This deliciously crispy easy Cast Iron Pizza will take your homemade pizza night to a whole new level—and it’s ready in less than 30!

Cast iron pan with cheesy pepperoni pizza in it.

This Is Some Next-Level Homemade Pizza.

Friday night pizza is a family tradition in this house. And, as much as we love the convenience and flavor of takeout pizza, homemade has become a favorite.

We typically use our trusty cast iron pan, but we’ve recently fallen head over heels for cast iron pizza done in a skillet. It’s a whole different ball game!

The golden crisp you get on the crust, the rustic vibe, the flavor… we may never go back to the regular ol’ pan. (Sorry, pan.)

A Good Pizza Doesn’t Need Fancy Ingredients!

It’s fun to mess around and get adventurous with pizza. That’s how my Hawaiian Pizza with Crispy Prosciutto was born. And, of course, this Chicken Fajita Pizza!

But my heart beats for simplicity most of the time. A good stretchy cheese blend and some little cup and char pepperonis will always do the trick.

I did amp things up a bit here with some sliced grape tomatoes and a drizzlin’ of fresh pesto from a local market. I usually reserve pesto for white pizzas, but it went beautifully with the cheesy, salty, tomato-y goodness we had going on here.

With that, here’s what to put on your list:

  • Fresh pizza dough (homemade or store bought)
  • Olive oil
  • Flour
  • Cornmeal
  • Sea salt and cracked black pepper
  • Marinara
  • Mozzarella cheese, or pre-shredded Italian blend
  • Cup and char pepperoni
  • Grape tomatoes
  • Good quality pesto (optional)
  • Honey (optional)
  • Chili flakes (optional)

Ball of fresh pizza dough on top of floured wooden cutting board with a bowl of shredded cheese and small jars of sauce, pesto, tomatoes, and pepperoni.

How to Make Cast Iron Pizza.

I swear by Brad Leone’s method. It’s definitely a little intimidating at first, but it’s totally doable. And once you get to doing it more, it’ll become second-nature. Here’s what you’ll do:

  1. Preheat your oven to its highest temperature. For me, that’s 550º F. (Note: don’t use your broiler or you’ll burn your pizza.)
  2. Heat your cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Let it get hot, but not to the point where it’s smoking hot.
  3. While the skillet heats up, stretch your dough out onto a lightly floured surface and work it into a flattened round that’s large enough to fill the bottom of your cast iron skillet. The smaller the skillet, the thicker the crust.
  4. Once the pan is hot, sprinkle a little bit of flour and cornmeal over the center, then set the dough into the pan. Be careful, ’cause it’s hot! Gently pull the sides of the dough up the sides of the skillet to avoid any slumping. Make sure your dough is evenly distributed over the pan. Then, with a basting brush, brush some olive oil over the dough—center, crust, and all.
  5. Now, just let the pizza cook a bit on the burner. There’s no real set time here, so you want to stay nearby and watch the dough. Once it starts to bubble up a bit in the center, hit it with some salt and pepper. Then add your sauce, spreading it out evenly. Sprinkle the cheese over the pizza, evenly distribute the tomatoes and pepperoni on top, and pop the pizza into the oven for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is all melted, bubbling, and golden.
  6. An extra Brad Leone trick I highly recommend: mix some honey, chilis, and a splash of water in a small bowl. Stir it with a basting brush until the honey has thinned. When you take the pizza out of the oven, brush the spicy honey over the crust immediately. This will add a nice veneer of sweetness over the crust.
  7. Let the pizza sit for a few minutes before cutting into it.
  8. Here, to finish things off, we’ve drizzled fresh pesto over the pie. Seriously so good.

Close up of pizza in cast iron skillet.

Useful Tools for This Recipe:

Recipe Tips + Tricks.

  1. If your pesto is too thick for drizzling, mix it with a bit of olive oil until you have a runnier consistency. Then drizzle it over your pizza, as much or as little as you want! Fresh pesto works best, either homemade or bought from the refrigerated section of the grocery store.
  2. When spreading marinara over your dough, don’t worry about being messy and getting some on the crust part of the pizza. I actually do this on purpose, since the tomato caramelizes on the crust, adding more flavor!
  3. To flavor your crust, you can use the honey method listed above. Or, if you’d prefer a garlic and herb crust, do this: after brushing the dough with olive oil while it’s in the skillet, brush it with some garlic butter and dried Italian herbs. If you don’t have garlic butter, you can sprinkle on some garlic salt.
  4. I like slicing a few grape tomatoes to scatter of my pizza to get that fresh tomato-y vibe because they’re less watery. But you can definitely slice up some roma tomatoes instead if you prefer.

Skillet with pizza in it, drizzled with pesto.

Have You Made This Recipe?

If you enjoyed this recipe, please consider leaving a STAR rating & commenting below with feedback!

You can also show off your creations on Instagram by tagging @killing__thyme

Other Pizza Recipes to Try on Pizza Night:

Cast iron pan with cheesy pepperoni pizza in it.

Get the Recipe:

Easy Cast Iron Pizza

Yield: 8 slices
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
This deliciously crispy Easy Cast Iron Pizza will take your homemade pizza night to a whole new level—and it's ready in less than 30!
5 from 7 votes
Print Recipe Rate Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 lb fresh pizza dough, Homemade or store-bought
  • 2 TBSP olive oil
  • 1 tsp flour, give or take, for sprinkling
  • 1 tsp cornmeal, give or take, for sprinkling
  • Sea salt and cracked black pepper
  • 1 cups marinara
  • 2 cups shredded mozzarella, or whatever pre-shredded Italian blend you like
  • 1/2 cup cup and char pepperoni
  • 1/2 cup sliced grape or cherry tomatoes
  • 2 TBSP fresh pesto (optional)
  • 1 TBSP raw honey, optional
  • Chili flakes (optional)

Instructions 

  • Preheat your oven to its highest temperature. For me, it's 550º F, so anywhere around there is great. (Note: don't broiler the pizza or it'll burn.)
  • Heat the cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. You want it to be really hot, but not to the point where it's smoking.
  • While the skillet gets hot, stretch your dough out onto a lightly floured surface and work it into a flat round big enough to fill the bottom of your cast iron skillet. Remember, the smaller the skillet, the thicker the crust.
  • When the pan is really hot, sprinkle a bit of flour and cornmeal over the center, then transfer the dough into the pan. Be careful, as it's really hot. Then, gently push the sides of the dough up the sides of the skillet for your crust. Make sure your dough is evenly distributed over the pan and that there are no thinning spots in the middle.
  • With a basting brush, brush some olive oil over all of the dough. Let the pizza cook a bit on the burner. There's no set time here, you just want to stay nearby and watch the dough. This usually takes a few minutes, give or take. When the dough starts to bubble up a bit in the center, hit it with some salt and pepper.
  • Add your sauce and spread it out evenly. Evenly sprinkle the cheese over the pizza, and then scatter the tomatoes and pepperoni on top.
  • Pop the pizza into the oven for about 10-15 minutes, or until the cheese is all melted, bubbling, and golden.
  • In the meantime, if you'd like to jazz things up, mix some honey, chilis, and a splash of water in a small bowl. Stir it well with a basting brush until the honey has thinned.
  • When the pizza is done, take it out of the oven and brush the spicy honey over the crust immediately. This will add a sweet veneer over the crust.
  • If you're using the pesto, drizzle it over the pizza and let the pizza sit for a few minutes before cutting into it. Enjoy!
Author: Dana Sandonato
Course: Main
Cuisine: American, Italian