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- Last update: January 12, 2021 - Original publication: June 11, 2018
10 Easy Low-Carb Pizza Recipes
That you can enjoy within a low-carb diabetes-friendly diet
I’ve never met anyone who does not love pizzas! Problem is, for us diabetics, these savory delights generally mess up our glucose readings. Pizzas average to around 30g of carbs per slice. That’s a lot, especially if you’re like us and enjoy having a whole Sunday night pizza for yourself!
Most of the carbohydrates in a pizza come from the crust. The idea then is to substitute the traditional crust by a carb-free base layer.
Whether you have diabetes, or you simply follow a low-carb or ketogenic diet, we’ve got 10 of the best low-carb pizza recipes for you to try. They’re all easy to make, and absolutely delicious! At the end of the article, you’ll find a nutrition table that compares the main macronutrients for each of our recipes.
For those who don’t have time to cook, we’ve also worked on the best low-carb pizza crusts and dough mixes you can buy, and the best diabetes-friendly oven-ready low-carb pizzas:
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BEST LOW-CARB PIZZA CRUST RECIPES
These are the most “pizza-like” low-carb recipes, in comparison to the crustless deconstructed pizzas we’ll deal with later. There are tons of low-carb pizza crust recipes on the internet, and they’re not all worth the try. We’ve came up with 6 of them that we think are the best, easiest, and tastiest! If you try them out, please let us know what you think and rate our recipes.
CARB-FREE CAULIFLOWER PIZZA CRUST
Cauliflower pizza crust is a Carb-Free crust you can use to home cook your own pizzas. It’s healthy, carb-free, gluten-free, veto, yummy, and diabetes-friendly! You can then add the toppings of your choice to the crust and enjoy your dream pizza without worrying about your blood sugars!
The Ultimate Guide to Cauliflower Pizza Crusts
The most popular alternative to pizza dough is a great addition to low-carb, kept, and diabetes-friendly diets. Avoid the marketing lies and get yourself the real healthy products!
Ready to bake Cauliflower Pizza Crust
If you don’t have time to home bake your cauliflower pizza crust from scratch, you can also get one ready-to-bake. Cali’flour Foods Pizza Crust is the tastiest one we’ve tried so far. You can choose from 4 different flavours: Plain, Italian, Spicy Jalapeño, and Sweet Red Pepper.
Nutrition per servings – carbs: 1g – calories: 90 – protein: 8g
Servings: 1 Pizza
Equipment
- Oven
- Food processor
- Steamer
Ingredients
CAULIFLOWER PIZZA CRUST
- 1 Head Cauliflower stalk removed
- OR Cauliflower Rice
- 2 Eggs lightly beaten
- 1/2 cup Shredded Mozzarella
- 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
TOPPINGS
- Add whichever toppings you'd fancy! Tomato sauce, cheese, ham, tuna, vegetables, etc...
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Break the cauliflower head into florets and pusle in a food processor until fine.
- Steam the cauliflower florets in a steamer (or a pot) and drain well. Let cool down.
- In a bowl, combine the cauliflower with the mozzarella, parmesan cheese, oregano, salt, garlic powder and lighly beaten eggs.
- Transfer the crust preparation to the center of the baking sheet and spread into a circle in the form of a pizza crust.
- Bake in oven for about 20 minutes.
- Take the crust out of the oven and add toppings of your choice.
- Bake an additional 10 minutes with the toppings on.
- Your low-carb pizza is ready! Serve hot or cold.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
WHOLE WHEAT THIN-CRUST PIZZA DOUGH
This is not a carb-free pizza option, but it is much healthier than white flour pizza crust. Whole wheat is high in fiber, which slow the digestion process down, helping blood sugar levels to keep stable. Whole wheat flour has a much lower Glycemic Index (IG) than white flour. Home-cooking your own pizzas with whole wheat pizza dough is far better than using regular pizza dough. Just take into account that there still are quite a lot of carbs even in whole wheat pizza dough, so try and make the crust as thin as possible!
You can either buy pre-made whole wheat pizza dough mix, ready-to-oven whole wheat pizza crusts, or bake your own whole wheat pizza dough following the recipe below.
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust Mix!
If you’re lacking time, here’s a great whole wheat pizza crust mix. An authentic yeast-leavened pizza crust, made with a special 7-whole-grain blend. All you have to do is mix, let rest for 15 minutes, add your toppings, and bake your pizza!
Whole Wheat Pizza Crust: Ready-to-oven!
And if you’re in a real hurry, this Ultra Thin ready-to-oven whole wheat pizza crust is your fastest choice. Add your toppings and bake for 10 minutes. Ready! Count around 23g of carbs per slice.
Servings: 2 thin-crusted pizzas
Equipment
- Oven
- Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 tsp White Sugar
- 1 ½ cup Warm Water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
- 1 tbsp Active Dry Yeast
- 1 tbsp Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 cups Whole Wheat Flour
- 1 ½ cup All Purpose Flour
Instructions
- Check the instructions here: allrecipes.com!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
EGG WHITE PIZZA CRUST - LOW-CARB & HIGH-PROTEIN
The perfect high-protein / low-carb pizza crust. It’s quick and very easy to make. The crust is made out of egg whites and flavored with Parmesan cheese, oregano, and salt. You can create pretty much any version of it you like, adding your favorite toppings. You’ll need a skillet and an oven! Our best side suggestion to make a totally carb-free meal of it: a mixed salad full of greens and colorful veggies!
Servings: 1 Pizza
Equipment
- Skillet
- Oven Broiler
Ingredients
Pizza Crust
- 4 Egg Whites
- 20 g Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
Toppings
- Add any toppings of your choice Ham, Mushrooms, Veggies, Salmon, Extra-cheese, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven on broiler setting
- In a bowl, whisk the egg whites together with the grated parmesan cheese, a little bit of salt, and a tea spoon of dried oregano
- Pour the mix into a non sticky skillet (use cooking spray for example), and begin cooking over medium heat. Gently lift the edges to tilt the pan several times until there is no liquid left on top.
- TTake it off te heat and place your egg white crust on a parchment lined oven sheet
- Add tomato sauce, mozarella cheese, and any toppings of your choice
- Place under the broiler and bake until the cheese hhas melted and is starying to form a crust (about 5-10 minutes)
- Your egg white low-carb high-protein pizza is ready! Serve hot or cold.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
ALMOND FLOUR LOW-CARB PIZZA CRUST
Using almond flour instead of all-purpose flour to bake your own pizza dough is a smart choice. Almond flour is one of the most interesting flour on the nutritional side. Unlike wheat flour, it is low in carbs and has a very low glycemic index, which makes it particularly adapted to a diabetes-friendly diet. Plus, it’s packed with healthy nutrients and has a slighty sweet taste. Here’s a great easy-to-make recipe for you to try on your next pizza diner. This dough freezes easily for later pizza parties.
Servings: 1 thin crust pizza
Equipment
- Oven
- Large Bowl
Ingredients
For the Pizza Crust
- 2 + 1/2 cups Almond Flour
- 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 2 large Eggs
- 1/4 cup Olive Oil
For the Toppings
- Add any toppings of your choice!
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C/400F.
- Combine all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
- Make a hole in the center of your dry mixture. Pour beaten eggs and olive oil inside the hole. Start forming a dough ball (use a spatula at first and then your own hands).
- Place the dough ball in between 2 sheets of parchment baking paper and start pressing it until it flattens into a disc shape. Use a rolling pin to shape it into a more or less 12" diameter crust The thinner the crust, the better.
- Remove the top parchment paper sheet.
- Slide the pizza crust onto a baking tray keeping the bottom parchement baking sheet. Slide into the oven and pre-bake for about 10-12 minutes until golden and crispy.
- Remove from the oven and add your favorite toppings.
- Bake your almond flour pizza for another 10 minutes. You can add 2-3 minutes of broiler if you want the cheese to brownish.
- Your pizza is ready, enjoy!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
BROCCOLI CRUST DIABETES-FRIENDLY PIZZA
Do you need a sneaky way to have yourself eat extra veggies?? Here it is: a vegetable pizza crust! This totally gluten-free, low-carb pizza will delight your taste buds! The crust is made out of nothing more than fresh broccoli, eggs, and Parmesan cheese. The toppings are for you to choose. We do suggest the classic ham/mozzarella/olives combo. And if you’re vegetarian, some pesto sauce, olives, cherry tomatoes, and fresh basil leaves will be perfect!
Servings: 1 Pizza
Equipment
- Oven
- Microwave
- Plastic Wrap
- Clean Dish Towel
- Colander
Ingredients
- 1 Broccoli Head without the stems
- 2 Eggs
- 1/4 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1 pinch Salt & Pepper
- Any toppings of your choice Tomato sauce, Mozzarella cheese, Ham, Mushroom, Vegetables, Tuna, Salmon, etc.
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F.
- Sred the broccoli into small crumbs. You can use a food processor.
- Add 1/4 cup of water. Cover your bowl with plastic wrap. Mocriwave for about 2 minutes to steam the broccoli.
- Line a colander with a clean dish towel. Put the steamed broccoli crumbs inside, and squeeze out as much moisture as possible.
- In a large bowl, mix your broccoli together with the raw eggs, the grated parmesan cheese, and the seasoning (suggested: oregano, salt & pepper).
- Pour your mixture over a pre-lined baking sheet and shape it into a 1/2 inch thick pizza crust.
- Place in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes until the crust becomes brownish.
- Add your favorite toppings and bake for an additional 10 minutes.
- Your Healthy and diabetes-friendly Broccoli Crust Pizza is ready to be served!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
KETO LOW-CARB FATHEAD MINI-CALZONES
Fathead pizza crust is a completely carb-free, gluten-free, ketogenic diet (low-carb, high-fat diet) pizza crust. It’s made of Mozarella cheese, cream cheese, almond flour (or coconut flour) and eggs. It’s a great recipe to substitute regular high-carb pizza crust, and should not mess up with your blood sugar levels. For a change, we though we’d suggest this mini-calzone pizza recipe, but you can of course make flat pizzas with this dough. For the story behind it, fathead dough was created by Tom Naughton’s oldest brother’s oldest son from the Fat Head movie.
Servings: 8 Mini Calzones
Equipment
- Microwave
- Oven
Ingredients
For the Fathead Pizza Crust
- 3/4 cup Almond Flour
- 1 + 1/2 cup Mozarella Cheese
- 2 tbsp Cream Cheese
- 1 Egg
For the Calzone Mini-Pizzas
- 1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
- 1 cup Ricotta
- 1 cup Sugar Free Tomato Sauce
- 1/2 cup Ham
- Olive Oil
- Kosher Salt
Instructions
For the Fathead Pizza Crust
- Melt the Mozzarella cheese and the Cream Cheese together in a bowl in the microwave.
- Add the almond flour to the melted mix. Add the egg and start mixign the dough. You can use a food processor, it's easier. Otherwise, knead with your hand and squeeze through your fingers until you get a uniform dough.
- Let to rest in the fridge the time you prepare you pizza toppings. Cold fathead dough will then be easier to manipulate.
For the Calzone Mini-Pizzas
- Preheat your oven to 200C/400F.
- Divide your flathead pizza dough into 8 small balls.
- Roll in each ball between 2 baking parchment paper sheet, until flattened into thin circle shape. Remove the top sheet.
- Spread a layer of ricotta cheese mixed with tomato sauce in the center of each circle. Add layers of Mozzarella cheese, then Ham cut into small pieces.
- Fold the calzones. If you're struggling, watch the video from Fabioulous Pizza showing you how to fill and fold a Calzonne! Or use a magical dough press like this one.
- Brush the top of each Calzonne with a bit of olive oil.
- Bake into oven for about 10-12 minutes. Ready!
Video
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
BEST CRUSTLESS PIZZA RECIPES
Now, for the most adventurous among us: crustless deconstructed pizzas! We thought, instead of trying and bake carb-free pizza crusts, why not take the hassle away and make crustless pizzas? If you’d like to try (it’s actually delicious and quite surprisingly pizza tasting!), here are 4 great easy recipes:
CRUSTLESS PIZZA BOWL - Easy & diabetes-friendly!
Pizza bowl is the new healthy pizza trend, and it’s about time you tried it too! A pizza bowl is kind of like a pizza casserole: a crustless pizza. The idea behind it: enjoy the taste of pizza while avoiding the unnecessary carbs. Oven-cooked into ramekins, you can imagine hundreds of pizza bowls varieties, mixing your favourite pizza toppings and creating your own recipes. Home-cook pizza bowl is extremely easy, creative, and much healthier than regular pizza.
Servings: 4 Pizza bowls
Equipment
- Oven
- Skillet
Ingredients
- 2 Smoked Sausages
- 1 cup Sliced Mushrooms
- 2 cups Shredded Mozzarella
- 2 cups Sugar-free Tomato Sauce
- 2 tbsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
- Red Pepper Flakes To taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven on broiler mode.
- In a skillet, cook the smoked sausages cut into small pieces for about 5 minutes over medium heat.
- Set the sausages aside, and cook the mushrooms into the same skillet.
- Divide the sausages and mushrooms at the bottom of 4 ramekins.
- Add a layer of Mozzarella chheese and another layer of tomato sauce.
- Top with grated Parmesan cheese and red pepper flakes.
- Place into oven under the broiler until the cheese gets brown and the pizza bowls are bubbling.
- Your pizza bowls are ready! Serve warm.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
CARB-FREE CHEESY CHICKEN PIZZA CASSEROLE
Like pizza bowl, pizza casserole is a crustless way to cook pizza and save ourselves from the high-carb crust. It’s oven-cooked in a casserole dish, quite easy to make, and delights the whole family. Kids usually love it! You can decline this base recipe into hundreds of personalised ones. Simply follow the same principle: pre-cook row ingredients into a skillet first, and then add different layers of your favourite toppings into a casserole dish. Put into oven, broil a bit, and serve! It can easily be frozen so you can prep your week meals in advance.
Servings: 6 servings
Equipment
- Casserole Dish
- Skillet
- Oven
Ingredients
- 4 Chicken Breasts
- 20 oz Sugar Free Tomato Sauce
- 1/2 Green Pepper
- 2 cups Mozzarella Cheese
- 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 10 slices Pepperoni
- 1 small can Sliced Black Olives
- Olive Oil
- 1 tsp Basil
- 1 tsp Garlic Powder
- 1/2 tsp Onion Powder
- 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- Red Pepper Flakes To taste
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200C/400F.
- Spray your casserole dish (around 9*13 inch) with a non-sticky spray, olive oil, or vegetale oil.
- Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized cubes and place them in a bowl for marinade. Add a bit of olive oil, and the spices mixed together (basil, garlic powder, onion powder, italian seasoning, and salt). Mix well so the chicken gets well coated. Let rest for about 10 minutes.
- Cook the marinaded chicken cubes in a large skillet over high heat until they get browned.
- Scoop the chicken out of the skillet and spread it evenly onto the bottom of your casserole dish.
- Add a layer to sugar-free tomato sauce over the chicken. Then a layer of green pepper cut into real small pieces, and a layer of Mozzarella cheese.
- Sprinkle Grated Parmesan cheese all over.
- Top with Pepperonni slices and sliced black olives.
- Sprinkle with red pepper flakes to taste.
- Bake for about 15 minutes into preheated oven.
- Broil for 3-4 minutes until the cheese starts bubbling and turning brownish.
- Let sit for 5 minutes before serving!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
MEATZA: THE MEAT-CRUST CRAZY KETO PIZZA!
This one’s for the meat-lovers among us! Enjoy this zero carb keto pizza whose crust has been substituted by … succulent cooked MEAT! Not a big fan of beef? You can find plenty of Meatza Recipes with alternative crusts made out of chicken or turkey for example. The chicken one from FastPaleo is really easy and tasty. Yummy!
Servings: 1 Pizza
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 tsp Caraway Seeds optional
- 1 tsp Dried Oregano
- 1 tsp Garlic Salt
- 1 tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
- 2 pounds Extra Lean Ground Beef
- 2 Eggs
- 1/2 cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
- 12 ounce Shredded Mozzarella Chesse
- 1 cup Sugar-free Tomato Sauce
- 3.5 ounce Sliced Pepperoni
Instructions
- View video for instructions!
Video
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
MINI EGGPLANT LOW-CARB PIZZAS
For these deliciously healthy mini low-carb pizzas, we substitute the usual carb-filled pizza crust with fresh eggplant slices. They’re almost completely carb-free, gluten-free, vegetarian, and full of flavor. You can follow our directions below, but don’t forget to let your imagination lead you: you can add pretty much whatever toppings you feel like! Ideal as bite-sized appetizers.
Servings: 8 mini-pizzas
Equipment
- Oven
Ingredients
- 1 large Eggplant
- 1 small can Sugar free tomato sauce
- 8 Cherry tomatoes
- 1 Mozzarella Ball
- 2 Slices of Ham Optional
- Olive Oil
- Fresh Basile
- Dried Oregano
Instructions
- Preheat you oven to 180°C.
- Wash the eggplany and slice it into eight discs of about 1 cm thickness each, then lay them out on a baking tray covered in parchment paper.
- Drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with a dash of salt and a few sprigs of dried oregano.
- Slide the tray into the oven for 20 minutes.
- While it's in the oven, cut the cherry tomatoes in half and the mozzarella in small chunks. If you'd like to add ham, cut up small squares of white ham slices.
- Take the eggplant disks out of the oven. Drop a spoonful of tomato sauce over each disk, add the ham squares, place two pieces of the halved cherry tomatoes belly-up, and top off with the small mozzarella chunks.
- Slide them back into the oven for about ten minutes or until the cheese has melted, and finish off with two minutes on the grill function until they've browned slightly, all while keeping a close eye on them!
- Take them out of the oven and adorn each with one or two fresh basil leaves.
- Savor your mini-eggplant pizzas while they're hot!
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
MORE ABOUT DIABETES AND PIZZAS
Low-carb Pizza Recipes - Comparative nutrition table!
To help you choose and see the bigger picture among all the above low-carb pizza recipes, we’ve put together the following simple yet useful nutrition table that compares the main macronutrients in each recipes.
Content is grossly graduated with an either low – medium – or high level. It gives you an idea of what you have on your plate, so you can choose accordingly the right toppings in order to balance out and reach a perfectly healthy meal.
Calories | Carbs | Fats | Proteins | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Medium | Low | Medium | Medium | |
High | High | Low | Low | |
Low | Low | Low | High | |
High | Low | High | High | |
Low | Low | Low | Medium | |
High | Low | High | Medium | |
Medium | Low | Medium | Medium | |
Medium | Low | Medium | Medium | |
High | Low | High | High | |
Low | Low | Low | Medium |
Can diabetics eat "normal" Pizza?
It’s a question that often comes back among people living with diabetes. Can we actually eat pizza? Of course! A diabetes-friendly diet is absolutely not about depriving yourself of things you like. Rather, it’s all about balancing out your diet, your lifestyle, and your personal tastes. If you like pizza, you should eat pizza. BUT, you should be aware of what it contains, and especially of its (very) high level of carbohydrates, so that you can balance out the rest of your meal.
Pizza can actually be a good choice, even for people with type 2 diabetes. Just be careful to get a “thin crust” pizza (remember that most of the carbs are contained in the crust – the thinner the crust, the lesser the carbs!). And think about ordering only one slice and pairing it with a side salad or some greens in order to balance your meal and keep your blood sugar levels under control.
Pizza can be a smart choice, even for people with diabetes, if it is thin-crust and paired with a side salad or some greens.
How many carbs really are there in a slice of pizza?
There’s no way we could give you an exact number, and people who do are lying to you. The exact amount of carbs in a pizza depends on many things.
The first one is the crust thickness and density. Most of the pizza carbs are in the crust, which is kind of like bread. The thicker the crust, the higher the carbs, and vice versa.
Then, little things add up like the sugars that may contain the tomato sauce, or any other toppings that are added (definitely try to avoid high-carb toppings such as barbecue sauce, potatoes, pineapple, etc.)
If you need numbers, you can refer to this comparison table below. It gives you an idea of pizza carb counts depending on the crust thickness. But take it as an “indicator” only.
Pizza carb counting per slice
| Thin-crust | Regular crust | Thick crust | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Average Carb per slice (110g) |
20g |
30g |
45g |
How to choose healthy & diabetes-friendly pizza toppings?
You can perfectly make a healthy diabetes-friendly meal out of pizza if you choose the right toppings and pair it with a side salad or some greens.
First of all, use a sugar-free tomato sauce for your pizzas. Ready-to-use industrial tomato sauces are generally packed with added sugars. Here’s a list of easy to find sugar-free tomato sauces that go well with pizza.
Avoid high-carb pizza toppings such as: potatoes, barbecue sauce, pineapple, beans, sweet corn, honey sauce, etc.
Prefer vegetable toppings such as: avocado, zucchinis capers, capicolla, cherry tomatoes, dried tomatoes, eggplant, mushrooms, peppers, olives, onions, etc.
Limit high-fat pizza toppings such as: extra cheese, creamy sauces, bacon, sausages, extra pepperoni, high-fat meat, etc.
Choose a lower-fat cheese: avoid cheddar and high-fat grated industrial cheeses. Prefer Mozzarella, Parmesan, Goat cheese, blue cheese, etc. They have a much lower fat content.
Try different sauces options such as: sugar-free tomato sauce, Italian basil pesto, olive tapenade, roasted pepper spread, or others. They’re much healthier and will make surprisingly original pizzas.
Prefer low-fat high-protein meats and fishes: chicken, turkey, egg, tuna, salmon, anchovies, seafood in general, etc.
Try nuts toppings for a change: almonds and walnuts deliciously pair with goat cheese for example.
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About the author
I’m Laura. Type 1 diabetic. Mother. Traveler. Writer. Researcher. I started this blog 5 years ago to investigate diabetes-related topics and share different views on the subject. I hope you find it useful!
