This Philly Cheese Steak Pizza features a simple and easy no-knead crust that you will fall in love with. Baked in a cast iron skillet in a super hot oven, the crust is soft yet perfectly crisp on the bottom with tender, thinly sliced steak and gooey, melty cheese.
Do you remember the old school pan pizza that they used to have at Pizza Hut? Not like what they have today, this was a Detroit style crust. A thick crust, that is crispy and fried on the bottom, but still light and almost focaccia-like. The cheese is spread all of the way to the edges and it oozes down the sides of the pan, getting slightly burnt and crispy. Pure pizza bliss!
Well I had been on a search for just that kind of crust for several years, and this pizza totally fits the bill.
Just look at that crust!
How Do I Make Homemade Pan Pizza Dough?
The no-knead deep dish pizza crust recipe for this Philly Cheese Steak Pizza comes from Kenji over at Serious Eats. On a side note, if you haven’t checked out Serious Eats, I have to give a shout out to Kenji and the Serious Eats team. They have some great stuff as well as lots of how to’s and info to help your recipes turn out the best.
It’s surprisingly easy to make with most of the time spent just waiting for the crust to do its thing. Even if you haven’t made your own pizza dough before, don’t let that stop you. The recipe is written using grams, but even if you don’t have a kitchen scale, just use the approximate measurements from the recipe and it should turn out. Honestly, every time I make this dough, I worry I am going to ruin it, but every time I am blown away at how delicious and perfect it is!
The recipe makes enough for two pizza crusts, so you can either cook up two pizzas or just refrigerate or freeze one of the dough balls until later.
What Goes On Philly Cheese Steak Pizza?
After the dough is ready, this Philly Cheese Steak Pizza is quick to put together, making it perfect for a weeknight dinner or Friday night pizza night! Just whip the dough together the night before and put it in a cool spot to rise and yet the yeast do its thing. When you are ready to cook, slice up the steak, onions, and peppers. Then cook them lightly on the flat side of a cast iron griddle or a hot skillet.
How Do You Slice the Steak for this Philly Cheese Steak Pizza?
For the steak, it is important that it is thinly sliced so that it is nice and tender with little crispy charred bits from the high heat in the oven. You can buy a strip steak and thinly slice it yourself. If you choose this, I recommend putting the steak in the freezer for about 15 minutes before slicing and then using a sharp knife to thinly slice the meat across the grain. Or to save time, most grocery stores now sell steak that has been thinly sliced in the meat department.
Do I Need a Cast Iron Skillet for this Deep Dish Pan Pizza?
The cast iron pan is an important part of this Philly Cheese Steak Pizza as it heats up really hot and lets the crust develop that perfect crispy crust. However, if you don’t have a 10 inch cast iron skillet, there are other options. I have also made this using a 10 inch round cake pan as well as a ceramic casserole dish. Both turned out pretty good, although the crust doesn’t get quite as crisp. Just make sure to oil the sides of the pan to keep the pizza from sticking.
Philly Cheese Steak Pizza
Ingredients
Pizza Dough
- 400 g bread flour (about 2 1/2 cups)
- 10 g kosher salt (about 2 teaspoons)
- 4 g instant yeast (about 1 teaspoon)
- 275 g water (about 1 cup plus 3 tablespoons)
- 8 g extra-virgin olive oil (about 2 teaspoons), plus more to coat pans
Garlic Oil
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic (lightly crushed)
- 1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Pizza
- 1 small onion
- 1 green pepper
- 1 lb steak (strip steak recommended)
- 1/2 tsp montreal steak seasoning
- 1 1/2 cup cheese (shredded) - I used a blend of 1 c montery jack and 1/2 c mozzerella
- 1/4 cup fresh shredded parmesean cheese
Instructions
8 – 24 Hours Before You Are Ready to Eat:
- Make the crust following the instructions 1 - 5 from https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2013/01/foolproof-pan-pizza-recipe.html. The dough should be somewhat wet at the end of step one, before covering to rest.
- Two hours before you are ready to eat, make sure to transfer your dough to the pan as instructed.
To Cook the Pizza:
- Adjust oven rack to middle of oven and preheat to 550° (or as hot as your oven goes).
- Thinly slice green peppers and onions. Set aside separately.
- Thinly slice steak against the grain, trimming any large pieces of fat. For help slicing the steak, place it in the freezer for about 15 minutes prior to slicing and use a sharp knife.
- Sprinkle Montreal seasoning over steak, coating evenly.
- Add onions to a lightly buttered or oiled skillet or griddle pan over medium high heat. Stir and cook until lightly softened and translucent (about 3 - 5 minutes).
- Add steak to pan with onions, using care to spread the steak in an even layer. Cook about 5 - 10 minutes, letting steak cook and begin brown slightly for several minutes before flipping or stirring. Steak does not need to be cooked all of the way though, it will cook more in the oven.
- While steak cooks, prep the oil. Lightly crush each clove of garlic and combine olive oil, garlic, and crushed red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Microwave 45 seconds to allow garlic to infuse the oil.
- Remove steak and onios from pan and set aside. Add peppers to same griddle or skillet used for steak and cook for a few minutes just until peppers begin to soften.
- Gently stretch and spread pizza dough to the edges of a 10 inch cast iron skillet (if it has not fully spread out).
- Remove garlic from oil, and spoon or brush oil over dough evenly to edges.
- Top dough with shredded Monterey jack and mozzarella cheese, cooked steak and onions, and green peppers, making sure to spread toppings all of the way to the edges of the pan. Top with shredded parmesan cheese.
- Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly and just staring to brown around the edges.
- Let cool a few minutes before removing pizza from pan and slicing.