This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
My favorite pizza of all time is a St.Louis Style Pizza, specifically, a copycat Imo’s St. Louis Style Pizza. This traditional pizza is nestled on a paper thin, crisp crust (no yeast!), covered lightly in a sweet sauce, and then smothered in tangy provel cheese. The cheese is so gooey and delicious, it sticks right to the top of your mouth. So delicious!
If you’re not into St. Louis Style Pizza, be sure to check out our Best Pepperoni Pizza which is a classic New York-style pizza with a chewy crust, plenty of whole milk mozzarella and truffle honey. If specialty pizzas are your thing, don’t miss this Bruschetta Chicken Pizza, and if you like just a little bit of a spin on a classic, check out this Best Meatball Pizza Recipe.
St.Louis Style Pizza (Imo’s Copy Cat)
St.Louis style pizza. Love or it hate it?
I’ve found that most people are very passionate one way or the other, if you hate it, the mere thought of it elicits cringes and a crinkle of your nose; on the other hand, if you love it, the mere thought of it will make you burst into tears of joy and send your stomach into a hunger-induced tizzy. As you can imagine, I’m on the love the side, in fact, I think I feel a tear welling up in my eye right this very minute…
I happen to LOVE the super-thin crust, sweet, sparingly used sauce, and ALL the melty, in-your-face provel cheese. The fact that the cheese is so sticky and gooey, it practically adheres to the roof of your mouth when you take a bit is not a nuisanceto me, but a mere perk of the delicious pizza.
Because of the thin nature of the crust, each pizza is usually cut into squares instead of the typical triangular pizza shape to ensure all toppings stay safely on said crust and not on the ground.
What is Provel cheese?
This is an absolute essential ingredient in St. Louis Style Pizza. Basically it’s a processed cheese made of provolone, Swiss, and white cheddar. It’s a wonderful melting cheese, and gets gooey and sticky when heated, unlike mozzarella, which gets stringy. You can find it in most grocery stores these days in the specialty cheese bin.
Nowww, I’m not really one to go for processed cheese on anything (unless it’s a classic grilled cheese of course), but here, I wouldn’t have it otherwise. – it makes the pizza. BUT this is also what turns some people off, it’s a very pungent cheese, which I, happen to think if fabulous, but other, stinky cheese haters might think otherwise.
How to make Imo’s Pizza Crust
So this also where people go, “Huh??”
This particular crust in unlike any pizza crust you’ve encountered. It’s paper thin, has no chew to in, and this version, uses only a touch of baking powder and no yeast. It’s more a cracker consistency than a pizza dough.
Here’s what you need:
- all-purpose flour
- salt
- olive oil
- corn syrup
- water
Mix all the ingredients together, give it a few kneads and roll it out. Ready for toppings!
How to Make St. Louis Style Pizza
- Make the crust
- Mix tomato puree, tomato paste, oregano, basil, garlic powder, sugar, and salt together in a large bowl.
- Roll the pizza crust out and divide the sauce between to two pizzas.
- Cover with cheese.
- Bake! (For great instruction on how to make perfect pizzas every time, check out our Best Pepperoni Pizza post.)
Toppings for St. Louis Style Pizza
I’m a purist when it comes to topping on most pizzas, this one is no exception. Because the crust is relatively thin, it really can’t stand up to a lot of toppings. Two is the most I’ll ever put on, but you can try your hand at more. My very favorite is plain ol’ cheese, but pepperoni or pepperoni and chopped green peppers is a close second.
St.Louis Style Pizza (Imo's Copycat)
Ingredients
- 10 oz. crushed tomatoes
- 3 oz tomato paste
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano, plus more for sprinkling
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, divided
- 2 cups + 2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 2 tsp corn syrup
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp water
- 4 cups shredded provel cheese, about 3/4 lb
Equipment
- pizza stone
Instructions
- Place a pizza stone in the oven and preheat to 550 degrees.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together, tomato puree, tomato paste, sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, basil, garlic powder and oregano. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk flour, remaining salt and baking powder. In a liquid measuring cup, whisk water, oil and corn syrup. Mix into flour mixture until combined. Gently knead to bring together. Split the dough in two equal pieces and roll each piece out to make a 12-inch pie.
- Transfer to a pizza peel covered in cornmeal. Spread half the sauce on each pizza. Cover with cheese and desired toppings. Sprinkle with a little basil, oregano and kosher salt to taste. Bake on pizza stone for 8-10 minutes until crust is crisp and cheese is melted, bubbly and golden brown. Cool for a few minutes before slicing.
Nutrition Information
*Pizza recipe adapted from Food.com
Rita says
Nicole this looks exactly like what I have been searching for! I had a pizza many years ago from Oregano’s in Arizona, I loved it (I realize now it was a St Louis-style pizza). I have been trying to make this thin crust with – dare I say it – greasy crust … I love greasy pizza! Anyway I tried oodles and oodles of recipes – no luck, it never tasted the same. This looks like it though, I just have to get some of that Provel cheese. Seeing how the Provel cheese is a must I think it is the ticket to making the crust not so dry as the yeast recipes I have tried. I did see a recipe somewhere, noticed it had baking powder in it, backed off real quick (was a died in the wool yeast pizza person) now I am re-thinking that upstart-attitude. This looks scrumptious-out of this world-heavenly! Am gonna try it, and then I will come back and bow down.
Ryan says
Born and raised St. Louis girl here and I’m an Imo’s lover for sure! My Mom brings me Provel when she visits me here in Chicago.
My question, I have a round pizza pan (kind of like a sheet pan)…is that okay or do you recommend a certain kind?
Nicole says
Hi Ryan! If you can, I’d try and preheat the pizza pan, is that possible?? If not, you should be fine just building the pizza on your pan, it might not come out as crispy, but it will still be delicious!
Debbie says
just visited St. Louis, so was able to grab a brick of the provel cheese. Now I have the receipe for the fabulous crispy crust ! Can’t wait to make the pizza ! While I’m not a huge fan of Imo’s – there is another pizza/Italian restaraunt that makes nearly the same pizza with probably a similar sauce but what makes me really happy is that I also found the homemade receipe for the provel cheese ! Provel cheese and crispy crust, only the best combo !!
Tudo says
Hi Nicole, you mention this is a YEAST-LESS pizza from IMO”s? I just purchased IMO’s pizza and on the package it says there is yeast in the ingredient. If I eat things with yeast in it I suffer greatly so I notice these things and I purchased this pizza specifically because of the claim of no yeast but now seeing yeast on the list of ingredients and I’m concerned.
Nicole says
Hi Tudo! There is no yeast in my version! Give it a try!
Kassius says
I cannot wait to try this. Thank you!!!
Kassius says
Thank you! I cannot wait to try this.
Tawna says
This recipe looks amazing but I have a few questions. What do you mean by a ‘pizza wheel’ and can I make this on a regular baking sheet instead of a pizza stone?
Nicole says
Welp,that’s a typo. I mean a pizza peel, it’s one of those wooden pizza boards. If you sprinkle a bunch of cornmeal on it, the pizza will slide right off. You can also use a flat cutting board if you don’t have a pizza peel. Also, if you don’t have a pizza stone, yes, you can definitely just use a regular baking sheet. I might try to preheat the baking sheet, then slide the pizza off of the cutting board onto the hot baking sheet. BUT you can also build the pizza on the baking sheet as well, it just won’t be as crispy as it would be if you used a pre-heated pan. Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!
Sam says
Tried it and it is awesome.
The crust is so yummy.
My husband is a pizza snob and he loved it.
Next time I’ll be brave and do the cheese mixture you said is traditional.
You are obviously a great cook. Can’t wait to wade through your blog. Thank you for sharing.
Nicole says
So glad you liked Sam!!
Dan says
As a st. Louisan this crust is right on point. I would add a few tips on cooking. One roll it out between floured parchment paper. Second par bake the crust for a minute or two. I like it thin, but when you start putting toppings and sauce on it can break through. The par baking helps that. Now if you can just get Ted Drews to the deep south I’ll be alright.
Nicole says
I’ll have to try that Dan!
Brian says
I just tried this recipe for the first time last night. I did things a little differently though. I made the same amount of dough, but I split it into three 12″ pizzas so I could get the crust as thin as Imo’s. The first one baked on the stone the whole way through but wasn’t quite as crispy as it should’ve been. For the second and third ones, after rolling the crust, I baked it for about 3 minutes on the stone to crisp it up a little. I then took it out, added my sauce, toppings, cheese, and oregano, then put it directly on the rack above the stone. Those two came out perfect.
Brian says
Aaaaaaand I just noticed the guy in the comment above this did the same thing with pre-baking the dough.