This Cheesy Cast Iron Pan pizza uses simple ingredients, and is incredibly delicious. The dough comes together super fast because it doesn’t require any kneading. The no cook pizza sauce takes minutes to make. What makes this pizza really special is the “frico” (crispy cheese edge). There’s no need to pay for pizza delivery, when you can make this simple and flavorful pizza in your own kitchen. Trust me, it’s so worth it!
I love my cast iron skillet. There. I said it. I finally got the hang of how to take care of it (season it, wash it and store it). I make “Dutch Babies” in it, bake cookies, and bake skillet yeast rolls— just to name a few. I can’t fail to mention how much I prefer to sear and roast steaks in a cast iron skillet.
Lately, I’ve been making homemade pizza in my cast iron skillet and I’m smitten with the results. This Cast Iron Skillet Cheese Skillet has been declared, by my husband, as one of my personal best. Wow! Given that I’ve posted no less than nine homemade pizza recipes, that’s quite a compliment.
It’s been many years since we’ve ordered pizza at a restaurant, or for delivery. Homemade pizza dough isn’t difficult to make, since there is no kneading involved! What makes this pizza especially good, is that there is a layer of Monterey Jack cheese around the edge of the pizza. Once “baked, the cheese becomes deliciously crispy and chewy (called “frico”). I was smitten with the texture and flavor. Let’s make pizza!
The dough ingredients are bread flour (higher protein), salt, yeast and water. You simply stir the dough together and place it in a 9-inch pie pan, cover it and refrigerate it for at least 12 hours. Don’t skip this step, so plan ahead. This allows the dough to have a slow-rise, strengthens the gluten to support the generous amount of cheese we’ll be adding. I made the dough, the night before, in a matter of minutes.
The sauce was super easy to make, and it’s a no cook recipe. How easy is that?! I drained a can of whole tomatoes, added garlic, salt, oregano, red wine vinegar and red chili pepper. I buzzed it up and it was done! (You can make this sauce up to three days ahead of time, as well.)
We’re ready to assemble to pizza. I added extra-virgin olive oil to my cast iron skillet, then set the dough into the pan.
The dough is covered with plastic so it can become slightly puffy– about 90 minutes. 30 minutes before baking, I preheated the oven to 400F.
For this recipe, it’s really important not to buy pre-shredded cheese, because there’s added starch. The texture of the cheese will be chewier and doesn’t melt as well as block cheese. You need to shred block Mozzarella Cheese and Monterey Jack Cheese.
I’ve added 1/2 cup of the pizza sauce, leaving a 1/2″ border.
I’ve built a “wall” of Monterey Jack cheese all around the pizza dough.
…and added the Mozzarella cheese all around the center. Into the oven it goes!
25-30 minutes later, our home smells like a Pizzeria and the cheese has melted and browned. We’re almost finished– one more step.
The pizza rests on the stove top for about 3 minutes, then I turn it on to medium-high heat. Lifting it, gently, with a spatula, I check to see if the bottom is browned. Almost there…
It’s time to carefully slide the pizza out, with a large spatula, onto a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.
It’s time to eat, and we’re both ready!
TASTING NOTES: The “frico” cheese is beyond words delicious. Typically, I don’t relish pizza crust and have been known to set the edges aside. Not this time! The texture of the dough reminded me of Focaccia bread. It was tender and a bit on the thicker side. The sauce was mild and didn’t overpower the pizza. The gooey, melted cheese was heavenly.
As you can see, the bottom of the crust wasn’t soggy. It was crispy and absolutely perfect.
Here’s a close up shot of the pizza crust. Do you see that crispy and chewy “frico”? It was like a cheese bread. Yummy! Believe me, while there is a bit of a wait for the pizza dough to be ready, it’s so worth it. The hands on effort is so minimal, yet the results will make your taste buds really happy.
Cast Iron Pan Cheese Pizza
Equipment
- 1 9" pie pan
- Food processor for dough
- 12" Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
For the Pizza Dough:
- 2 cups bread flour 11 ounces
- 1 teaspoon table salt
- 1 teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
- 1 cup warm water (105 to 110 degrees) 8 ounces
- Vegetable oil spray
For the Pizza Sauce
- 1 14.5-ounce can whole-peeled tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- ¼ teaspoon table salt
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- Pinch red pepper flakes
For the pizza:
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 ounces Monterey Jack cheese shredded (1 cup)
- 7 ounces whole-milk mozzarella cheese shredded; 1¾ cups
Instructions
BEFORE YOU BEGIN:
- This pizza bakes in a 12-inch cast-iron skillet. Weigh the flour and water for the best results. Use a block cheese, not fresh mozzarella, for this recipe. Avoid pre-shredded cheese; it contains added starch, which gives the melted cheese a drier, chewier texture.
FOR THE DOUGH:
- Using wooden spoon or spatula, stir flour, salt, and yeast together in bowl. Add warm water and mix until most of flour is moistened. Using your hands, knead dough in bowl until dough forms sticky ball, about 1 minute. Spray 9-inch pie plate or cake pan with oil spray. Transfer dough to prepared plate and press into 7- to 8-inch disk. Spray top of dough with oil spray. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours. NOTE: During this rest, the dough's gluten strengthens enough for the crust to support the toppings but still have a tender crumb.
FOR THE SAUCE (can make up to 3 days in advance):
- Place tomatoes in fine-mesh strainer and crush with your hands. Drain well, then transfer to food processor. Add oil, garlic, sugar, salt, oregano, and pepper flakes and process until smooth, about 30 seconds. (Sauce can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
FOR THE PIZZA:
- Two hours before baking, remove dough from refrigerator and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Coat bottom of 12-inch cast-iron skillet with oil. Transfer dough to prepared skillet and use your fingertips to flatten dough until it is ⅛ inch from edge of skillet. Cover tightly with plastic and let rest until slightly puffy, about 1½ hours.
- Thirty minutes before baking, adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Spread ½ cup sauce evenly over top of dough, leaving ½-inch border (save or freeze remaining sauce for another use). Sprinkle Monterey Jack evenly over border. Press Monterey Jack into side of skillet, forming ½- to ¾-inch-tall wall. (Not all cheese will stick to side of skillet.) Evenly sprinkle mozzarella over sauce. Bake until cheese at edge of skillet is well browned, 25 to 30 minutes.
Finishing the baked pizza:
- Transfer skillet to stove top and let sit until sizzling stops, about 3 minutes. Run butter knife around rim of skillet to loosen pizza. Using thin metal spatula, gently lift edge of pizza and peek at underside to assess browning. Cook pizza over medium heat until bottom crust is well browned, 2 to 5 minutes (skillet handle will be hot). Using 2 spatulas, transfer pizza to wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Slice and serve.
Notes
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