Whether you are trying to cut down on carbs or hoping to lose weight, you may be looking for an alternative to traditional pizza. This meat crust pizza recipe may be just what you are looking for.
I made it for supper tonight. It was easy and tasted great. And my husband said I could keep working if it meant new recipes like this one. Part of my job is to find different foods to make in cast iron and then write about it on my website.
So here we go.
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Table of Contents
The Crust is Italian Sausage
In this recipe, I am using Italian sausage. I’ve also heard of using ground beef or pounded-down chicken breast. But, it is up to you. My favorite kinds of pizza are meat lovers or sausage, so italian sausage is what I choose for my crust.
The Sauce is Ragu Spaghetti Sauce
I have spaghetti sauce on hand, so I decided to use this instead of buying pizza sauce. I think both sauces taste pretty much the same, but you may disagree. Therefore, you can use pizza sauce if you prefer.
The Toppings Are Pepperoni, Mushrooms, and Mozzarella Cheese
The toppings I am using are simple, but you can get creative and choose whatever you like on pizza. One of the best things about pizza is the many different toppings you can use to make something you love.
What do you like to put on your pizza?
How to Make Meat Crust Pizza
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F
- Season your meat with salt and pepper. Then, cover the bottom of your 10-inch cast iron pan with the meat. If you are using sausage, it will shrink in the baking process, so keep that in mind. Although I didn’t spread the sausage up the side of the pan to account for the shrinking, that might be a good idea. Then when it shrinks, it will be the size of the pan.
I took a bit of the sausage, made a personal pan pizza for myself, and put the rest in a 10-inch cast iron baking skillet. I knew my husband would eat the whole thing, and I only wanted a small pizza. He put mushrooms on his, and I didn’t. He like lots of sauce and I only like a little. Having our own pizzas works best for us.
- Bake the sausage for 7-8 minutes. Using a paper towel, soak up any grease sitting on top of the meat.
- Add the sauce and any toppings you want to your pizza. Bake for 10-12 minutes until cheese is melted. You may need to use another paper towel to soak up additional grease.
- You can eat your pizza right out of the pan, but remember it is hot. Or you can transfer the pizza to a plate and eat it that way. We put ours on plates. Along with our pizza, we had a salad. Thankfully, we both enjoyed this meal and will make it again.
Clean Up
After we ate our pizza and salad, it was time to clean up. It is always a good idea to wash your cast iron skillet after using it. You don’t want to give the bits of food left in the pan a chance to harden up and stick to the sides. And you never want to soak your cast iron skillet. Generally, I wait until after it has cooled down a bit, and I can pick the pan up with my bare hands. Now I am ready to wash it.
Cleaning your cast iron skillet is easy if you follow these five quick steps:
- Scrape out any particles of food left in the pan. Preferably with a plastic scraper if you have one. You can also use a spatula or anything that will allow you to loosen and remove the food along the side of the pan.
- Rinse out your pan with hot water. You might want to do this a couple of times.
- Add a dab of soap to your pan, and with a brush, clean the inside of the pan. You shouldn’t have to scrub too hard as you already got out all the food when you used the scraper.
- Dry the pan thoroughly. You don’t want to leave any moisture on the iron because that’s what causes rust.
- Cover the entire pan with a thin layer of oil or cooking spray using a paper towel. I use Select-a-size and tear it in half because I like to conserve whenever possible. Covering the pan with oil protects it from the elements.
Your cast iron skillet is now ready for the next time you want to use it.
Conclusion
As you can see, this meat crust pizza recipe is simple. And I could tell you it is delicious, but you will have to try it for yourself to know if I am right.
If you made this pizza or any variation, I would love to know all about it. For example, what meat did you use for your crust? Did you use spaghetti sauce or pizza sauce? And what toppings did you put on it? Was it tasty? Will you make it again?
If you have any questions or thoughts to share, please leave a comment below. Thank you for reading this article about making a meat crust pizza in a cast iron skillet.