Also known as Fathead dough, this low carb, grain-free keto pizza dough recipe will give you a thin and crispy pizza crust in under 10 minutes.
Crispy Pizza Dough - Keto, Low Carb, Grain-free, Gluten-free
The great pizza debate is real in my house. My husband, a die-hard Chicagoan, is a firm believer that deep dish, Chicago-style pizza is the best. I, on the other hand, have zero loyalties to regional pizza, because in my mind, you can't compare apples to oranges. Chicago-style and New York-style are not even in the same ball park. But, I will always have a soft spot for Chicago-style thin crust. This Crispy Keto Pizza Crust is modeled after my weakness for our regional specialty.
When we first started eating low carb, I missed pizza almost immediately. We tried cauliflower crust without much success. I found fathead dough next, but the recipes I tried yielded more of a thick crust style pizza that was often floppy or doughy. When I eat pizza, I want it thin and I want it crispy, even with a mound of toppings. This keto pizza crust recipe gives you exactly that. Pile high with toppings of your choice and you'll never know this wasn't something out of the best pizzeria in town.
How to make Crispy Fathead Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Egg
- Salted butter
- Almond flour
- Coconut flour
- Neutral-tasting oil
Tips, Tricks, and Take-aways about the Keto Pizza Dough recipe and process
I know many people scoff at the idea of making your own crust, thinking it is time consuming and too complicated for anyone but a veteran chef. This recipe is simple once you get the hang of the process. We make this so often that I can do it with one eye closed, and, believe me, I am no professional baker. The trick to a successful low carb, grain-free pizza crust is all in the method.
Microwave your cheese to save time. Could you make the dough on the stove-top? Sure. I microwave the butter and cheese to save time and lower the risk of burning the cheese when I inevitably get distracted. Two minutes is normally perfect, but I recommend starting with 90 seconds just in case you have a more potent microwave than I. Let the cheese mixture cool briefly and then add the egg. Stir with a spatula to incorporate the egg into the melted cheese. Add your dry ingredients and then mix by hand. I have used a hand-held mixer, but this ends up being more of a hindrance than a help. The dough will get caught up in the mixer blades almost immediately, so you'll spend more time pulling it off. Get your hands dirty instead. You'll end up that way regardless.
Rolling out a thin crust is easier than you think. I know the scary part of making pizza crust is the shaping part. Whenever I made a regular wheat-based crust, I normally ended up with a misshapen and mangled dough ball with holes in it. Shaping your crust is easy with this keto pizza dough. Put down a large sheet of parchment paper, oil it (I use a spray avocado oil, but you can also use coconut if you don't mind the taste), and flatten your dough to a round disk. Place a second piece of parchment on top. Using a rolling pin, roll out to slightly less than one-quarter inch to one-eighth inch in thickness. Honestly, as thin as possible without it tearing is best. The thinner you can go, the crispier it will be. The top piece of parchment should pull right off. Roll up your edges to form a barrier for the sauce.
Preheat your pizza stone or baking tray. I always make sure that I have a hot surface waiting in the oven before pre-baking the crust. You'll get a much crispier result than if you just slide the already topped pizza into the oven. If you follow this step, just be ready to remove the crust in order to top it. I do not recommend trying to pull out your pizza crust by the parchment only. I've dropped many a pizza on the floor this way. After losing several pizzas this way, I just resigned myself to carefully removing the entire pizza stone in order to top the crust.
What do I put on my Crispy Low Carb Pizza Crust?
Top as desired. I'll leave this up to you. Everyone has their favorite combinations. If you are dying to try my pictured combination, here is what I did:
- Thin layer of pizza sauce (Urban Accents makes an arrabiata pizza sauce that is just dynamo)
- Light sprinkle of shredded mozzarella
- Crumbled hot Italian sausage (read those labels; I found a number of packaged Italian sausages that have high fructose corn syrup)
- Roasted broccoli
- Slices of fresh mozzarella
- Dollops of whole milk ricotta
- Sprinkle of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
- Crushed red pepper
Looking for other pizza recipes? Try these!
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Crispy Keto Pizza Crust
Also known as Fathead dough, this pizza crust is thin, crispy, and a perfect substitute for a traditional wheat-based dough.
Ingredients
- 2 cups shredded mozzarella
- 2 tbsp salted butter
- 1 large egg
- 3/4 cup almond flour blanched, finely ground
- 2 tbsp coconut flour
- neutral oil for greasing, avocado suggested
Instructions
- Preheat oven with pizza stone already inside to 425 degrees.
- In a large, microwave-safe mixing bowl, combine mozzarella and butter. Heat in the microwave for approximately 90 seconds. Remove and stir to combine. Add egg and stir again. Egg will not be entirely incorporated, but do your best.
- Sprinkle almond flour, coconut flour, and salt evenly over the cheese mixture. Kneed dough by hand in the bowl until firm and all dry ingredients are incorporated and evenly distributed, just a few minutes. You'll feel the texture start to firm up. If the dough is too sticky, add a little extra almond flour. Form a ball of dough.
- Lay down a large piece of parchment paper. Grease lightly with avocado oil. With your hands, flatten the dough ball into a circle. Place on parchment and put a second piece of parchment on top to cover. Roll out the dough until you form a 10-12 inch diameter circle; keeping it to about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Remove top layer of parchment. Roll the outer edge inward just slightly to form a raised edge. This will help keep toppings from spilling over and off of the crust. Poke multiple times with a fork to prevent air bubbles.
- Slide parchment with crust onto your pre-heated pizza stone. Pre-bake for about 5-8 minutes. Remove carefully and top as desired. Return the pizza back to the oven for another 10 minutes until the cheese and crust are golden brown. Crust will be darker than the cheese; be careful not to burn. Remove the pizza from the oven and let it sit for a few minutes before cutting into wedges or squares. Serve immediately.
- Store left-overs in an airtight container for 2-3 days. The crust will not reheat well in the microwave and will be soggy. Reheat in an 400 degree oven for 5-8 minutes on a baking tray lined with parchment.
Notes
Recipe inspired and adapted from Maria Emmerich
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 226Total Fat: 19gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 181mgCarbohydrates: 6gNet Carbohydrates: 3gFiber: 3gProtein: 9g
Nutrition is provided as a courtesy and calculated to the best of my ability using online databases. It is suggested that you perform your own check to ensure that a recipe fits within the scope of your dietary needs.
This was good, I enjoyed it more than some other fathead variations I’ve tried, but not as well as others. I was intrigued by the notion of “crispy”. Sometimes fathead recipes can be overly soft and doughy, so I wanted to give this one a try.
1) Did it crisp? Yes, kind of, but only the edges of the crust. My wife has a strong aversion to anything resembling burnt, and I would have had to cook the crust to a point that would have been inedible for her (as it is, I covered the edges with aluminum foil to avoid burning them, a notorious downfall of many fathead crusts - but that part still crisped up.)
2) Flavor? Not bad. However, this recipe suffers from the same issue I have always had with every recipe that includes coconut ingredients. I taste coconut! I don’t mind the flavor of coconut in recipes where it would traditionally be, but pizza crust isn’t my favorite place for that flavor. I hoped that the sauce and toppings (bacon, smoked turkey, and onion) would mask it. No...
All in all, not a bad recipe. I’m not against maybe making it again in the future sometime. I just wish there was a recipe that would resolve the 2 above issues which seem to be the plague of so many Fathead crusts...
Thanks for your feedback and for trying the recipe! You can absolutely make this without coconut flour; just add another 1/4 cup of almond flour in it's place. I was initially coconut flour adverse when I first started eating keto, but somehow it grew on me.
I will definitely try it again with Almond Flour only.
For what it's worth, my wife said that this is her favorite Keto Pizza crust so far. Although for standard wheat pizza she prefers a thicker crust, for Keto crust she prefers thin.
Thank you for saying that! It's definitely not easy to recreate a wheat crust entirely. There are days I still miss it too--like a wood burning oven pizza...that was my weakness. 🙂
Is 2 TABLESPOONS of salt correct?
sorry didn't read all the way....going to try this ton
No worries! Hope you enjoy it!
How much salt?
Just a pinch! Less than 1/8 tsp.
I’ve been on keto for a couple of years and tried every crust out there, this is by far my fave. Think it might have something to do with the butter instead of cream cheese melting together. Delicious!
Thank you, Brent! So glad to hear you enjoyed the crust! I honestly don't care for the cream cheese versions myself, so I get it.