Skillet Pizza

Vegan sausage, red onions, bell peppers on pizza

I was looking for an easier way to make pizza for my son, as we struggled with using the peel, corn meal, and getting the dough round shaped. I decided to try using a cast iron skillet to make pizza and it worked great and was so much easier. This, with a side salad, serves 4 people. Total cost is under $10. You control the thickness of the crust. You control the toppings.

Pizza Dough. 

  • I cup warm water
  • 2.5 tsp active dry yeast
  • 1 Tblsp sugar
  • 3 cups of all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 Tbls olive oil
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • About 1 Tbls Italian Seasoning (optional)

    Sauce (if not using bought)
  • 14.5 oz canned diced tomatoes or fire roasted tomatoes undrained
  • 6 oz canned tomato paste 
  • 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons dried basil
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 teaspoon  salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 2 teaspoon ground black pepper freshly ground
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional

To make pizza sauce, either open a jar of marinara from the store, or better, use the ingredients listed above and put into a blender. 

Make sure water is not too hot (will kill the yeast) but warm. I think you want about 110 degrees F…which is warm, but not hot. Add yeast and sugar and gently stir. Let stand for 5 minutes.  You should see bubbles/foam from the yeast (if not, your yeast is bad or the water temp was not right).

Place the flour, salt, olive oil, seasoning and the yeast mix in a large bowl and mix together.  Simple!  Gradually add in flour to get a nice ball that is not too sticky.  If the dough is dry, add in warm water by the teaspoon. You should end up with a ball of dough that is not too sticky and not crumbly.  You do not want to work the dough too much, it will become chewy.  Just a couple minutes is fine.

Remove ball from bowl.   Add a coating of oil to the bowl and put the ball back in and allow to rise for at least 30 minutes and up to two hours, preferably in a warmer area.  It  will grow in size so make sure the bowl is large enough.  When ready to use, punch it down to remove the larger air pockets and remove from bowl to a floured area. Flour just so it does not stick. You do not need to roll it out! You can also save the dough in the frig for a couple days, or freeze it in sealed bags for a month.

Roughly shape it into a roundish blob about the size of the skillet. I like using the dough for a large and a small skillet, so I separate a small blob. Take the cast iron skillet and liberally spread olive oil on the bottom and sides. Place the dough blob into the center and push it out to the edges, keeping it roughly even thickness. There is enough dough to make a large skillet pizza that is very thick. I like to spread the dough between a large skillet and a small skillet to make a medium and a personal pan pizza. If you want a thinner crust, feel free to use less of the dough and roll it out to make it thin and use the rest to make bread sticks! If you use ALL of the dough in one skillet, your pizza crust will be over one inch thick. You can control the thickness!

Spread marinara on top. You can make your own marinara…or use a jar. I use about 1/2 jar. Use a lot if your dough is thick. You want more than usual. Add cut veggies over the marinara. Add cheeses. Place in oven set to 450-500 degrees F. Bake for 15-20 minutes or so. Check often towards the end, as you just want the edges to brown up.

Note. certain foods may be better if pre-cooked. If using a vegan sausage for example, I find it best and easier to cut, if I cook them first. Most things are fine just placed on top.

Use a metal spatula to remove the pie and place on a cutting board for slicing.
Note: I tend to be a bit wordy when typing out recipes..or well…anything. I am thinking this may give the perception that a recipe is more complicated or time consuming. Let me say, this is crazy easy and quick. In terms of time, most of it is waiting. 1 minute to make yeast warm water mix. Wait 5 minutes. During that 5 minutes, add dry ingredients to mixing bowl. 30 seconds to dump yeast water into bowl. Let knead for 4 minutes. Let sit for an hour. Prep veggies, maybe 5 minutes. Assemble into skillets. 2 minutes. Put in oven and wait for 20 minutes. 1 minute to remove and slice.

So total time you were doing stuff…13 minutes. Waiting time…. 90 minutes.

Toppings

  • Vegan (Miyoko’s!) mozz, parm, or Violife Feta (or mix as you wish). Feta is amazing on the pizza!
  • Sliced onions (red is best, but any)
  • Bell peppers, sliced
  • Mushrooms, sliced
  • Sundried tomatoes
  • Diced tomatoes, diced cherry tomatoes
  • Sliced vegan Italian sausage (I like Beyond Hot Italian)
  • Vegan meat crumbles
  • Basil
  • Parsley
  • Italian seasoning
  • Garlic
  • Almost anything else!