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Sausage + Broccoli Detroit Pizza

Active Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 115 minutes
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Big Kids Plate
Toddler Plate

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Why we love it:

If you haven’t had Detroit pizza yet, you’re in for a treat! The cheese leaks to the sides and bakes deeply golden to form the crust. You could make your own dough here and I’m sure you can find lots of recipes that take a deep dive into slightly fermented, perfect dough, but for a weeknight, I get the gist by using fresh dough balls from the grocery store (or sometimes a local pizza shop will sell them!).
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Ingredients

  • 1 pound Prepared Pizza Dough (raw dough in a ball)
  • 1 teaspoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1⁄2 pound Italian Sausage
  • 1⁄2 head Broccoli
  • 1 15-ounce can Crushed Tomatoes
  • 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Onion Powder
  • 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
  • 1⁄4 teaspoon Black Pepper (freshly cracked)
  • 1 Tablespoon Dried Oregano
  • 8 ounces Firm Mozzarella (in a block, not packed in water)
  • 8 ounces Cheddar Cheese (mild, in a block - or provolone)
  • 4 cups Spring Mix Salad Greens

Cooking Instructions

  • 1. DOUGH

    Remove the dough from the fridge at least 45 - 75 minutes before you want to bake.

  • 2. PREHEAT THE OVEN TO 500 DEGREES
  • 3. PAN

    Use a dark colored 9 x 13-inch pan (like a cake pan, brownie pan or similar - see Culinary Skills for more details).

    Drizzle the olive oil in the pan and do your best to stretch the dough to fill the pan. Let it rest in a warm spot for 15 minutes, then use your fingertips to press the dough into the corners. You can stretch the dough and even poke it with fingertips.

    Once it mostly covers the pan, let rest again for about 15 minutes in a warm spot while you prep toppings.

  • 4. SAUSAGE

    Sauté the sausage, crumbling as you go, until it’s fully browned. Chop the broccoli and stems into small pieces and cook with the sausage. Turn off and let it cool a bit.

  • 5. SAUCE

    Stir the spices into the can of tomatoes - 1 teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion powder, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, 1 Tablespoon dried oregano.

  • 6. CHEESE

    Chop the cheese into cubes that are about ¼”- ⅓” on all sides. Toss both kinds together.

  • 7. ASSEMBLE

    Make sure the dough mostly reaches the corners. Spread about ½ of the sauce all over the dough. Top with sausage and broccoli. Top with the cheese cubes - go ALL the way to the edge of the pan; don’t leave a visible crust. Spread the remaining sauce in 3 stripes down the side and center of the pan.

  • 8. BAKE

    Bake for about 22 - 25 minutes in the center of the oven or until puffed and golden brown. Rotate the pan once during this time.

    Remove and use a flat spatula or butterknife to run around the edges; let it cook for 5 minutes in the pan. Then slide it out onto a cutting board and cook for another 2 - 5 minutes. NOW, slice with a knife into squares.

  • 9. SERVING

    Toss lettuces with salad dressing of choice and serve with pizza squares.

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Substitutions

  • DAIRY FREE:
    *A long time customer wrote me to say that this pizza with Dairy Free cheese came out great and was a favorite in their house* Use your preferred DF brand and enjoy!
  • GLUTEN FREE:
    if you can find a GF focaccia dough or make pizza dough with cup for cup flour, it would likely work out really well (*we have not tested it!)
  • TOPPINGS:
    go wild with your preferences! Do be careful about adding too many watery, raw veggies on top though, it will affect the dough and the cheese
  • BAKING/DOUGH/PAN:
    see Culinary Skills below for details!

Kid Friendly Version

Big Kids Plate
Toddler Plate

How to Tweak This Recipe for Kids:

  • Make sure it cools - it can really be hot
  • Make whatever accommodations you normally would for pizza - all cheese, less sauce, swap for pepperoni, etc.
  • Add fruit and veggies that they’ll eat

For Toddlers

  • Separate out a few bites of sausage and some broccoli while sautéing
  • Dice up their pizza slice so it’s manageable and probably has less cheese - this pizza has a grown-up, indulgent amount
  • Add fruit

For Choosy Eaters

  • Leave a section without the sausage or broccoli. My kids refuse excess sauce, so I also go lighter on their sauce and even cheese
  • Microwave or steam broccoli for the side (or whatever green veggie they’ll nibble on)
  • Add fruit or raw veggies to round out the meal

Prep Ahead & Use It Up

  1. Sausage and broccoli can be sautéed and added to the final pizza while cold.
  2. Mix the sauce together 
  3. Cube the cheese
  4. Leftovers are great and I always look forward to them, but it’s never as hot, bubbly, crispy, and mind blowing as when it’s fresh out of the oven

Culinary Skills

The pan matters so much it’s practically an ingredient. MUST be a dark colored pan; thinner is better. If you have to make this pizza round in order to use a dark pan over a glass pan, do that. 

 

The cheese matters! Be sure to get a firm block of cheese and dice it into cubes. This keeps the cheese thick and makes delicious little pockets of cheese. “Brick Cheese” is a type commonly used but mozzarella and a mild cheddar, or provolone, will work well. 

 

Spread the sauce and cheese to the edge of the pan; there is no top crust but when you pull it out of the pan, the cheesy edges crisp up into a tall side crust.

 

As soon as you take it out of the oven, don’t skip running your knife around the pan to loosen the edges.

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