Cast Iron Pizza (Oven + Grill)
Published 6/5/2022 • Updated 3/17/2024
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Cast iron pizza comes perfectly cooked on the inside with a crispy crust on the outside. Make our cast iron pizza recipe on the grill or in the oven!
Crispy Cast Iron Pizza
Pizza lovers unite! This cast iron pizza is such a fun way to host pizza night. Tender, cheesy pizza on the inside with crispy crust, I think so!
This cast iron pizza recipe is so simple. You can either use store-bought pizza dough or our homemade pizza dough and the toppings are your choice. We went with pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and Italian sausage
Why use a cast iron? Cast iron is going to give your pizza an even cook throughout — even the way up the sides. It will also leave you with a crispy, delicious crust!
Great Jones
Cast Iron Pan
The Great Jones King Sear is our favorite cast iron pan. It’s definitely worth the splurge to add to your kitchen collection!
Why you’ll love it!
Perfect pizza every time.
Can be cooked in the oven or on the grill.
Crispy crust with pillowy insides.
Featured Ingredients
- Pizza dough: you can either make this a semi-homemade pizza, by using storebought pizza dough (we’ve tried Pillsbury and Trader Joe’s brand) or you can make your own homemade pizza dough from our site.
- Italian sausage: we’re big fans of Italian sausage. We used a mild version, but spicy would also be delicious.
- Garlic: you’ll be sauteing your garlic, so make sure to use whole cloves!
- Olive oil: the flavor of olive oil goes great with this pizza.
- Pizza sauce: you can use storebought or homemade pizza sauce. Either works.
- Mozzarella cheese: mozzarella cheese is a mild, shredded cheese. Go big or go home. You can also buy a pizza blend if you’re into that.
Homemade
Pizza Dough
Learn how to make homemade pizza dough with my Grandma Marie’s pizza dough recipe! You only need 6 basic ingredients for this recipe.
Simple Instructions
Good news for you! You can make this cast iron pizza on the grill or in the oven. The choice is yours and both are great options.
Grill
- Preheat and heat up: preheat the grill to 450ºF and set the cast iron skillet on the grill to heat up.
- Roll out the dough: roll your pizza dough out into a 12-inch circle or a size to fit your cast iron skillet.
- Cook sausage and garlic: cook the Italian sausage and garlic in the cast iron right on your grill. Do the sausage first, remove it, and then cook the garlic in the drippings.
- Cook crust: drizzle in olive oil and then add the crust. Grill over direct heat for 4-5 minutes, making sure to monitor closely.
- Assemble pizza: move the pizza to indirect heat and spoon in the pizza sauce. Then add the toppings and cheese.
- Grill: grill for around 20-30 minutes over indirect heat or until the crust is cooked all the way through and the cheese is melted.
Oven
If you’re planning to go the oven route, you’ll notice that it cooks a lot faster. This happens because the heat is more even.
- Preheat and heat up: preheat the oven to 450ºF.
- Roll out the dough: roll your pizza dough out into a 12-inch circle or a size to fit your cast iron skillet.
- Cook sausage and garlic: cook the Italian sausage and garlic in the cast iron over medium/high heat. Do the sausage first, remove it, and then cook the garlic in the drippings.
- Cook crust: drizzle in olive oil and then add the crust. Cook for around 2-3 minutes over medium/high heat, making sure to watch closely.
- Assemble pizza: remove the pizza from the heat. Then add the toppings and cheese.
- Cook: bake the pizza on the middle rack for around 10-12 minutes or until the crust is cooked all the way through and the cheese is melted.
FAQ
Cast iron is a great cooking method for pizza because the cast iron will cook your pizza evenly throughout.
Heat your cast iron pizza over medium/high heat for 2-3 minutes. Then, transfer it into the oven and bake at 450ºF for around 12 minutes.
We recommend greasing your cast iron skillet with olive oil before placing your crust so that the pizza doesn’t stick.
Storage
Store leftover pizza in an airtight container (we recommend a large, gallon-size bag) in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To reheat: we like to reheat our pizza at 350ºF right on the oven grates for around 5 minutes or until hot.
Cast Iron Pizza (Oven + Grill)
Ingredients
- 1 pizza dough, store bought or homemade
- ½ lb. ground Italian sausage, uncooked
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for drizzling
- 1 cup pizza sauce
- 1.5 – 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, depending on how cheesy you like your pizza
- 4-5 fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
Instructions
Grill
- Preheat the grill to 450ºF and place a deep 12-inch cast iron skillet on the grill over direct heat. Close the grill and allow the cast iron skillet to heat up for 10-15 minutes.
- While the skillet is heating up, roll the pizza dough out on a clean, lightly floured surface to about 12-inches in diameter to fit inside the skillet. Set the pizza dough aside.
- Uncover the grill and add the Italian sausage to the hot skillet. Break the Italian sausage up into small pieces and allow it to cook. When the Italian sausage is fully cooked, carefully remove it from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the thinly sliced garlic to the skillet and toss the garlic with the Italian sausage drippings (you may need to add some olive oil depending on how much oil was let off by the pork). Let the garlic sauté in the skillet until fragrant and lightly browned. Remove the garlic from the skillet and set aside.
- Next, drizzle the olive oil into the skillet and transfer the rolled out pizza dough into the cast iron skillet. Place the skillet over direct heat and let the pizza dough cook for 4-5 (uncovered) minutes or until the bottom of the pizza dough is golden brown. Make sure to monitor closely so you don’t burn the bottom of the crust.
- Move the skillet to indirect heat and assemble the pizza. Pour the pizza sauce over the pizza dough and spread the sauce out evenly over the pizza dough, leaving about 1-inch on the edges for the crust.
- Sprinkle the Italian sausage crumbles and garlic slices over the tomato sauce. Top the other ingredients with the shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Cover the grill and let the pizza cook over indirect heat for 20-30 minutes (checking after 10 minutes) or until the pizza dough is fully cooked and the cheese is melted and golden browned. If you have a smaller grill, turn the cast iron skillet so that the opposite side of the skillet is closer to the heat.
- Remove the pizza from the skillet and transfer it onto a cutting board. Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
- Top the pizza with fresh basil and enjoy.
Oven
- First, preheat the oven to 450ºF.
- Begin by rolling the pizza dough out on a clean, lightly floured surface to about 12-inches in diameter to fit inside the skillet. Set the pizza dough aside.
- Heat your 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium/high heat. When hot, add the Italian sausage. Break the Italian sausage up into small pieces and allow it to cook. When the Italian sausage is fully cooked, carefully remove it from the skillet and set aside.
- Add the thinly sliced garlic to the skillet and toss the garlic with the Italian sausage drippings (you may need to add some olive oil depending on how much oil was let off by the pork). Let the garlic sauté in the skillet until fragrant and lightly browned. Remove the garlic from the skillet and set aside.
- Next, drizzle the olive oil into the skillet and transfer the rolled out pizza dough into the cast iron skillet. Place the skillet onto the stovetop and let cookover medium/high heat for around 3 minutes or until the bottom of the pizza dough is golden brown. Make sure to monitor closely so you don’t burn the bottom of the crust.
- Pour the pizza sauce over the pizza dough and spread the sauce out evenly over the pizza dough, leaving about 1-inch on the edges for the crust.
- Sprinkle the Italian sausage crumbles and garlic slices over the tomato sauce. Top the other ingredients with the shredded mozzarella cheese.
- Bake the pizza at 450ºF in the middle rack (with nothing above it) for around 10 minutes. After 10 minutes monitor the pizza in increments of 2-3 minutes until the crust is golden brown and the cheese is melted and started to turn golden brown.
- Remove the pizza from the skillet and transfer it onto a cutting board. Let the pizza rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
- Top the pizza with fresh basil and enjoy.
Tips & Notes
- We used a large charcoal grill, but you can use a gas grill as well.
- Every grill is different, so be cognizant of the heat your grill produces so that the pizza dough or other ingredients don’t burn.
- We used homemade pizza dough, but store-bought will work just fine.
- The toppings for this pizza are simple, feel free to use your favorite pizza toppings.
Watch It
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Don’t forget to tag your posts on social media with the hashtag #fitfoodiefinds, we’d love to see what you’re up to!
Photography: photos taken in this post are by Ashley McGlaughlin from The Edible Perspective.
This recipe is brilliant! I used King Arthur sourdough discard pizza dough recipe and topped with grilled zucchini and spring onions. No heat in the kitchen and rewarded with a golden crust.
YUM!