Pizza may have originated in Italy, but in the United States, it’s a hotly contested food with many cities claiming to have the best. While plenty of spots around the US have nailed the classic Neapolitan-style pie, some regions have created their own pizza styles with unique variations on the crust, toppings, and baking style. Detroit’s signature pizza is a square or rectangle-shaped pie with crispy, cheesy edges and a focaccia-like dough that’s chewy, yet airy. Chicago is famed for its deep dish, an item that veers more toward savory pie or casserole than pizza (don’t hate me, Chicagoans!). Sicilian-style pizza hails from the island off the southern tip of Italy, but was brought to the States by Sicilian immigrants, and many restaurants coast-to-coast have adapted it to the version you can find in America most commonly today.
There’s no need to buy a plane ticket to experience the magic of these various pizza styles. You can use cake pans or sheet pans to make sort-of successful deep dish pizza at home but why go for that when there are dedicated pizza pans specially made for your favorite type? I tested eight of the best Detroit-style, Chicago-style, and Sicilian-style pizza pans to see if any could help make a pizza that would rival the pros.
The Winners, at a Glance
The dark metal nonstick coating and sharp right angles of the LLoydPans Detroit-style pan gave me a perfectly crispy, golden brown crust that was even across the entire bottom. The roomy size allowed the dough to spread out to just the right thickness and I was able to pop the pizza out without anything getting stuck to the sides.
This square-shaped pan has rolled edges that make it easy to turn and lift the pan, plus a perfectly nonstick coating that produces a crisp, chewy crust.
The Chicago-style deep dish pans from LloydPans have high, straight sides and a dark coated exterior, which helps make that signature flaky, slightly fried crust. I particularly liked the extra tall sides, which allowed me to stack the pie thick with toppings, cheese, and sauce.
This attractive pan is made of high-quality French ceramic and has two convenient handles for lifting a larger-than-average pie out of the oven. While it’s not as deep as more traditional Chicago-style pizza pans, it still produced a lovely pie that had crisp, buttery edges and a uniformly golden-brown bottom.
The Tests
- Detroit-Style Pizza Test: For the Detroit-style pans, I made Detroit-style pizza in each to see if I could achieve a crispy cheese edge along the side of the pan, and fully cooked, chewy dough.
- Sicilian-Style Pizza Test: To see how the Sicilian-Style pans could perform with this style of pie, I made a Sicilian-style pizza in each and evaluated the pies for soft, focaccia-like crust and crispy bottoms.
- Chicago-Style Pizza Test: To see how the Chicago-style pans could perform, I made a Chicago-style deep dish pizza in each and looked for qualities like a slightly fried crust, and a saucy, well-cooked interior and toppings.
- Cleanup/Performance: For each pan, I also considered how easy or difficult the pans were to clean and if they had any features that made performance or usability any easier (or harder).
What We Learned
Dark Metal Conducted More Heat
The darker metal pans conducted heat more intensely, boosting the lower temperature that deep dish pizzas bake at, compared to the ultra-hot temperatures New York- and Neapolitan-style pizzas need. Darker metal has higher thermal conductivity, especially when it’s made of materials like carbon steel or anodized aluminum (which all the LloydPans are). These types of metals absorb and distribute heat quickly and evenly, ensuring a uniformly baked crust. You might remember from your middle school science class that dark-colored surfaces absorb more heat than lighter or reflective surfaces, which is exactly what’s at work here.
LloydPans Were King
It came as little surprise that the LloydPans performed exceptionally well during testing across the board. This brand of pans is specially made for commercial pizza establishments and is a favorite of pizzaiolos both at home and in restaurants. I reached out to a few professional establishments looking for the secrets of the trade.
“Lloyd pizza pans are the best for all panned pizzas. They make pans designed for just about every style, and I wouldn’t use anything but Lloyd. Their quality and consistency across different pizza styles are unmatched,” says Alex Koons, owner of Hot Tongue Pizza in Los Angeles and host of the pizza podcast Pie 2 Pie. “These pans don’t need to be seasoned, and they’re American-made, which is a plus. They also have excellent customer service, and home buyers can easily purchase their pans through Amazon for convenience.”
Tall Sides Were (Obviously!) Best
Some of the pans I tested had moderately tall sides, which resulted in lackluster pizzas. Almost all of the winning pans were an impressive 2.5 inches tall. The exception was the Emile Henry ceramic pan, which was a modest 1.25 inches. It made the cut thanks to its heavy weight and dark color that retained heat well, and the helpful carrying handles.
The Criteria: What to Look for in a Pizza Pan
The finer points of what makes a good deep dish pizza pan will differ slightly style to style, but they all should be made of dark metal to encourage maximum crust development. For pizzas that rely on olive oil or another kind of fat to crisp the dough, the darker metal helps absorb and transfer heat evenly. A nonstick coating will help you get cheesy, crispy edges without causing you to struggle to remove a slice—and it eliminates the need for scrubbing, too. For Chicago-style deep dish pans, look for ones that are at least 2.5 inches tall with straight sides to get that true thick pie texture. Sicilian- and Detroit-style pizzas should be made in rectangular or square pans, at least eight by 10 inches to make a decently sized pie.
Our Favorite Deep Dish Pizza Pans
What we liked: When the pizza first came out of the oven, it was immediately apparent that the edges had achieved that perfectly crisp and brown texture so loved in Detroit-style pizza. A quick swipe with an offset spatula released the crust with ease and I was able to transfer the pizza to the cutting board in one whole piece. Even in spots where cheese pooled and burned off the crust in the corners, the cheese still did not stick to the super-slick surface of this pan. A peek at the bottom showed that the pan had transferred heat well, leading to golden brown swirls of extra-crisp crust.
If you’re worried about buying a single-use kitchen tool, don’t be. This pan can also pull double-duty to make things like sheet cake or dinner rolls.
What we didn’t like: The nonstick coating could be prone to scratching over time if exposed to metal utensils, so avoid cutting slices while the pie is still in the pan. It’s not dishwasher-safe, so you’ll have to give it a bit of a scrub to get it clean again (though I only needed to wipe it out with a paper towel).
Key Specs
- Material: Coated aluminum
- Height: 2.5 inches
- Sizes: 8 x 10 inches, 10 x 14 inches
- Care: Hand-wash only
What we liked: Sicilian pans can be square or rectangular, but the one I preferred was the square LloydPans Sicilian-style pan. Like the other LloydPans, this one has a nonstick dark metal coating that contributes to a crispy baked crust with a chewy interior. It baked up evenly, without hot spots or burned areas. The pan’s rolled edges gave more purchase to be able to grab and turn it with a thick oven mitt. It has higher sides than the Winco Sicilian-style pan I tested, so there was even more room to grab without dipping my towel in boiling-hot oil.
What we didn’t like: It’s a hand-wash-only item, so you may need to give it a light scrub. Nothing stuck to the pan I tested, including cheese, so I just wiped up excess oil and it was as good as new.
Key Specs
- Material: Coated aluminum
- Height: 2.5 inches
- Size: 12 x 12 inches
- Care: Hand-wash only
What we liked: Available in a wide variety of sizes, the LloydPans Chicago-style deep dish pans are some of the best options on the market for making this type of pizza at home. They have high, deep sides—higher than you would get from a standard cake pan. The eight-inch pan created a perfect Chicago-style pie for two, with multiple layers of cheese, sauce, and pepperoni. After baking, the interior was hot and the toppings were well cooked, with the crust fried to a light crisp and golden brown.
What we didn’t like: Like all LloydPans, it’s not dishwasher-safe, but that wasn’t an issue. The pizzas of both sizes I tested popped out of the pan without sticking.
Key Specs
- Material: Coated aluminum
- Height: 2.5 inches
- Sizes (Width): 6, 7, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 inches
- Care: Hand-wash-only
What we liked: Unlike any other pan I tested, the Emile Henry has convenient handles that help with maneuvering it in and out of the oven. This came in handy due to the considerable heft that the material added to the overall weight. The pizza had a well-baked crust that browned uniformly across the bottom. Removing the pizza as a whole was impossible due to the weight of the pie and its filling, but I could cut a slice and remove it without issue.
It’s a gorgeous pan that can transfer seamlessly from oven to table. I could see a wide variety of foods made in this pan, from pies and tarts to baked rice dishes or casseroles. For those wanting more of a multitasker, this would be a great option.
What we didn’t like: Chicago deep dish purists will say that this pan is not deep enough to produce true deep dish pizza. At just 1.625 inches tall, the final thickness of the pizza was more like a tart than a thick pie, so I couldn’t get multiple layers of cheese, toppings, and sauce. It’s also a much heavier pan than the others I tested and required two hands to put in and pull out of the oven.
Key Specs
- Material: Ceramic
- Height: 1.625 inches
- Size: 12 inches
- Care: Dishwasher-safe
The Competition
- Winco Rectangular Sicilian Pizza Pan: This pan arrived dented, but even with that it didn’t strike me as much different than a nonstick coated rimmed baking sheet and I suspect you could get nearly identical results in one of those without buying something totally new. Also, it conducted a bit too much heat and scorched the bottom before the top could fully bake.
- Ooni Detroit-Style Pizza Pan: While we liked the lid that comes with this pan, which would come in handy when proofing, it is too small to make Detroit–style pizza. Our standard batch of Detroit-style pizza was way too big for this pan, leading to a crust that was almost two inches high. It’s worth noting that Ooni does make a larger size of this pan that I did not test.
FAQs
What is Detroit-style pizza?
Made famous in Motor City in the 1940s, Detroit-style pizza is a crispy pan pizza with a dough that fries in olive oil in a metal pan, not unlike focaccia. Traditionally, the toppings go right on top of the dough, followed by cheese, and then a layer of sauce spooned on top. The cheese caramelizes along the edges, creating a crispy, cheesy crust.
What is Chicago-style pizza?
Chicago-style pizza is the style most people think of when they hear the term “deep dish.” The pizza bakes in a deep, round pan with straight sides, allowing for alternating layers of cheese, toppings, and a chunky tomato sauce. The crust is buttery and flaky, more like pie crust than focaccia, and the pizza is baked at a lower temperature for a longer amount of time to make sure that the thick interior of the pie fully bakes. The structure often makes it a knife-and-fork kind of deal.
What is Sicilian pizza?
Hailing from Sicily, this type of pizza utilizes a yeast-risen dough similar to focaccia but thinner than your average Detroit-style pizza and thicker than Neapolitan-style pizza. It bakes on a rimmed baking sheet (or a pan of similar shape and size) and often has the tomato sauce on top of the cheese, potentially followed by sprinkles of breadcrumbs or ground hard cheese.
Why We’re the Experts
- Taylor Murray has been working in food and food media for over 10 years, including in award-winning restaurants like Eleven Madison Park. She has written extensively for Serious Eats (including reviews of carbon steel pans and carving boards).
- Taylor tested eight deep dish pizza pans, using each to make the type of pizza they are designed for. During testing, she evaluated each pan’s performance, usability, and design.
- Taylor spoke to Alex Koons, owner of Hot Tongue Pizza in Los Angeles and host of the pizza podcast Pie 2 Pie to get some professional, inside information about pan pizzas.