Keto Pizza
The Original Fathead Crust Pizza
Fat Head crust is the top recipe for keto pizza. This cheesy, low-carb, fat filled crust offers a chewy, bread-like texture, but a crispy underbelly crust. This pizza allows you to follow the ketogenic diet with ZERO compromise!
1 slice
8
Servings
241
Calories
19.8g
Fat
12.8g
Protein
3.5g
Net Carb
5.8g
Total Carbs
Unless you are brand new to the ketogenic, low carb lifestyle, you have probably heard of Fathead Pizza. It’s been a staple alternative to traditional high carbohydrate pizza for years.
Fathead dough, when used as the base for pizza, creates a crust that looks like real pizza crust and has a similar texture and flavor as well. It’s low in carbs and high in fat which makes it the perfect solution to pizza cravings on a keto diet. Top with a low carb marinara and your favorite toppings and you can easily enjoy keto pizza any night.
One of the reasons fathead pizza crust tastes so good is because it’s mostly made up of cheese! The mozzarella along with the almond flour yield a dense, crispy pizza crust packed full of flavor.
Before fathead pizza, most low carb folks were making pizza crust out of cauliflower. Cauliflower pizza crust is a pain to make. You have get most of the moisture out of the cauliflower in order to create the ideal texture. On top of that, cauliflower pizza crust doesn’t taste that great. Most keto recipes can still have that off-putting cauliflower flavor.
For the keto pizza recipe, you don’t need to add cream cheese to make the fathead dough. The texture and flavor is the same. The cream cheese in classic fathead dough recipes don’t add any purpose except they add calories and carbs! Yes, cream cheese as carbs so why add it in if it’s just not necessary?
How to make keto pizza
- Make fathead dough. Combine melted mozzarella cheese with almond flour, egg, baking powder, xanthan gum and salt using a food processor, electric mixer or your hands.
- Roll out pizza dough into a giant circle. For a crispy crust, pre-bake your fathead crust for a few minutes.
- Top your dough with pizza sauce, cheese and your favorite pizza toppings.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 12-18 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is melted.
Key ingredients for keto pizza crust
- Mozzarella cheese – The cheese is a necessary ingredient in fathead dough. The melted mozzarella works similar to gluten in wheat flour to provide a flexible protein matrix to trap air bubbles as the dough bakes in the oven. Other cheese, especially hard cheeses, don’t work as well because they aren’t as stretchy as mozzarella cheese is when melted. Mozzarella cheese has a neutral flavor so you can’t really tell the pizza crust is made out of cheese!
- Almond flour – The foundation to this crust. It gives the cheese structure similar to flour. Sunflower seed flour can be used if allergic to nuts. Lupin flour is delicious alternative but you will need to cut the amount in half (3/4 cup) as it doesn’t measure cup for cup with almond flour.
- Egg – Will help hold the crust together.
- Baking powder – The leavening agent to help the keto pizza dough rise.
- Xanthan gum – Another ingredient that will work as a glue to hold the crust together so it keeps it shape. This can be omitted if sensitive to xanthan gum.
Keto Pizza Recipe Video
With 100s of videos and millions of views, Ketofocus is one of the most popular Keto channels on YouTube.
Keto Pizza Crust Ingredients
3.5 cups (about 10 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese
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1.5 cups almond flour
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1 egg
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1 teaspoon baking powder
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1 teaspoon xanthan gum
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½ teaspoon salt
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1 teaspoon italian seasoning, optional
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½ teaspoon garlic powder, optional
Keto Pizza Directions
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Preheat oven
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
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Melt the cheese
Place mozzarella in a microwave-safe glass bowl. Microwave for about two minutes. Stir to combine and make sure all of the cheese is melted. You may need to microwave for additional time if all the cheese has not melted. Remove from microwave and let the mixture cool.
Ingredients
- Mozzarella cheese
Quick Tip
If you are doubling or tripling this recipe, make sure you double or add on additional microwave time to ensure proper cheese melting. -
Mix dry ingredients
In a large separate bowl, mix together the almond flour, baking powder, xanthan gum, salt and seasonings, if using. Set aside.
Ingredients
- Almond flour
- Baking powder
- Xanthan gum
- Salt
- Italian seasoning (optional)
- Garlic powder (optional)
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Mix dough
To a food processor, add melted mozzarella cheese, egg and dry ingredients.
Ingredients
- Melted cheese
- Egg
- Dry ingredients
Quick Tip
If you don't have a food processer, an electric mixer can be used. Fathead dough can be mixed by hand by kneading the dough until it comes together; however, this is very messy and time-consuming. -
Knead pizza dough
Once combined, form a big dough ball. Knead the dough a couple of times on a lightly almond floured surface to ensure the dough is uniform in appearance and all ingredients are fully combined.
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Layer between parchment
Place the ball in between two pieces of parchment paper. You can also just use a silpat mat if you have one of those, but having that top layer of parchment paper keeps the dough from sticking to you and your rolling pin. Plus it allows you to roll out a nice thin pizza crust.
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Roll out crust
Roll out dough to desired thickness. Remove top parchment layer and place on top of a baking sheet.
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Watcha gonna add?
Add toppings.
Quick Tip
If you are counting macros, make sure you take into account any of the toppings you add! The Nutrition Facts listed in this recipes are for the crust only. -
Bake
Bake in a 400 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until crust is golden and cheese is bubbling.
Absolutely LOVE this dough! So versatile and quick to prepare! Quickly becoming a staple in my home!
Thank you! I’m glad you liked the keto pizza crust!
What is xanthan gum? Is it absolutely necessary in order to make this pizza?
It just helps for structure, but you can omit if you don’t have any.
I have never used it my fathead pizza dough. I used it to make gravy once as a thickener and it made the texture off putting to me, slimy. I was afraid it would do to the same to the dough.
My crust got stuck to the paper. Should I spray the paper with cooking spray next time?
Yes, try spraying the parchment paper next time.
Amazing! I’ve tried different doughs and this is the best.
Do you have the total carb count per serving?
I will be adding total carbs for each recipe. For now, 1/8 of this pizza is 5.8 grams total carbs.
Do you think I could pre-bake the crusts and freeze or refrigerate? Then pull out as needed, top and bake? I am trying to think of meal prep as I am trying to get my whole family on board with healthier eating. I need quick week night meals for my super picky 10 year old who only eats pizza and chicken nuggets.
Yes, you could do that. Or you can roll it out unbaked, flash freeze and stack them together. Then freeze again. That’s what I do.
Hi Annie,
Thank you for sharing all of your delicious recipes. I have never flash freeze any of my food so I am not sure how to do this can you share how you do this with your pizza dough. Also how to you store it in the freezer if freezing it rolled out?
Sure, there are two ways to store it. First, just place your dough ball in a plastic freezer safe bag, press out the air and put it in the freezer. The second, is to roll it out flat first. Store it flat with the bottom and top parchment paper attached the the flat dough. Place in a ziploc freezer bag and put in the freezer. You can stack multiple flat pizza crusts this way by stacking them on each other then putting them in the ziploc bag. As long as they have parchment paper in between them, they shouldn’t stick together.
Ok I actually made this today instead of the mummy dogs. But! I am going to cut strips out of the dough I rolled out and refrigerated then put some hot dogs inside with cheddar 😉
I’ll let you how it turns out. So far everything I make of your creations has been absolutely stellar. Best stuff I’ve found on the internet so far for keto heads!
That sounds delicious! I haven’t tried adding cheddar but I will next time I make them.
Yes they came out awesomeM I used a block of pollyO mozzarella and shredded it in a processor myself. I put two pieces of parchment sprayed with non stick spray and rolled it out into a pizza dough, then cut into eight strips after I refrigerated it for about an hour, wrapped the dogs in it added cheese and baked for the same time as the mummy dogs called for. Really filling and super delicious!
Easy to do too!
In your notes you say “The combination of mozzarella and cream cheese along with the almond flour yield a dense, crispy pizza crust packed full of flavor.”. However, cream cheese is not listed in the ingredients nor in the instructions. Is it supposed to be part of this recipe?
Ah… it does not include cream cheese. I don’t know why I said that :). I have updated and removed.
Thanks for confirming no cream cheese : )
I ended up making this tonight, and it is by far the best Keto pizza crust recipe I’ve tried! I had some issues getting the dough rolled out evenly, so I par baked it for 10 minutes on a pizza stone before adding my toppings. It came out great; thanks for sharing this recipe!
Can I make the dough a couple hours ahead of time and put in the fridge before rolling out? This is our first week on keto, so want to make sure I do things correctly 🙂
Yes you can! You can store it in the fridge for up to 5 days and you can freeze it too!
This pizza dough was amazing! Pizza is my most favorite food to eat. I was able to top my pizza with several ingredients. I used additional spices, such as; Italian seasoning, garlic powder, and onion powder. I hope that you will continue to shower us with additional recipes. I can’t wait !!! Thank you
I tried this last night, it was great! When I used to make pizza I would put cornmeal on the parchment before putting the crust down, I used Parmesan cheese instead, worked great. I also brushed the top of the pizza with garlic butter before topping.
The recipe calls for something called “1 teaspoon xanthan gum”, but that item is not included in the video which only has 4 ingredients. What is xanthan gum and it it optional?
Thanks
I changed the recipe a little bit after that video was made. I felt like the xanthan gum helps to hold the crust together better.
We use your recipe all the time. It’s the best! Would you happen to know what the “MyFitnessPal” “personal pizza keto focus” portion is?
That is probably a recipe of mine that someone added. It’s probably this dough recipe but I’m not sure what toppings there are.
What if you do not have a microwave?
You can melt the cheese on a non-stick skillet over the stove top
I made this yesterday and followed the guidelines that were provided and sprayed parchment paper with oil. I added Italian seasoning to the dough and forgot to put holes in the dough before putting the topping on it but the pizza turned out perfect. The Pizza was fantastic. I sauced the dough, added cheese’s, a pound of cooked Italian seasoned ground beef, onions, green and black olives, mushroom’s and topped with more cheese. It was awesome.
I have used the same recipe on the dough with other ingredients making sweet rolls, cup cakes, cookies and dough to wrapped hotdogs in. Its very versatile.
I’ve made this several times and its PERFECTION!! I share this recipe link with all my keto friends. Thank you so much for sharing it! It comes together so quickly and it is really on point. So happy!!! <3
Annie, This is my first time to make Fathead dough. I used this recipe to make pretzels for Super Bowl party. They were a hit. Using your protein Lasagna for main course. Thank you for your hard work bringing us these recipes & ideas. ?
Hi Annie, I have been shying away from making fathead pizza dough for the 7 months I’ve been eating keto (42 lbs gone so far!). Tonight I made it for my hubby and I and added some Italian seasonings, then topped it with Rao’s marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni, and onions. We both LOVE IT! Thank you! It will definitely be a staple in our home going forward! Also many thanks for the warning about the mess when using a mixer to combine the wet and dry ingredients. It really helped keep this non-cook keto cook calm and moving forward with the process!
Should you bake the dough first before adding your sauce and toppings?
You can if you want a crispier crust.
Is the dough on its own 3.5g net carbs total or per slice? I made it yesterday from 3 ingredient recipe and loved it and my 12 year old son said he prefers it to normal pizza.xx
Per slice
Is there a sub for xanthum gum?
You can omit it if you would like. It’s just there for added support but the pizza still holds up without it.
I noticed on this pizza recipe is said 3.5 cups of mozzarella but in parentheses it has 10oz? That would only be about 1 cup and 1/4 is this recipe for more that one crust? Just curious I want to make it but I don’t know how much geese I would need.
Is the nutritional value per slice (serving) or for the entire pizza of 8 servings?
Macros for the keto pizza are per serving.
What would you substitute cheese for dairy free?
There is dairy free cheese, but I’m not sure how well that will work. I need to work on a dairy free crust recipe.
I made this Saturday & stored it in the fridge for pizza today. It was AWESOME! Thank you!!
Can you use this dough to form hot dog buns?
Yes, it will work for hot dog buns. I also have a different type of keto hot dog bun recipe on the site: https://www.ketofocus.com/recipes/keto-hot-dog-buns/
This was a hit! I made it with the fathead dough recipe from this recipe and put pepperoni on it! My husband, who doesn’t follow a keto diet, loved it too. He’d never had a keto pizza before. I’m so happy to have found something he’ll eat along with me! We will be making this again for sure!
I made this last night exactly as the recipe says. It came out delicious and we now can enjoy pizza again! I want to roll out the dough thinner next time to try to get it crispier. Do you think I should add another tsp of xanthan gum to make it hold together more? The instructions on the bag say 2 teaspoons per cup of flour for pizza.
I made two smaller pizzas with the dough and baked them on a pizza stone. I flipped them over at about 7 minutes and then baked for another 5. Removed them from the oven and then added my toppings. Baked again for another 10 or so. Edges were super crispy. Great recipe! Thank you!
You can roll it out thinner without having to add more xanthan gum. I’m glad you liked the recipe!
I made this tonight for dinner an it was so good, an easy, I used my food processor to mix the crust dough, an that worked so much better than hand mixer..:) I can not wait to use this dough on other recipes, thank you so much.
This is a great recipe. I’ve been going through your library and this one by far is the best. I made this last night for myself and my wife who isn’t on keto, she loved it. I am on keto for nearly 5 months and been craving pizza nearly every day. Thanks so much!
Funny thing though, I don’t know if you use a convection oven or a broiler, but literally on every recipe I have to bake everything at least an extra 15 minutes. The keto bread loaf, well, that is an extra 20! Truly, every oven is different.
Boy is this a game changer. Made my first batch a week ago and planning for more already. I do have a question though – is there a variation or way to make baguette style bread with it for subs?
I have a keto roll recipe that is similar. You can mold that into baguettes. https://www.ketofocus.com/recipes/keto-bread-rolls/
Or my hot dog bun recipe. https://www.ketofocus.com/recipes/low-carb-hot-dog-buns/
wow
The crust was great, but I have a question. Your recipe is showing for 8 servings, which I assume is the 8 slices, but how many pizzas is this one recipe supposed to make? When I made it, it was alot of dough, so I divided it into 3 sections and made a pizza crust out of each section, but it still seemed like I could have separated it even more. What is your suggestion? Also, can I use the left over dough to make biscuits or rolls?
It makes a large pizza and if you cut into 8 slices, each slice is a serving. But you can make smaller pizzas. And yes, you can use the leftover dough for biscuits, rolls, breadsticks, even pie crust for savory pies.