Keto-Friendly Cast Iron Pizza Crust
I’ll be honest. My first attempts at low carb cast iron pizza were partially driven by laziness. The traditional low carb “Fathead” pizza crust recipe isn’t that hard to make, but sometimes I don’t feel like dealing with the hassle of rolling out the crust and trying to make it look like an actual pizza. I already had a cast iron pan on hand, and I figured that would let me get an actually circular pizza without having to break out the parchment paper and rolling pin (and do all the extra clean up after).
There was also another added bonus: pizza baked in a cast iron pan just looks good. It sounds superficial (and it mostly is!) but something about slicing a pizza in a cast iron pan just feels fancy. It balances out with my totally non-fancy technique for actually spreading the dough in the pan, which mainly involves using my fist to flatten it.
In the process of playing around with this low carb cast iron pizza crust recipe, I also discovered the greatest benefit of all: the crust itself! I don’t know if it’s the way the cast iron distributes the heat or what, but the look and texture comes out far more like “real” pizza than when I just use low carb dough on parchment paper. The cooking time is a little longer with this recipe, but I think it’s worth it.
Cast Iron Low Carb Pizza Crust
There’s just something about baking in a cast iron skillet that adds a little special “oomph” to a pizza crust. This recipe results in a golden brown keto pizza crust that stands up to all the cheese, meat, and veggie toppings you could need.
- Prep Time: 10m
- Cook Time: 50m
- Total Time: 1h
- Serves: 6
- Yield: 1 pizza
Ingredients
- 5 ounces (~140g) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 ounce (~28g) shredded cheddar cheese
- 1 ounce (~28g) cream cheese
- 3/4 cup (~85g) finely ground almond flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon psyllium husk powder
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
- other seasonings (garlic, fennel, etc.) to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300F. In a microwave safe bowl, combine shredded cheese, cream cheese, and spices.
- Microwave cheese mixture for about 90 seconds, or until melted. Stir to combine.
- Add remaining ingredients and combine well, then microwave for an additional 10-15 seconds to ensure the dough is still pliable.
- Turn dough into the center of a well greased cast iron skillet, and use your hands to gently spread it to the edges of the pan. You can add a sprinkle of coconut or almond flour to prevent the dough from sticking and make it easier to spread. Using a fork, lightly poke holes in the surface of the dough to prevent bubbles from forming.
- Bake the crust in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Use a spatula to gently lift the crust from the skillet and flip it over to the other side. If the center is sticking to the pan, it may need another 2-3 minutes in the oven.
- Raise oven temperature to 500F. While it heats, top your pizza! The crust is pretty sturdy, so you can be generous with your meats, veggies, and cheeses. Just make sure that any meats are cooked first!
- Return your pizza to the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and lightly browned. Allow to cool for 2-3 minutes before slicing.
Psyllium husk powder is probably not sold at your local grocery store, but it’s easily available from Amazon and might be worth investing in if you do a lot of low carb baking. If you don’t have any on hand, it’s probably safe to leave it out although I definitely think it helps the texture.
Other tips:
- Grease your pan well! I usually use olive oil plus a bit of bacon fat.
- If any of your toppings need to be cooked, the perfect time to do it is while the crust is baking for the first time.
- This low carb pizza crust reheats well in the oven or microwave without getting soggy.
Just made it, and it came out Amazing!!!! Thank you so much :). The cast iron does help make it look more attractive haha
Doing this tonight!!
Do you have the nutritional content of this crust? Particularly carb content?
I’ll add it later today 🙂
Thank you! My son is Type 1 diabetic and I am always looking for yummy recipes for him!
I plugged the recipe into the tool on MyFitnessPal and got this information:
6 servings
Calories: 208 | Fat: 15g | Carbs: 6g | Fiber: 3g | Protein: 13g
We made the pizza a few days ago and are making it again tonight. OMG it was so good it felt like we were cheating LoL. I just added some extra seasonings and stacked it with toppings. Thanks so much for this hidden gem! Cooking our own low carb pizza that didn’t taste like cardboard was so fulfilling…
We didn’t want to pay a fortune for the psyllium husk powder so we bought the 100% Psyllium Husk capsules which were only 4 bucks then just broke them open. This saved us like 15 bucks LoL
Haha, that’s one way to do it! I still think it’s worth spending the 5-10 bucks if you’re going to do low carb baking regularly though. Some recipes will use multiple tablespoons, and you probably wouldn’t want to open dozens of pills.
you can find cheap psyllium husk at indian grocery stores. It is sold by the name Isabgol. It is a green color box.
Thank you for this tip!!
Some psyllium husk powder can turn your baked items purple. They still taste good but be aware this can happen. I ended up with purplish Keto dinner rolls. Lol!
Where did you get the capsules?
Thank you for posting these recipes. I just started and need all ideas.
What size skillet?
Anything in the 10-12 inch range should suffice. I believe mine is 10.5″.
I am so excited to try this. My best friend is visiting for a week and we generally fail low carb lifestyle miserably during visits. I’m thinking ahead this time! THANK YOU!
Thank you!!!! I love this! now I can make pizza when my husband makes his frozen ones! And I love the thicker crust!
Can I make a larger batch and freeze it to make later?
You could try freezing the crusts after the initial prebake, but I personally haven’t frozen them.
It’s been about 2 months of me being back on the keto train and let me tell you how happy I am to come across this recipe. By far the BEST pizza I’ve found. I’ve now made this 5 times in the past 3 weeks and when I asked my teenage kids what they wanted for dinner tonight, guess their answer?! Yep. HOMERUN!!!
That’s awesome to hear! So glad you and your kids enjoy it 🙂
This looks fantastic and I cannot wait to try it, but I only have stainless steel pans. would they work for this?
I haven’t tried this with stainless steel. It should work, but you’ll probably need to grease the pan well to prevent sticking.
This is amazing!! We love pizza and honestly, this is better than a wheat crust! Made it exactly as specified.
Buying a cast iron skillet tomorrow.
I’ve been keto for a month now and have been craving pizza hardcore.
This recipe is awesome. It feels like I am cheating on the diet. The crust us even “crusty”.
Thanks!
Any chance I could make this with coconut flour instead of the almond flour? Just found out I’m allergic to almonds!?!?!
Unfortunately, almond and coconut flours don’t usually substitute for each other. Flax meal or another nut flour might work, but it would probably change the flavor.
Hi,
Is there any way to bulk prepare and freeze the base and just add toppings when one is want it?
So partially bake it or….? Your advice would be much appreciated.
I would try fully prebaking the crust (everything prior to upping the oven temp and adding toppings) before freezing. Then you can add the toppings and bake as instructed when you’re ready to eat it. I haven’t tried it personally, so I hope you share your results if you do!
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we really enjoyed this recipe – much better than any other keto pizza recipe we tried. however, we had to make some slight changes.
I had better luck using 2 eggs
it also came out better when we stretched it out thinner on a cookie sheet, and pre-baked for only 10-15 minutes before flipping – otherwise, the edges were overcooked
Also, I advise on greasing the pan VERY well.
Hello! I don’t see where the mozzarella gets added. Is this mixed with the initial melting of the cheddar and cream cheese? Or is that the cheese that tops the pizza? It’s early, and maybe I just overlooked the intrustion. 🙂 Thanks!
It goes in with the cheddar and cream cheese 🙂
This recipe is awesome. I was tired of cauliflower crust
I have a mini cast iron pan I’m going to try this in. I’m figuring I can probably get two personal size pizzas out of it.
Love this recipe. The first time I made it I forgot the egg. We loved it and now I don’t put in an egg.
My hubby is not keto, but wants this pizza instead of any others.
We put sliced Colby cheese on th crust.
Thank you so much for this recipe?
That’s awesome, thanks for sharing!
Just curious what you used for a tomato sauce?? Any recommendations for a good one?
Thanks !!
I usually use Rao’s, but there are quite a few low carb options now thankfully. I have a little garden too, so sometimes I just make my own with fresh tomatoes and herbs.
Just made this pizza exactly as stated. It is now my go to pizza recipe. Thanks for the recipe. Wonderfully delicous!
Made this and it came out great !
I made this tonight and it was amazing! Crisp crust, perfect texture. I didn’t have the psyllium husk but I’m not sure it mattered. Topped with a little marinara, bacon and green onions. Thank goodness for being able to have pizza again!! Thank you!!
Best pizza crust recipe ever!!!! I have used it to make meat lovers, Canadian bacon, pepperoni with black olives and chicken bacon ranch.
Thanks?
Where has this been all my life?!? This crust is delicious ❤️
I just went through all my Keto Pizza Crust recipes and threw them out. This is just fantastic! Thank you so much! Pizza lives again !!!!!?
Great recipie! I actually use a flour of equal part of coconut and arrowroot flour for the crust. Works great!
This was a fantastic recipe. I’ve made fathead pizza dough before and find it the best tasting for keto style pizza and bagels! The cast iron is a very nice “lazy” spin on keto pizza. Thanks so much for sharing