Low-carb broccoli pizza crust

Since my low-carb cauliflower tortillas were such a success, I thought I’d play around a bit more with the whole low-carb bread substitute thing. Don’t get me wrong, I love bread and I certainly won’t be cutting it out of my life any time soon, but I also love experimenting in the kitchen and trying new things. This time, I decided that since cauliflower makes such a great bread substitute, broccoli probably would as well – and I was right! (oh, how I love it when I’m right.) This low-carb broccoli pizza crust was great – perfectly crispy around the edges, and a great vehicle for all that mozzarella (insert heart-eyed emoji here).

For me, a good pizza is all about the cheeeeese – you could top just about anything with some mozzarella and tomato, and I would happily call it pizza (in fact I have done just that on several occasions). So I thought this broccoli pizza crust worked beautifully – the simple broccoli mixture gives a solid base for your cheese and whatever toppings you fancy. Actually, I just this second realised that I didn’t add any sauce – what is wrong with me that I’ve only just noticed that? Anyway, you could totally add a small amount of tomato sauce too if you like (I’d probably just make sure the crust is extra crispy before adding the sauce, to make sure it doesn’t end up soggy).

This broccoli pizza crust isn’t quite as stable as the usual bready version – you can pick up the slices with your hands, but you do need to be a little careful about it. I’d probably avoid any super heavy toppings, but since the crust doesn’t have a huge amount of flavour in itself, your toppings can use whatever flavour combinations you like, and it should all work just fine. I kept it simple with sliced tomato and olives (and apparently no sauce).

The broccoli pizza crust is really easy to make, just blitz up a head of broccoli and add a few eggs and some seasonings, then bake! You don’t need to pre-cook the broccoli or anything. By the way: Do as I say, not as I do. I’d run out of baking paper, so I baked my broccoli pizza crust straight on the baking tray, and it did stick a bit. Use paper.

And that’s all there is to it! It’s really easy – in my opinion, easier than making a bread crust from scratch (I’m irrationally afraid of cooking with yeast). I’m now wondering what other vegetables you could use to make low-carb bread substitutes – any bright ideas? If not, my low-carb broccoli pizza crust is a pretty good place to start.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Low-carb broccoli pizza crust

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time50 mins

Total Time1 hr 5 mins

Course: Main meal

Servings: 2 small pizzas

Calories:

Author: Becca Heyes

Ingredients

• 1 medium head broccoli (~ 350g)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion granules
• Salt
• Black pepper
• 150 g grated cheese (~ 1 1/4 cups) - I used mozzarella and cheddar
• Your choice of toppings - I used sliced tomato and black olives

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180°C (Gas Mark 4 / 350°F).
• Cut the broccoli into several rough chunks, and add to a food processor. Blitz until no lumps remain. Transfer the broccoli to a large mixing bowl, and add the eggs, garlic powder, onion granules, and plenty of salt and pepper. Mix well.
• Line two baking trays with non-stick paper, and thoroughly spray with oil, then divide the broccoli mixture onto the two trays. Use the back of a spoon to carefully spread the broccoli mixture into the shape of two pizza crusts, smoothing over any holes that appear.
• Bake the broccoli pizza crusts for around 25-30 minutes, or until firm and starting to turn golden brown (the exact timings will depend on how thin you made your pizza crusts).
• Use a spatula to make sure the crust isn't stuck to the paper. Then, add some grated cheese and your choice of toppings. Return to the oven for a further 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and slightly crispy.

Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose.

Based on a similar recipe, my low-carb cauliflower tortillas are brilliant for bread-free lunches: