Deep Dish Pizza Bake

Ingredients

• 1 refrigerated pizza crust dough, uncooked
• 1 lb mild Italian sausage
• ½ onion, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 jar pizza sauce
• 3 cups of shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• ½ bag pepperoni
• Cooking spray

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat your oven to 400°F.

2. 2

   In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the Italian sausage with the diced onion and bell pepper. Cook until the sausage is completely browned and the vegetables have softened.

3. 3

   While the meat cooks, grease a 9x13-inch baking dish. Press the pizza dough into the bottom of the dish, pushing it slightly up the sides to create that deep-dish-style crust.

5. 4

   Bake the crust by itself for 5 minutes, then remove it from the oven.

6. 5

   Drain any excess grease from the sausage mixture, then stir in the entire jar of pizza sauce.

7. 6

   Sprinkle 1½ cups mozzarella cheese directly over the partially baked pizza crust.

9. 7

   Spoon the sausage and pizza sauce mixture evenly over the cheese.

10. 8

    Top with the remaining 1½ cups mozzarella, then add pepperoni all over the top.

11. 9

    Return to the oven and bake for another 7-10 minutes, or until the crust is cooked through and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

13. 10

    For that golden, crispy cheese on top, turn the oven to broil for the final 1-2 minutes. Keep a close eye on it-it browns quickly! Let it cool for a few minutes before slicing, then serve!