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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DON’T FORGET TO RATE THE RECIPE ↓
Recipe
Healthier Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 portion Homemade whole wheat pizza dough
- 12 tablespoon Marinara
- 0.5 Onion - diced
- 75 g Cheddar cheese
- 0.5 Courgette (zucchini) - 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.
Sarah Bailey
Oh my goodness, how delicious does this pizza look! I am like the idea of it being deep dish and can you ever beat a pizza that is a little more healthier.
Yeah Lifestyle
This looks so pleasing to the eye and healthy too. I am sure we would love to try making this at home for the kids to try.
Rhian Westbury
Wow this pizza looks absolutely insane and a definite treat night dinner x
Rachael
This looks incredible! I have never heard of putting cheese in first, then adding veg etc on top. I might try this next weekend, seem like a healthy and relatively cheap meal to make!
Anna @AnnaTheApple
I love this recipe, my only criticism... I would never eat just one quart of it hehe! :)
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche
This looks deeeeelish!!!
Ann
Many (many) years ago I worked at an Uno's in Texas. Thank goodness I was in my teens and my metabolism was faster than a speeding bullet because I must have easily eaten my weight in Chicago-style pizza. Now I haven't had one in ages, but a healthier version sounds like just what I need to bring me back to those old days at Uno's :)
Demeter
This is such an all-time classic pizza! Love the healthier spin to it!
Danielle
The boyfriend would love if I made something like this. He is a huge fan of deep dish pizza. I love that you used cheddar cheese here, I don't see that very often. Looks delicious.
Christine @ Happy Veggie Kitchen
Ahhh I dream of the deep dish pizza I tried when I visited Chicago! We're lucky in the UK to have so many Napoli style pizzerias but wouldn't it be nice to have an authentic deep dish place? I love that you've created a version that's a bit healthier - I need to try this!
Diana
Love a homemade pizza! Much healthier than store bought and you can add all the toppings that you like.z
Jennifer Cain Morris
Thank you for sharing. I was born & raised in the Chicago suburbs. I miss authentic deep dish pizza. I will be trying this soon.
Paula
This looks so good. I hate the frozen ones too.
Jen
This looks yummy! I will make it next week.
Grace
This looks amazing! All your recipes look so good.
Steph
I love your recipes :)
Amanda
My kids are going to love you! We went to Chicago on vacation last year and they would have eaten 4 of these pizzas each if I had let them. We are on a health kick as a family now, so they will be so happy when I make these.
Philipa
Thank you for posting the recipe, I have been looking forward to it. I love all your recipes, but I think I will love this one a lot.
Willow
I LOVE DEEP DISH PIZZA! Yes, that needed to be shouted. This looks delicious, I can't wait to make it. You da best!
Hannah
thank you thank you thank you for posting this. Ever since you put the picture on facebook I have been waiting for it. I am going to make it with my boyfriend tomorrow for our treat meal.