Trim Healthy Low-Carb Meat Lovers Pizza
One of the big things I missed when we started the Trim Healthy Mama plan was thin crust meat lovers pizza. I know there are all kinds of ways to make “on-plan” pizza but I haven’t figured out how to get a really good crispy crust that my friends and family that are NOT “on-plan” would appreciate.
That said, what my friends that also liked a good meat-lover’s pizza like it for is the meat. So as I went down the list of thin and crispy things in my head, I realized that bacon is both meat and thin and crispy. So maybe, just maybe I could make a bacon crust pizza.
I worked at McDonald's as a teen and they had these flat crispy bacon circles they’d put on a bacon egg and cheese biscuit, so I thought I might go that route. Then by chance, I found a picture on Pinterest of a bacon lattice pizza. From there I knew I had struck trim healthy gold, crispy and meat! I knew this would be a hit at any game day party.
I’ve tried this a few times and the following recipe makes individual-sized pizzas that are good for a single meal. Note that most guys can get away with one pizza made the way I’m putting it together and still lose weight, but my wife has to make them a little lighter just because in a day she doesn’t need as much energy as I do. So I’ll share her lighter version at the end.
Also, I’m sharing how I made my most recent batch, other than the bacon you can vary the rest to make your perfect thin crust pizzas.
Ingredients
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3-4 Slices Thick Cut bacon
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4 Slices Large Pepperoni
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1 Slice Canadian Bacon
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1 Slice Provolone Cheese
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¼ Cup Mozzarella Cheese
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2 tablespoons no sugar added pizza sauce
Supplies
Scissors
Tablespoon
Roasting pan - Note on the roasting pan, I find that the bacon cooks more consistently when it’s elevated in an oven so the juices pool below it in a roasting pan. If you just put it in the pan you end up with places where it’s deep-fried and scorched and others not done at all. For a crispy crust, you need to cook the bacon uniformly. If you don’t have a roasting pan a wire rack on top of a regular cookie sheet will do.
Cooking Instructions
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Preheat oven to 425
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Get out a roasting pan and line it with foil before you get started. This will make clean up later much easier.
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Bacon varies a lot so you may end up with a 3x3, 3x4, or 4x4 lattice to make a nice square of bacon. To figure that out cut three strips of bacon in half and lay out four pieces side by side. Then lay a fifth piece in the opposite direction to figure out which size will work best and cut one more piece of bacon if needed.
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For the first row just pick up the first piece of bacon and place a strip under it, then lay a piece on top, pick up again to lay a piece under, and then set the last on top. That will make the first row of the lattice-like this picture.
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For the second piece flip the two pieces that were under the cross piece over it and lay down a crosspiece. Then flip the two pieces back in place.
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Repeat this operation until you have a square.
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Transfer the lattice to a roasting pan.
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Repeat until you run out of bacon or room on the pan
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Cook for 12 minutes, then rotate the pan to ensure even heating. Cook for another 12 minutes or until the bacon is 90% as crispy as you like it. If you make it all the way then it might be burned or just too crunchy after you heat up the toppings.
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Remove from the oven and apply toppings, (pepperoni, sauce, Canadian bacon, provolone, mozzarella)
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Return pizza to the oven until cheese is fully melted.
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Remove from the oven and plate, then cut with a pizza cutter as you might any other pizza
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Add a side of your favorite finger food veggies and you have a perfect on-plan gameday snack.
The way my wife makes the pizza is with far fewer toppings and cheese and then cuts it to put it on top of a salad. In some ways, that’s like the default way to deal with pizza and THM, but she says she likes the crispy.
Pro-tip: If you end up with extra pizzas, wrap them in parchment paper before putting them in freezer-safe plastic bags. It helps with potential freezer burn, and then you can put the parchment paper directly on a cookie sheet to heat it back up later and save the mess of cleaning the pan.
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