Last updated on March 31st, 2023

Broccoli Pizza Crust (Low-Carb and Gluten-Free)

Make Broccoli Pizza Crust with riced broccoli, mozzarella cheese, cream cheese, almond flour, chia meal flour, plus an egg as binding ingredients. Ricing broccoli is very easy, and there are four easy ways to rice broccoli at home, but I’m sure store-bought riced broccoli will also work. 

Once baked, the crust will firm up as it cools and will hold the weight of your toppings well. That means you can easily hand-hold each slice and enjoy pizza as you usually do. Isn’t that the main goal?

When it comes to pizza, in general, avoiding excess carbs can be tricky because we know what pizza tastes like, and anything that deviates outside of that realm may not match up to par. Any veggie-lover, let alone a broccoli lover, will be open to making this pizza crust in a flash, but what if you are not crazy about Broccoli? Trust me. Once you’ve added your favourite toppings and cheeses, you won’t even notice the broccoli.

Make Low-Carb & Gluten-Free Broccoli Pizza Crust

Ingredients

Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – is melted to bind the ingredients together.

Cream Cheese  – softened at room temperature for about 30-45 mins.

Almond Flour – I use the Kirkland brand from Costco and it forms a nutty base for the crust and makes the crust gluten-free.

Chia Meal Flour – or finely ground chia seeds. Ground flaxseed meal works well too. It helps to bind the dough and add fibre.

Baking Powder – a little raising agent to bulk up the crust.

salt – I add a little pinch because the mozzarella cheese can be salty, depending on the brand.

Egg – brings the dough together.

Riced Broccoli – use a chopper to chop broccoli florets or grate them by hand finely. More on this later.

Making the ‘Dough’

Mix the dry ingredients – In a bowl attached to a stand mixer (or for a handheld electric mixer), whisk almond flour, chia meal flour, baking powder and salt together.

Melt the Cheeses – Add mozzarella cheese and cream cheese to a microwaveable bowl. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds. Stir the cheeses together to combine. Heat again in the microwave for 20 seconds.

Combine cheese mixture and dry ingredients – Add the cheese mixture to the dry ingredients and beat at low speed for a few seconds.

Add the riced broccoli and egg. On medium speed, mix all the ingredients to incorporate.

Shaping the ‘Dough’

Form the dough into a pizza crust shape – Using a spatula, bring the mixture into a sticky dough-like ball.

Transfer the sticky ‘dough’ ball onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper – starting from the middle, press the ball down to flatten it into a circle.

Use a greased-bottomed measuring cup or wet fingers – to flatten the dough evenly to form a circular pizza base. The base will be about 1/4 inch thick and 8-10 inches in diameter.

Bake the Broccoli Crust

Bake the crust – in the oven @ 375F for 15 mins.  

Switch the oven off and let the Broccoli pizza crust sit in the oven – for 5 minutes. You can transfer it to a wire rack, then let it sit in the oven for 5 mins for a firmer crust.

Remove from the oven – and let it cool completely. 

Make your pizza – you can refrigerate the baked crust (without toppings) for up to one week – or wrap it in plastic wrap and freeze it for up to one month.

Make Copycat Veneziana Pizza with Broccoli Pizza Crust

I made a copycat version of the signature Veneziana pizza from Pizza Express using this Broccoli Crust recipe. Pizza Express is a famous Italian place my family and I frequented when I lived in London, UK. It’s been a few years since my last visit to Pizza Express, but I can still remember the sweet and salty combination of capers and sultanas in every slice of that signature pizza.

Sultanas are very high in carbs, but a few studded over the pizza won’t heavily increase the carb amount to a low-carb pizza crust. However, an alternative ingredient, such as caramelized onions, would make a delicious topping.

Ingredients

Broccoli Pizza Crust – Pre-baked and cooled

Pizza sauce – your preferred low-carb pizza sauce

Mozzarella Cheese – Shredded

Red Onions – sliced

Red Pepper – sliced

Cherry or Grape Tomatoes – halved

Black Olives – halved pieces pair well with the tomatoes.

Capers – add a bit of tartness

Crushed Chili Pepper – optional

Top and Bake

• Once cooled, spread the pizza crust base with pizza sauce.
• Sprinkle Mozzarella all over the sauce. Top with the rest of the ingredients.
• Bake for 8  mins until the cheese has melted. I broil the top on low to brown the top further without burning the edges.
• Remove from the oven and transfer to a wire rack.
• Cool for a few minutes then cut into six slices and serve.
• Return the crust with the toppings to the oven set to 375* and bake until the cheese has melted.

How to Rice Broccoli for a Low-Carb Pizza Crust

The good thing about making this broccoli pizza crust is that you don’t have to squeeze out any excess water from ricing the broccoli. The chia meal flour ingredient in the recipe helps to absorb moisture from the broccoli rice.

How to prepare the Broccoli for Ricing

Whichever way you cook broccoli, it is important to wash the whole broccoli head before you rice it. Here’s how I like to prepare my Broccoli whenever I want to rice it. 

• Trim off any leaves that are hanging off the stems.
• Run the broccoli head under running water. Let it drain in a strainer until most of the water has drained. 
• Cut or pull off 1-2 inch florets and place them on a baking tray or plate lined with a paper towel. 
• Spread the broccoli florets and let them dry naturally for about half an hour. You can speed this up by putting them in a salad spinner or dabbing the florets with another paper towel to remove any moisture.

4 Ways to Rice Broccoli

Chopped – Use a sharp kitchen knife to chop broccoli florets into small rice-like pieces. It’s an excellent method to use if you want control over the size of the rice. Sometimes larger pieces are good for getting an al dente texture.

Grated – Cut the broccoli into slightly larger portions and grate pieces carefully. It’s a quick method to make the florets into tiny fine-grated pieces without any gadgets. Watch your fingers!

Food Processor or mini chopper- This is the easiest and quickest method. Once the florets are dry, add small batches into a food processor. I use a mini Kitchenaid food processor, which creates the perfect ‘rice’ texture. Rice the broccoli florets in batches for even consistency.

Kitchen Shears –  if you have a pair of kitchen shears, they easily shred the broccoli into small pieces. Hold the broccoli stems with one hand and safely nip pieces off the florets with the shears. It’s not the best way, but good enough if you don’t have anything else.

The Carbs in Low-Carb Broccoli Pizza Crust

This whole Broccoli Pizza Crust alone has 13g net carbs. Each slice without the toppings is around 2g net carbs. If you add cheese and pepperoni as toppings, the net carbs won’t change unless you add veggies like peppers and onions. This crust is filling depending on the toppings you choose to add, so even if you want to eat the whole crust in one go- as I have done a few times, it’s perfectly indulging and guilt-free, knowing that I am still within my carb budget for the day.

Reheating Tips

• Microwave: The microwave makes the pizza crust softer. Heat the microwave on a heat-proof plate for 10-30 seconds until heated. 
• Oven: Preheat oven to 350F and place the pizza slices on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 10 mins. You can set the pizza slices on a broiler pan instead of a baking tray; they will crispen up more.
• Airfryer: Using the air fryer is my preferred way of crispening the slices. Place the pizza slices in single layers into the airfryer basket and reheat them at 160C/320F for about 5 mins. 
• Pan Fry: Pre-heat a pan on medium heat, place the slices in single layers and heat for about 10 mins. You can cover the pan with a lid to speed up the process.

Storage Tips

• Crust only: Store the crust in a zip-lock bag in the fridge for up to 5 days. 
• Crust with toppings: Store the whole pizza or slices in an airtight container or bag in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Freezing Tips

• Freezing the Crust: Transfer the crust into an airtight bag or container once cooled. If freezing several crusts, place parchment or wax paper in between the crusts and seal them in an airtight container. Alternatively, wrap plastic around each crust and put them in the bag or container. Freeze crusts for up to 1 month.
• Crust with toppings: I’ve never needed to freeze a topped crust, but if I needed to, I would probably do the same process as freezing the crust only but freeze for up to 2 weeks. /This depends on the toppings, however. I think a basic pepperoni pizza would be ok to freeze longer.

Can I use Cauliflower Rice to make Pizza Crust?

Cauliflower can be a bit more watery, so increase the chia meal flour or use a little less cauliflower. Combining broccoli and cauliflower is also an option if you’re not a big fan of broccoli.

Tips on making Broccoli Pizza Crust

• Use wet hands to handle the sticky dough. 
• Use a greased-bottomed measuring cup or anything flat to spread the dough into a circular shape.
• Place the cooked crust onto a wire rack and put it back in the oven for the extra 10 mins will give a crispy crust.
• Let the crust cool completely before storing.

Did you make this recipe?

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