Chicago Thin-Crust (Tavern-Style) Pizza With Sausage and Giardiniera

By J. Kenji López-Alt

Updated Feb. 25, 2025

Chicago Thin-Crust (Tavern-Style) Pizza With Sausage and Giardiniera
David Malosh for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.
Total Time
35 minutes, plus at least 3½ hours for the dough
Rating
5(549)
Comments
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Tavern-style pizza is not particularly difficult compared with other styles, but it does take a good amount of time from start to finish — several days in fact — but it’s largely hands-off. And, on the actual day of baking, you don’t have to deal with stretching or tossing dough, making it perfect for parties or for topping with kids.

This recipe is part of our complete recipe for a Chicago thin-crust pizza. View the recipes for the dough, Chicago-style Italian sausage and accompanying sauce.

Featured in: Kenji López-Alt Spent 5 Months Studying Chicago Thin-Crust Pizza. Here’s What He Learned.

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Ingredients

Yield:2 (14-inch) pizzas

    For Each Pizza

Ingredient Substitution Guide
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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    At least 45 minutes before baking, set a baking steel or stone (larger than 14 inches, see Tips) on an oven rack in the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 500 degrees. Drain excess oil from the giardiniera in a fine-mesh strainer, tossing to get as much off as possible. Discard the oil and set aside the giardiniera.

  2. Step 2

    When the oven is heated and you’re ready to bake, dust a pizza peel with semolina or cornmeal. Lift cured pizza skin with the parchment or butcher paper still attached. The top (exposed) side will be drier than the underside. Place the pizza skin on the peel with the drier side facing down (so the papered side faces up). Peel off the parchment paper or butcher paper and discard. Using a fork, poke the crust all over to prevent large bubbles from forming.

  3. Step 3

    Spread the sauce evenly over the entire surface of the pizza, all the way to the edges. Sprinkle with half the Romano or Parmesan. Spread the mozzarella evenly over the entire surface, spreading it all the way to the edges. Use your fingertips to dollop marble-size pieces of the raw sausage all over the pizza. Sprinkle with the giardiniera.

  4. Step 4

    Give the pizza peel a few shakes to make sure the pizza is still loose (if it sticks at all, using a metal spatula or pizza peel to loosen it), then transfer the pizza to the heated baking steel or stone. Bake until the pizza is as done as you like it. (If you like yours browned and bubbly in the center and lightly charred at the edges, that’ll be about 10 minutes, depending on your oven.) You can use a metal pizza peel to lift the edges of the pizza and peek underneath as it bakes to ensure the bottom is done to your liking.

  5. Step 5

    Transfer the pizza to a cutting board and sprinkle immediately with the remaining Romano or Parmesan. Allow to rest for 3 minutes, cut into 1½- to 2-inch squares, and serve immediately. Let the oven reheat for at least 10 minutes before baking subsequent pizzas.

Tips
  • This style of pizza works best with minimal toppings–two to three items max. Sausage and giardiniera is a classic combination in the Chicago area. I like using J.P. Graziano hot giardiniera, which is available by mail order.
  • Do not use Italian-style (fresh) mozzarella for this pizza. If you cannot find full-fat low-moisture mozzarella, use a combination of widely available part-skim low-moisture mozzarella and shredded Monterey Jack. The cheeses will melt better if you grate them yourself, but pre-shredded can be used in a pinch.
  • If you do not have a baking stone or steel at least 14 inches square, 12-inch pizzas can also be baked on smaller stones or on the back of a large overturned aluminum sheet tray set on an oven rack while the oven heats. Follow the recipe for 12-inch pizza dough balls as outlined in the Tip for the Chicago thin-crust (tavern-style) pizza dough.

Ratings

5 out of 5
549 user ratings
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Comments

Dale

Spectacular! Indeed, I think it is way past time to categorize Pizzas by some town or city name. As he points out, the mistaken idea that Chicago is deep dish is found to be immediately wrong when you actually eat a few from around town. The hints he has are a nice collection and summary, making a pizza very much like a unique one found in the upper midwest at a few places in Wisconsin and Minnesota and Upper Michigan. Bravo for the tips. They all make a difference. Nicely written article.

Kate

Thrilled to see this - the pizza I had growing up in the Chicago burbs. Always square cut. But giardiniera is for Italian beef!! We ordered our pizza “garbage style” - sausage as here, plus onion, artichoke, green pepper, mushroom, black olive, and anchovy. I know Kenji says 2-3 toppings max but this combo was SO good.

Martha

Could you use Muffaletta condiment? It’s finely chopped Giardiniera mixed with garlic, capers and olives and olive oil.

Linda RS

@Barton Fink, giardiniera on pizza is amazing!

Stew

Excellent pizza. Even after 3 days in the fridge, I did find it difficult to roll out to 14 inches as dough pulled back some. Didn’t seem to affect the end result too much. Would recommend vegetarian sausage as it cut down on the amount of grease and Marconi giardiniera was a great addition. Chicago girlfriend loved it!

freezing?

Does anyone have suggestions about cooking this from frozen?

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