Easy Cast Iron Pizza (22 minutes)

slices of pizza on cutting board one with dripping cheese

5 from 19 votes

A simple cast iron pizza will take just 22 minutes to make - faster than delivery! This delicious easy pizza has a super crispy crust (thick or thin) and no pizza stone is needed.

Prep Time7

Cook Time15

Total Time22

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Snack

Cuisine: American, Vegetarian

Servings (change as needed): slices

Author: Cheryl Avrich

Ingredients

1 store-bought pizza dough, Note 1 for prep, Note 2 for amount needed for thick or thin crust
1 tablespoon all purpose flour (to shape dough into circle without sticking)
2-3 teaspoons cornmeal to prevent sticking (substitute with flour or 1 tablespoon oil if you don't have cornmeal)
2 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup (8 oz, 225g) tomato sauce, marinara sauce or pizza sauce, Note 3 (use less if preferred)
1/2 cup (112g) shredded Mozzarella cheese (or more to taste)
Additional toppings: Note 4

Garnishes (optional)

chopped fresh basil, pesto, red pepper flakes, goat cheese, grated Parmesan cheese, drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle of salt

Instructions

HEAT OVEN to 550F (287C) or 500F/260C if your oven doesn't go that high.
SHAPE DOUGH TO FIT SKILLET: Scatter a tablespoon flour on work surface and move dough around in it. Flatten dough into 8 inch/20 cm circle with fingers. Lift up by the edge, letting dough hang, and stretch it all around edges to make a larger circle. Place back on work surface and stretch into 14 inch/35cm circle (if using 12 inch/30cm skillet) or 12 inch circle (if using 10 inch skillet). No need to measure perfectly. Here's a video on how to shape the dough.
BUILD PIZZA IN SKILLET ON STOVETOP: Heat a 10-12 inch (25-30 cm) cast iron skillet to medium high on stovetop. Scatter corn meal evenly to cover bottom. Place dough in preheated skillet, pushing edge of the dough 1 inch/2.5 cm up sides of the pan. CAREFUL not to burn your fingers! Brush olive oil on dough. Add tomato sauce (leaving a 1 inch/2.5 cm edge of dough plain), then Mozzarella cheese, then toppings (only add fresh basil after cooking).
Important: Once the dough is on the heated skillet on stovetop, the entire cooking time should be no more than 3-4 minutes. This will start cooking the bottom and edges of the crust without burning. If it's taking longer, lower stove top burner to medium heat so crust doesn't burn.
TRANSFER TO OVEN AND BAKE: Transfer skillet with pizza to middle oven rack and bake. Timing depends on oven temperature and amount of dough used. You may need plus or minus 1-2 minutes.
°Thin crust pizza: 10-12 minutes.
°Thick crust pizza: 12-14 minutes.
SERVE: Remove from oven. Use spatula to gently lift pizza off skillet to cutting board. Sprinkle with garnishes of your choice if using. Slice with pizza cutter, scissors or large knife. Serve immediately.

Notes

Preparing the dough: If frozen, defrost in fridge for 10-12 hours or at room temperature for 2 hours. Dough should be soft and relaxed to allow for easy stretching. Let pre-made dough sit at room temperature, in bag or covered with plastic wrap, to relax. It should stretch easily. TIP: To speed things up, I heat the oven to Warm, turn off the oven, place dough in a bowl sprayed with oil, cover loosely with plastic wrap (also sprayed with oil), place bowl in oven for 10-15 minutes.
Thick or thin crust pizza - amount of dough to use:
- Thick crust: use 3/4 pound/340 grams/12 ounces of dough for a thicker chewy crust.
- Thin crust: use 1/2 pound/225 grams/8 ounces of dough
Substitute for tomato sauce: If you don't like tomato sauce, try a thin layer of pesto, garlic oil or ricotta cheese.
Toppings options: thinly sliced fennel, thinly sliced garlic, onions, arugula, red peppers or green peppers, mushrooms, zucchini, pineapple (for a Hawaiian flare) For a supreme pizza (also called all-dressed), add cooked sausage, ham, bacon, pepperoni or other meats plus the veggies you like.
- Vegetables that need to be pre-cooked: It's better to pre-cook certain vegetables (sauté or roast) such as onions, peppers, eggplant, mushrooms since the cooking time is so short. Alternatively, slice the veggies very thin. If you have to pre-cook toppings, the pizza will take longer than 22 minutes of course.
How many servings per pizza: A Medium 12 inch/30cm Pizza is typically cut into 8 slices and serves 3-4 people. A Large 14 inch/35cm Pizza is typically cut into 8-10 slices and serves 3-5 people.
To Make Ahead:
- Skillet Pizza is best fresh, but leftovers can be rewarmed in a 350-375F/177-190C oven for about 7-10 minutes. It can also be frozen in a ziploc bag or airtight container.
- To partially make the pizza ahead: you can do the stove top portion ahead of time, then transfer the pizza for the oven portion 12-14 minutes before serving time.

Nutrition values are estimates for one slice of pizza (i.e. pizza is cut into 6 slices) and do not include toppings and garnishes except for the Mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce.