What is Keto Pizza? The Ultimate Guide from Crust to Toppings and Tips on How to Make it at Home

Have you ever found yourself dreaming about a juicy, cheesy pizza, but immediately dismissed the thought due to dietary restrictions? If so, we’ve got some exciting news for you. Enter Keto Pizza – a culinary innovation that combines your love for pizza with your commitment to the ketogenic diet.

Keto pizza swaps out the traditional high-carb crust with a low-carb alternative, typically made from ingredients like almond flour, cauliflower, or cheese. Topped with a medley of mouthwatering toppings that align with the keto diet, this pizza variant lets you enjoy your favorite treat guilt-free!

If you’re curious about what is keto pizza, the benefits of eating keto pizza, or how to make your own delicious version at home, then you’re in the right place. Join us as we dive deep into the world of keto pizza, exploring everything from its unique crust options to the myriad of creative toppings you can use.

Keep reading to discover how you can satisfy your pizza cravings, all while sticking to your ketogenic lifestyle. So, don your chef’s hat, and let’s embark on this culinary journey toward guilt-free pizza indulgence!

What is Keto Pizza?

Keto pizza is a version of pizza that is compatible with the ketogenic, or keto, diet. The ketogenic diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet designed to put your body into a metabolic state known as ketosis, where it burns fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates.

A traditional pizza with its high-carb crust doesn’t fit into a keto diet. However, pizza lovers have found ways to create keto-friendly versions of this beloved dish. The main difference lies in the crust, which is where most of the carbs in a pizza come from. Keto pizza crust is sometimes made from low-carb ingredients such as cauliflower, almond flour, coconut flour, cheese, or even ground meat.

The toppings for a keto pizza are chosen carefully, ensuring they are low in carbs and fats, and proteins. This typically includes a variety of meats, cheeses, and certain low-carb vegetables. It’s important to avoid high-sugar pizza sauces, which can add unwanted carbs to your meal.

In essence, keto pizza allows you to enjoy the flavors and experience of eating pizza while still adhering to the principles of a ketogenic diet.

A keto pizza will typically be made using a low-carbohydrate pizza crust, such as one made from almond flour or coconut flour and topped with mozzarella cheese, meat, and vegetables.

Because it is low in carbs, keto pizza can help people following a ketogenic diet to stay within their daily carb limits and still enjoy the flavor and convenience of pizza.

If you are into baking pizza at home, you must have already baked pizza in the traditional form numerous times.

What is different about keto pizza is that its ‘regular crust’ (made from flour) is replaced with ingredients like beef patties (ground), mozzarella cheese, chicken, and bacon.

While it’s a far cry from what you know, your regular pizza tastes like a month into a ketogenic diet will make this dish sound like a treat. 

Lately, the fray of keto pizza recipes has started including nut flours like pecan, almond, and coconut as pizza crust options.

The nut flour is generally mixed with ingredients such as egg, mozzarella cheese, and cream cheese before you par-bake them, and then you add toppings of your choice.

This way, you can still taste a closer version of regular pizza without compromising your carb consumption. 

The Charlie Foundation for Ketogenic Therapies states that today’s ketogenic diet can consist of fat content ranging between 60-82 percent, protein up to 17 percent, and carbohydrates up to 5 percent.

This leaves ample room for you to up your baking skills by preparing pizza in a keto-friendly way.

Keto Pizza Sauce

In the keto pizza method, it is necessary to use a low-carb pizza sauce. You need to check the label on any store-bought pizza sauce as they’re all high in carbohydrates and high in sugar.

The nutrition label on the pizza sauce should ensure that it contains the least or no carbohydrates. The Keto pizza sauce is simple to make, and the recipe combines crushed tomatoes, some spices, and olive oil for a unique flavor.

Here’s a Video on How to Make Keto Pizza

What is Fathead Dough?

Fathead pizza dough is a low-carbohydrate dough made using mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, and almond flour. It gets its name from the high-fat content of the mozzarella and cream cheese, which helps create a pliable dough and easy to work with.

Fathead keto pizza crust is often used as a gluten-free and low-carb alternative to traditional wheat-based dough in recipes for pizza crusts, breadsticks, and other baked goods.

Now that you know what keto pizza is, it’s time to learn how to prepare one.

A “fathead” dough for pizza is low-carb and perfectly suited for a ketogenic pizza.

The name “Fathead” is derived from the fact that this keto pizza dough is made using ingredients loaded with fat and almost no carbs. Fathead dough is one of the best ways to bake a keto-friendly pizza.

If you are interested in baking a pizza using fathead pizza dough, here are the ingredients that you will need:

Egg

Cream cheese (you can opt for the lactose-free version)

Mozzarella cheese (hard, shredded)

Nut flour (preferably coconut or almond)

If you are gluten-intolerant, know that a fathead dough-based pizza is ‘gluten-free,’ keto-friendly, and a low-carb, high-fat recipe. 

How to Make Keto Fathead Pizza?

To start, you need the following:

• 2 cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
• 1 oz cream cheese (or 2 tablespoons)
• 1 cup Almond Flour
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, optional
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder optional

Directions:

Microwave the mozzarella a little at a minute until softened.

Add cream to it as soon as possible.

It may seem difficult initially, but it will quickly resolve itself.

The next step would be adding the eggs, almond powder, baking powder, and herbs. Make sure everything is mixed together. It may look sticky, but it should have been fine.

When rolling the dough, you have several options: because the dough is going soft and sticky, you may either roll on two sheets or use wet or greased hands and pat them down flat.

What is a Keto Pizza Crust Made Of?

Your baking requirements for this pizza form are minimal. To prepare the crust of a keto-friendly pizza, you will need the following ingredients:

Nut flour, preferably almond flour. 

Cream Cheese should either be in block or stick form instead of spreadable tub form.

Mozzarella Cheese should contain little moisture to ensure the pizza crust is fluffy and chewy. 

Olive oil for brushing the pizza’s sides.

Eggs at room temperature. 

Tips For The Best Keto Pizza

There are several ways to make a keto-friendly pizza. One option is to use a low-carb tortilla or flatbread as the base and top it with tomato sauce, cheese, and your favorite low-carb toppings such as mushrooms, onions, and peppers.

Another option is to make a crust using almond flour or coconut flour, eggs, and cheese and then top it with the same ingredients. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when making keto pizza:

• Use a low-carb tortilla or flatbread as the base, or create your crust using almond flour or coconut flour.
• Top the pizza with tomato sauce, cheese, and your favorite low-carb toppings.
• Avoid high-carb toppings such as pineapple and pepperoni, and choose vegetables.
• Use plenty of cheese to make the pizza more satisfying and flavorful.
• Bake the pizza in a preheated oven until the cheese is melted and the crust is crispy.

The key to making a keto-friendly pizza is to use low-carb ingredients and plenty of cheese. Following these tips, you can enjoy a delicious and satisfying pizza without compromising your keto diet.

Is Keto Pizza Good for You?

Usually, you are not recommended to feast on a pizza because it is loaded with carbohydrates and contains very little protein.

This is because the keto diet concentrates on high protein and low carbohydrates. However, using proper substitutes today, it is possible to bake a ketogenic pizza, which will be both healthy and tasty. 

Baking a pizza that replaces the regular high-carb ingredients with low-carb ones like nut flour or cauliflower makes the result healthier than a ‘traditional pizza.’

That’s why keto pizza can be a healthier alternative to your regular pizza. 

And to get maximum benefits from this pizza form, you should bake it at home.

Again, prepare a homemade one with pureed organic tomatoes rather than generously spreading sugar-rich sauces on your pizza.

You will have to make a few changes in the ingredients, like the crust, which can be made using almond flour or cauliflower. 

What Kind of Pizza is Keto-Friendly?

It is interesting to note that apart from the pizza crust portion, a pizza is generally keto-friendly. That’s because the ingredients, except the crust (which is loaded with carbs), include the following:

Meat – Pizza toppings based on meat are usually ketogenic (except meatballs made using breadcrumbs). Bacon, pepperoni, and Italian sausage are common low-carb ingredients. 

Cheese – This ingredient is packed with protein and fat. Some commonly-used cheeses include mozzarella, ricotta, cheddar, and Parmesan.

Pizza sauce – Not the ones available in stores, but a homemade sauce free from added sugar.

Veggies – Vegetables come loaded with minerals and vitamins. There’s hardly any vegetable topping on pizza that doesn’t make it keto-friendly. Some tasty pizza toppings for your Keto Pizza may include mushrooms, tomatoes, green peppers, and onions. 

So, when trying to understand Keto pizza, you must understand what makes a keto-friendly pizza.

These ingredients are low in carbohydrates and ideal for your keto diet. The problem is that you cannot bake a pizza without a crust, and the regular crust is high in carbohydrates. 

When on a keto diet, you can forget about cheese-stuffed pizza crust, regular pizza crust, deep dish, and thin crust. The kind of pizza that is keto-friendly is the one with low-carb-based pizza crust variations like:

Almond Flour – This is a popular choice among those that follow the keto diet as it is low in carbohydrates and ‘gluten-free.’

Cloud Bread – This pizza crust is made using eggs and cream cheese and forms the fluffiest crust for a keto-friendly pizza.

Coconut Flour – A pizza crust with this flour will lower the carb content and create a chewy, thick crust on your pizza. 

Cauliflower – This ‘gluten-free’ vegetable has become world-famous as a keto-friendly pizza crust. 

Zucchini – You can shred the zucchini and drain it to form a pizza crust for your keto-friendly pizza.

Spinach – Use spinach to create a crust for pizza that you can top with ingredients like feta, walnut, and chicken.

Eggplant – Slice and bake or grill eggplant and top it up with your favorite ingredients.

Ground Beef is a high protein and low carb crust for your pizza that goes well with tomatoes, Mexican cheese, avocado, and green peppers. 

While preparing a keto-friendly pizza, you can also consider adding toppings that come with low carbohydrate content, such as:

Cheeses

Fresh mozzarella, Cheddar, Provolone, Gorgonzola, Parmesan, Ricotta, Goat cheese, Feta and Gouda.

Meats

Bacon, Pepperoni, Italian sausage, Sausage, Chicken, Ground beef, Steak, and Meatballs (made without breadcrumbs).

Veggies

Eggplant, Zucchini, Onions, Mushrooms, Bell peppers, Artichoke hearts, Jalapenos, Olives, Tomatoes, and Spinach.

Pizza is incomplete without a pizza sauce, and as already discussed, making pizza sauce at home is the best option for a keto-friendly pizza.

You can prepare a pizza sauce with tomato paste, crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, and some erythritol (for sweetness). 

Is Cauliflower Crust Keto Pizza?

The immense popularity of cauliflower as a crust for keto pizza is now known to all fitness enthusiasts.

The fame associated with cauliflower is rooted in the fact that this vegetable quickly lowers the carbohydrate content in pizza, which is required in the keto diet, which is why cauliflower crust is considered keto pizza. 

And preparing a cauliflower crust for your pizza involves chopping the florets and pulsing them using a standard food processor until they are grainy and have a fine texture.

Next, this mixture is steamed to drain excess liquid and mixed with ingredients such as cream cheese and eggs to form a dough.

Cauliflower pizza crust contains fewer carbs and calories while being rich in protein and fiber.

This veggie crust has fewer ‘net carbs’ (overall carb minus the fiber), making it ideal for those following the ketogenic diet. 

What is the Difference Between Keto Crust and Cauliflower Crust?

What is Keto Pizza, if not a healthier version of carb-loaded pizza, that you are used to consuming?

But then, when you are gearing up to bake a keto-friendly pizza, it would be helpful to know the difference between a cauliflower crust and a keto crust. 

The explanation is quite simple, and you probably already know the difference.

A keto pizza crust can contain any ingredient other than the traditional wheat flour used to prepare regular pizzas, and the ingredient/s must have a low amount of carbohydrates.

Examples of keto pizza crusts include nut flour, meat (especially ground meat), and vegetables. 

Now, the cauliflower crust is one of these delicious vegetables to taste and be healthy for your body.

Not only those on the keto diet but even those with diabetes can opt for cauliflower crust as it contains a meager amount of carbohydrates and calories compared to other keto pizza crusts. 

Is Thin Crust Pizza Keto?

Generally, a pizza with a thin crust comes with 20 grams of carbohydrates in each slice.

This indicates that if you want to lose weight through a keto diet, you should refrain from having thin-crust pizza.

Add to it that thin pizza crust is made using white flour. So, you can be sure that thin-crust pizza is not keto simply because it loads your body with carbs. 

What You Need to Make Keto Pizza at Home

We recommend getting a good pizza stone to make keto pizza at home. You will need to bake the crust first to build your pizza.

Here’s What the PROs at Homemade Pizza Pro Use and Recommend

The Last Slice

Hopefully, you have a reasonably good idea of Keto pizza and what ingredients to bake at home by now.

Your takeaway from this discussion is that ketogenic pizza should contain low carbohydrates, high protein, and fiber.

A regular pizza will never work if you are on a keto diet, so bake a Keto Pizza at home using the guidelines above.

And if you want the best taste while mastering the art of baking pizza, you can also consider purchasing a quality pizza oven for your home.  

Enjoy!

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