If there is one thing that Chicago is famous for, it’s their incredible deep dish pizza. A thick deep crust, with the toppings upside down - you can see why they call it a pie. Use our easy recipe and grab yourself a homemade slice of Healthier Chicago Deep Dish Pizza.
You will find a lot of debate out there on where the best pizza in the world is. Is it Rome or Naples? Maybe the dollar slices in NYC get your vote! Popolinos in Manchester was a favourite student haunt for us at 4am. (Seriously - check it out if you're ever in Manchester!)
Or maybe the famous deep dish crust from Chicago is calling your name? Whilst Rome will always come out top for me, Chicago deep dish is a close second.
Jump to:
Why should you try it?
- Much healthier than an average pizza
- Easy to adapt with different fillings
- Less than 200 calories per slice
- Kids will love it
Step by step
One: Start with the base and the cheese first
Two: Add the vegetables.
Three: Top with marinara.
Four: Add more cheese before cooking.
Five: Cook in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for 20 minutes or until cooked through.
Why is Chicago pizza different?
If you haven’t had it before, it is like an upside down pizza. Kind of. You put the cheese on the base first and then the toppings and then you top it with the tomato sauce – it’s genius.
You have to try it to believe just how good it is. It’s the debated whether you finish with more cheese, but we did because how can you debate whether more cheese is an option or not?
What vegetables to add
We went with onion, red bell pepper and courgette (zucchini), but don't limit it to those. You could add mushrooms, sweetcorn, tomatoes, jalapenos or even some aubergine (eggplant). This is a good opportunity to use up any veg you have left over.
Stay away from root vegetables or any that take a long time to cook - unless they have already been cooked, then throw them in too!
Can I add meat?
Absolutely! Any meat that you would put on a pizza will work in this - just make sure it's cooked first. Chicken, turkey, ham, ground beef, salami all work really well.
What makes this healthier?
Why is this healthier? Well, portion size for a start. If you have eaten an authentic one of these in Chicago, you will know just how huge they are. This is a good size for 4 people with a side salad. We also went pretty easy on the cheese to keep it lower in calories.
At the end of the day – it’s pizza. It is never going to be a health food or a food that I can eat in unlimited amounts.
But with a couple of small changes, like using whole wheat homemade dough and not going overboard on the cheese and packing it with veggies, it can be made a bit healthier.
FAQs
The only non-vegan part of this pizza is the cheese. Simply swap that out for one of the many great vegan cheeses available and you have yourself a vegan deep dish pizza!
In the fridge, the pizza will be good for up to three days. To freeze, wrap the slices individually in plastic wrap and keep in the freezer for up to three months.
Make sure the pizza is fully defrosted before reheating. You can reheat in a microwave, but you will end up with limp, soggy pizza! For best results follow these steps: Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Place a slice of pizza on some foil on a baking tray and spray with a little cold water. Cover the pizza loosely with more foil and bake for 15-20 minutes. This will result in a perfectly heated pizza with a crispy crust.
Extra tips
- Use up any vegetables you have - it's a good fridge raid pizza!
- Store bought pizza dough and sauce will work perfectly well for this, but nutritional values will change.
- You can skip adding the cheese on top to save a few calories.
- Change up the vegetables each time to make it different.
More pizza recipes
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Recipe
Healthier Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 Portion of homemade wholewheat dough
- 12 tablespoon Marinara
- 0.5 Onion, - diced
- 75 g Cheddar cheese
- 0.5 Courgette, - diced
- 0.5 Red bell pepper, - diced
- 4 tablespoon Fresh basil, - chopped
Instructions
- Make the pizza dough according to the recipe, roll it out so that it is a little wider than the pan you are using. I used a 10 inch diameter spring-form cake tin and it worked perfectly. Put the dough in a greased tin and push the dough up the sides a little.
- Put half your grated cheddar on the bottom and then top with the courgette and bell pepper.
- Top with the marinara and then sprinkle with the extra cheese and the basil.
- Put in a preheated oven at 200°C/400°F/Gas 6 for 20 minutes.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving to make it easier to cut.
Notes
- Use up any vegetables you have - it's a good fridge raid pizza!
- You can skip adding the cheese on top to save a few calories.
- Change up the vegetables each time to make it different.
Ladyjorns
According to Amer, it doesn t matter what time of the day you eat pizza, it can still be a balanced meal choice. And yes, that includes breakfast, too.
Kelly Anthony
Healthier pizza you have my attention. This looks delicious and I don't think I'll miss the extra calories.
James
THIS SHALL BE DONE!
Elaine @ Dishes Delish
This deep dish pizza looks fabulous! I love that it's healthier but it doesn't look like it! Hubby probably loves pizza more than I do, which is saying a lot since I love it! So, I can't wait to make your deep dish pizza and surprise him! He's going to be so happy!
Helen @ family-friends-food
Looks fabulous! I've only ever spent a day in Chicago and somehow the pizza passed me by completely. At least I can make one at home now :-)
Katie | Healthy Seasonal Recipes
Chicago is such a great food city. It's funny that every time I go, I have such a bad case of FOMO, I have the hardest time deciding what to eat! Nice job making this healthier!
Anu
Wow! I'm already craving for pizza! Thanks for such a wonderful recipe
Carrie
Wow this pizza looks insane, love that it's made healthier too, even better!
Veena Azmanov
Wow, this looks so delicious! Beautiful presentation. Is good food and this looks like one of the BEST! I can't WAIT to try this! Thank you for this great recipe!
Sara
That is one good looking pizza. Some pepperoni would be a good addition in there too and I think my boys would love it. Definitely trying this one.
When is your next book out?
Erica
Oh I’m not sure I am brave enough to make my own pizza base, but this looks amazing. It actually looks like a pie.
Heidi Roberts
The colours are amazing! The pizza is mouthwatering -.
Jem
You can’t beat a homemade pizza! Love the look of all that cheese too.
Kristi
This would be a perfect pizza for my kids to make some evening. I just started a new job with odd hours which leaves two teens getting creative with food. This looks much better than the watermelon malts they made this past week.
Veena Azmanov
Oh my goodness this look absolutely amazing! Its fantastic! One of my favs. Can't wait to try this one. Thanks for the recipe! YUMMY!!!
Claudia Lamascolo
I love chicago style pizzas and this one is over the top delicious looking. I had my first one in Chicago this year and I am hooked!
Bintu | Recipes From A Pantry
This looks super delicious! I am a big fan of deep dish pizzas but don't have them too often as they are just too big and not too healthy, this looks like such a tasty healthier alternative.
Kelly Welsh
This looks so cheesy and comforting. It’s the last day of half term, so I think this would make a nice dinner to finish on.
Heidi
That’s such an awesome way of making a pizza. I love that the toppings are upside down and I always choose a nice thick base.
Jenni
Oh my goodness I would never have thought of a pizza pie, it looks so good! I need to try and make this x