LOW CARB PIZZA CASSEROLE – GLUTEN FREE & KETO

In the past, I’ve made a few easy keto pizza crusts such as a cauliflower crust, coconut flour pizza crust and a deep dish pan pizza. But I wanted to work on something different this time.

Although I set out to make a casserole with pizza flavor, the end result of the recipe turned out to be more of a low carb pizza made in a casserole dish.

The crust layer is made with a mix of eggs, cream, and a variety of cheeses along with a little garlic and dried oregano seasonings.

The keto pizza needs to be made in a baking dish with sides. The mixture for the gluten free crust is thin and the baking pan needs to contain the liquid.

I used a 9×13 casserole pan, but the recipe could easily be doubled to fit into an 18×26 jelly roll pan for a party sized sheet pizza.

Here at the Wholesome Yum house, we absolutely love pizza night. In fact, we have it for dinner in some form almost every week! For a no crust pizza option, my absolute favorite is this easy keto low carb pizza casserole recipe.

Some people might say that crustless pizza casserole isn’t really pizza. That may be true, but you still get all the flavors you love about it. Sometimes that’s more than enough for me, especially when I’m in a hurry.

Either way, low carb casseroles are among the most common dishes I make for dinner. Making a meal is so much faster and easier when you only have to make one thing! Low carb pizza casserole is one of my favorites. If you’re looking for other options, try chicken cordon bleu casserole, chicken bacon ranch casserole or pesto chicken bake.

Of course, this isn’t to say that keto pizza casserole actually replaces real pizza for us all the time. When we really want a true pizza – with the crust and everything – the coconut flour version of the fathead pizza recipe is our absolute favorite. We alternate that one with a cauliflower pizza crust and a paleo pizza crust, though admittedly we usually top it with cheese, despite the crust being paleo.

INGREDIENTS

• 12 ounces shredded mozzarella cheese
• 2 ounces cream cheese
• 1 2/3 cup (200 g) finely ground blanched almond flour, plus more for sprinkling
• 2 tablespoons (12 g) coconut flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 eggs (100 g, weighed out of shell) at room temperature, beaten
• Toppings of choice (unsweetened tomato sauce, more shredded cheese)

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 350°F. Place a pizza stone or overturned rimmed baking sheet in the oven as it preheats.
2. In a medium saucepan, place the cream cheese and melt over very low heat. Add the mozzarella in two parts, stirring gently until melted and smooth. Add about half of the almond flour, the coconut flour and the baking powder, and stir with a silicone spatula until the melted cheese has absorbed the flours. Add the remaining almond flour and stir to combine. As soon as the ingredients begin to brown in the pan, turn off the heat. Continue to stir and press the dough with the spatula until everything is well-incorporated. If the heat is still on, turn it off. Add the eggs to the dough and mix and press again until the dough is uniform in color and texture.
3. Turn out the dough onto a piece of parchment paper lightly floured with almond flour, and knead until smooth. Divide the dough in half, and set one half aside (cover to prevent it from drying out). Press and roll out the first half of the dough into a 12-inch round, sprinkling the dough lightly with more almond flour when it becomes sticky and rotating the dough frequently. Coax the edges inward toward the center to create an edge to the crust. Pierce all over with the tines of a fork to prevent the dough from puffing up too much in the oven.
4. Place the first round, still on the parchment paper, on top of the pizza stone or overturned baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 6 to 8 minutes or until the dough no longer glistens. Remove the crust from the oven. At this point, the parbaked dough can be cooled completely, covered tightly and frozen for later use. Repeat with the remaining piece of dough.
5. To continue preparing the pizza, top with unsweetened tomato sauce and more shredded cheese, if desired. Return the pizza to the oven and bake until the edges are golden brown and the cheese on top is completely melted (about another 10 minutes). Cool briefly before slicing and serving.