Fathead Pizza
This Fathead Pizza is a low carb alternative for pizza cravings during keto, or great if you simply want to cut down on carbs. The dough is surprisingly easy to work with and really delicious!
I’ve tried all the unconventional flour-free crusts out there, from cauliflower crust to chicken crust, and I think this Fathead Pizza Crust is the best by far.
I first discovered Fathead Pizza when I did Keto for the first time about a year ago.
I was telling a friend about how I missed certain comfort foods, and she told me I had to try Fathead pizza. That’s not a name you forget, hah!
Pete, James and I were surprised by how good it was, and how similar it was to “regular pizza.”
Over the past year I’ve been playing with ratios and ingredients from the original, the order in which I incorporate them, and how I bake it, and this is the final version that has become a somewhat regular treat for my family.
The dough is surprisingly easy to work with and crust-like. I also include the weights for all the ingredients in case you have a scale (measuring is a little easier that way).
How to Make Fathead Pizza:
Place shredded mozzarella cheese and cream cheese in a bowl, and microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring each time.
The photo in the left below is after one 30 second interval, and on the right you can see that it doesn’t look like it will come together, but trust me, it will!
After two or three 30-second microwave intervals, the cheese should be smooth and combined, like this:
Add blanched almond flour, garlic powder, salt, and nutritional yeast to the dough:
The garlic powder and nutritional yeast are both optional, but I like to add them for flavor.
Stir that around, and you’ll see on the photo below on the left, that it will probably become hard to stir at some point.
That’s when you should pop the dough back into the microwave for another 15-30 seconds, just enough to soften the cheese again (see below on the right):
Lastly, add one beaten egg to the dough:
At first it will seem that the egg won’t incorporate, but if you knead it for about 30 seconds, either with a firm spatula or by hand, the dough will accept that egg:
Now the fathead pizza dough is ready to roll into whatever shape you’d like!
You can either do a big rectangle, a big circle, or even multiple circles for individual pizzas.
To roll out the dough, place it between two pieces of parchment paper, and roll with a rolling pin.
Note that the parchment paper is essential. Even with wax paper, the dough tends to stick.
Prick the dough all over with a fork, which will prevent the pizza from bubbling up:
After 7 minutes in the oven, the crust should be slightly golden on the bottom, and just starting to brown on the edges.
It will look sort of raw on the top still, and that’s ideal. Flip the pizza over:
Now that the bottom is the top, spread on your sauce, cheese, and whatever toppings you’d like:
That more “raw” side from before will now brown perfectly on the bottom, and the cheese on top should be melted with another 5 minutes in the oven:
Zucchini Ribbon Salad and Charred Broccoli are great dishes to serve on the side for something light and healthy. Enjoy!
Fathead Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups part-skim shredded mozzarella cheese (168g by weight)
- 1 ounce full-fat cream cheese (28g by weight)
- 3/4 cup blanched almond flour* (84g by weight)
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast optional**
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder optional
- 1 large egg beaten
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425F.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the mozzarella and cream cheese.
- Microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until the cheeses are homogeneously smooth. It should take 2-3 intervals total.
- Stir in the almond flour, salt, nutritional yeast (if using), and garlic powder (if using), until smooth. If it's too firm to stir, microwave for an additional 15-30 seconds to soften the dough again.
- Add the egg to the bowl, and knead it into the dough either using a firm spatula, or by hand (the dough shouldn't be too hot, but if it is, let it cool slightly). At first it might seem like the egg won't incorporate, but it should with about 30 seconds of kneading.
- Place the dough between two pieces of parchment paper***, and roll into the desired shape (circle, rectangle, etc), about 1/8" thick. Keeping the dough on the parchment, transfer to a baking sheet, then remove the top layer of parchment.
- Prick the dough all over with a fork, then bake for about 7 minutes, until the dough is golden brown on the bottom and edges, but not yet brown on the top.
- Flip the pizza over, then top with whatever ingredients you'd like. I usually add about 1/2 cup of pizza sauce, then more shredded cheese, and pepperoni.
- Bake the pizza for an additional 5 minutes, to fully melt the cheese on top. Serve and enjoy!
This is GREAT!! I have been following a fairly strict keto diet, and I thought pizza was lost to me forever… not anymore! 🙂 I am in awe of how good this crust is. Also, really appreciated the weight measurements as this was my very first attempt to make keto-like bread. Very clear and nice instructions. thank you.
Is it essential to pre bake the crust before adding toppings ? I have a pizza oven and can cook fast at high heat and wondering if it’s possible just to pop it in the oven with the toppings ? If not, what is the reason behind the pre-baking.
Thanks !
I’d say give it a try if you’ve got a great high-heat pizza oven. I wish I had one too!
How else can I melt the cheese? I do not use microwave ovens.
A double saucepan.
Have you ever tried making this with psyllium husk instead of almond flour? I don’t like the almond flavour.