Learn the secret of great quick and easy low carb pizza that is tasty and will satisfy your pizza craving while you’re on a low carb or keto diet.
Editor’s note: This was originally published on January 5, 2010. Updated with edited text, expanded options, and refreshed photos.
Many people are following lower carbohydrate diets like Adkins or Keto diets. If you are one of those people, a low carb or keto-friendly pizza is high on your wish list.
Many suggestions are floating around in the low-carb/keto diet community for pizza crust. Hamburger crusts very disgusting, cream cheese/ egg concoctions with many steps that are highly prized by the inventors and followers but is also odd and disgusting. There are the various “wonderful” various cauliflower concoctions, all bad.
All these crust substitutes are labeled as “easy” for some odd reason. You need to accept that pizza just won’t be quite the same, but we can make it something good for what it is.
My Rating
A strong four especially compared to the competition.
Pro Tips: Recipe Notes for Low Carb Pizza
For the crust, use low-carb tortillas or Flatout Flatbread which are only about 6 net carbs for a larger size with either. Plus, they taste good, are cheap, available at our local market, and have a long shelf life in the fridge.
The Big Secret to Make This Work
The trick is not just to slap the sauce and goodies on the flatbread or tortilla. You need to brown them a little in a bit of oil, and it will help keep them from becoming mush. It is that simple.
The Sauce
I generally use a jar sauce. I do not like to do that, but we are only using a couple of tablespoons per pizza, and if you are selective, it will be fine. You can make your own and freeze baggies of small amounts if you are going to do this over and over.
Other Helpful Comments
Timing: With a little planning, this can easily be done under 20 minutes from the start of eating. I had everything already in baggies, so that is why it went so fast. But even without that, about 30 minutes is all it takes.
Do I need a pizza stone?
No, without the pizza stone, use a large ½ sheet pan sprayed with PAM. But the stone will help crisp up the crust more and it great to have around for heating standard pizza.
Other Low Carb Recipes to Enjoy
Low Carb Parmesan-Sesame Crackers
Preheat oven to 425 convection or 450 conventional with the pizza stone on a center rack.
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 2 teaspoons oil. Brown the Flatbread/tortilla on both sides slightly. You are just firming it up to keep it from falling apart with the sauce and ingredients.
Spoon on 2 tablespoons premade pizza sauce on the crust and spread. I add another ingredient in the following order: sausage, onion, 12 pieces of pepperoni, green pepper, mozzarella, and top off with your last 6 pieces of pepperoni.
Transfer to the pizza stone. This will cook rapidly for about 10 minutes.
Pizza Variation: Four Cheese White Chicken Pizza
Just a change in toppings: Eliminate Italian sausage, green pepper, pepperoni, and pizza sauce.
New ingredient:
1 tablespoon butter
½ tsp garlic powder
½ cup diced chicken
1-2 oz each of feta, white cheddar, mozzarella, and shredded parmesan
1 Plum tomato – thin sliced (about 1/4 inch)
Instructions:
1) Melt 1 tablespoon butter and add ½ tsp garlic powder. Spread over the crust like sauce.
2) Now add the topping: ½ cup of diced chicken, thinly sliced plum tomato (about 1/4 inch), 2 oz each of feta, white cheddar, mozzarella, and shredded parmesan.
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Low Carb Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 large low carb tortilla - or low carb flatbread
- 2 teaspoons vegetable oil
My suggested toppings - use what you like
- 1/4 pound Italian sausage - browned
- 1/4 cup green pepper - chopped
- 1/4 onion - Chopped medium size
- 18 pieces pepperoni
- 2 tablespoons premade pizza sauce - I like Ragu Sweet Basil
- 1/2 cup mozzarella shredded
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425 conventional with the pizza stone on a center rack.
- In a large skillet over medium-high heat, add 2 teaspoons oil. Brown the flatbread/tortilla on both sides slightly. You are just firming it up to keep it from falling apart with the sauce and ingredients.
- Spoon on 2 tablespoons pre-made pizza sauce on the crust and spread. I add another ingredient in the following order: sausage, onion, 12 pieces of pepperoni, green pepper, mozzarella, and top off with your last 6 pieces of pepperoni.
- Transfer to the pizza stone. This will cook rapidly for about 10 minutes.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- I generally eat a whole one of these, but some look at is as two servings. So nutrition says two serving on one of these. You can double the number if you consider the whole thing one serving.
- Obviously, nutrition varies completely by ingredients.
- The pizza stone helps a lot.
- Use the flatbread if you can find it. It is thicker and will remind you more of a thin crust pizza.
- I suggest making the ingredients up ahead, but the "crust" will be soggy and fall apart if you try to store a cooked one of these.
Variation: Four Cheese White Chicken Pizza - You should try this one.
Just a change in toppings: Eliminate Italian sausage, green pepper, pepperoni, and pizza sauce. New ingredients:1 tablespoon butter
½ tsp garlic powder
½ cup diced chicken
1-2 oz each of feta, white cheddar, mozzarella, and shredded parmesan
1 Plum tomato - thinly sliced (about 1/4 inch)
Instructions:
1) Melt 1 tablespoon butter and add ½ tsp garlic powder. Spread over the crust like sauce.
2) Now add the topping: ½ cup of diced chicken, thinly sliced plum tomato (about 1/4 inch), 2 oz each of feta, white cheddar, mozzarella, and shredded parmesan.
Check Out Other Great Recipes
Nutrition is generally for one serving. Number of servings is stated above and is my estimate of normal serving size for this recipe.
All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
Originally Published January 5, 2010
Paula Lynch
We are so excited to try this (going to make the oven blackened tilapia tomorrow for first time). We don’t have a pizza some, can we use a cookie sheet? If so, any adjustments needed? Also on conventional oven would we use 450 degrees like on tilapia recipe?
Thank you so much in advance for your assistance. Feel blessed to have come upon your site today in Google search for tilapia, so many things we’re going to try!
DrDan
Yep a cooking sheet will work. I do a lot of higher temperature cooking and have a discussion in the FAQs menu above. Basically I don’t like to go above 425 much so if the recipe calls for 425 convection. Still with 425 conventional and add a bit of time.
DrDan
Paula Lynch
Ok great, ty so much! Will stick @ temp and just add time :) Will check out the FAQ. We enjoyed the oven blackened tilapia tonight!