Cast Iron Skillet Pizza

Try this cast iron pizza recipe once, and you'll never make pizza any other way! Thanks to the hot skillet, the crust is perfectly golden brown and crisp.

Cast Iron Pizza Recipe

I may not be excited about summer winding down, but I am excited that it’s finally cool enough to crank up the oven and make cast iron skillet pizza! Jack and I have made regular homemade pizza for years, but this spring, this cast iron pizza recipe took our pizza game to a whole new level. It’s the closest you’ll ever come to making restaurant-style pizza without a fancy oven or pizza stone. Thanks to the hot skillet, the crust becomes crisp and browned on the outside, while the thick edges stay nice and chewy in the middle.

We made this cast iron pizza recipe like crazy in the spring, and I can’t wait to return to it this fall. Lately, I’ve been obsessed with a bold combination of late summer toppings: pesto, roasted red peppers and tomatoes, fresh basil, red onion, briny artichokes, and spicy plant-based sausage. I highly recommend giving it a try, but feel free to swap in your favorite pizza toppings if you prefer. Here, the crisp, golden brown crust is really the star of the show.

Hands stretching pizza dough in a cast iron skillet

How to Make Cast Iron Skillet Pizza

Good news! This cast iron pizza recipe is super simple to make. Here’s how it goes:

Start with the dough, sauce, and/or cheese. Before you assemble and cook your skillet pizza, get the components ready to go. Whip up a batch of homemade pizza dough, or use fresh dough from the store. Grate the cheese, or blend up cashew cream if you’re making a vegan pizza.

Then, prep the toppings. I top my cast iron pizza with plant-based sausage, roasted red peppers, and roasted tomatoes, so I always cook these components in advance. I sear the sausage in a small cast iron skillet, char the peppers on a grill pan, and roast the tomatoes until they’re shriveled around the edges. Once I’ve prepped these toppings, I chop the red onion and artichoke hearts. Last but not least, I whir together basil pesto to dollop on top.

Italian sausage in a skillet with wooden spatula

Next, cook the crust. Press the pizza dough into the bottom of a dry, 10-inch cast iron pan. Make sure to press a thick border of dough around the sides of the pan to create the pizza crust’s chewy edges. Once the dough’s stretched, prick it all over with a fork. Then, heat the skillet on the stove for 2 minutes over medium heat to get the bottom of the crust nice and crispy.

Finally, assemble. Brush the pre-cooked dough with olive oil, and top it with cashew cream or grated mozzarella. Pile on the plant-based sausage, peppers, tomatoes, onion, and artichokes, and place the cast iron skillet in the oven. Cook for 10-12 minutes at 450°, until the crust is lightly golden brown and cooked through.

Enjoy! Carefully remove the skillet from the oven, and top the pizza with dollops of pesto, red pepper flakes, and fresh basil leaves. Slice, and dig in!

Cast iron skillet pizza

Cast Iron Pizza Recipe Tips

Cast iron pizza with one slice missing

More Favorite Pizza Recipes

If you love this cast iron pizza recipe, try one of these tasty pizzas next:

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Cast Iron Pizza

rate this recipe:
5 from 8 votes
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Serves 2
Once you try this cast iron pizza recipe, you'll never make pizza any other way! Use the toppings suggested here, or customize this recipe with your favorite pizza toppings.

Ingredients

  • 1 3 to 4 ounce plant-based Italian sausage link*,

  • 14 ounces

    from 1 recipe Homemade Pizza Dough**

    , see note
  • Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing and drizzling
  • Scoops of Cashew Cream

    , or 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese
  • 2 tablespoons chopped red onion
  • ½ 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained, and quartered
  • cup

    roasted red peppers and/or roasted tomatoes

  • Dollops of pesto
  • Basil leaves
  • Red pepper flakes

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 450°F.
  • Cut the plant-based sausage into small pieces. In a small cast-iron skillet over medium heat, cook the sausage pieces until browned, 1 to 2 minutes.
  • Press the pizza dough into a dry 10-inch cast iron skillet, pressing a thicker rim of dough around the edge to shape the pizza crust. Prick the stretched dough all over with a fork. Heat the skillet on the stove for 2 minutes over medium heat. This helps the bottom of the crust become crispy.
  • Remove from the heat and assemble the pizza. Brush the crust with olive oil. Spread a thin layer of cashew cream onto the dough as a base for the toppings, or sprinkle on the grated mozzarella cheese. Top with the red onion, artichokes, red peppers and/or tomatoes, and the sausage pieces. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the crust is lightly golden brown and cooked through.
  • Top with dollops of pesto, a drizzle of olive oil, fresh basil, and red pepper flakes.

Notes

*We used Lightlife Plant-Based Italian Sausage
**Note: our Homemade Pizza Dough recipe makes 16 ounces of dough; however, we found that 14 ounces works best in a 10-inch cast iron skillet. I suggest making the full recipe and tearing off a small piece of dough for another (mini-pizza) use. Alternatively, you could use a 12-inch skillet with the full dough recipe.

12 comments

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Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. laurie
    12.01.2022

    Hi,
    I don’t have a cast iron skillet, but I have a heavy pan that can go in the oven. Do you think the cast iron is required or would another pan work as well?

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      12.02.2022

      Hi Laurie, Cast-iron is best here for getting the crust really crisp.

  2. Elisa
    09.25.2021

    I made this again tonight, only my son asked me to switch things up a bit and requested vegan cheese in the crust! So, I used the entire pizza dough recipe, just rolled the edges around a bit of vegan cheese and then proceeded as normal with the rest of the recipe. I must say, it turned out great! Cegan cheese doesn’t get melty like dairy cheese, but the “cheesy” crust really made for an extra little snacky bit for the last bite of pizza.
    Alternatively, you could possibly hide some caramelized onions and garlic in the crust, if you choose to use the whole 16oz of dough… we’re going to try that next time!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      09.26.2021

      Hi Elisa, that sounds delish! I’m so glad you’re having fun with the recipe 🙂

  3. Janice Short
    03.03.2021

    5 stars
    Hi Jeanine, I have been very happy with every recipe of yours I’ve tried, but I’m amazed by and in love with this pizza!!! I’ve never been more proud of anything that’s come out of my oven. No more $30 GrubHub pizzas for me. This was even better than my favorite pizza joint. Thank you thank you thank you!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      03.04.2021

      Ha, yay, I’m so glad you loved this one!

  4. Shalena
    10.13.2020

    This was not impressive, not tasty at all. Dough was not well cooked in 12 mins. I tried to fix it, by adding cheddar cheese to the top and pizza seasoning. Additional toppings I added were mushrooms, pineapple, corn. This pizza lacked taste.

  5. Marta Villa
    09.16.2020

    Great recipes

  6. Sabrina from newkitchenlife.com
    09.14.2020

    lovely and what a great way to do it in a cast iron pan, thank you!

  7. Erin
    09.10.2020

    Hi- can’t wait to make this but your pizza dough link is broken?! Looking forward to using that recipe too! Thanks!!!

  8. Killoran
    09.10.2020

    I’ve been making pizza in a pan for quite a while, and don’t heat up the oven doing it. Saute your toppings in a little olive oil. Spread them out evenly, and pour in the batter you’re using for crust. Halfway through cooking, flip it, add pizza sauce, cheese, and basil. cover and continue cooking until the cheese (or whatever substitute) melts.

    Depending on choice of crust, this might be eaten with a fork, but the ‘breadier’ the batter, the more likely I cut it and eat it like any other pizza. The more egg, the more I eat it like an omelet. For batter I’ve used everything from plain egg mix (Just Eggs is vegan, Egg Beaters, or real eggs whirled up) to a flour based batter or dough, or some halfway mix.. As with any pizza, this is highly adaptable vis a vis toppings, cheeses, sauce and ‘dough’ but all are fast, easy, and stove top.

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Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.