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My fathead pizza dough recipe has four ingredients, making the perfect light, fluffy, and crisp low-carb pizza crust. It tastes like the real deal, only 2 grams of carbs per serving! Use the dough for pizzas, or use it to make calzones, breads, baked goods, and more.
Why you need to make my fathead pizza dough
I typically make my keto pizza or cloud bread pizza when I crave pizza while following a low-carb diet. I’ve always wanted a mix of the two, which is where this fathead pizza dough was born!
If you aren’t familiar with fathead dough, it’s a simple, low-carb dough made with almond flour and mozzarella cheese. It’s mild flavored, so you won’t even know there’s cheese in it. It’s most popular as pizza dough but is super versatile for other baked goods, too—I’ve made cinnamon rolls, pretzels, and even bagels with it.
This fathead pizza dough is easy to make and comes together quickly. I tested the dough with different cheeses and flour combinations to yield a super pliable dough that, once baked, produces a chewy pizza crust with a fluffy center. My family can’t tell the difference from a traditional pizza crust!
If you want to try some other keto pizzas, try my chicken crust pizza, crustless pizza, and cauliflower pizza crust next.
Key Ingredients
- Almond flour. I always use blanched almond flour over almond meal. I find flour gives the dough a lighter color and makes for crispier edges, while almond meal makes the dough a little more dense.
- Mozzarella cheese. I prefer pre-shredded mozzarella cheese, not from a block, since it’s sturdier and makes for a malleable dough. I don’t recommend using other cheeses since they won’t have as mild a flavor, and you don’t want the crust to detract from the toppings.
- Greek yogurt. I used plain Greek yogurt since it’s thick, but plain yogurt will also work, or you can use sour cream or softened cream cheese.
- Egg. Room-temperature eggs are best, since we’ll be whisking it into the warm cheese.
How to make fathead pizza dough
This is an overview with step-by-step photos. Full ingredients & instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step 1– Combine the cheese and yogurt in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave until the cheese has melted. Whisk to combine.
Step 2- Add the melted cheese mixture to the almond flour. Add the egg and mix to combine.
Step 3- Using your hands, knead the dough until smooth and form a ball. Roll the dough into a 10 to 12-inch pizza.
Step 4- Add toppings and bake for 10-12 minutes or until the topping is crispy.
Recipe tips for success
- Knead while warm. This is the opposite of most dough recipes, but this one works best when you knead it while it’s still warm. It’s easier to mix and becomes less greasy than when at room temperature or chilled.
- Don’t roll out the dough too thin. If you do, the crust will turn golden brown around the edges before the pizza toppings are cooked. Aim for 1/2 an inch.
- To prevent a sticky dough, lightly dust your hands with almond flour or olive oil. I find this is the best method to work with the dough without it sticking to your fingers.
Storage and make-ahead tips
To store: Leftover fathead pizza dough can be stored like any dough, whether baked or unbaked. Keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Make the dough in advance. This dough freezes just as well as regular pizza dough. I usually make a double batch and store the uncooked dough in a freezer-safe container. Let it thaw overnight in the fridge before rolling it out and baking.
Fathead Pizza Dough
Video
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup almond flour
- 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese low-moisture pre-shredded cheese
- 2 tablespoon plain yogurt
- 1 large egg
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
- Add the almond flour to a large mixing bowl and set aside. In a microwave-safe bowl, combine the shredded cheese and yogurt and microwave until the cheese has melted. Whisk well until combined.
- Add the melted cheese mixture to the almond flour. Add the egg and mix well until combined. Using your hands, knead the dough until smooth. Form a ball of dough.
- Place a piece of parchment on a kitchen surface. Place the ball of dough on the parchment paper and place another piece of parchment paper on top. Roll out the dough into a circular shape, around 10 to 12 inches in length.
- Transfer the pizza crust onto a baking sheet. Top with toppings of choice and bake for 10-12 minutes, until the toppings have cooked and cheese has melted.
Notes
- Cheese. Low-moisture mozzarella cheese works best for a pliable and mild flavored dough. I recommend the pre-shredded kind versus shredded your own cheese.
- Flour. Only use almond flour, please. It will not work with coconut flour or keto flour blends.
- Storage. Leftovers keep well in the fridge for up to 5 days. You can freeze either the unbaked dough or slices of the cooked pizza.
Nutrition
Frequently asked questions
The intriguing name comes from the 2009 film ‘Fat Head’, in which it is introduced as a keto-friendly pizza base.
I don’t recommend it. I tested the dough using it, and no combination resulted in a dough that was achieved using almond flour.
Yes, you can! Wrap the leftover dough in plastic wrap and store it in a freezer-safe container or ziplock for up to 3 months. Just make sure there are no air pockets.
My kid loved his pizza. Easy to make and turns out really good.
Made 3 of these for a weekend dinner for the family so we all had lunch for the next day too. The dough is amazing and so easy to shape! Added different toppings to each pizza per request using Rao’s pizza sauce as the base. Each pizza was delicious and it was so awesome tasting something that seemed like we ordered, but was actually keto. This is definitely a recipe in the meal rotation, and we are going to try it for different options as well. Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Finally got my pizza fix! I made a mess with the parchment paper though. Still learning 😁
Delicious.
This was so easy to preapre and I did. I honestly never eat sausages as like cooking meat. But I made for my father. He was delighted.
Easy to make and delicious. I tried rolling the dough, but it was immediately too thin, and scraped it off the parchment and then used my fingers to spread it in the shape needed. It baked up wonderfully.
This is the first keto pizza base I’ve had real success with, I did supplement the egg for flaxseed egg due to allergies but it seemed to work a treat. So happy to finally have a go to pizza recipe !
THANK YOU FOR HELPING ME OUT
can you use an egg replacement. pat
Different dough for pizza yes. Almonds flour. Interesting.
I make this almost every week. I use a tortilla press to make the pizza crust perfectly round with an even thickness. We bake the crust first, then top it and stick it back in the oven to finish. Thank you so much for this recipe
So made the pizza and boy was it delicious. Better than Domino’s . Thank you. 👏👏
😀 Love that!
So fast, easy and flavorful. Even my carb loving husband really enjoys it!
So easy it’s unreal how easy.
Haha, love that Connie!
I tripled the recipe and it turn out Fantastic. I did cook the dough first then added the toppings. Thanks well done❣️
I thought I had found my “forever” pizza dough recipe with your Keto pizza dough, but this fathead recipe is spectacular. I am going to try more of your recipes. Thank you.
Please do, Dorothea 🙂
CAN YOU SUB THE EGG FOR A FLAX OR CHIA EGG
Haven’t tried but you are welcome to experiment and see!
What is one serving? One quarter of the pizza or? Sounds delicious, can’t wait to try it!
This was delicious! I pre-baked the crust for 5 minutes and then added toppings. I then baked it for 10 more minutes at 400 degrees. Yum! Thanks for the recipe!
Great idea, to use yogurt instead of cream cheese in a fathead dough! Love the way you think out of the box in creating your recipes. Thanks, Arman.
Can any other flour be used?
sunflower seed flour should work.
Could muenster cheese be substituted for mozz?
Love this recipe by the way!
I just made this and do not have a microwave either. I put the cheese and yogurt in a ramekin in the oven on 350 for about 3 minutes. Hope this helps!
Don’t have microwave. So I’m wondering how to melt a mozzarela cheese?Any sugestion? Would it be ok in a bowl placed over the hot water?
I think that would be the best option, do not use a saucepan.
Can you just cook the bases without the topping and then freeze them?
Yes! 🙂 I do that often, especially with this base too- https://thebigmansworld.com/keto-pizza/
If using cream cheese instead of Greek yogurt, how much should you use? Thanks!
Hi Aaron- use the same amount, they have a similar texture and it will make the crust even more tender 🙂
Hi there,
Are the nutritional values only for the dough? Or does this include your toppings?
Thanks
For the dough only.