This is the holy-grail, make-you-drool-just-thinking-about-it, Gluten-Free, EASY 5-Ingredient Chicago Style Pizza. Ok, I cannot take credit for the recipe in its entirety as it’s so ridiculously simple you will laugh. However, I find it my duty as a native Chicago-Suburbanite, and as a pizza-lover, to share this recipe with you on my blog. YOU ARE WELCOME! 😍
I am originally from a suburb of Chicago and grew up eating Chicago-Style pizza. You know the kind, right? Deep dish pies that have loads of ooey-gooey cheese, topped with a layer of salty and herbed sweet Italian sausage, topped with bright and fresh tomatoes and a sprinkle of parmesan. The kind that you literally find yourself closing your eyes and ‘hmmm-ing’ out loud after each bite. The kind that fills you up after just one piece, but yet you eat another 2 after that anyway…. Yep, you know the kind.
5 Simple Ingredients for this Chicago Style Pizza!
Here are the 5 simple ingredients:
- Gluten-Free dough
- Sweet Italian Sausage (see my Lighter Version Recipe for homemade Chicken Italian Sausage!)
- San Marzano canned peeled tomatoes
- Mozzarella cheese
- Grated Parmesan Cheese (optional)
So, let’s start with the dough. I used Wholly Wholesome Gluten-Free Pizza Dough. This dough is perfect for this pizza because you need a dough that is pliable enough to spread up the sides of the pan. Because the Gluten-Free dough is not as elastic as pizza dough made with wheat flour, when you spread it in the pan, it stays in place. I buy this dough from Fresh Direct.
Of course, feel free to use any gluten-free dough that your local grocery store sells. After spraying an 8-9″ round pan with Olive Oil cooking spray or rubbing it with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, place the dough in the center of the pan and press it out to cover the bottom and then up the sides, making sure to pinch any holes back together.
Add the Layers!
The first layer that goes on the bottom of this amazing Chicago Style Pizza is the cheese – Mozzarella Cheese. Now, fresh mozzarella has more moisture than processed shredded mozzarella. The best way to avoid this moisture from oozing out into the pizza is to do this. Slice the mozzarella 1 hour ahead (you can do this the night before) and lay it layered in paper towels to soak up the excess moisture.
Layer the de-moisturized mozz all over the bottom. This is one of the things that set this pizza apart, the layers are flipped vs. a traditional thin crust.
Next, layer Sweet Italian Sausage. To save on fat and calories, but keep the amazing Italian Sausage flavors, see my Lighter Version Recipe for homemade Turkey Italian Sausage!
For this recipe, I use sausage links, so it takes about 4 links removed from the casings and pressed out into a single layer.
The final layer to go on top is the tomato layer. It is very simply San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes that you mash in your hands and go on the pizza a little chunky. Squeeze and mash the whole tomatoes in your hands and make sure that you really strain the liquid out so that it doesn’t make the pizza soggy.
Spread the tomatoes all over the sausage.
Cook Your Chicago Style Pizza!
Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top and bake in a 450 degree oven for 30-35 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Let sit for 5 minutes.
Cut, serve, and enjoy!!
Chicago Style Pizza with Chicken Sausage
Ingredients
Crust Chicago Style Pizza (2 pizzas)
- 3 ¼ cups All Purpose Flour
- ½ cup Semolina or Cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1 tablespoon Sugar, granulated
- 1 packet Instant Yeast (2 and ¼ teaspoons in a packet) (I used Red Star Platinum yeast)
- 1 ¼ cups Lukewarm water (around 90 F degrees)
- ¼ cup Melted Butter, salted (COOLED, not hot)
- ¼ cup Softened Butter, salted
- 1 tablespoon Olive Oil
Ground Italian Chicken Sausage (2 pizzas)
- 32 ounces Ground chicken
- 4 cloves Garlic, minced
- 6 Tablespoons Parsley, Chopped
- 2 teaspoon Fennel Seed
- 2 teaspoon Salt
- 2 teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
Pizza layering ingredients (2 pizzas)
- 2 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
- 56 ounces San Marzano whole peeled tomatoes (two 28 ounce cans)
- 16-20 Deli Mozzarella Slices, Low Moisture
- 8 Tablespoons Parmesan Cheese, grated
Instructions
Make the Dough (at least 2-3 hours in advance to allow for rising)
- Melt the ¼ cup butter and let it cool to room temperature.
- In a large mixing bowl (it's a lot of dough!), combine the dry ingredients: flour, semolina or cornmeal, salt, sugar, and instant yeast. Stir to combine.
- Using a mixing spoon (not a whisk) mix in the warm water and cooled melted butter. Mix until all of the dry ingredients are moist. Switch to your hands and knead the dough in the bowl for 4-5 minutes. Form a ball with the dough.
- In a separate clean large bowl, add the olive oil and coat the sides. Add the ball of dough to the bowl and roll around to coat it in the oil. Cover the bowl tightly with aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Keep the bowl in a room temperature to warm temperature (do not place in the refrigerator) to rise for 1-2 hours or until it doubles in size.
- After the dough doubles in size, 'punch' the dough down in the center to release the air. Flour a clean flat surface and roll the dough out to rectangle that is about 15-17 inches long. Spread the softened butter out across the entire dough. Gently roll the dough the long way so that you have a long 15-17 inch log. Using a knife, cut the dough log in half. Separately roll each half into a ball, as these are the 2 pizza crusts. Place the 2 balls back into the oiled bowl, cover the bowl again. This time, place in the refrigerator to rise for 1 additional hour.
Make Ground Italian Chicken Sausage
- Chop the parsley and mince the garlic.
- Add the ground chicken to a large mixing bowl. To the chicken, add the minced garlic, 3 Tbls of the chopped parsley (save 1 tbls for garnish), 1 teaspoon of fennel seed, 1 teaspoon Salt, ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper. Mix to combine and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container until ready to use.
Assemble & Bake Pizza
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spray two 8-9″ round pans with Olive Oil cooking spray or rub with Extra Virgin Olive Oil.
- Open the whole peeled tomatoes and place into a large bowl. Put a strainer over a bowl and squeeze and mash the whole tomatoes in your hands over the strainer keeping big chunks of tomato in the strainer and allowing all of the excess liquid to fall through into the bowl. Make sure that you really strain the liquid out so that it doesn’t make the pizza soggy. Set aside.
- On a floured surface, bring one of the dough balls from the bowl in the fridge and roll it out to about 12 inches. Gently place the dough into one of the pans and press the sides up along the interior sides. Do this for second pizza dough and pan next.
- Layer the mozzarella slices all over the bottom, breaking up the slices as needed to created an even layer in both pizzas.
- Next, split the chicken Italian sausage mixture in half in it's storage container. Spread one half completely cover the cheese in a single layer. Do the same with the remaining half of the sausage in the other pizza.
- Next, spread the tomatoes all over the sausage for both pizzas.
- Sprinkle grated parmesan cheese on top and bake in a 450 degree oven for 30-35 minutes until the crust is golden brown. Let sit for 5 minutes.
- Slice and enjoy!
Doug Baptiste says
We made this and it was fantastic!