The runny yolk is the best part of this keto breakfast pizza — cut into a slice and it spills out to become your dipping sauce. I crack eggs right on top over crumbled bacon and garlic ricotta sauce — 4.8g net carbs, 28.4g protein.
I presented this recipe at a low-carb conference several years ago. I made it live on stage, and every single person who cooked along with me wanted the recipe before I even finished plating. That's when I knew this one was more than just another pizza recipe.
The base is a fathead crust: mozzarella, almond flour, egg, xanthan gum, baking powder. I've tested this dough dozens of times and stripped it down to just what it needs. No cream cheese in this dough. I tried it both ways, and the cream cheese adds carbs without doing anything for the texture. The crust puffs up, gets chewy in the middle, and crisps golden at the edges without it.
The sauce is dead simple. I mix full-fat ricotta with minced garlic and salt. No precooking. It melts into the cheese layer during baking and creates this creamy, garlicky base that pairs with bacon and eggs better than any red sauce would.
But the eggs are what make this breakfast pizza mine. I crack four of them right onto the pizza after the first 4 minutes of baking, then let them cook until the whites just set and the yolks stay runny. When you cut into a slice, that yellowy-orange yolk spills out and covers everything. You don't need ranch. You don't need marinara. The yolk does all the work.
I've made this with leftover steak on top, with crumbled sausage, with whatever protein was in the fridge from the night before. It adapts to what you have. If you're looking for more low-carb breakfast ideas, my chaffle breakfast sandwich is another go-to, and I make my sausage breakfast casserole when I'm feeding more than four people. For something egg-forward without the crust, try my pizza eggs.
See the video below to watch me make it step by step.
Garlic ricotta sauce (no cooking required)
I mix full-fat ricotta cheese with minced garlic and salt, and that’s the whole sauce. No cooking, no simmering, no extra steps. It melts right into the cheese layer when the pizza bakes and creates a creamy, garlicky base that’s better than most cooked white sauces I’ve tried.
Use whole milk ricotta (not part-skim) for the best texture. As a shortcut to mincing garlic, I keep garlic paste in my fridge. It’s basically pureed garlic that works anywhere you’d use minced cloves.
If ricotta isn’t your thing, I’ve had readers swap in cottage cheese with great results. Rebecca makes it that way every week and says it’s fantastic. Cream cheese works too, just soften it first so it blends into the sauce instead of clumping.
You can also go with a red sauce here. I usually stick with the ricotta because the creamy garlic flavor pairs so well with bacon and eggs, but a low-sugar marinara like Rao’s works if that’s more your style.
The fathead crust (and why it works)
The crust for this recipe is a fathead dough, a keto pizza crust made from mozzarella cheese, almond flour, and egg. I also add baking powder and xanthan gum to help it rise and hold its shape.
The melted mozzarella acts like gluten would in regular flour. It gives the dough that same stretch and pull you get with traditional pizza. The crust puffs up in the oven, gets chewy in the center, and crisps at the edges.
I have a dedicated fathead crust recipe if you want the full breakdown of the dough by itself. For this recipe, I walk you through it start to finish in the steps below.
How I make the dough (food processor method)
I always use my food processor. You add the almond flour, egg, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt, then scoop in the melted mozzarella and pulse. A few seconds later, you have a smooth dough ball.
I’ve tried an electric mixer, and the melted cheese rides up the beaters while the dough flies everywhere. You can knead by hand, but it takes longer and you won’t get as uniform a result.
My food processor is by Breville. It has a dough blade that makes combining everything ridiculously easy. If you make fathead dough even once a month, a food processor pays for itself fast.
Topping ideas (use whatever's in your fridge)
This is my go-to fridge-cleaner recipe. I’ve topped it with leftover steak, shrimp from the night before, and basically any protein that was already cooked. Here are toppings I’ve tried and liked:
jalapeno
fresh bell pepper
crumbled sausage
kielbasa
roasted garlic
arugula (add after baking so it stays fresh)
tomato slices
mushrooms
spinach
scrambled eggs (instead of cracking them on raw)
green onion
pepperoni
If you want more ideas for keto mornings, my breakfast quesadillas use a similar cheese-based wrapper, and my breakfast bowl is what I make on days when I want eggs without any crust at all.
How I meal prep this for the week
Pizza is on our menu at least every other week, so I’ve figured out the best way to prep this ahead of time.
Storing the dough
My biggest tip: make double or triple the dough. I roll out extra crusts, stack them between parchment paper, and freeze them in a Ziploc bag. They keep in the freezer for up to 6 months. When I want pizza, I pull one out and let it thaw at room temperature for about 15 minutes. Having crusts ready to go makes this a 20-minute meal instead of a 40-minute one.
In the fridge, the raw dough lasts about a week.
Storing leftovers
This is one of the best meal prep recipes I make. I bake a whole pizza on Sunday night, slice it up, and grab a piece every morning that week. It reheats well in the oven (350 degrees, about 8-10 minutes) or even cold straight from the fridge.
Store leftover slices in a Ziploc bag in the refrigerator. They hold up for 4-5 days. I’ve also taken slices on the road since they’re easy to eat with one hand. If you want more grab-and-go keto breakfast options, my Instant Pot egg bites and sausage cheddar biscuits are my other favorites for eating on the move.
How to make keto breakfast pizza
Make the fathead crust. Melt mozzarella, then pulse it in a food processor with almond flour, egg, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt until a dough ball forms. No cream cheese needed.
Mix the garlic sauce. Combine ricotta cheese with minced garlic and salt. No cooking required.
Top the crust. Sprinkle shredded mozzarella and crumbled bacon over the rolled-out dough. Add dollops of the garlic ricotta, red pepper flakes, and grated parmesan.
Bake in two stages. First bake for 4 minutes. Then crack eggs right onto the pizza and bake 6-8 more minutes until the whites set but the yolks stay runny.
Finish with fresh basil. Tear the leaves and scatter them on while it's still hot.
Place 3 cups of mozzarella in a microwave-safe glass bowl. Microwave until cheese is melted: about 2 minutes. Remove from microwave and let the mixture cool while combining the remaining ingredients. If you don’t want to melt the cheese in a microwave, you can add it to a non-stick skillet and melt over the stovetop over medium heat.
3
Pulse the dough
To a food processor, add almond flour, one egg, baking powder, xanthan gum, and salt. Scoop in melted mozzarella cheese. Pulse until a dough ball forms. If you don’t own a food processor, you can mix the ingredients using an electric mixer or knead by hand until a dough is formed.
4
Flatten it
Place the dough in between two pieces of parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough to desired thickness: about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. Remove top parchment layer and place the pizza dough and bottom parchment paper on top of a baking sheet or pizza stone.
5
Make the garlic sauce
In a small bowl, combine ricotta cheese, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Set aside.
6
Sprinkle evenly
Sprinkle 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese and crumbled bacon evenly over the rolled out pizza dough.
7
Dollop and bake
Add dollops of garlic ricotta cheese mixture evenly over the pizza. Sprinkle red pepper flakes and grated parmesan cheese over the pizza. Bake at 400 degrees for 4 minutes.
8
Create some divots
Remove from oven. Use the back of a large spoon to make 4 divots on the pizza and crack remaining eggs into each divot. Return pizza to oven and bake for an additional 6-8 minutes or until egg whites are almost set. Set oven to broil and broil pizza until eggs are cooked but yolks are still runny (about 30 seconds to 1 minute).
9
Finish with basil
Remove pizza from oven. Sprinkle basil over pizza.
Nutrition
Per serving: 1 slice
Calories
410
Fat
30g
Protein
28.4g
Total carbs
7.1g
Net carbs
4.8g
Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients listed. Brands vary, so check labels if you track closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
What can I use instead of ricotta cheese?
I've tested three substitutes here. Cream cheese works if you soften it first (microwave for 15-20 seconds). It creates a thicker, richer sauce. My reader Valerie asked about this swap and I confirmed it holds up well. Cottage cheese is another option. Rebecca uses it every week and says it's fantastic. Mascarpone is the closest in texture to ricotta but pricier. I still prefer ricotta for this recipe because it melts into the pizza better than the others, but all three work.
Can I freeze this for meal prep?
I freeze this all the time. Bake the pizza fully, let it cool completely, then wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and store in a freezer bag. They keep for about 2 months. To reheat, I go straight from frozen into a 375-degree oven for 12-15 minutes. The crust holds up surprisingly well from frozen. The eggs firm up completely after freezing (no more runny yolk), but the flavor is still solid. I also freeze extra dough by itself so I can make a fresh one whenever I want.
Can I use sausage instead of bacon?
I've done this more times than I can count. Crumbled breakfast sausage with Italian seasoning is my favorite swap. Brown it in a skillet first and drain the grease so the crust doesn't get soggy. I've also used sliced kielbasa, which gets these crispy edges when it bakes. Both work as well as bacon on this recipe.
How do I keep the crust from getting soggy?
Two things I always do. First, I pre-bake the crust by itself at 400 degrees for about 3-4 minutes before adding any toppings. This sets the bottom and gives it structure. Second, I don't overload the sauce. A thin layer of the garlic ricotta is all you need. If the ricotta is pooling, you've used too much. I spread it in dollops, not a solid layer, and that keeps everything crispy underneath.
Can I use coconut flour instead of almond flour?
I've tested this and it changes the dough significantly. Coconut flour absorbs way more liquid than almond flour, so you'd need roughly 1/3 cup of coconut flour to replace 1 1/4 cups of almond flour. The texture comes out denser and a bit more crumbly. It works if you have a nut allergy, but I prefer the almond flour version for this recipe. The chew is closer to real pizza dough with almond flour.
Can I make this dairy-free?
This is a tough one because the fathead crust depends on mozzarella for its structure. I've tried dairy-free mozzarella shreds and they melt differently. The dough doesn't come together as smoothly and the stretch isn't the same. For the sauce, you can swap the ricotta for dairy-free cream cheese (I've tested Kite Hill and it works). If dairy-free is a priority for you, my almond flour pancakes are a better dairy-free breakfast option to try.
Is bacon keto friendly?
Bacon is mostly protein and fat with almost zero carbs, so yes. Some brands cure their bacon with sugar, but the amount is tiny and won't affect your daily count. I buy whatever thick-cut bacon is on sale. The one thing I avoid is maple-flavored bacon, since that actually contains maple syrup and adds real sugar. For this recipe, I like thick-cut because the pieces hold up better as a topping and the texture contrast with the eggs is worth it. My reader Connor uses thick-cut too and says it's what gets his kids to the table before he even calls them.
Making this for a brunch next weekend, about 10 people so I’ll need to double it. Does the dough scale straight across or does a bigger batch need any tweaking? Also the eggs cracked on top. Harder to time those when you’re running two pizzas at once?
Made this expecting to miss tomato sauce. Garlic ricotta doesn’t pool under the egg the way tomato would. Better base, actually. Wouldn’t have thought to use it.
Bacon and garlic, before the oven was even open, and my first thought was that something had gone wrong because the smell was too good for what I was attempting. First time with fathead dough and I’d spent the whole bake expecting the crust to fall apart when I sliced it. It didn’t. Crisp on the outside, held up under the toppings. The garlic ricotta was better than I had any right to expect. Four stars because I rolled the crust too thick and I know that’s on me, but everything else landed right on my first try.
Waiting for the crust to fall apart and it doesn’t. That’s the whole first-time fathead experience. Quarter inch next time, it looks almost too thin when you’re rolling it but that’s where the crisp comes from.
28 grams of protein at breakfast sounded like wishful thinking. Expected either a gummy almond flour situation or eggs sliding right off, but neither. The garlic ricotta keeps the crust from getting soggy and the whites actually set up clean. Didn’t see that coming.
The two-sheet parchment sandwich is not actually optional. Learned that the hard way, spent more time scraping dough off the counter than making the pizza. Once you get it right though, the crust rolls and transfers in under a minute.
I did the same thing the first time I made fathead dough. Two sheets of parchment is the only way it works. Once you have that part down, the transfer takes less time than figuring out the toppings.
My husband stood at the counter eating this for like ten minutes without saying a word, which never happens. Finally looked up and said the garlic ricotta tastes like something from an actual brunch spot. High praise from a guy who thinks breakfast is just coffee.
Standing at the counter for ten minutes without saying a word is about the best reaction a recipe can get. My kids do the same thing when something actually lands. The ricotta base is what makes this feel like more than egg pizza. Good brunch spots use quality ricotta and real garlic, and that’s basically all that sauce is. Tell him I’ll take it.
My son, who normally pushes eggs around the plate, stopped mid-bite and asked why the pizza was ‘bleeding.’ Watching him figure out that the yolk was the sauce was worth every step of this recipe.
Made two crusts Sunday, kept them in the fridge. Crack an egg on top each morning, throw it in the oven. Breakfast is actually something I look forward to now.
Added Italian sausage under the eggs and it changed the whole thing. The fat renders out while it bakes and basically bastes the egg whites, so you get a fully set white with a still-runny yolk without having to fuss with timing. Also figured out that pre-baking the crust 7-8 minutes before adding toppings keeps the center from going soft under all that egg white and ricotta. Both changes worth it.
The sausage-under-egg thing is smart. Never thought about the fat basting the whites but that’s exactly what happens. I pre-bake mine 3-4 minutes, but 7-8 makes sense with all that ricotta sitting on top.
Tried a handful of keto breakfast pizzas before landing here and most of them had crusts that either crumbled or tasted like cardboard. The mozzarella base on this one actually holds together, and the garlic ricotta sauce is something I hadn’t seen in any of the other versions I’d made. When I cut into it and the egg yolk ran over everything, I finally got what made this one different. Pulling it out a minute or two earlier next time so the yolks stay runny (mine set a bit more than I’d like), but this is the one I’ll use from here on.
New to keto and I’ve never cracked eggs directly on a pizza before. Do the whites fully set at 400, or should I cover it partway through to keep the yolk runny?
Whites set fine at 400. I crack the eggs on for the last 8 minutes or so, not the full bake. No need to cover it. That yolk spilling into the ricotta when you cut in is the best part.
