THE BEST KETO PIZZA CRUST

Okay, so I know you've all heard of fat head pizza crust.

If you've been keto even for a bit and happened to research “pizza” you've probably come across the standard..

Mozzarella, almond flour, cream cheese and egg crust.

Now let me tell you, I tried this crust.

Many. Many. Times.

And each time, I thought “what is all the hype about?? It's not good, it reminds me a bit of cardboard”.

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Don't get me wrong, it's not inedible, it's okay in a pinch if you just want something to quench your pizza craving..but it's not ever going to be replacement that really wows you.

So with that in mind, I went on to create my “The Best Low Carb Pizza Crust” recipe (the first version, not the one in this post).

This crust was honestly so awesome. When I made it I was instantly impressed with myself…why?

This pizza used yeast!

It was the closest I'd ever gotten a keto pizza crust to taste like the real thing.

It rose well, got crisp around the edges and baked nicely (although, I always found it better when rolled thinner).

Overall, it was the perfect keto pizza crust.

I honestly still recommend that recipe today. BUT I know many people lead busy lives and making handmade yeast-risen pizza crust isn't always at the top of their priority list.

So that's why a while later, I came out with the “Quick and Easy Keto Pizza Crust“. This recipe is great if you want a simple crust that night for dinner and don't want to wait hours for dough to rise.

It tastes good, bakes well and looks great. Nothing wrong with this recipe either!

But as you know, I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to my cooking and baking..so of course, I couldn't just be happy with a crust that's “good”. I wanted it to be great.

So fast forward to now.

I actually wasn't even planning on making pizza crust but it just sort of happened..and I'm seriously glad it did!

I was prepping dough for my Fried Cauliflower Mac and Cheese Balls recipe and decided to save some for later in-case I wanted to fry something else.

But for some reason instead of frying again, I had this urge to bake it like a crust. The idea had been nagging at me for a while since first trying this dough.

It's basically a form of fat head dough….BUT BETTER.

So I finally bit the bullet and rolled some out.

I first par-baked this pizza crust for ~15min.

Then I added my toppings including low carb pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella cheese, chopped peppers, mushrooms, olives and pepperoni.

Baked it for another 7ish minutes until the toppings were cooked down and the cheese was melty..then served!

The result??

AMAZING. This pizza crust is seriously so good.

It's a crust you'll want to continue to eat more of.

It also holds up to all the toppings placed on it (even my excessive amount of sauce and veggies that I like to add) so that's a great sign!

Overall, this is really the best low carb pizza crust I've had to date. It also beats any store bought crust I've ever tried.

The base of this crust, as I mentioned earlier, is very similar to a fat head dough pizza crust.

It has the standard mozzarella, almond flour and egg blend..

But what really makes this crust different is that is does NOT use cream cheese.

Now I don't know who ever decided to put cream cheese in the original fat head but man, it did not need to be there.

Don't get me wrong, I love cream cheese as much as the next person and I bake with it on the regular (seriously I go through bricks and bricks each week).

But in terms of keto pizza crust, it's just not necessary. It adds extra calories but thins your dough and causes it so come out more cardboard-like with no “spring” or real softness to it.

This is really the only real difference between this crust and standard fat head dough, although I also add a couple of ingredients, which I think improve it even further.

In my crust I use xanthan gum to help thicken the dough and given more of a gluten-like elasticity.

I also add a larger amount of baking powder to help the dough rise slightly and italian seasonings to give more pizza flavour in the crust!

Overall, this combination creates a beautiful soft, yet crisp, delicious pizza crust that everyone (even those non-keto family members) will love!

Ingredients In Keto Friendly Pizza Crust

Almond Flour
Xanthan Gum (optional, aids in the texture of the dough, giving it a more gluten-like structure)
Mozzarella (See my tips on choosing your mozzarella and how it can affect your recipe)

Tools I Used To Make The Best Low Carb Pizza Crust

Low Carb Substitution Guide – This is totally optional but if you like my recipes, I now have a $5 guide available with all of the substitutions I use to create every recipe on my site. You can use this to convert old traditional recipes and create new keto recipes! You can purchase it here and/or read more if you are interested. I appreciate your support so much guys!
Nutritional Food Scale – AKA my best friend. This little buddy has been with me for over 4 years and never fails. Perfect measurements and only needs the batteries replaced maybe once a year!
Rolling Pin
Parchment Paper

Tips For Making The Best Keto Pizza Crust

If you can't get your dough to come together and find the mozzarella is separating, microwave the dough for 10-15s, knead it well with your hand, add another tablespoon of almond flour if it's still not coming together. Repeat this process until it does come together. (Do not microwave for more than 10-15s at a time or you may end up cooking your dough.
When choosing your mozzarella for this recipe, pay attention to the moisture content. A higher moisture content means you'll need more almond flour, a lower moisture content means you'll need to add less almond flour to get your dough to form correctly. This isn't a big deal, it just means starting with less almond flour and adding a tablespoon or two more, as needed to get your dough to come together.
DO NOT use pre-shredded or the traditional fresh mozzarella you can buy. Only use block mozzarella for this recipe or it will not work as well.
The mozzarella I used for this recipe had a higher moisture content than others I typically use so 1 cup of almond flour is on the higher side already. Be sure to start with 3oz or 85g (~3/4 cup) and work your way up.
If you don’t have xanthan gum it’s TOTALLY okay, you can still make this! I just add it because I feel it improves the texture of the dough slightly.
This dough refrigerates and freezes well. If you don't want to make the pizza that day, see the storage instructions in this post to make it at a later time.

How To Store This Low Carb Pizza Crust

Store the prepared/cooked pizza covered with saran wrap on a plate in the fridge for up to 4 days. Re-heat on a baking sheet in the oven at 400*F just until warm.

You can also make the dough for this crust ahead of time, wrap it in saran wrap and place in a ziplock. Store this in the fridge for up to 2 days OR freeze, then let it thaw to room temperature before using again.

Lastly, you can also prepare the crust by par-baking it and adding your toppings.

But before the second bake, freeze the crust flat on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer to a ziplock bag or container (freeze horizontally so the toppings don't fall off) and slide a piece of parchment paper or wax paper over/under either size of the pizza to keep it from getting freezer burnt. Now you have your own frozen pizza that you can bake for a quick dinner! Just place on a baking sheet and toss in the oven at 400*F for 10-15min or until toppings are melted and the pizza is warm.

The Best Keto Pizza Crust Recipe

Serves: 6 slices

Ingredients:

1 cup, almond flour, 112g (see my tips on why you may want to start with less flour, say 180g and add more if needed)
3/4 tsp xanthan gum
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp italian spices (see recipe here)
1/8 tsp salt
1/16 tsp pepper (add 1/4 tsp if you like more pepper)
1 egg, room temperature, whisked
1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella, 280g/10oz (see my tips on mozzarella)
Pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, pepperoni, bacon, olives, peppers, mushrooms etc. for topping

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350*F.
Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk them together. (This includes almond flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, italian spices, pepper and salt).
In another microwavable bowl, add your shredded mozzarella and microwave for 30s at a time, stirring in-between until fully melted. (It takes me about 1min total but I have quite a terrible microwave, lol so yours may take less time).
Once the mozzarella is well-melted, add your whisked egg and mix (it's okay if these two don't fully combine).
Add your dry ingredients and mix again until a thick dough starts to form.
Use your hands as the dough comes together to continue mixing the mozzarella with the rest of the ingredients. You'll need to knead the dough for a couple minutes to get it to blend together. If you are still having difficulty blending the mozzarella with the other ingredients, see my tips above to help you out!
Once you can form a pretty even dough ball, transfer it to two large greased pieces of parchment or wax paper.
Roll the dough out to be the thickness of your desired pizza crust (~1/4-1/2 inch thick).
I rolled mine into a rectangular shape by gently pressing in the sides with my fingers to make it all even but you can make a classic round pizza instead! (Note in the picture my dough looks smaller, this is because I used a piece of leftover dough about 2/3rds of the size of the amount this recipe makes so you'll get a larger crust than mine).
Using the parchment paper to lift it, gently transfer the pizza crust onto a baking sheet and place in the pre-heated oven.
Bake for ~14-20min or until your your crust becomes golden brown around the edges. It should be firm enough to easily spread toppings on.
Turn your oven up to 400*F.
Next, add whichever toppings you prefer while the crust is still warm. Then place the pizza back in the oven to bake for another 7-10min or just until the cheese is melted/the toppings are warm.
Slice and serve immediately! Enjoy The Best Keto Pizza Crust!!

Storage:

Store the prepared/cooked pizza covered with saran wrap on a plate in the fridge for up to 4 days. Re-heat on a baking sheet in the oven at 400*F just until warm.

Lastly, you can also prepare the crust by par-baking it and adding your toppings.

Nutrition for 1/6th of crust (NO TOPPINGS): 190 calories | 15g fat | 2.2g NET carbs | 9.2g protein | 2g fiber

Nutrition for 1/6th of crust (with pizza sauce, 2oz mozzarella, 1oz pepperonis, green peppers, mushrooms and olives): 234 calories | 18.4g fat | 2.9g NET carbs | 11.9g protein | 2g fiber

Print Recipe

3.41 from 37 votes

The Best Keto Pizza Crust

Prep Time15

Cook Time30

Total Time45

Course: Main Dish

Keyword: keto fat head dough, keto pizza, keto pizza crust, the best keto pizza crust

Servings: slices

Calories: 190kcal

Ingredients

1 cup almond flour 112g (see my tips on why you may want to start with less flour, say 180g and add more if needed)
3/4 tsp xanthan gum (optional)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp italian spices see recipe here
1/8 tsp salt
1/16 tsp pepper add 1/4 tsp if you like more pepper
1 egg room temperature, whisked
1 1/4 cups shredded mozzarella 280g/10oz (see my tips on mozzarella)
Pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, pepperoni, bacon, olives, peppers, mushrooms etc. for topping

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 350*F.
Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk them together. (This includes almond flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, italian spices, pepper and salt).
In another microwavable bowl, add your shredded mozzarella and microwave for 30s at a time, stirring in-between until fully melted. (It takes me about 1min total but I have quite a terrible microwave, lol so yours may take less time).
Once the mozzarella is well-melted, add your whisked egg and mix (it's okay if these two don't fully combine).
Add your dry ingredients and mix again until a thick dough starts to form.
Use your hands as the dough comes together to continue mixing the mozzarella with the rest of the ingredients. You'll need to knead the dough for a couple minutes to get it to blend together. If you are still having difficulty blending the mozzarella with the other ingredients, see my tips above to help you out!
Once you can form a pretty even dough ball, transfer it to two large greased pieces of parchment or wax paper.
Roll the dough out to be the thickness of your desired pizza crust (~1/4-1/2 inch thick).
I rolled mine into a rectangular shape by gently pressing in the sides with my fingers to make it all even but you can make a classic round pizza instead! (Note in the picture my dough looks smaller, this is because I used a piece of leftover dough about 2/3rds of the size of the amount this recipe makes so you'll get a larger crust than mine).
Using the parchment paper to lift it, gently transfer the pizza crust onto a baking sheet and place in the pre-heated oven.
Bake for ~14-20min or until your your crust becomes golden brown around the edges. It should be firm enough to easily spread toppings on.
Turn your oven up to 400*F.
Next, add whichever toppings you prefer while the crust is still warm. Then place the pizza back in the oven to bake for another 7-10min or just until the cheese is melted/the toppings are warm.
Slice and serve immediately! Enjoy The Best Keto Pizza Crust!

Notes

Ingredients Links

Tips

If you can't get your dough to come together and find the mozzarella is separating, microwave the dough for 10-15s, knead it well with your hand, add another tablespoon of almond flour if it's still not coming together. Repeat this process until it does come together. (Do not microwave for more than 10-15s at a time or you may end up cooking your dough.
When choosing your mozzarella for this recipe, pay attention to the moisture content. A higher moisture content means you'll need more almond flour, a lower moisture content means you'll need to add less almond flour to get your dough to form correctly. This isn't a big deal, it just means starting with less almond flour and adding a tablespoon or two more, as needed to get your dough to come together.
DO NOT use pre-shredded or the traditional fresh mozzarella you can buy. Only use block mozzarella for this recipe or it will not work as well.
The mozzarella I used for this recipe had a higher moisture content than others I typically use so 1 cup of almond flour is on the higher side already. Be sure to start with 3oz or 85g (~3/4 cup) and work your way up.
If you don’t have xanthan gum it’s TOTALLY okay, you can still make this! I just add it because I feel it improves the texture of the dough slightly.
Store the prepared/cooked pizza covered with saran wrap on a plate in the fridge for up to 4 days. Re-heat on a baking sheet in the oven at 400*F just until warm.
You can also make the dough for this crust ahead of time, wrap it in saran wrap and place in a ziplock. Store this in the fridge for up to 2 days OR freeze, then let it thaw to room temperature before using again.
Lastly, you can also prepare the crust by par-baking it and adding your toppings. Before the second bake, freeze the crust flat on a baking sheet. Once frozen, transfer to a ziplock bag or container (freeze horizontally so the toppings don't fall off) and slide a piece of parchment paper or wax paper over/under either size of the pizza to keep it from getting freezer burnt. Now you have your own frozen pizza that you can bake for a quick dinner! Just place on a baking sheet and toss in the oven at 400*F for 10-15min or until toppings are melted and the pizza is warm.