Enjoy this Chicago style low carb pizza recipe with Fat Head dough while sticking to a keto gluten free diet. If you like thick crust pan pizza, look no further!
I have been experimenting with using melted mozzarella in breads and crusts. After making the Sloppy Joe Pie using a mozzarella cheese based pie crust on top, I felt the need to develop a pizza crust that even the pickiest members of my family would enjoy.
This low carb pizza recipe with Fat Head dough was tested by my older daughter, a very picky 17 year old. She knew the crust was low carb and gluten free, but that it contained melted mozzarella cheese.
Her response after gobbling down two large slices was “tastes like there isn’t anything wrong with it” which translates to “tastes just like regular pizza.” Score!
If she likes this pizza, it was a success, especially since she loves those frozen rising crust pizzas which have a thick bread crust. She isn’t a big fan of the way coconut flour tastes and with this recipe she could not even detect it because I used a fairly small amount.
This recipe was adapted from a Deep Dish Sausage Pizza recipe at All Day I Dream About Food. I made Carolyn’s pizza a couple days before coming up with this recipe.
Although her pizza was tasty, my daughter and I felt the crust tasted too much like almond flour. Therefore, in my low carb pizza recipe, I reduced the amount of almond flour and added in melted mozzarella cheese. This made a huge difference in taste and texture in the Fat Head dough!
I have a 900 watt microwave convention oven. To melt the mozzarella to the right consistency, I microwave on 40% power for two minutes. If you have a higher wattage oven, you may want to lower the power to 30% or increase the power to 45% for a smaller wattage microwave.
I hate getting the raw egg and flours stuck on my hands, so I like to use a rubber spatula to knead the dough together. It’s especially bad when it gets under your nails. I’ve tried using disposable kitchen gloves, but my nails always seem to poke a hole through the thin plastic.
Folding the dough with a rubber spatula works well for me. Once the dry mix appears to be well combined into the cheese, I ball it up and put it between two sheets of waxed paper. Then I take a rolling pin and roll it into a circle that’s a couple inches larger than the diameter of the cast iron pan.
Some folks use parchment paper for their Fat Head dough, but I find wax paper sticks less. You can use either. Once the dough is rolled out, simply take of the top sheet of wax paper, invert it into the pan, then peel the remaining sheet of waxed paper off the top.
The crust for this low carb pizza recipe is precooked before putting on the toppings. The crust looked great by itself. I’m thinking it would make some awesome bread sticks.
I plan to try that next to see how it turns out. It’s a much thicker bread than what I got when I made the garlic cheese bread sticks.
Carolyn suggested covering the edges of the crust with aluminum foil so they do not become over baked. I used a pie crust shield similar to this one which fit perfectly in my cast iron pan.
The low carb pizza recipe takes a bit longer to bake than a regular thin crust on a baking sheet or stone. I baked the pizza for about 30 minutes. This was in addition to the 15 minutes it took to pre-bake the crust.
Although this isn’t a super quick from start to finish, it’s worth the time. However, I think once the crust is baked, it could be frozen, vacuum sealed in a freezer bag, and then used for an easy pizza meal later.
This is the best low carb deep dish pizza I have ever eaten. I guarantee even your friends who don’t do low carb will love this pizza, especially if they like the thicker crust Chicago style pizza.
The crust is definitely better than any of the many gluten free pizza crusts that I’ve tasted. But, if you don’t like the thicker pan style, you may want to check out the Fat Head Pizza Crust over at Wholesome Yum!
Low Carb Pizza Recipe with Gluten Free Fat Head Dough
Low Carb Pizza Recipe with Fat Head Dough
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup almond flour plus extra for kneading dough
- 3 tablespoons unflavored whey protein
- 2 tablespoons coconut flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1-1/2 cups grated mozzarella I used 160 grams of Kraft 2%
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup butter melted
Toppings:
- 8 ounces sugar free pizza sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1 1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese I used 140g of Kraft 2%
- 1.4 ounces sliced pepperoni 40g
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
Crust:
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Preheat oven to 400°F and lightly grease a 12 inch cast iron pan (a regular oven-proof pan will also work) with olive oil.
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In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, whey protein, coconut flour, baking powder, garlic powder, salt and xanthan gum.
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In large bowl, melt mozzarella cheese in microwave (for my 900 watt oven it took about 2 minutes at 40% power)
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Stir eggs, butter, and dry mix into mozzarella until dough forms. If cheese begins to harden, you may need to microwave dough ball 5-10 seconds at high to get all ingredients incorporated into dough. Add additional almond flour as needed if dough is too sticky.
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Place dough ball between two large sheets of parchment paper or wax paper (each must be larger than 14x14-inches).
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Using rolling pin, roll dough out to a circle about 14 inches in diameter.
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Peel off top piece of parchment or wax paper and invert crust onto bottom of prepared pan. Peel off top sheet of wax paper.
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Press crust dough into pan if needed and push down the edges of crust so they sit below the edges of the pan.
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Bake for 10-15 minutes or until top begins to brown. Remove from oven.
Toppings:
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Spread sauce over crust, sprinkle with garlic and oregano then sprinkle mozzarella evenly over sauce.
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Top with sliced pepperoni (or topping of your choice). Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.
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Cover the edges of the crust with strips of tin foil (or use a pie shield) and bake pizza about 20-30 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and browned.
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Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Recipe Notes
8 slices
Per slice: 337 calories, 25.5g fat, 796mg sodium, 9.2g carbs, 3.4g fiber, 5.8 net carbs, 19.4g protein
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Cassie says
Is the carb count of 5 for the whole crust or just per slice?
Lisa says
Per slice.
Jen says
Do you have a recommendation for a sugar free pizza sauce? Thanks!
Lisa says
Check labels as there are some without added sugar. Or, you can make your own low carb pizza sauce.
Kristin says
Rao’s sauce is good and can be found at Target.
Jones says
Does the crust freeze well
Lisa says
I haven’t tried that, but I think it would.
Analiz De Jesús López says
Can I substitute the olive oil for butter? Also, can I use coconut flour only instead of both almond and coconut flour? Can this dough be premade and refrigerated for later use? And can I made this like a stuffed crust pizza?
Lisa says
You should be able to make all those changes, but you’d have to experiment to determine what ratios work best.
CMW says
Absolutely the BEST low car pizza ever! I’m only disappointed I can’t eat more. My mind is whorling with other topping ideas. Thank you!
Ann says
I am new to THM. I gave this a try, because all of the ingredients are on the plan…. When I added the melted cheese , it was so sticky and the cheese so rubbery that I thought this is never going to work! I wanted to cry! But it sure did work! It just seemed to happen! Amazing! Really good recipe !!! I will try baking it before adding the toppings- I missed that part. I think think that will make it even better. I will also bake and freeze a few for a quick pizza fix;). Thank you so much!
Lisa says
It is much better if you bake the crust first before adding in your toppings.
Mary says
I made this and my non-keto family enjoyed it as much as I did. So good. I will note that I bought isopure non flavored protein for this recipe and actually preferred when I made it without the protein. It was a bit more fluffy of a crust but still dense enough to hold up to the toppings. The iron skillet is key and just crisps the whole thing. I broil it for a minute as well at the end to get it really crunchy and again with the toppings to brown the cheese. Amazing. Honestly I don’t miss “regular” pizza at all!
Lisa says
Thanks for giving this one a try. I also tried it without the protein and liked it with. But, it does work either way.
Amanda says
This crust is absolutely amazing! This is wwaaaayyy better than any other cauliflower or cheese based crust I’ve tried. The cast iron pan makes it work. I put the cast iron in the oven while it was pre heating so the crust would be extra crispy. I also layered the toppings to make it deeper.
Lisa says
Great tips! Thanks!
Tony says
Hi there! Love your site… I just tried this recipe and the crust was slightly grainy and mushy… is it possible it’s due to me using a 11 inch pie tin making it too thick?
Other than my failed mathematics/cooking ability this recipe rocks and is super easy to prep. I added Italian season to the crust which added quite a bit of flavor.
Thanks so much for such great recipes!
Lisa says
An 11-inch pie tin is not recommended. I recommend using either cast iron or stoneware, both of which retain heat much better and provide a crispy crust. Also, you’ll want to use at least a 14″ diameter. It sounds like your crust did not cook all the way through.
Bill says
This is THE best low carb pizza crust! Before, I always made Fat Head pizza crust. I found it a little too rich and crispy, and not everyone liked it. This stuff is just like the real thing! It really tastes like pizza dough crust. I actually made it on my 15″ pizza stone, and it was perfect. Just grease your stone well. Will make again and again! Thanks, Lisa!
Lisa says
Thanks Bill! My family prefers this one too over the Fathead style.
Melissa says
Best pizza ever!!!!
Lisa says
Agree!
Marjorie Briggs says
How does the Whey powder help? I have all the other ingredients.
Lisa says
The whey lightens up the dough. It’s not necessary. You can sub it out with more almond flour.
Karen Hartman says
My gluten free daughter is also nut free so we can’t use almond flour. Are there any other gluten free flours we could use instead?
Lisa says
Seed flours are a great option. I’ve used sunflower and sesame seed flour in place of almond flour.
Sara says
Coconut flour
Wendy says
I don’t use protein powder. Can it be left out or substituted?
Lisa says
You can leave it out and add a bit more of another low carb flour if needed.
Pam says
Just made a mini pan pizza to try this recipe — what a treat! Back in the day of wheat flour baking I always made thick crust pizzas, and most of the grain-free recipes I’ve tried make a thin crust. “Pan pizza” may be somewhat misleading — to me that means you need a knife and fork, but I had no trouble picking this up with my hand to eat it. And like you said, not too much almond flour taste — just a good, neutral base for pizza toppings.
Lisa says
What a terrific idea to test it out in mini form. I have a small cast iron pan so I may try sizing this recipe down to a personal size pizza. So glad you liked it. My family loves this pizza.
Nicole Choudhary says
Hello Lisa 🙂
I must say your recipes are the BOMB! I have tried your egg based pizza crust and now this one … girl you are making this low carb diet easy 😉
My question on this recipe however is this, can this crust be made on a regular pizza pan and maybe spread a bit thinner?
Thank you as always for your stuff! Keep these amazing recipes coming!!
Lisa says
You can certainly reduce the amount so it is a thinner crust. I like rolling it out and baking on parchment paper when I do bread sticks out of the dough and bake on regular pan. So yes, it should work out fine!
Susan says
I just made a pizza using your crust recipe – it was delicious. I did the filling a bit differently, but overall, I’m really impressed. I can have pizza again!
Lisa says
So glad you liked it Susan and thanks for the link back! It’s our favorite low carb pizza crust. Even the non low carb eaters love it.
Elise says
Could you use a regular pie pan?
Lisa says
You certainly don’t need to use a cast iron pan, but you’ll want a pan about the size of one.
Kim says
just LOVE this recipe! I make it all the time! Love having a low carb pizza I can pick up! Only caution is that the prep time is way over the 5 minutes stated! But worth every second!!
Lisa says
Thanks for the comment. I agree that the prep probably takes more like 15 minutes, but I’ve been doing it for a while now and think I’ve got it down to less than ten minutes. I’ve updated the recipe to reflect that most people will need more time for prep. I’ve also figured out how to roll the dough inside the pan using a small hand roller. This is our favorite low carb pizza recipe by far.
Leslie says
Oh man that looks good! I love pizza, I bet this is spectacular!
Lisa says
Leslie, you should give this a try. You won’t be disappointed! My daughter is already begging me to make it again so I’ll have to pick up more cheese so I can bake another this weekend.