How To Make Fathead Dough (Even Without A Microwave)

Can be made with almond flour or coconut flour EVEN WITHOUT a microwave PLUS 16 keto recipes to use it.

The basic fathead dough is a gluten-free, low-carb, and keto dough recipe and can be used to make a standard crispy keto fathead pizza crust, bagels, breadsticks, crackers, and even cheesy keto garlic bread.

Learning how to make the incredibly versatile keto dough will make dinner time so much easier and tastier. Discover exactly which low-carb flour to use, which cheese to use, what to do if your dough is too dry or if it’s too sticky. PLUS a variety of quick and easy keto recipes to enjoy.

This is the supreme guide to learning everything you ever wanted to know about making fathead dough, and the best ways to use it in your low-carb diet.

What is fathead dough (mozzarella dough)?

The basic fathead dough recipe is made with 4 simple ingredients: shredded mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, low-carb flour (such as almond flour or coconut flour), and an egg.

It is versatile and can be used for savory recipes or sweet recipes that can all be enjoyed on a low carb diet. It can be baked crispy or soft. You can make fathead bagels, pie crusts, crackers, rolls, buns, pizza, pancakes, tortillas, and garlic bread.

It is one of the first low-carb recipes you need to learn on your keto diet because it’s quick, easy, and can be used in so many ways.

What is Fathead pizza?

Fathead pizza is a keto low carb pizza crust recipe that is low in carbs, high in protein, and moderate to high fat.

It is cooked and served exactly the same as a traditional pizza, with a tomato paste sauce, toppings, cheese, and deli meat. It can be cooked like a thin pizza crust or a deep-dish pizza crust.

Unlike a traditional pizza dough, it is incredibly filling and you will only be able to eat 1 or 2 slices. This is one of the benefits of a low-carb diet or keto diet. You begin to fill up on low-carb high-protein foods that keep you satiated and so you end up eating less food, your appetite will reduce and you will naturally eat fewer calories in the long run.

When you compare the nutrition of a regular pizza with a keto pizza you will immediately notice how much lower in carbs each slice is. It’s higher protein to keep you full, but you may be worried about the fat and calories.

Remember, you will only be able to eat 1 or 2 slices because low carb pizza crust is so filling and satisfying. Whereas most people will eat an entire wheat pizza crust to themselves.

What does a fathead pizza taste like?

Does it taste cheesy? No, it tastes like a delicious regular pizza because it is made with mild-flavored shredded mozzarella cheese and low-carb flour. You can make many variations by adding herbs, spices, Italian seasoning and even sweeteners to make sweet fathead dough recipes.

It cooks in the oven just like a traditional dough and can be made crispy or soft depending on the cooking temperature and length of cooking time. You can even use it to make keto pizza pockets and add a variety of ham and cheese fillings.

What kind of sauce do you use on fathead pizza?

You will need to avoid all regular pizza sauces that have added sugars and unnecessary carbs. You can make your own homemade sugar-free ketchup, sugar-free BBQ sauce, or I prefer to use a concentrated tomato paste.

Tomato paste is higher in carbs but because it is so flavorsome, you use only a small amount. It gives you a real bang for your buck! Learn to spend your carbs wisely.

Topping ideas for keto pizza

You can use your favorite pizza toppings on a keto pizza crust. Most pizza toppings are naturally low-carb such as meat and vegetables. Just avoid sticky sweet sauces with added sugars and of course, pineapple.

Begin with a sugar-free tomato pizza sauce, then add a variety of toppings such as sliced pepperoni, cooked ham, ground meat, sliced mushrooms, olives, sliced onions, and herbs such as dried rosemary, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.

Should you add cheese onto a pizza base before or after adding the pizza toppings? It’s up to you whether you add shredded cheese before you add your toppings or after you add your toppings. Some people will swear either way is the correct way. It’s more down to your personal preference whether you like a cheesy crust or a melted cheesy topping.

Basic fathead dough recipe (4 ingredients)

Once you learn how to make this basic keto dough, you can use it in a variety of ways. All the ingredients, quantities, and full written instructions are in the recipe card at the end of this post.

• Shredded mozzarella – low moisture.
• Cream cheese – full fat NOT spreadable or low fat cream cheese.
• Low-carb flour – almond flour or coconut flour (see notes below.)
• Egg – this can be omitted if you have an egg allergy and want to make an egg-free pizza crust recipe.

Step-by-step instructions

Add the pre-shredded mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, and almond flour or coconut flour in a large microwave-safe bowl.

Mix gently then microwave on HIGH for 1 minute to melt the shredded cheese.

If you don’t have a microwave, you can use the stovetop method. Simply heat the shredded mozzarella and cream cheese in a medium saucepan over low-medium heat. Make sure to mix and stir continuously to prevent the cheese from burning and sticking to the saucepan. Remove from the heat and add the almond flour or coconut flour.

Mix the melted cheeses and almond flour or coconut flour with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon. If the cheese isn’t melted enough to do this, microwave for another 10 seconds at a time.

Be careful not to overheat the cheese otherwise it can begin to cook and harden.

Allow the cheese to cool for 30 seconds to 1 minute before adding the raw egg, otherwise, the hot cheese may begin to cook the raw eggs.

Now your gluten-free keto dough is ready to use in any recipe. you can use the dough to make a crispy keto fathead pizza crust, keto breadsticks, keto crackers, and even fat head sausage rolls.

How to make keto pizza crust

How thick should a crispy pizza crust be? The dough should be 2-3 mm 1/8 inch.

How thick should a deep pan pizza crust be? The dough should be 8 mm 1/3 inch.

Now you know how to make your basic keto dough, place it between 2 sheets of baking parchment paper. Using a rolling pin, bottle of wine, or the bottom of a measuring cup, spread or roll the dough into a circular pizza shape.

The best way to make a crispy fathead pizza crust is to make small holes all over the pizza base before baking.

How to make Fathead dough with almond flour or coconut flour

The original recipe for fathead pizza crust uses almond flour but for those who have a nut allergy, you can make fathead dough with coconut flour.

You usually cannot directly swap almond flour for coconut flour in most recipes, they behave in completely different ways. Always use recipes that have been developed using one flour or the other.

The fathead dough that is made with coconut flour is higher in fiber, lower in carbs, lower in fat, and lower in protein and calories. It doesn’t taste of coconut, but if you are sensitive to the subtle flavor, you can add extra herbs, salt, sweetener, or flavors depending on the fat head dough recipe you are using.

Can I use another gluten-free flour?

When you understand how different low-carb flours work, you can begin to experiment with other flours. But low-carb flours cannot be confused with gluten-free flours.

Low-carb flours are grain-free and therefore naturally gluten-free. Gluten-free flour is often highly processed and has high starch. They are usually a mixture of rice starch, potato starch, and tapioca starch.

If you use regular gluten-free flour, instead of low-carb flour, your baking will be higher carb and generally turn out dry and flaky.

Can I use another type of cheese?

Yes, as long as you use a mild-flavored shredded cheese. If your cheese is too strong or sharp, the dough will be cheesy and not so versatile for sweet recipes.

You can use either pre-shredded cheese or you can make your own shredded cheese. Use the shredding/grating blade in your food processor and store your shredded cheese in an airtight container or a ziplock bag. You can even freeze shredded cheese for up to 3 months.

Tools for fathead dough

You only need simple kitchen tools that you probably have already. Measuring cups, large mixing bowl, rubber or wooden spatula, rolling pin, and a pizza stone, pizza pan, or baking tray.

If you don’t have a rolling pin, you can use a wine bottle, a large coffee mug, or the bottom of the measuring cup to spread out your pizza dough between the 2 pieces of baking parchment paper.

How to stop fathead dough from sticking to the parchment paper

Some people find their dough sticking to their baking paper but this is easily preventable with a few simple tricks. Always roll the keto fat head dough between two sheets of nonstick parchment paper, baking paper, or wax paper. But it must be nonstick.

If your dough sticks, use a flat-edged knife and slowly scrape the dough away from the paper as you pull away and remove the top sheet. You can also use wet hands or spray your hands with cooking oil spray to prevent the dough from sticking to your fingers.

Hint: Do not throw away the top baking parchment paper sheet as you will need this to help flip the keto pizza crust mid-way during cooking to make a crispy golden brown crunchy pizza crust.

Substitutions

The original mozzarella pizza dough recipe uses almond flour, however, if you are allergic to almonds or cannot tolerate almonds, you can use coconut flour.

Fat head pastry can be made with: 85 g (¾ cups) almond meal/flour OR 4 tbsp (¼ cups) coconut flour.

Shredded mozzarella cheese – instead of mozzarella cheese, you can use another low moisture shredded mild cheese such as cheddar or edam.

Egg – this may be omitted if you have an egg allergy or want to make an egg-free fathead pizza crust recipe.

Baking powder – there is no baking powder in the recipe, however, if you want a softer, lighter pizza crust, you can add 1 tsp baking powder to the gluten-free pizza dough.

Best ways to use mozzarella dough

Now you know how to make fathead pizza dough, you can easily change the basic recipe to make a huge selection of fathead dough recipes such as pizzas, garlic bread, crackers, breadsticks, and even fat head sausage rolls and keto nacho chips.

• Snacks – add chili pepper flakes while making the keto dough, roll out thin and cut into square keto crackers.
• Lunches – roll the cheese dough into one large sheet and cover sausage meat to make delicious keto sausage rolls.
• Kid-friendly – cut into triangles and make crunchy cheesy homemade nacho chips.
• Dinners – there are endless possibilities such as a green fathead pizza, meatlovers keto pizza, cheeseburger pizza, and my famous cheesy garlic bread.

See the original fat head pizza recipe made with almond flour on my website!

Equipment

How you bake your mozzarella dough can have a big impact on how the recipe turns out. Stone bakeware takes longer to heat up than metal pans and also retains heat for longer, which could make the pastry continue to cook once taken out of the oven.

A metal sheet pan or pizza pan will heat up quickly but also cool down quickly so beware the base of a pizza could begin to bur before the topping has cooked. This is why I generally flip the pizza base over mid-cooking to ensure both sides are cooked evenly.

If you use a pizza stone, you will get the authentic taste of a stone oven pizza. Some pizza stones need oiling, some need dusting with flour and others are pre-seasoned so are non-stick.

You can see all the kitchen equipment I use in my low-carb keto Amazon store.

Storage

You can keep cooked fat head dough in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. The cooked dough can also be kept in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Can I freeze the raw fat head dough? No. Fathead dough is best made fresh and cooked immediately. The dough is quick to make and once you add the raw egg it begins to heat when mixed with the hot cheese. A warm raw egg can never be saved for later or frozen to be cooked at a later date.

The raw ingredients don’t stand up well to freezing and are not safe.

Recipe FAQ

Tricks to the perfect keto pizza dough

Always flip your pizza base halfway through cooking. This ensures you have a crispy pizza base, not a soft soggy floppy pizza base.

You can either use a very large spatula to flip the base or use the top piece of baking parchment that you used to roll the raw dough, place that on top of the pizza base then quickly flip over back onto your pizza stone or baking sheet pan.

16+ Fat Head dough recipes