My low carb Mozzarella Dough in a How-To video! This versatile fathead pizza dough recipe is so useful, it deserves its own landing page. It makes the best low carb pizza crust but it’s also great for calzones, garlic knots, low carb bagels, and even cinnamon rolls. You won’t believe how good it is.
You know me. I won’t ever claim I came up with a recipe idea on my own when I did not. Sadly, a lot of bloggers do that these days and they never credit their sources of inspiration.
But I am old school and I believe in citing my sources and building strong relationships based on trust. So let me say right off the bat that this is a really good variation of the famous Fathead Pizza dough. I never ever would have come up with using mozzarella cheese as a base for dough on my own. And I am grateful to the Fathead creators, and Tom Naughton of the Fathead Movie, for thinking of it.
How To Make Keto Pizza Dough
Watch me make my version of the famous fathead pizza crust in this instructional video!
Fathead pizza dough is ever evolving stuff, with every blogger putting their own unique spin on it. Mine, which I like to call Magic Mozzarella Dough, is a little sturdier than the original recipe, and uses butter in place of cream cheese, some coconut flour, and a little baking powder to help it rise and puff up a bit.
It’s buttery and rich and even a little flaky. This stuff really is magic and can be used for so many different fun recipes, from savory to sweet. I used it for several recipes in my cookbook, The Everyday Ketogenic Kitchen. Including the delicious Pesto Twists, which were a huge hit with my kids!
But one of the things people miss most when they embark on a keto diet is pizza. It’s the ultimate American comfort food. And the many variations of fathead pizza crust are truly a blessing for all of us.
Here’s how to make the best keto pizza crust with my magic mozzarella dough
- Roll the dough out between pieces of parchment paper to 12 inches (0r use a silicone mat on the bottom)
- Remove the top parchment and roll up the edge a little to create a crust
- Transfer the bottom parchment with the dough on it to a cookie sheet or pizza stone
- Bake at 350F for 10 to 15 minutes, until starting to brown and firm up.
- Remove and top with your favourite toppings and bake again until melted and bubbly.
Tips and Tricks for Nailing Fathead Pizza Dough
But it’s not always the easiest to work with and there are some tricks to getting it right. Let’s go over these, shall we?
- As much as it may go against the keto mantra, you actually want the pre-shredded, part skim mozzarella as it contains some fillers that usually help the dough hold together a little better. But it does NOT have to be the junky kind full of extra starches. I’ve found that the good organic stuff contains vegetable cellulose as an anti-caking agent, and with a little extra almond flour in the mix, it works just as well.
- Use finely ground BLANCHED almond flour. Please please please. Do not use almond meal, which is more coarsely ground and often contains the brown skin of the almond. I had one reader tell me that the dough kept falling apart on her but that she couldn’t imagine that the grind of the almond flour was an issue. BUT IT IS! Because those coarse particles don’t combine with the cheese and butter very well and they don’t absorb enough of the oils to come together like a proper dough. This is the case with ANY low carb baked good. While you can get away with that coarse texture in something like a muffin, it just isn’t going to work in a fine cake or a dough and you will have a crumbly, greasy mess on your hands.
- Keep your heat low at all times. Very low. The lowest it will go. And if you have an electric stove and have a little more difficulty controlling the heat than with gas, you may have to take your pot on and off from the element several times to keep it from getting too hot. You want your butter and cheese to melt together but you never want them to bubble.
- Add the egg last and add it off heat. Because we don’t want it cooking before you have a chance to incorporate it into the dough.
- Knead that sucker, both in the pan and out of the pan. It doesn’t need a lot of kneading (or knead a lot of needing — see what I did there???), but if you do it right after you incorporate the egg and flours, it will hang together much better. I use a rubber spatula to knead it against the sides of the pan after I’ve added the remaining ingredients. Only then, when it comes together, do I turn it out onto a surface, where I knead it a little more until it’s mostly uniform.
- Be ready to adjust. I find that this is actually a very forgiving recipe, if you know how to adjust it. If it comes out of the pan very sticky to the touch, you simply need to sprinkle it with a little more almond flour and knead that in, adding more until it’s not longer sticking to your hands.
There you have it. My tips on how to make the best low carb dough that can be used for everything from pizza to cinnamon rolls. Really, this is remarkable stuff and I hope I’ve given you the confidence to try it and make it work for you!
More recipes that use Keto Pizza Crust
Keto Magic Mozzarella Dough
Ingredients
- 6 ounces pre-shredded part skim mozzarella
- 5 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup blanched almond flour
- ¼ cup coconut flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Sprinkle a clean counter or a large silicone baking mat with almond flour.
- In a large saucepan, melt the cheese and butter together over low heat until they are melted and can be stirred together.
- Remove from heat and add the almond flour, coconut flour, baking powder, garlic powder, and salt. Add the egg and stir everything together until a cohesive forms. Use a rubber spatula to really knead the dough together in the pan. It may still contain some streaks of cheese.
- Turn the dough out onto the prepared work surface and knead until uniform. This will only take a little kneading. If your dough is still very sticky, add a tablespoon or two more almond flour and work it in.
Notes
- Roll the dough out between pieces of parchment paper to 12 inches (0r use a silicone mat on the bottom)
- Remove the top parchment and roll up the edge a little to create a crust
- Transfer the bottom parchment with the dough on it to a cookie sheet or pizza stone
- Bake at 350F for 10 to 15 minutes, until starting to brown and firm up.
- Remove and top with your favourite toppings and bake again until melted and bubbly.
Victoria Sylvestre says
This is the absolute best keto crust I have made. I’ve made the chicken one and fat head from other sites. This is perfection, thank you. When I baked it again with the toppings, I slid it off the baking sheet and cooked it straight on the shelf in the oven (the parchment still underneath) which gave the bottom a crispier feel to it. Plus it’s very filling! Thank you again!
Donna D says
Looks great just made it and sending off to the oven! I did notice that the dough is very greasy. I have made this before with cream cheese but didn’t have any so I substituted the butter and used your recipe. Has anyone else asked about this? I measured everything to exact and weighed my almond flour. Thanks!
Simone says
I think it depends on the type of Mozz cheese. I always use Great Value (Walmart) and I don’t ever have a grease issue. One time they were out and I picked up another brand, one I never heard of and when it melted, I had to pour out the grease. Still couldn’t eat the cheese. It was ruined.
Matthew Clark says
New thought!
I have discovered low carb Pita bread at Walmart!
My thought was to put provolone inside the Pita, Top with pizza ingredients of choice, and bake into a stuffed crust pizza that is richer and low carb!
Susan D says
Living the keto lifestyle for 3 years…. why has it taken me until today to make pizza? So easy, so good thank you so much!
Elaine says
So So GOOD! Followed your recipe to a T, using my Ninja food processor dough blades. Perfect dough, perfect pizza crust, and a truly delightful dinner for us!! Thank you so. much!
Pam Kirsch says
This is by far the most superior recipe for fathead dough that I’ve used yet! Using butter makes it so much better than using cream cheese, in my opinion. My pizza crust was flavorful and was not dry at all. I did brush the edges with a little garlic butter, because that’s how I roll! I will totally use this recipe from now on when I’m in a pizza mood! I can’t wait to use it to make all kinds of yummy “bready” desserts!
Carolyn says
So glad you liked it!
Lori says
Made your Magic Mozzarella Dough from your cookbook for Friday date night. Dang, it was so good !! I made the prosciutto and arugula with red sauce on the crust and I made the mushroom, fontina cheese and fresh sage with alfredo sauce on the crust. Delicious is all hubby and I can say. Having leftovers for lunch today, can’t wait. Thanks Carolyn for another great recipe 🙂
Rosette Sullivan says
What almond flour do you think is the best on the market. And do you think getting supplies at Thrive would be better than on Amazon, as far as what they have available.
Thank you
Rosette
Carolyn says
I always use Bob’s Red Mill, and it’s available at both places.
Shereen Ishag says
Hi there, can I use marble cheese which is cheddar and mozzarella combination?
Carolyn says
No idea, I haven’t tried it.
jb says
Can i use Almond meal instead of almond flour? Thanks
Carolyn says
If it’s not finely ground, you may find it not as nice and smooth.
Pamela Wang says
Hello, I’m newer to Keto and wondered about making calzones or even garbage bread with this. Can you put the toppings on before you roll it up and then bake it all? Or do I have to partially bake it first and then try rolling it? I just don’t want to end up with a doughy mess. Thank you.
Carolyn says
Yes, this can be used for calzones.
Cindy Lightbourne says
Please help. It sticks to the parchment paper
Carolyn says
Then it doesn’t have enough flour in it. Add another tbsp of coconut flour.
Laura says
I miss the yeasty taste is pizza crust. would the addition of nutritional yeast provide that?
Carolyn says
I’d actually add real yeast. It won’t make it rise but will give it the right flavour.
Victoria says
Hello 👋🏻 Can I freeze the dough? Or perhaps it’s better to bake it then freeze it? Or perhaps you don’t recommend freezing it in any state at all? Thanks, Victoria
Carolyn says
You can shape it into a pizza crust and freeze that, but don’t freeze it as a ball. It loses elasticity and hard to work with.
Hoa Nguyen says
My first time making keto pizza and it turns out great with your recipe. My only question is whether I can use a liquid oil like avocado oil to replace the butter. I am just trying to use less dairy fat whenever possible.
Carolyn says
I honestly can’t say how it would fare, but it’s worth a try. I wouldn’t melt it with the cheese, I would add it after the cheese is melted.
Keith says
Just made this recipe and very good. I can usually eat several pieces of pizza easily but this crust is so filling two 1/8th slices was my limit. Gave 4-5 only because I’m reserving 5 for a pizza crust identical to a flour yeast crust. 5-5 may never happen in my opinion. I would say make this crust in lieu of a labor intensive cauliflower crust or a pizza bowl recipe. Looks like pizza, eat it by hand like pizza, just be aware that its very filling and don’t expect to pack in the whole pie with 2 beers and still have room for the game with a bowl of pork rinds. Great Keto option! Wish I could attach a photo of my pie.
-Keith
Carolyn says
Holding out for the perfect pizza… I can dig it!
Kim says
Carolyn – do you think one could add “quick dry yeast” to the recipe to help add a “yeasty” taste?
I adore this recipe….best one out there and I’ve tried 10 different ones! But as good as it is….I miss the “yeasty” taste of pizza crust in my keto recipe. If it were added with only flavor as the intent …. how much would you suggest? Change any other ingredients?
Thanks for the great recipes!!!
Carolyn says
Sure, if you’re just doing it for flavor, go for it!
Kristyn says
What a delicious idea!! I will have to try for our next pizza night! Looks easy & so good!
wilhelmina says
This is such a great an versatile dough! It is so tasty and really satisfied my pizza cravings!
Natalie says
I am so excited to make this!! Love the idea of mozzarella in the dough!! And, low carb…I won’t feel guilty!