Pizza may have been invented in Naples, Italy, but it was Chicago that turned it into the ultimate comfort food.
Instead of sticking to the thin crust pizza tradition, Chicago pizza makers Ike Sewell and Ric Riccardo opted to create a uniquely American pizza. They started with a buttery crust built with a tall edge like a fruit pie. They layered on tomatoes, cheese and just the right blend of Italian spices and let their creation bake for an entire hour—far longer than any Italian would allow a pie to linger in a traditional wood-fired oven.
Chicago deep dish made its debut in 1943 at Pizzeria Uno, then known as The Pizzeria, in downtown Chicago. The pizzeria at the intersection of Ohio Street and North Wabash Avenue was so successful the pair opened a second, Pizzeria Due, just a block away in 1955.
Both remain open at their original location, and in the decades since deep dish has become as synonymous with Chicago as hot dogs, craft beer, professional sports and world-class architecture. Pizzerias across the city have developed their own versions of the iconic dish and even some cities have used it to inspire their signature pizzas. Detroit-style pizza, for example, is a spin-off of Chicago deep dish.
Chicago deep dish is thicker than even the thickest crust pizzas served at Pizza Hut, Domino’s or Papa John’s pizza. It’s cooked in deep cast iron pans instead of on trays or wooden boards. It’s more substantial than a New York slice, impossible to fold and challenging to eat on the go. This is the kind of pizza that often requires a fork and a knife.
Some of the most popular deep-dish pizza toppings are pepperoni, sausage, green peppers and mushrooms. Or, get a bit more creative with everything from spinach, bell peppers, olives and onions to ham, bacon, pineapple, artichokes or broccoli. Just don’t expect to see whatever you choose on top of your pizza.
If you’re new to eating deep-dish pizza, the first thing you’ll notice is that the ingredients are out of order. Fresh mozzarella cheese is shredded and layered directly onto a bare crust. Next, comes the toppings. Unlike traditional pizzas, toppings are layered on instead of spaced apart. Thin layers of sausage go on raw and cook in the oven.
It isn’t until the very end that a layer of flavorful tomato sauce is spread on top. That top layer of sauce keeps the cheese from burning as the pizza bakes, something that’s necessary because of its longer baking time.
Because the toppings on this Chicago-style pizza are stuffed between the crust and the sauce, some people refer to it as stuffed. Others insist on calling it pie since the toppings fill it like fruit might a pie.
Whatever you call it, I call Chicago deep dish delicious. And while I’m not from here, I’ve lived in Chicago long enough to figure out what’s the best deep dish in Chicago. Keep reading for my favorite places to eat deep dish in the Windy City.
The Original Chicago Deep Dish Pizza
This is the deep-dish pizza I grew up eating in Texas, and I was pleasantly surprised to learn Uno’s is the original Chicago deep-dish.
Each Pizzeria Uno location starts its day by making fresh pizza dough in the morning. Blocks of mozzarella cheese are shredded each day, and only the freshest produce qualifies to top these Chicago-style pizzas.
Uno’s most popular deep dish pizzas are its Cheese & Tomato deep dish and its Prima Pepperoni deep dish. My personal go-to Uno’s pizza is the Cheese & Tomato. There’s something about Uno’s chunky tomatoes and flaky crusts I can’t get enough of.
Good thing for me, there are more than 100 Uno’s Pizzeria & Grill locations around the world, including on the Upper West Side of New York City. Most of Uno’s U.S. locations are in the Midwest and Northeast. Uno’s also has locations in several cities in Saudi Arabia and India.
The Best Chicago Deep Dish For Cheese Lovers
Giordano’s is my favorite deep-dish pizza. I love that Giordano’s offers an individual-size option cut into four small slices. It’s perfect for a solo dinner and leaves enough for leftovers. A single small slice is usually enough. If I’m famished or hangry, I might eat two of these small slices.
This deep-dish pizzeria chain traces its history to Torino, Italy, where Mama Giordano was something of a local celebrity. She was known for her double-crusted cheese-stuffed Italian Easter Pie, which was something of a legend in the area When her sons Efren and Joseph Boglio emigrated to Chicago, they brought their mother’s Italian Easter Pie recipe with them, and Giordano’s was born.
Giordano’s opened its first pizzeria on the south side of Chicago in 1974. Now, you’ll find outposts across the city and in Chicago’s many suburbs. Each location makes fresh pizza sauce in-house every day using the finest hand-picked California tomatoes the company can find. Giordano’s then adds a thick layer of cheese, making for ooey-gooey pizzas that are perfect for mozzarella cheese-pulls.
Giordano’s secret weapon is its double crust. Its deep-dish pizzas feature an extra layer of dough on the top. Ordering Giordano’s for delivery can feel a bit like getting a Christmas present. Think of the layer of bright red sauce on top as the wrapping paper, and the ingredients as the surprise inside a box made of dough.
The Best Chicago Deep Dish For Sausage Lovers
If you’re looking for the best sausage deep dish in Chicago, head to Lou Malnati’s. Lou Malnati’s is best known for flaky buttery crusts and its exclusive sausage blend.
Lou’s, as it’s also known, opened its first shop in the Chicago suburb of Lincolnwood in 1971. To this day, the company remains a family business with Lou’s sons Marc and Rick running the business.
Lou Malnati’s has been working with the same Wisconsin dairy for more than 40 years. It lays a pile of Wisconsin cheese on top of a rich buttery crust, adds a layer of its special sausage —or whatever toppings you choose— and finishes its pizzas with a sauce made from vine-ripened California plum tomatoes.
The crust of these pizzas is just a little too buttery to beat Giordano’s for me, but if that’s your thing or you’re looking for a fresh take on sausage as a pizza topping, you’re going to love these deep dish pies. And you don’t even have to come to Chicago to try Lou Malnati’s. Lou Malnati’s ships its deep-dish pizzas across the U.S.
The Best Chicago Deep Dish For Vegans
Gino’s East is one of the oldest deep-dish pizzerias in Chicago, and it’s flagship location on Superior Street is the best place to try it. Gino’s original Chicago location boasts three floors of graffiti-covered walls, loads of graffiti-covered tables and benches and countless opportunities to leave your mark on this Chicago institution.
Gino’s East, founded by taxi operators Sam Levine and Fred Bartoli, credits its success to a Black woman who spent nearly 30 years perfecting the company’s deep-dish pizza recipe. Alice Mae Redmond, who had previously worked at Uno’s Pizzeria, slowed down the process of pizza making, tenderly stretching the dough into a pan instead of slapping it into place. She also added a dash of cream of tartar to the pizzeria’s original recipe, a dough conditioner that gives Gino’s East pizza caramelized crusts a unique texture and taste.
Nowadays, Gino’s East makes its pizza dough fresh each day and is a truly local brand. While it sources California tomatoes for its pizza sauce, its pizzas are topped with sausage made in Chicago. You’ll also notice a slight yellow tint to the pizza crusts at Gino’s East. That coloring doesn’t come from cornmeal but instead from the addition of beta-carotene.
If you’re a vegan, take note. Gino’s East started making Chicago deep dish with vegan cheese options in 2019. And if you just can’t make it to Chicago, look for frozen Gino’s East pizzas at your local grocery store.
The Best Chicago Deep Dish For Solo Travelers
Before you go trying to order the largest size deep dish pizza on the menu, keep in mind that Chicago deep-dish can be filling. Chances are, you’ll be able to eat a lot less of it than you think.
If you’re a solo traveler, a light eater or looking to share a taste of Chicago deep dish with a friend, head to Pequod’s Pizza. Pequod’s pan-style deep dish pizza is lighter than what you’ll find at most Chicago pizza restaurants.
Pequod’s is best known for its crisp caramelized crusts that have mozzarella cheese baked right into them. And while it might not be my favorite Chicago deep dish, I do love its crispy cheesy crusts.
Pequod’s is one of the most popular deep-dish pizzerias among my local friends and got its start in Morton Grove, a Chicago suburb, in 1970. It’s one of the few places in Chicago where you can order deep dish by the slice.
In case you’re wondering, Pequod’s is named after the whaling ship in Moby Dick. The pizzeria’s founder was a fan of author Herman Melville.
The Best Chicago Deep Dish For Math Nerds
If you’re one of those people who celebrate Pi Day, March 14, with a pizza, My Pi is the place for you. It’s also perfect for anyone looking to mark Valentine’s Day with a heart-shaped pizza.
The founder of My Pi perfected his deep-dish pizza recipe while going to business school at Northwestern University. He experimented with less acidic tomatoes and unique spice blends, testing out his recipes on his fraternity brothers in his quest to develop the best deep-dish pizza in the Windy City.
The first My Pi pizzeria opened near Loyola University in the Rogers Park neighborhood. The company has since expanded to a chain of more than 20 locations in nine states. And while Uno’s may have been the first Chicago deep-dish pizzeria, MyPi was the first Chicago deep-dish pizza restaurant to open outside of Illinois.
My Pi is also a favorite of James Beard award-winning food journalist Steve Dolinsky, who runs several Chicago pizza tours.
Whether it’s cheesy comfort food, a meaty meal to warm you up on a cold day or an authentic taste of Chicago at home that you’re looking for, there’s an authentic deep-dish pizza for you. Don’t leave the Windy City without taking a bite.
