Homemade Deep Dish Pizza with Broccoli, Spinach, and Feta

Pizza lovers, this recipe is for you! This Homemade Deep Dish Pizza with Broccoli, Spinach, and Feta is so easy to make ... the perfect family meal!

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Having lived in Chicago for many years (this was before NYC and San Francisco), I am a huge deep dish pizza fan.

I love the cheese, the delicious ingredients, and the thick, buttery crust. All of which work together to create a wonderful flavor ... yum!

When it comes to Chicago-style deep dish pizza, there's regular deep dish where the crust is topped with a thick layer of toppings (like Lou Malnati's) and stuffed deep dish which has two layers of dough with the ingredients in the middle (like Giordano's).

I've always been partial to Giordano's, but they're really two different things altogether and both are pretty darn amazing.

Homemade Deep Dish Pizza (Spinoccoli Copycat)

It's been years since I've had a deep dish pizza, so when my husband and I stumbled across an Uno Pizzeria in NYC recently, we had to stop in.

Uno is also from Chicago, and although they have locations all over the country, I'd never actually eaten there before. There's a bit of a dispute over who invented deep dish pizza, but from what I gather, it originated at Uno Pizzeria although it may have been their chef Rudy Malnati (Lou's brother?) who actually created it.

Whatever the origin, the pizza we had at Uno was amazing.

We ordered the Spinoccoli, which is topped with fresh spinach, broccoli, chunky tomatos, garlic, feta, cheddar, mozzarella, and grated romano. It was so good, that I was inspired to create this Uno Pizzeria Spinoccoli copycat recipe!

How to Make Deep Dish Pizza

This Homemade Deep Dish Pizza with Broccoli, Spinach, and Feta is my version of Uno's Spinoccoli. You are going to love this easy-to-make pizza!

I kept things simple by starting with store bought pizza dough, which gets pressed into and up the sides of a cast iron skillet.  The skillet is the closest thing I own to a deep dish pizza pan, and it produced a wonderful crust.

My skillet is 10 ½-inches, but anything between 10 and 12 inches should work ... just keep in mind the crust will be thinner in a larger skillet.

You could also make the pizza in a springform pan, or even a large pie pan, although a cast iron pan will produce a more authentic crust.

After placing the crust in the pan, you'll add the toppings.

The ingredient order may seem a little weird but it works! With deep dish pizza, the sauce goes on top, which keeps the cheese from burning during the longer cook time. 

So instead of beginning with sauce, you'll start with cheese (a flavorful mix of mozzarella, cheddar, and romano).  Next comes fresh spinach and lightly steamed broccoli, then more cheese.

The second cheese layer gets covered with a quick to make, yet super tasty tomato sauce. A generous sprinkle of feta is next, and then your pie gets baked.

In about half an hour, your Homemade Deep Dish Pizza with Broccoli, Spinach, and Feta is ready to eat.

It's so easy, you'll want to make one tonight!

Related Recipes

Looking for more delicious pizza recipes? Try these next:

• Green Pizza with Pesto, Feta, Artichokes, and Broccoli … my most popular pizza recipe!
• Pesto, Feta, and Veggie Pizza
• Caprese Pizza
• Fresh Plum and Gouda Pizza
• Easy White Pizza
• Gorgonzola Pear Pizza
• Summer Veggie Pizza
• Grilled Pizza
• Grape, Feta, and Pesto Pizza
• Roasted Fall Vegetable Pizza

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5 from 5 votes

Homemade Deep Dish Pizza with Broccoli, Spinach, and Feta

Make this Homemade Deep Dish Pizza with Broccoli, Spinach, and Feta tonight ... it's full of flavor and the perfect weeknight meal!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time35 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: 3 to 4 people

Author: Ginnie

Ingredients

For Pizza Sauce:

• 1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for pizza pan
• 2-3 large cloves garlic, minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• pepper

For Pizza:

• 2 stalks broccoli, stems discarded and heads cut into florets
• 1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• ½ cup shredded white cheddar cheese
• ¼ cup shredded romano cheese
• 1 pound pizza dough
• 2 cups fresh spinach, lightly packed, roughly chopped
• 4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled

Equipment

• Cast Iron Skillet

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Very lightly brush a 10-inch cast iron skillet with olive oil.

Prepare Sauce:

• Transfer tomatoes to a small bowl, discarding liquid. Using your hands, crush the tomatoes, leaving some small to medium-sized chunks.
• Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat.
• Add garlic, salt, and crushed red pepper flakes to pan, then saute until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
• Stir tomatoes into skillet, then bring to a simmer and cook until thick (about 5 to 10 minutes).
• Remove sauce from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Prepare Broccoli:

• While sauce is cooking, place broccoli in a microwave safe dish with a lid.
• Add 1 tablespoon water to dish, cover, and microwave for about 2.5 minutes, or until broccoli is just tender (do not overcook).
• Sprinkle broccoli with salt to taste, then set aside.

Assemble pizza:

• Mix together mozzarella, cheddar, and romano cheeses. Set aside.
• Press dough into bottom and up the sides of the skillet.

  (Tip: if your dough is not cooperating, let it rest for a few minutes. Then stretch it some more, then let it relax again. Repeat this process until the dough covers the pan evenly).
• Cover the dough with half the cheese.
• Top cheese with the spinach and then the broccoli. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the broccoli.
• Dollop the sauce over the cheese (don't worry if it doesn't cover the whole pie).
• Sprinkle feta cheese over top.
• Bake until the crust is browned, about 25 to 30 minutes.
• Remove pizza from oven, then let sit for 5 minutes.
• Cut pizza into wedges and serve. Enjoy!

Did you make this recipe?I love seeing what you're cooking! Leave a comment below, or tag @HelloLittleHome or #hellolittlehome on Instagram!

Have you ever had Chicago-style deep dish pizza? What's your favorite: Lou Malnati's or Giordano's? Or is there another place I should try on my next visit?