After visiting Vienna, Salzburg, Prague, and Berlin, we’re heading to our final destination – Paris. I love French food to pieces, and I can’t wait to have some amazing foie gras and French liver pate. But, I have to admit that after all this time away from home, a small part of me misses low carb pizza. I made the best zucchini pizza crust recipe right before I left, and even though I’m going to enjoy every moment of my time in Paris, I do look forward to making it again. Low carb pizza is a big staple at our house. Aside from the classic fathead pizza crust, I regularly make cauliflower pizza crust, pizza stuffed mushrooms, and keto pizza casserole. If there’s a vegetable that can go with the flavors of pizza, you can bet I’ve made a pizza out of it. Zucchini crust pizza is just one of my many favorites. It has the perfect moisture content, just like in almond flour zucchini bread. Unlike many heavy pizza crust recipes, this one is very light – just 83 calories and 2 grams net carbs per slice. Best of all, this low carb zucchini pizza crust recipe is one where you can actually pick up the slices. Yay! Just let them go from piping hot to warm to pick them up more easily.
The Key To the Best Low Carb Zucchini Pizza Crust Recipe
If you saw my post this summer about how to make zucchini noodles, you know that one of my two favorite ways to make them is in the oven. It dries them out beautifully, so they aren’t watery, without the tedious process of squeezing out the water. Well, guess what? The oven drying method works for low carb zucchini pizza crust, too! When I discovered this, it was a great reason to write a post about it. I was so excited to share this method with you! Here’s how it goes. Simply shred the zucchini, sprinkle with a little salt, and dry it in the oven… for the most effortless zucchini crust pizza you’ve ever made.
Tips For How To Make Zucchini Pizza Crust
The instructions for how to make zucchini pizza crust are below, but here are a few quick tips to perfect it:
Dry the zucchini in the oven.
As mentioned above, the key to this zucchini pizza crust recipe is to dry the shredded zucchini in the oven. The approximate time is 10 to 15 minutes, but can vary depending on your pan, your oven, even your zucchini. (It’s a similar process to roasting zucchini, but even faster.) So, how do you know it’s done? You’ll know when the zucchini soft, a little shriveled, and mostly dry. You don’t need to be super precise here, but the texture should be that of cooked zucchini. Like this:
Pat the zucchini dry with paper towels after removing from the oven.
Even though the oven does most of the work for you in drying, it doesn’t hurt to pat the shredded zucchini lightly with paper towels. This is nowhere near the effort of squeezing, which you don’t need to do! It’s just a quick pat-down, and takes all of five seconds.
Use the right mozzarella.
I’ve had a few people have issues with this when making other cheese-based pizza crusts, so wanted to mention it here. Like the others, make sure to use hard mozzarella when making this one. Do not use fresh, soft mozzarella. It’s too watery and the end result won’t be sturdy enough. As long as it’s hard mozzarella, it doesn’t matter if it’s full-fat or part-skim. You can also feel free to use either pre-shredded or shred a block yourself.
Use coconut flour to absorb moisture.
Sorry, you cannot substitute the coconut flour for something else in this zucchini pizza crust recipe. Coconut flour absorbs far more moisture than any other flour, so it’s a must to prevent the crust from being soggy or falling apart.
Spread the zucchini pizza crust evenly.
Make sure the crust is spread in a thin, even layer. It won’t cook through well enough if it’s too thick. Even worse, if the thickness isn’t uniform, you’ll end up with parts starting to burn while other areas are raw. Just spread it as thinly as you can, approximately 1/4 inch (or very roughly 1/2 cm) thick.
Let the crust rest before adding toppings.
This is important! The crust will be pretty soft when you remove it from the oven, and prone to absorbing anything you put on top of it. You do not want this. When you let the crust rest for about ten minutes, the cheese will solidify, creating a barrier between the crust and the sauce. This will make the crust more sturdy and prevents the sauce from sinking into the crust. Here is what the zucchini pizza crust looks when it’s done baking, before you add your toppings:
How To Freeze Zucchini Crust Pizza
It’s super easy to make zucchini crust pizza ahead for meal prep. Just freeze it! To freeze, prepare the low carb zucchini pizza crust recipe as written on the recipe card, but don’t add toppings. Wrap it tightly in foil, and place horizontally in the freezer. Once it’s hard, you can move it to a vertical position or anywhere that’s convenient. When you are ready to make zucchini crust pizza with the frozen crust, do not thaw it. Simply add the sauce and toppings to the frozen pizza. Place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes at 400 degrees, until the pizza is hot throughout and the cheese is golden. Share your recipe picture by tagging @wholesomeyum and hashtag it #wholesomeyum on Instagram, or in our Facebook support group, too - I’d love to see it!
If you want to pick up the zucchini crust pizza to eat it, this will be easier to do when the pizza is warm but not piping hot.
