‘The Pioneer Woman’: Ree Drummond’s Easy Cast Iron Skillet Pizza

Ree Drummond has an easy method for cooking pizza that she calls “unconventional” — but the final outcome is absolute perfection. The Pioneer Woman star’s cast iron skillet pizza uses a simple shortcut so it’s a quick recipe to pull together.

Ree Drummond uses a shortcut for her cast iron skillet pizza

Drummond demonstrated how to make her cast iron pizza recipe on an episode of The Pioneer Woman. She teased that she makes a “shortcut cast iron pizza that’s off-the-scale delicious” and her store-bought timesaver makes it so easy.

“When it comes to pots and pans, I really think simple is best, so watch as I take this cast iron skillet and give it a whole new purpose,” Drummond said on the show.

“I am making cast iron skillet pizza. It’s a little bit of an unconventional thing to make in an iron skillet but I think it is going to be delicious,” Drummond added.

The Food Network host’s shortcut is store-bought pizza dough. “This was sold in the refrigerator section,” she noted. “You can also buy it frozen.”

How to make ‘The Pioneer Woman’ star’s easy pizza recipe

To make the pizza, Drummond preheated the skillet first. She rolled the dough into a circle and drizzled olive oil in the skillet. “I put it in the oven to heat it up,” she explained. “I want this crust of the pizza to be really sizzly and this is the best way to ensure that.”

Drummond added, “I want to make sure there is plenty of oil on the surface of the pan.” She used a brush to coat the sides of the pan as well. “I don’t want the pizza to stick.”

She carefully placed the dough in the skillet, using tongs to position it. “Isn’t this exciting? That oil is just bubbling around the outside crust, and that’s exactly what you want because it’s going to make it nice and sizzly and delicious,” Drummond said.

The Pioneer Woman star spread pizza sauce over the crust. “When it comes to pizza, homemade crust and homemade sauce are always delicious but the store-bought stuff is great too,” she explained. “It really saves time.”

Drummond topped it with pepperoni and mozzarella pearls, then brushed the exposed rim of the pizza with olive oil. She baked the pizza in a 500 degree Fahrenheit oven for 14 minutes.

Drummond described the pizza as ‘deep-dish’ style

The Food Network host used tongs to remove the pizza from the pan and added fresh basil to finish it. “With pepperoni pizzas especially, I like to add fresh basil,” she explained. “It’s just kind of a combination of old, traditional flavor and new, fresh flavor.”

Drummond shared that it’s not a thin crust type of pizza. “The crust is a little bit on the thick side,” she explained. “It’s almost like a deep-dish pizza.”

She sliced the pizza and noted that she had a cast iron pizza party in mind where guests could customize their own pizzas.

“Wow. I cannot believe this was made in a cast iron skillet,” she marveled.

The full cast iron skillet pizza recipe is available on the Food Network website.