Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza is an easy recipe for a lower calorie pizza with all the pizzazz as the full calorie version!

The recipe for this impressive pizza with a unique crust comes from Cooking Light. Loaded with cheese, sausage, onion, peppers and tomatoes, it was a huge hit with my family and it will be with yours too!

The crust is hearty and chewy with cornmeal added right into the dough.  Made in a glass baking dish it is super simple to assemble and the forgiving dough is a breeze to make.  Just give yourself enough time for the dough to rise ( about 45 minutes) and you are good to go.

I served it with a huge veggie salad for a completely decadent meal. 

The original recipe called for mushrooms instead of onion, but I didn't have any on hand, so I subbed onion.  I think you could do whatever toppings you like, as this crust is able to stand up to MANY toppings and still hold together.

Delicious! ( Actually, my husband ( a picky eater) , who is usually very limited on compliments on my cooking said this was " VERY good!" so I would call that a success....and of course, the boys LOVED it!)

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

adapted from Cooking Light

Printable Recipe

Servings - 8   Serving Size - 1/8th of pizza   Points Plus per Serving - 9 points+

Calories - 330,   Total Fat - 9.2g,   Carb. - 44g,   Protein - 17.8g,   Fiber - 3.2g

2 tsp. sugar

1 pkg. dry active yeast ( about 2 1/4 tsp.)

1 cup warm water ( 100 - 110 degrees F) 

1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

12.4 ounces all purpose flour ( about 2 3/4 cups), divided

1/4 cup yellow cornmeal

1/2 tsp. salt

2 cups reduced fat shredded cheese of your choice ( I used a blend of Italian cheeses), divided

6 ounces of precooked chicken Italian sausage, casings removed and diced  ( I used raw, removed the casing, crumbled it and sauteed it until it was done.  Then let it cool before using as a topping) 

1 (28 ounce) can of diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic

handful of fresh basil leaves, chopped

1/2 onion, chopped

1 small bell pepper of your choice ( I used yellow), chopped

1.  To make the dough:   Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm water in 2 cup glass measure or small bowl; let stand for 5 minutes to get bubbly on the top.  Stir in olive oil.   Weigh ( 11.25 ounces ) or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, level with a knife.  Combine 11.25 ounces ( about 2 1/2 cups) flour, cornmeal and salt in a large bowl.  Stir yeast mixture into flour mixture to form a wet ball.  Turn dough onto lightly floured surface.  Knead until smooth and elastic( about 5 minutes) slowly adding the remainder of the flour as you knead.  Dough will be a little sticky.  Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray and cover.  Allow to rise for about 45 minutes in a warm place until doubled in size.  Punch dough down and let it rest for 5 minutes.  Roll out dough on lightly floured surface into a 11 x 15" rectangle.  Spray 9 x 13" glass baking dish with cooking spray.  Lay the rolled out dough into the baking dish and press up sides.  

2.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 

3.  To assemble pizza:  Open the can of tomatoes and drain in a colander for about 10 minutes to remove most of the liquid.  ( you can get the rest of the toppings going while the tomatoes are draining)  Spread 1 1/2 cups cheese onto the prepared dough.  Top the cheese with the sausage.  Heat a large nonstick skillet sprayed with cooking spray to med heat.  Saute the onion and pepper until they are tender, about 6 - 8 minutes.  Top the sausage with the cooked vegetables.  Top the vegetables with the drained tomatoes.  Top the tomatoes with the remaining cheese.  

4.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 25 - 30 minutes or until crust browns and cheese bubbles.  Top with chopped fresh basil.   Cool 5 minutes before cutting. 

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This really was a super yummy dinner!  I will definitely be making this again.  I loved the thick crust and the fact that you could make it in a common sized pan.  I think I will be playing around with toppings next time.  That is the fun of making pizza, right?  The toppings!  :)  What are your favorite pizza toppings??

I did weigh out the flour when I made the dough.  I find that when making yeast dough recipes, this really works out best because flour can weigh different amounts according to the humidity in the air.  If you have a kitchen scale it is easy to use it for this.  Just set your bowl on top of the scale and zero it out, then spoon the amount of flour you need for a recipe until you get the to the right weight!