The Best Low Carb Pizza EVER
Low Carb Pizza
The Ultimate “Meat Lovers” Pizza
I LOVE pizza. So much. Which has been a bit of a struggle this last year as I’ve been on a low carb “diet”. (Diet in quotation marks, because it’s more that I’ve change the way I eat rather than a short term change.)
Most people who follow a LCHF diet (Low carb high fat) are familiar with the “fat head pizza” version of a low carb pizza. Which is an incredibly tasty pizza base made mostly out of cheese. I love cheese, but it’s possible to have too much of a good thing. By that I mean cold sweat and nauseous “too much”. What I miss is ripping through half a pizza. I’m okay with feeling a little overly full, but I don’t want to feel like I’m dying from a cheese overdose.
So then I thought what if the base was just meat? What if instead of dough I just flatten out some mince meat and then chuck toppings on it.
Problem. Solved.
And not to brag, but this might have been the most brilliant moment of my life, because it was absolutely delicious. And SO incredibly easy. No faffing about with dough. Just whack some mince on a tray and squash it down. You don’t even have to be limiting your carbs for this to be a good recipe.
Making The Base
So I have been experimenting over the last few weeks with different recipes and methods, but I’ve come to the conclusion that less is more. Less ingredients and less handling.
I tried it with various amounts and combinations eggs, psyllium husk powder and almond meal. Also to knead or not to knead. If you combine the mince and knead it together the base will be tougher and dryer. If you handle it as little as possible it’ll be less stable but melt-in-your-mouth. Given that this pizza is too greasy to pick up and eat with your hands anyway the base having structural integrity isn’t really important. It won’t completely fall apart though.
So just place the mince on a lightly oiled tray. Like you want to still see the meat squiggles.
I use 500 grams of mince when I’m serving between 3 people and about 200 grams for a personal pizza if I’m whipping it up for myself for lunch.
Before:
After:
Done. It doesn’t need to be exact, but I press it down to about 0.5cm-1cm thick.
One other small tip is notice how I’ve left a gap at the sides. That’s for the fat/oil and meat juices to run off. You’ll see why when you see the completed cooked pizza.
But that’s basically it. Now you add whatever toppings you prefer on pizza! I usually use:
- Tomato pizza sauce (I usually use a couple of table spoons of passata)
- Salami slices
- Shredded ham
- Chopped capsicum (red and green for colour)
- Shredded mozzarella
- Chill flakes
- Oregano.
Other ingredients you could try are:
- BBQ sauce
- Mushrooms
- Olives
- Spinach or Rocket leaves
- Feta cheese
- Sliced Cherry Tomatoes
- Pesto
- Onion
- Bacon
- Anchovies – actually I’ve been contemplating a full seafood pizza, something like a “surf and turf” version.
Anything else you like on pizza!
Then just pop it in the oven at 180 degs for about 20 minutes or until the mince is fully cooked and the cheese is golden. (TIP: The thicker the mince is the longer it’ll need to cook through!)
See what I mean about the oil? Even the most hardcore high fat fan as some limits. So just remove the pizza from it’s juices and serve.
Mmmm SO GOOD!
If you try this low carb pizza recipe please let me know! And tell me what toppings you used. I feel like I need to start to mix it up a bit!