Pizza~the perfect food for the weekend..

Life without pizza is not good.

I searched around for a good low carb option and found many recipes using cauliflower for the crust, somehow that just doesn’t do it for me.

Then I came upon one using almond flour. It may sound sweet, for something as savory as pizza, but it works. Fresh basil is the secret along with a salt, pepper and olive oil.

Below is a combination of a few recipes with my own additions.  I used sausage, mushrooms and mozzarella but any combination of meats, vegetables and cheeses would be great.

Cheese & Sausage Low Carb Pizza (this is very filling easily feeds 3-4)

Crust

2 C almond flour

2 large eggs

2 T olive oil

2 T freshly chopped basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix crust ingredients in a large bowl.  Dough resembles cookie dough. Roll into a large ball and press flat on prepared baking sheet. I drizzled olive oil on dough as I spread it to make this easier to do.  Spread to at least 12 inch round. It is better when thinner.  I pushed dough to make a little raised edge, resembling “real” pizza dough.

Bake 10 minutes, edges will begin to brown. Remove to rack to cool while preparing sauce and topping.

Sauce for Pizza

1 can Petite Cut tomatoes, drained completely (7 net carbs)

1 clove minced garlic

1 T fresh basil, chopped

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1 T balsamic vinegar

salt and hot pepper flakes to taste

Combine all of the above in bowl.

Topping for Pizza

1 lb sweet italian sausage

1/2 onion, medium chop

6 ounces of baby portabella mushrooms, sliced

2 tsp oregano

2 T fresh basil, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

2 Cups shredded mozzarella

In large skillet with 1 T olive oil over medium heat, brown the sausage, onions and mushrooms until meat cooked completely. Add spices.

Prepare Pizza

Heat oven to 450 degrees.  Top the pizza with sauce, meat mixture and cheese. Bake for 10 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and brown and heated through. Slice into quarters. Each quarter is huge and filling!

FYI

There is a great crustless pizza available online from Lou Malnati’s in Chicago. It is deep-dish and the crust is made of sausage. This 9″crustless sausage pizza serves 2 and has a total of 18g Carbs and 12g Fiber, so a net carb count is 6 for the entire pizza.  This is a very expensive option but a wonderful treat to have in the freezer!