game … something my mother would have had a fit about! Oops! Sorry Mom!

    I’m thinking your pizza recipe is our next Sox game fare! Thanks!

  22. Sounds like the perfect meal to me – the pizza looks AMAZING!

  23. This looks amazing! I definitely want to try it in a skillet now, it looks like it gives the bread a different texture than ours had. So funny we both made it, great minds think alike huh? :)

  24. OMG! Sounds phenomenal! I MUST try this! Love your blog! Thanks for finding me! I’m your newest follower! Follow back if you like what you see! :)

    http://www.epicureanmom.com

  25. I just discovered my love for deep dish, I have to attempt this soon!

  26. This looks so good Georgia! I never would have thought to use a cake pan, what a great idea. I can’t wait to try this!

  27. Thanks Christina, but there’s no cake pan here! That’s a cast iron ovenproof skillet.

  28. YUM! Great idea to make this in a cast iron skillet! We do pizza night probably once a week… i need to switch it up and try deep dish style! :)

  29. This picture is saying to me, Hello….I’m gorgeous and you need me in your life. Pizza is my favorite.

  30. This looks lovely Georgia! You are inspiring me to venture to make more savory dishes :)

  31. I couldn’t stand it, I made it for dinner tonight…it’s baking right now. OMG. If it tastes half as good as it smells, I’m in big trouble. Like, eat a whole pan pizza myself kinda trouble.

    Love your blog. Thanks so much for the inspiration!

  32. That’s great, Erin! I know, doesn’t it fill your house with a yummy smell? I really hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

  33. Oh wow, it’s amazing. Everyone, go make this now. And then send Georgia something pretty as a thank you. =)

    My house smells good and my tummy is happy. Thanks again!

  34. Lovely pizza – it looks so fresh and light! I love to cook pizzas in a skillet.

  35. Love love love this. I love that you look the pizza right in the pan! LOVE IT!

  36. This looks so good! I may not even bother ordering pizza anymore with this recipe. And I live in Chicago!

  37. Yum! Love this and your photo’s are beautiful! And all the more reasons to love your skillet if you can make something as yummy as this! :)

  38. Oh my word! this looks absolutely amazing!! I can’t wait to read all of your blog! So glad you stopped by! I would love any and all pointers!!!
    Carolyn

  39. This looks great, Georgia! My husband would be in heaven. Is that a Le Creuset skillet? I love anything Le Creuset!

  40. Yes it is! A hand-me-down from my mother in law, actually. Good eye!

  41. This looks mouthwatering! Love your Le creuset skillet too.

  42. Your pictures are breath taking Georgia..and that pizza..I can almosr smell it through the screen

  43. This would have to be the ultimate comfort food for me. It just looks yummo!

  44. Curse you! I can just see my stomach expanding already! OH why did I have to look at this at 11 at night?
    Thanks for the great recipe, I’ll have to give this one a shot sometime!

  45. this is the best looking pan pizza ever! gorgeous:)

  46. I love your description of the pizza, you are selling it very well (not that it needed selling, the pictures say it all really) :)

  47. Delicious! I love that you made it in a skillet!

  48. My husband would literally go CRAZY for this pizza. I should surprise him with it this wee. Thanks for sharing the recipe and tips!

  49. This sounds so good! I need to get one of those skillets, they are so so handy!

  50. Love how it’s baked and presented in the skillet! I like to have my dough prepped and frozen ahead of time too; makes life so much easier!

  51. This looks amazing! Unfortunately, dough and I don’t see eye to eye (every time I tried to make something with yeast, I have completely failed) but maybe it’s time to overcome my fears and give this a try!

  52. wow this pizza looks amazing and you cooked it in a pan very cool

  53. Your pizza looks fantastic! I love deep dish pizza – have never thought to make pizza in a pan, but I will have to try this!

  54. Hello Georgia! You have a wonderful blog here! Such an eclectic collection of recipes…which I love. And your photography is quite amazing. This pizza, in particular, looks awesome! I’ll definitely be coming back for more. : )

  55. I like the idea of cooking the pizza in a skillet. Great, bright pictures! Looking forward to reading your other recipes and following :)

  56. Wow Georgia, this pizza may be the best one I’ve ever seen, it’s just gorgeous;-)

  57. This looks easy enough and so good! I could eat pizza once a week if calories were no issue ;) I can’t wait to try your recipe.

  58. Hi there, where did you get that lovely pan? it is on my favorite color as well :-)
    Great pictures and by the way thanks for visiting and commenting on my blog :-)

  59. It looks just amazing! Yum!

  60. eatgood4life – It’s from Le Creuset

  61. Fabulous looking pizza. I’m going to have to try baking in a skillet…just cause it looks fun

  62. It’s late here, and this is making my tummy wish it was dinner time. This pizza looks delicious- all my favorite flavors in one chewy gooey pie. :)

  63. Such a fun way to make a pizza, I have yet to try a deep dish version but it came out perfectly here. Looks fantastic!

  64. This sounds and looks so good! Have never made a deep dish pizza before but you have tempted me to try one out!

  65. I’ve seen a few of these these deep-dish pizzas in cast-iron pans lately. Tempting me more and more. I might need to get a bigger pan to accommodate, or there’ll be a long wait for pizza #2.

    Your photos are spectacular, by the way.

  66. Georgia, Thanks for such a nice comment on my blog today. I’m in the market for a new skillet and I’ve had my heart set on a skillet of the cast iron variety….If I show my husband this post, I think he’ll finally agree this type of skillet is the ONLY way to go.

  67. The further down the page I go the more impressed I am with your blog – just lovely!

  68. I love the pan!! Where did you get it??

  69. That sounds AMAZING. Thanks for the recipe share. Is it hard to scoop slices out once it’s cooked?

    my pizza blog: http://cheazza.tumblr.com

  70. Lizzie – The pan is from Le Creuset.

    Adrienne – No, there are no problems scooping out the slices once the pizza is cooked if you oil the pan beforehand, as instructed in the recipe.

  71. hello Georgia…. i love your site…you have everything…. my kids will love this too….

  72. 5 stars
    We love this recipe!

  73. Hey, great pizza. It would be great if you linked it in to Food on Friday Series which is all about pizza this week.

  74. Curious if you cut the pizza in the pan (it looks to be an enamel coated cast iron skillet) or do you slide it out first? I am planning to try my hand at this soon, and am concerned about using one of my enamel coated cast iron pans for it. Thanks, for your time!

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