Cast iron pan pizza is a tasty alternative to pizzas made on a steel, or in a pizza-specific pan. This recipe uses our classic New York pizza dough, plum tomatoes, block mozzarella, and Pecorino Romano cheese, and since it’s made in a cast iron pan, it holds up well to adding any additional toppings you’d like!
Cast iron pizza is such an easy and great alternative to New York round pizza, which we cook on our pizza steel.
This recipe is far easier and doesn’t require the stretching and launching that a classic New York pie requires, and since it uses the same cold-fermented dough, it still has excellent flavor.
And while we love a plain cheese cast iron pizza with some fresh basil, the fact that it’s cooked in a deep cast iron pan makes it an excellent base for toppings, like pepperoni, anchovy, mushrooms, olives, sausage, etc.
Like all our pizza recipes, this one is great with a side of garlic knots and a salad to round it out.
Recipe Ingredients
All ingredients for this recipe are shown in the pic below and special notes are made in this bulleted list to assist you.
- Pizza dough. Below I show you how to make homemade pizza dough. You can sub store bought dough if you like. You will need 24-ounces of pizza dough for this recipe.
- Mozzarella. Low moisture mozzarella is the way to go for this cast iron or any pizza recipe
- Tomatoes. Either crushed or whole plum tomatoes blender pulsed work well. Make sure that they are drained before using.
- Oregano. Sicilian oregano is highly recommended.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
How to make cast iron pizza
First, make the dough
Each number corresponds to the numbered written steps below.
- Place 9 ounces (260g) of water into a bowl large enough to hold both the water and the dry ingredients with room to spare. In a separate bowl, add 3 1/4 cups (406g) of bread flour, 1/2 teaspoon (2 g) of instant yeast, 1 1/2 teaspoons (8g) of fine sea salt, and 1 teaspoon (4g) of sugar and mix until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the water a little at a time and mix thoroughly to form a dry, rough mass.
- Pour 1 tablespoon (14g) of olive oil over the dough and mix again to scrape off any residue stuck to the side of the bowl. Place the rough shaggy dough onto a work surface. Knead the dough for 5-7 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, place a clean inverted bowl over the dough and wait 30 minutes before resuming.
- Return to kneading (be sure to knead for at least a total of 5 minutes), then place the bowl over the dough once more and allow it to sit for 30-40 minutes before forming the dough ball. After 40 minutes, pull the dough toward its end repeatedly to form a smooth ball. Pinch the seam side and place the dough ball seam-side-down into an oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours, but preferably 1 day before using.
The next day, make the pizza
- After 1 day, the dough will be ready to use and can be removed from the refrigerator about 30 minutes prior to using. It can also be added to the pan right away, but allowing it to come to room temp will make it easier to stretch.
- Coat the bottom of a 12-inch cast iron pan with a 1/4 cup of olive oil.
- Place the dough into the pan and use your fingertips to press the dough into the edge of the pan. You might not be able to do this in one attempt.
- Place plastic wrap over the pan and allow the dough to warm up. After two hours the dough should have filled the pan. If not, simply press it into the sides of the pan with your fingers once more. Cover again with plastic wrap and preheat the oven to 550f setting a rack to the middle level.
- Mince 2 cloves of garlic and combine with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and set aside. Drain 12 ounces of crushed plum tomatoes of any excess water. Take 1 1/2 cups of the drained tomatoes and add 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt, mixing to combine. Shred 10 ounces of low moisture block mozzarella and grate 2 tablespoons worth of Pecorino Romano cheese.
- Remove the plastic wrap from the pan and if required, press the dough into the edges. Spread the sauce to the edges of the dough. You can go all the way to the edge or leave some open to show a crust. Doesn’t matter since you are in the cast iron pan.
- Top with the shredded mozzarella.
- Drizzle the garlic oil all over the top of the pizza.
- Bake the pizza for 14 minutes, then remove it from the oven and top it with the Pecorino and 1 teaspoon of Sicilian oregano.
- Return to the oven and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- Check the pizza’s underside with a spatula. If the pizza’s bottom isn’t brown enough, cook the pizza in the pan on the stovetop over medium heat until the bottom is browned to your liking. Make sure to check frequently to not burn the pizza!
- Let the pizza sit for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. Enjoy!
Top tips
- Pan size. Feel free to use a different-sized cast iron pan if you’d like. This recipe yields a very thick 12-inch pizza, or a thinner 14-inch pizza. If using a 14-inch pan, you may need to stretch the dough a bit more and since it’s thinner, it will cook in less time. About 12-14 minutes. Since there is more area you’ll need more cheese and sauce.
- Cold fermentation. Fermenting the dough in the fridge for at least 12 hours is important. You can cold ferment it for as long as 72 hours for even better taste.
- Stand mixer. If you prefer to use a stand mixer as opposed to mixing the dough by hand, simply knead at low speed for ~5 minutes before balling the dough and placing it in the oiled, tightly closed container overnight.
- Toppings. The higher edges of the cast iron pan help prevent any toppings from spilling over the side, so feel free to load up on extra toppings in addition to the cheese, sauce, oil, and oregano.
- Browning the bottom. One of the benefits of using a cast iron pan to cook pan pizza is that if the bottom isn’t brown enough, you can simply place it on the stovetop to crisp it up. Just use extreme caution when doing so as the pan will be very hot after being in the 550f oven.
More awesome pizza recipes
In addition to our classic New York pizza recipe mentioned above, we think you’ll love these other pizza recipes.
- New York Sicilian pizza – thick and chewy with the classic New York-Sicilian flavor.
- New York white pizza – round pizza loaded with ricotta, mozzarella, Pecorino, and garlic.
- Grandma pizza – rectangular pizza topped with sliced mozzarella, garlic oil, and tomato.
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Cast Iron Pan Pizza
Cast iron pan pizza uses a classic New York style pizza dough that's topped with tomato, shredded mozzarella, garlic oil, Pecorino Romano, and oregano.
Ingredients
For the dough
- 3 1/4 cups (406 grams) bread flour
- 1/2 teaspoon (2 grams) instant yeast
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (8 grams) fine sea salt
- 1 teaspoon (4 grams) sugar
- 9 ounces (260 grams) cool water
- 1 tablespoon (14 grams) olive oil
For the cast iron pizza
- 1 ~24 ounce dough ball from above
- 12 ounces crushed plum tomatoes drained of excess liquid
- 10 ounces low moisture block mozzarella cheese shredded, weight will vary, but use enough to cover the pizza completely
- 2 tablespoons Pecorino Romano grated
- 6 tablespoons olive oil divided
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon Sicilian oregano
Instructions
For the dough
- Place water into a bowl large enough to hold both the water and all the dry ingredients and still have room to spare. Mix together dry ingredients in another bowl.
- Add dry ingredients to water a bit at a time and mix thoroughly to form a dry rough mass.
- Pour the oil over the dough, mix again to scrape off any dough residue stuck to side of the bowl, and place the rough shaggy dough onto a work surface.
- Knead the dough for 5-7 minutes. If the dough is too sticky, place a clean bowl inverted over the dough and wait 30 minutes before resuming. Return to kneading (just make sure to knead for at least a total of 5 minutes).
- Place the bowl over the dough once more and let sit for 30-40 minutes to warm up before forming the dough ball.
- After 40 minutes pull the dough towards its end repeatedly to form a smooth ball. Pinch the seam side and place the dough ball seam side down into an oiled bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours, but preferably 1 day before using.
For the cast iron pizza
- Coat the bottom of a 12-inch cast iron pan with a 1/4 cup of olive oil. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it into the pan. With your fingertips begin pressing the dough into the corners of the pan. You might not be able to do this in one attempt. Place plastic over the pan and let the dough warm up.
- After 2 hours the dough should have filled the pan. If not, just press it into the sides of the pan with your fingers once more. Again cover with plastic and at this point, preheat the oven to 550f and set the rack to the middle level.
- Drain the crushed tomatoes of any excess water. You will need approximately 1 1/2 cups of drained tomatoes. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt to the tomatoes and set aside. Mix the minced garlic with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and set aside.
- Remove the plastic from the pan and if required press the dough into the edges. Spread the sauce to the edges of the dough and top with the mozzarella.
- Drizzle the garlic oil all over the top of the pizza.
- Bake the pizza for 14 minutes then remove it from the oven and top it with the Pecorino and oregano. Return to the oven and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
- If the pizza's bottom is not brown enough, simply cook the pizza in the pan over medium heat until the bottom is browned to your liking. Make sure to check frequently to not burn the pizza!
- The total cooking time will be approximately 15-18 minutes. Let the pizza sit for 5 minutes before cutting and serving. Enjoy!
Notes
- Different size pans can be used with the same size dough ball. This recipe will yield a thick 12-inch cast iron pizza or a thinner 14-inch pie. If using the 14-inch pan, you might need to stretch it a bit more and the pizza will cook in about 12-14 minutes versus 15-18. You will also need a bit more cheese and sauce.
- The dough can be cold fermented for as little as 12 hours in the fridge, to as long as 72 hours.
- The dough can be made in a stand mixer. Knead at low speed for 5-7 minutes then ball the dough and place it in an oiled tightly covered container overnight.
- Cooking time will vary depending on the exact oven temp but should be around 15-18 minutes.
- If the bottom of the pizza isn’t brown enough, simply heat the pan over medium heat and cook to your liking.
- Leftovers can be saved for up to 3 days and the pizza can be reheated at 350f on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet until hot. About 10 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 405kcal | Carbohydrates: 42.5g | Protein: 14.6g | Fat: 19.2g | Saturated Fat: 7.4g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 937mg | Potassium: 54mg | Fiber: 2.7g | Sugar: 3g | Calcium: 238mg | Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Can I make a white pizza in the cast iron pan? Or any type pizza?
Yes, you can use this recipe as a jumping off point to add different toppings, etc.