Low Carb Pizza Crust

Here are my favorite recipes for low carb pizza crust. Although these are all good, the first one is a recent invention, and I think it tops all the others. The recipe was adapted from Dr. Jacob Wilson's new book, The Ketogenic Bible and while it takes a little effort, and a food processor, it's totally worth it.

The Best Low Carb Pizza Crust

You'll need a food processor, microwave, parchment paper, rolling pin and large ceramic or glass mixing bowls for this one. All of the ingredients should be at room temperature.

Also, this recipe calls for nutritional yeast flakes, which sounds weird, but this ingredient has a unique, nutty, buttery flavor that really adds to the recipe. This is optional, but this product is worth buying because it is good sprinkled on lots of different foods (steamed veggies, etc.) and it's really good for you!

1 cup of shredded 2% Mozzarella Cheese
1/4 cup of almond flour
1 ounce of softened Philadelphia cream cheese
1 large egg
1 T of nutritional yeast flakes
1 ounce of real shredded Parmesan
Garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place the mozzarella and almond flour in the food processor bowl, and process until the mixture is in small crumbles.
Pour the crumbles into a glass or ceramic mixing bowl, and heat in the microwave for about 45-60 seconds to melt the cheese. Be careful not to overcook. You want it melted enough so that when you stir it, the mixture binds itself into a dough. Set aside to cool a little.
In another glass bowl, place the cream cheese and egg and whisk until the mixture is smooth.
Add the yeast, parmesan and spices to the egg mixture and whisk to combine.
Take the mozzarella dough and pull it into smaller pieces and place them in the food processor. Process until the mixture is again in crumbles. Pour the crumbles back into the bowl.
Add the egg mixture to the mozzarella mixture, and mix until they are combined into a somewhat sticky dough.
Tear off a cookie sheet sized piece of parchment paper and place on a large flat surface.
Using a spatula, scrape the dough mixture onto the paper and then cover with a second sheet of parchment paper.
Use the rolling pin to roll the dough into a thin sheet about the size of large cookie sheet.
When evenly rolled out, peel back the top parchment sheet, and use the rubber spatula to clean any sticky bits off. Add those bits back to the dough and smooth out.
Bake at 425 degrees for about 6-8 minutes, or until golden and crispy on edges. This can be cooled and used later, or loaded up with toppings immediately.
If you are making pizza now, just spoon on some sauce, add mozzarella, pepperoni and veggies, and put it under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly.

TIP: I make several batches of this at time and store it in the refrigerator. It is so tasty when used as a low carb flatbread for making sandwiches.

The Cauliflower-based Pizza Crust

It's not crispy, but if you don't mind eating pizza with a fork, the flavor is really good. This recipe was adapted from the original on Jamie Van Eaton's Your Lighter Side blog.

1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 large head organic cauliflower, trimmed and chopped into small pieces
1.5 ounces of white onion minced
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup of water
3 eggs
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, chopped into smaller bits in a food processor.
1 teaspoon fennel seed
2 teaspoons italian seasoning
1/4 cup grated parmesan

Preheat the oven to 450F. Grease a 17 x 11 cookie sheet with olive oil.
In a large skillet with a lid, melt the butter and add the onion and cauliflower. Saute the vegetables over low to medium heat until the cauliflower is almost done.
Add the water. Cover and steam until the cauliflower is completely soft. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Once cauliflower is cool, measure out 3 cups and place in a food processor. Process it to smooth consistency. Scrape the pureed cauliflower into a mixing bowl.
Add the eggs, minced mozzarella cheese, spices and parmesan cheese to the cauliflower. Mix well.
Using a spatula, spread the cauliflower mixture on the greased cookie sheet. Try to spread it out so that it is an even thickness all over.
Bake the crust at 450F for about 20 minutes, or until surface looks cooked and it's brown around edges.

You can then take it out of the oven, and spread pizza sauce over it, add cooked italian sausage pepperoni or veggies, pile on the cheese, and then broil it for about 5 minutes until the cheese melts.

Tip: I usually heat the pizza sauce while the low carb pizza crust is baking. I add my toppings right into the sauce, heat it to a simmer, and then pour the hot sauce and toppings over the crust. Then I add my cheese, and broil until bubbly.

My other favorite low carb pizza crust recipes:

Up Late Anyway Stromboli: this recipe by Elizabeth Nimphius is sheer genius, in my opinion. I have adapted it to make pizza crust, cinnamon rolls, crackers, and sausage rolls. If you make pizza, I have found that adding sausage or pepperoni during the baking process makes it soggy. A thin layer of sauce and veggies will yield a crispier crust. I just heat the meat separately and put it on right before I eat it.

Fat Head Pizza: Another genius recipe. This is a favorite of many of my diabetic friends.

Atkins Pizza Crust: this is a pretty good recipe from the folks at Atkins Nutritionals.

You can also make a sort-of pizza base from ground beef, pork sausage or vegetables such as squash, eggplant, mushrooms or even broccoli. Google "Meatza" or vegetable pizza for various recipes like this one.

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