Zucchini Crust Low Carb Pizza Recipe
After trying and tweaking several zucchini crust pizza recipes, I was finally able to create a version I love. Not only do I love this pizza, but it’s a huge hit with the rest of my family as well. It takes a little time to make, but it is oh so worth it!
Here are the stars of the show: zucchini, almond flour, oat fiber (not pictured), shredded cheddar cheese, garlic, Italian seasoning, eggs, salt, Homemade Salsa (I’ll share that recipe soon!), Roma tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella balls.
Note: If you don’t have oat fiber, you can use more almond flour instead. The oat fiber is higher in dietary fiber and lower in calories, so it helps keep the total carb count lower in this recipe as well as reducing the calories a bit.
Start by shredding the zucchini and place it into a large bowl.
Don’t skip this step! Add some salt to your zucchini. The salt will help draw excess moisture out of the zucchini so you’ll end up with a nice, not soggy crust.
Put a generous amount of salt on the shredded zucchini and mix it around. I use my hands to make sure the salt is distributed well. Let the zucchini sit for about 15 minutes. While you’re waiting you can mince your garlic, beat the eggs, measure out your almond flour, oat fiber, shredded cheese, and Italian seasoning.
Look what happens to the zucchini after it sits for a while! You can now drain off all that excess moisture easily.
But…we want to get even more moisture out of our zucchini. Place 4 paper towels on your counter as shown above. You can use cheesecloth instead of paper towels if you wish. After draining off all the moisture you can from the bowl, place the zucchini shreds in the center of the paper towels.
Pull the corners of the paper towels up to the top enclosing the zucchini. Pick up your covered zucchini and hold it over a sink. Squeeze gently but firmly. You want to squeeze hard enough to get as much moisture out as possible without breaking the paper towels in the process.
Open up your “dry-as-you-can-get-it” shredded zucchini. Place it into a clean, dry bowl.
Add in the Almond Flour, Oat Fiber, shredded cheese, beaten eggs, garlic and Italian Seasoning. Then mix well.
Place the zucchini mixture on a parchment lined pizza pan. Evenly flatten it out to about 1/4 of an inch thickness.
Pinch up the edges all around to form a crust edge.
Place the crust into a preheated 550 degree oven for 10-12 minutes. Take it out when it is firm and lightly browned. Do not overcook at this point. You’ll cook it a little more after adding toppings.
To add a little extra flavor, I like to use salsa instead of regular pizza sauce as a base for this pizza. You can use homemade salsa or your favorite out of a jar. Place the salsa into a blender and puree. Then spread the sauce over your crust.
Next is a layer of sliced Roma tomatoes. I love how these come out after being cooked under the broiler!
Place the fresh mozzarella balls around your pizza. Then sprinkle on a little more Italian seasoning. I was out of fresh basil or I would have added that, instead. You can add any seasoning or herb you like at this point to finish it off. Get creative!
Place the pizza back into your preheated 550 degree oven for 5-8 minutes. After that, turn your broiler on high and cook an additional 2-5 minutes. You want your tomatoes to start looking a little shriveled but you don’t want your crust to burn. Keep an eye on it at this point.
Look at this amazing crust! Allow it to cool slightly, then enjoy!
You can reheat leftovers in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes. It is just as good the next day. 🙂
Zucchini Crust Low Carb Pizza
Ingredients
- 4 Zucchini shredded (med to large size)
- 1 c Cheddar Cheese shredded
- 1/4 c Almond Flour
- 1/2 c Oat Fiber
- 2 cloves Garlic minced
- 2 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 2 Eggs beaten
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 c Salsa homemade or store bought
- 3 Roma Tomatoes sliced
- 16 Fresh Mozzarella Balls small snack size
Instructions
- Cut the ends off of the zucchini then shred them into a large bowl.
- Sprinkle the shredded zucchini generously with salt and let stand for 15 minutes. The salt will help extract some of the moisture from the zucchini.
- While the zucchini sits, mince the garlic, beat the eggs and measure out the almond flour, oat fiber, shredded cheese and Italian seasoning.
- After 15 minutes, pour off all the liquid from the zucchini. Press it down in the bowl with a spoon or your hand to squeeze out all the liquid you can, then drain off more liquid.
- Place 4 paper towels on the counter, then place the shredded zucchini on top of them. Gather up the ends of the paper towels to make a ball shape. Gently but firmly, squeeze the paper towel covered zucchini over your sink. Continue to squeeze and remove as much moisture as you can. Carefully unfold the paper towels and place shredded zucchini back into a dried bowl.
- Add in garlic, shredded cheese, almond flour, oat fiber, Italian seasoning, and beaten eggs. Mix well to incorporate all ingredients.
- Line a pizza pan with parchment paper then place zucchini mixture on top. Spread the zucchini mixture out into a circular shape about 1/4 inch thick. Form a slightly raised edge to make your crust.
- Place crust into a 550 degree oven for 10-12 minutes until firm and lightly browned. Do not overcook at this point. You'll be cooking the pizza more after adding the toppings.
- Place salsa into a bullet mixer or blender and puree. Spread salsa over your pizza crust.
- Arrange sliced Roma tomatoes atop the sauce layer.
- Add a layer of mozzarella balls.
- Put pizza back into 550 degree oven for 5-8 minutes. Then broil on high for an additional 2-5 minutes. Watch carefully to avoid burning.
What is oat fiber?
Hi, Yvonne!
Oat Fiber is a magical ingredient that has zero net carbs. It is a really fluffy and light flour. I purchase mine on Amazon (http://amzn.to/2hcTMNw). It is best when mixed with other flours as recommended in this recipe. Hope that helps!
~Melisha