National Deep Dish Pizza Day Date in the current year: April 5, 2024

Deep dish pizza, also known as Chicago-style pizza, is baked in a large pan that gives the pizza a high edge and therefore more space for sauce and toppings. There is a general consensus that deep dish pizza originated in Chicago but the exact origins of the dish have been disputed.

According to the most widely told origin story, Chicago-style deep dish pizza was invented at Pizzeria Uno, opened by former college football player Ike Sewell in downtown Chicago in 1943. As of 2023, Uno Pizzeria & Grill operated dozens of locations in Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, Wisconsin, and District of Columbia and served several varieties of its signature pizza.

Although it is Sewell himself who is often credited with inventing deep dish pizza, it is most likely that the recipe was developed by Rudy Malnati, a chef who co-managed Pizzeria Uno with his son Lou in the 1950s. Lou would go on to open his own restaurant serving deep dish pizza, Lou Malnati’s Pizzeria, in 1971. A 1995 article from the Chicago Tribune reports that deep-dish pizza was first served at Rosati’s Authentic Chicago Pizza that has had it on the menu since the opening of the original restaurant in 1926.

Be that as it may, deep dish pizza is a signature dish of Chicago. It consists of a thick, buttery crust with an edge that can be up to 3 inches high, generous amounts of chunky tomato sauce, cheese, and various toppings. The most popular topping in Chicago is Italian sausage.

Due to the thickness of Chicago-style pizza, it can take up to 45 minutes to bake, so toppings are usually arranged in the reverse order to keep them from burning: on the dough goes cheese (typically mozzarella), then pepperoni, Italian sausage and other meats, then vegetables and mushrooms, and finally a thick layer of uncooked tomato sauce.

The origins of National Deep Dish Pizza Day are unclear, but it was probably invented by some pizza lover who prefers Chicago-style pizza to all other pizza varieties. However, the murky origins of the holiday should not keep you from celebrating it by indulging in delicious deep dish pizza and sharing it with friends because everything tastes better in good company.

The best way to celebrate Chicago-style pizza is, of course, to take a trip to Chicago and enjoy authentic deep dish pizza there. However, we realize that this option isn’t for everyone, so let’s take a closer look at other ways to observe National Deep Dish Pizza Day. You can go out to a local pizza place that serves Chicago-style pizza, try making dish pizza at home (don’t forget the right order of toppings!), and post about the holiday on the social media with the hashtags #NationalDeepDishPizzaDay and #DeepDishPizzaDay.