WHAT IS FATHEAD PIZZA?
The crown jewel of low carb diets, Fathead Pizza was the very first keto recipe we made. Instead of picking up the phone and ordering (and waiting) for a carb-laden pizza to show up at our front door (one 3 ounce slice of commercial pepperoni pizza comes in at 41 net carbs) Fathead Pizza is now our Friday night go-to dinner. If you’ve never tried it, you’ll be hooked from the first bite. It gluten-free, and satisfies our pizza cravings while reducing the net carbs dramatically.
YOU HAD ME AT CHEESE CRUST
There are many variations of this keto pizza dough recipe, but the basics are the same: It’s a crust made from cheese instead of flour. We prefer a cheese crust over a cauliflower pizza crust because it’s lower in carbs and higher in fat, so it fills you up (we can’t eat more than one or two slices) and it’s also absolutely delicious!
IS PIZZA ALLOWED ON A LOW CARB DIET?
Absolutely! As long as you use a keto pizza dough like fathead pizza dough and use toppings that are very low in carbs. The original recipe was posted by Tom Naughton in 2013 and it spread like hotcakes. It’s no wonder. You won’t want to go back to flour-based pizza crust ever again.
INGREDIENTS FOR MAKING A FATHEAD PIZZA DOUGH
Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – Making low-carb, homemade pizza takes a few good quality ingredients. If you’re a cheese connoisseur, start by freshly shredding mozzarella (not to be confused with balls of fresh mozzarella). You can use any pre-shredded mozzarella, as long as it hasn’t been sitting around in your fridge for months.
Almond Flour – Blanched, superfine
Cream Cheese – Full fat variety
Egg – Large or extra large
Dried Herbs – This is optional, but we find the addition of herbs (rosemary, oregano, etc.) adds a lovely flavor to the fathead pizza crust.
Sugar-Free or Reduced-Sugar Pizza Sauce – To keep this pizza low carb, you’ll need a quality sugar-free or reduced-sugar pizza sauce. Our favorites: L. E. Roselli’s and DelGrosso.
WHAT PIZZA TOPPINGS ARE KETO FRIENDLY?
We love pepperoni, mushrooms, and black olives at the Robach house. Use 3 oz pepperoni, sausage, ground beef, bacon, chicken. Always precook raw meats. Pepperoni and salamis are almost always sold precooked.
If you love adding fresh veggies, remember that more toppings usually mean greater cook time and a heavier load for the crust to carry, which is why we limit toppings to 3, not including cheese. Fresh basil or spinach adds fresh flavors without weight. Low carb root veggies like broccoli or cauliflower should either be sliced very thin, or blanched/roasted before adding. If you’re an onion-lover, use raw or caramelized (chopped and cooked on stove top over medium heat with a pat of butter for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally).
You can also sprinkle Parmesan cheese on top without changing the carb count.
INSTRUCTIONS
Preparation: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Microwave: Mix shredded cheese and almond flour in a microwave-safe bowl. Add cream cheese and microwave on high for one minute. Stir, then microwave on high 30 seconds.
Add: Egg, salt, any herbs or spices and and mix gently.
Roll: Place the dough between 2 sheets of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, flatten the dough into a 12-16 inch circle. Remove the top sheet of parchment paper.
Bake: Prick the crust with a fork and slide the crust and bottom sheet of parchment paper onto a  pizza pan or stone. Bake 8-10 minutes.
Flip and bake: Carefully flip the pizza crust over, removing the parchment paper. Bake another 8 minutes.
Remove From Oven: Then spread a thin layer (4 ounces) of pizza sauce. Add toppings and return to oven for 5 minutes.
TIPS FOR MAKING FATHEAD PIZZA RECIPE
IMPORTANT: The secret to a firm crust is waiting a good 10 to 15 minutes before you serve, which allows the cheese crust a chance to firm up.
We also use a stone pizza pan for extra crispness. LOVE my stone pizza pan.
CAN I MAKE THE FATHEAD PIZZA DOUGH AHEAD OF TIME?
Yes you can! After making the dough, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze. Make sure it is completely defrosted before rolling it out.
HOW TO STORE
Store cooked leftovers in the refrigerator and reheat with olive oil in frying pan until crust is crispy again.
Fathead Pizza Recipe - What's fathead pizza?
The best low-carb/keto pizza recipe ever! Using grocery store reduced-sugar pizza sauce and your own herbs, this amazing pizza is faster than delivery, and loaded with homemade goodness. Only 3 net carbs per slice.
- Pizza pan
- 1½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¾ cup almond flour
- 2 tbsp cream cheese
- 1 egg
- salt to taste
- 1 tsp dried rosemary, oregano, or any of your favorite dried herbs (optional)
Toppings
- 4 oz sugar-free or reduced-sugar pizza sauce - grocery stores around the country stock several varieties.
- 3 oz pepperoni, sausage, ground beef, bacon, chicken, mozzarella, Parmesan or your favorite cheese, peppers, mushrooms, olives, tomatoes, basil, onions, garlic.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Mix shredded cheese and almond flour in a microwavable bowl. Add the cream cheese and microwave on high for 1 minute.
- Stir, then microwave on high for additional 30 seconds.
- Add egg, salt, rosemary or any of your favorite herbs/spices and mix gently.
Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper or plastic wrap. Using a pastry roller, flatten into a circle about 12 -16 inches in diameter. The larger the diameter, the thinner the crust. Remove the top piece of parchment paper or wrap.
Prick the crust with a fork over entire surface. Next, slide the crust and bottom parchment paper onto a pizza pan or stone. Bake about 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Carefully flip the pizza crust over (Mike and I each take two corners), discarding the parchment paper and bake for an additional 8 minutes, or until golden brown.
Remove from oven. Spread a thin layer of pizza sauce on crust and add toppings.
Return to oven for 5 minutes, or until toppings are hot and cheese is melted. Let pizza rest for a 10 -15 minutes before slicing.
Fat head pizza. My crust did not brown. I shredded the moZz and I packed it in to make 1.5 cups. Was I suppose to packed the shredded cheese down Which could have added more cheese to recipe?. Then I realized it was a loose consistency so I added more almond flour. Could that be why it did not brown?
Hi, Kelly! So sorry you’ve had issues with the crust! You don’t need to pack the cheese down. You don’t need to add any additional almond flour. Make sure your oven is at 425 degrees before putting in the crust, and flip the crust ONLY when you see it’s golden brown. Then flip the crust over, remove the parchment paper, and continue baking for at least 8 minutes, or until it turns a golden brown. I use a baking stone, but a regular pizza baking pan works well too! It sounds like you simply need to let the crust brown a little longer. Thanks for visiting the site!
It was so easy and amazing! I’ve tried a few recipes so far and everyone in the family has loved them.
Hi, Christina! Happy to hear you and your family enjoyed the Fat Head Pizza. Yep, it’s easy to make, too! Thanks for your comments and stay well.
Sounds so good and gluten free, Thanks will try soon!
Thanks for visiting, June!
Do you pre-heat your pizza stone?
I don’t, but I think that may be a great idea, Steph! Thanks for the visit to the site!
I have missed eating pizza. I was amazed how much the crust tastes like a pizza shop.
Thank you, Sharon! Cheese does make an amazing crust! Thanks for visiting the site.
I made this pizza yesterday and it was delicious! I was craving pizza and this was exactly what I needed. So easy to make. Thank you for all of the great recipes.
Hi, Tonya! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed Fat Head Pizza and you found it easy to make, too! Hoping you find more recipe to love, and thanks for visiting us.
This pizza was amazing. My husband actually had more of this pizza than the regular pie I made. He asked me to make it weekly.
Question… although it was fine, should I have let the dough mixture cool down before adding the egg mixture?
Hi, Christina! Happy to hear you and your husband enjoyed the fat head pizza! No, you don’t need to worry about letting the dough mixture cool down.
So good! So happy to have a pizza! This was great! All the toppings!! Btw… the creamed spinach, cheese sauce, poppers! Omg it’s getting me through! You are the best!
Hi, Ruth, and thank you so much for your kind comments! It’s our goal to make keto/low carb food that actually tastes great. Thank you for your support!
I just made this pizza and it came out so good. We put pepperoni, onion and basil on it.. Hands down will be making this again.. and again.
Hi, Edward! Thanks much for your kind comments. We are so happy to hear that you loved Fat Head Pizza! We make it just about every Friday night, and your combo of pepperoni, onion, and basil sounds like perfection.