Uno Deep Dish Pizza

Uno Pizzeria & Grill is one of Chicago’s most famous pizza places. You can make a similar deep dish pizza with sausage at home.

homemade deep dish pizza in pans and slices on parchment paper


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This pizza recipe is not like the other Chicago deep dish pizza which uses yellow cornmeal and made by other famous restaurants.

You used to have to go to the Windy City if you wanted to try a Chicago-style pizza. Then came Uno Pizzeria & Grill, or better known as simply ‘Unos.’ Thanks to the chain, and others like it, these days you can get deep dish pizza just about everywhere. But why go out when you can make amazing and authentic Pizzeria Unos deep dish pizza recipe at home? The next time you have a hankering for the ultimate deep dish pizza, don’t do delivery. Make it yourself!

What Makes Uno Deep Dish Pizza So Unique

Despite an almost endless variety, there is a consensus about what constitutes a pizza. All pizzas must contain a crust, some sort of sauce, and cheese, but not necessarily in that order.

Deep dish pizza turns the typical pizza on its head, literally by putting the cheese directly on top of the crust and then covering the cheese with toppings. In another deviation from the norm, Chicago-style pizza doesn’t have traditional tomato sauce but instead opts for using crushed tomatoes. This switcheroo and the use of slices, not shreds, of mozzarella, create a protective layer that prevents the thick crust from getting soggy. Finally, unlike many thin-crust pizzas, deep dish pizzas are not loaded down with a bazillion different toppings.

Making the Dough for This Pizzeria Uno Recipe

The foundation of a deep dish pizza is the crust, and as long as you get that right, you are more than halfway towards making a pretty good pie. First off, don’t try to take the easy route and buy premade dough. Fresh dough is critical, but don’t worry because it isn’t too difficult to make yourself, as long as you have a stand mixer handy.

  1. Bloom the yeast by adding it to the warm water in a small bowl. The water should appear bubbly after a few minutes. If no changes occur, or the water just gets cloudy, you need fresh yeast.
  2. Once the yeast is bloomed, pour it with the water into the bowl of a stand mixer. You need some sort of electric mixer with a dough hook attachment for the best results.
  3. Add half of the flour and the rest of the ingredients for the dough. Mix on lower for about 30 seconds to combine. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  4. Once the ingredients begin to come together, slowly add the rest of the flour. Increase the speed to high until all the dough collects on the hook.
  5. Turn off the mixer and remove the dough from the hook.
  6. Lightly coat the ball of dough with olive oil, but back in the mixing bowl and cover. Leave in a warm place until it doubles in size.
  7. Release the air by lightly punching down the dough.
  8. Cover, and wait an additional 5 minutes before rolling out and placing in the greased pan.

Tips for Making and Storing Uno Deep Dish Pizza

  • Don’t use slices of fresh mozzarella. You need low-moisture blocks of mozzarella. Make sure to cover the entire surface of the crust with at least two layers of cheese. Avoid using shredded cheese as most contain an anti-caking agent that prevents the cheese from melting well.
  • Store leftovers covered in the fridge overnight. Reheat for five minutes over medium heat in a deep, covered skillet.

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Ingredients

Here’s a list of what you need:

  • Olive oil
  • Active dry yeast
  • Water
  • All-purpose flour
  • Sliced mozzarella cheese
  • Italian sausage
  • Canned tomatoes
  • Dried oregano
  • Dried basil
  • Grated Parmesan cheese
  • Sliced mushrooms (optional)
  • Chopped bell pepper (optional)
Uno deep dish pizza ingredients

Ingredient Notes

  • The pizza yeast from Williams-Sonoma is great. It makes a wonderful crust.
  • Use extra-light olive oil if you do not want a heavy olive oil flavor.
  • Add your favorite toppings to customize the pizza to your liking.

How to Make Deep Dish Pizza

  1. Cook sausage until browned and crumbled. Drain and set aside.
    Italian sausage in a skillet
  2. Generously brush a heavy 10-inch round cake or springform pan with olive oil or cooking spray.
  3. In a large mixer bowl, sprinkle yeast into warm water. Stir till dissolved.
  4. Allow the yeast to bloom for 5 minutes.
  5. Add flour, oil, and salt.
  6. Beat at low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.
  7. Beat for 2 minutes at high speed, scraping bowl often.
  8. Add in as much of the remaining flour as you can.
  9. Cover, let rise in a warm place until double.
    deep dish pizza dough in a bowl
  10. Punch down dough and let rest for 5 minutes.
  11. Place the dough into the pan.
  12. Using oiled hands, spread dough evenly over the bottom and partially up sides of the pan.
  13. Cover the pan and let the dough rise till nearly double, about 30 minutes.
  14. Arrange cheese slices on the dough.
  15. Gently press sausage on cheese.
  16. Using hands, gently crush tomatoes into small pieces over sausage.
  17. Sprinkle with oregano, basil, and Parmesan.
  18. Bake at 500 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until the edge of the crust is crisp and golden brown.
  19. If desired, sprinkle the pizza with sliced mushrooms or chopped green pepper during the last few minutes of baking time.
  20. Let the pizza stand for 5 to 10 minutes before cutting.
two slices of homemade Uno deep dish pizza with sausage

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homemade deep dish pizza in pans and slices on parchment paper

Uno Deep Dish Pizza

You can make Uno Pizzeria Chicago Deep Dish Pizza with sausage at home with this copycat recipe.
4.25 from 8 votes
Print Pin Rate Add to Collection
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: Chicago Deep Dish Pizza, Deep Dish Pizza, Uno’s Pizza
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Servings: 8
Calories: 506kcal

Ingredients

  • olive oil or cooking spray
  • 1⅛ teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • cup olive oil
  • 12 ounces mozzarella cheese sliced
  • ½ pound Italian sausage mild
  • 15 ounces canned tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
  • 1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed
  • ¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 4 ounces sliced mushrooms optional
  • 2 ounces chopped bell pepper optional

Instructions

  • Cook sausage until browned and crumbly.
  • Generously brush a heavy 10-inch round cake or springform pan with olive oil or cooking spray.
  • In a large mixer bowl, sprinkle yeast into warm water and stir until yeast is dissolved.
  • Add 1½ cups of the flour, ⅓ cup oil, and ½ teaspoon salt. Beat at low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly.
  • Beat for 2 minutes at high speed, scraping bowl often. Add in as much of the remaining flour as you can while beating the dough.
  • Cover and let the dough rise in a warm place until double. Punch down. Let rest 5 minutes. 
  • Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
  • Place the dough into the pan. Using oiled hands, spread dough evenly over the bottom and partially up sides of the pan.  
  • Cover the pan and let the dough rise until nearly double, about 30 minutes.
  • Arrange cheese slices in a ¼-inch thick layer on dough.
  • Gently press the sausage on the cheese.
  • Using your hands, gently crush tomatoes into small pieces over the sausage.
  • Sprinkle oregano, basil, and Parmesan on top.
  • Bake at 500 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes or until the edge of the crust is crisp and golden brown.
  • If desired, sprinkle the pizza with sliced mushrooms or chopped green pepper during the last few minutes of baking time.
  • Let the pizza stand 5 to 10 minutes before cutting.

Nutrition

Calories: 506kcal | Carbohydrates: 40g | Protein: 21g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 530mg | Potassium: 341mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 755IU | Vitamin C: 8.2mg | Calcium: 269mg | Iron: 3mg

Thanks to QueenBerta for this recipe.

About Stephanie Manley

I recreate your favorite restaurant recipes, so you can prepare these dishes at home. I help you cook dinner, and serve up dishes you know your family will love. You can find most of the ingredients for all of the recipes in your local grocery store.

Stephanie is the author of CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home, and CopyKat.com's Dining Out in the Home 2.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Brian Laursen

    4 stars
    I would drain the tomatoes really well before using. Sort of prep work that wasn’t included. I used a Parma whole peeled tomato for this but the liquid content left the pie coming out of the oven looking like a kiddie pool. I was amazed at the flavor and consistency of the crust, though. I’ll keep this recipe with a few small mods.

  2. SBD

    Is UNOs no longer making a deep dish? I feel like people could share their actual deep dish secrets if they don’t even have it on the menu anymore!

    • David N

      Original Pizzeria Uno never used cornmeal in their dough. In fact none of the main Chicago Deep Dish restaurants ever used cornmeal in their dough. Corn meal erroneously got associated with deep dish pizza dough from different TV cooks and Cook’s Illustrated trying to replicate the flaky texture of the crust. The hint of corn flavor comes from the use of corn oil.

      • SLD

        I agree that pan pizza never has cornmeal…but I love olive oil instead if corn oil. It tastes like nona’s focaccia bread!

  3. Vicky

    5 stars
    It’s close! Just my two cents, but I’d sub some corn oil to mimic that buttery taste in the crust. Lots of pizzerias do this.

  4. Jim

    After eating at pizza Uno I will say that I’m going to make a pie dough with butter and shortening mix and experiment with yeast amounts after being a cook for 30+ years I can say that pizza uno’s crust is a risen pie dough more than an actual pizza dough.

  5. bob c.....

    i have tried em all…NONE DUPLICATE the real McCoy There still are the best ever…(Along with a Michelob Beer.

    • Jim T.

      Just one more clue Phil. Please!!! What is the oil/ fat ingredient? Uno’s crust is great, and you are right, no current recipe duplicates the texture and taste. Stephanie, please tickle more clues out of Phil :))

  6. Andy Jackson

    So far,all the recipes for real Chicago crust is the same and even look the same in picture,but fail in taste and texture.The recipes do not produce the crust of the famous pizzas, which is the pastry buttery biscuit like crust people are dying to replicate..You will not achieve it using all these recipes on the internet.The ingredients that you read in their pizza box,are only correct to a certain point.Fortunately for me I have learned this secret which I am not ready to share.The only thing I can say is that there are ingredients and techniques missing.Unless you employ them it will never result in the wonderful pizza crust!Everything from the flour to the fats are wrong with most of the recipes online.

    • daphne

      keys to Uno’s style crust is inclusion of corn meal and butter, cold butter and ice water allow you to have a flakey biscuit style crust, these are borrowed from pastry recipes and is the only real difference….

      there no secrets on the internet, Andy Jackson is so lame…..hahahh

      • Skyjester

        5 stars
        What daphne said. Butter and “pizza dough flavoring” (sold in stores, they’re mostly grated cheese mixtures) are the two major secrets to pizzeria quality crust. Add 1/4c butter for every 3c flour, and 1-2T (2 if you’re smart) flavoring per 1c flour, and you’re done. The butter can even be melted, since it’s being added for flavor and not texture or flakiness. The yeast handles that part.

        Another secret to a wonderful pizza crust is the rise step in the oiled pan. I worked at the original Numero Uno in the mid-70’s in Northridge, they flavored the olive oil for these pizza pans with sliced garlic, and allowed generous rise times of at least a few hours. As the dough rises it absorbs these flavors and the results are truly amazing.

    • JerseyJeffrey

      5 stars
      I agree! Just returned from Due’s cuz Uno’s was packed with tourists (Due’s opened in 1955 after original 1943 Uno’s opening, same recipe). Here’s what I discovered after befriending an employee. The oil used is 50/50 Corn/Extra vigin olive oils. The pizza is baked in traditional Gas fired pizza ovens set at 675°. The pizza is baked in the lower level nearest heat source to bake bottom. Then moved to top level to finish. [I lived in Chicago 1970-95 before moving to east coast. Always been an Uno’s snob cuz it was the original! While tasty in their own roght, Malnatti’s and Giordano ‘s were born out of Uno’s kitchen. Never been to Due’s ever, but now I’m a fan. Much more sane!]

  7. Andy Jackson

    This is not like Unos.Just a regular pizza crust.You won’t know any different unless you have had Uno’s Pizza.

    • DR. Ruth

      We started going to the original Uno’s in Chicago in 1957 and till go to the ones here in Philly now. No one ever comes close to their pizza, not the stuff in NY or anywhere else. Enjoy it, call it a miracle and let it go

      • Mary

        I also started going to original Uno‘s and then across the street Due’s in the late 1950s. I agree there is absolutely nothing like their crust. I really wish I could duplicate it. The chain Uno’s pizzeria comes close but it’s still not the same

  8. stephanie

    Pizza Uno now has a gluten free pizza. It is really good for those of us with celiac disease. Unfortunately, it’s really expensive and also, my nearest Pizza Uno is almost 2 hours away. Can you get to the bottom of this recipe, Please!!
    My suggestion on this would be to purchase a gluten free pizza mix already on the market. I know there are lots of people out there with celiac disease, and many more that are gluten intolerant. I have no experience at this time with this, and wouldn’t feel right giving you my first experimentation or two! You could then use the rest of this as the remaining recipe. ~Stephanie

    • cnygeoff55

      our Unos has gluten free pizzas and it is NOT expensive. prices range from $10-13. the same price for regular pizzas. they have a rather good gluten free menu. as for a copy kat GF dough recipe there are a few online at different sites. my advice is try different recipes until you find one you like.

      • cnygeoff55

        lol. I didnt even notice the original post was from four years ago. think I need more coffee. hahaha

      • stephaniemanley

        Thanks for your comments, I should do a gluten free pizza dough so everyone can enjoy pizza. I appreciate your comments and you dropping by to share your wisdom.

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