When you are craving pizza and short on time, this Keto Pizza Bowl is perfect. With Italian sausage, melty cheese, and rich pizza sauce, it’s warm, bubbly, satisfying, and doesn’t feel like a compromise at all. If you love the idea of pizza in a bowl, keto-style, this is your recipe.
When I was creating this easy pizza bowl recipe, I wanted all the flavors of a classic slice, without dealing with dough or rolling crust. I didn’t want to feel like I was missing out on pizza night, just because I was low carb. This is my version of keto pizza in a bowl. Simple ingredients, bold flavor, and zero fuss. And it tastes just like the real thing!
It is something you could meal prep on the weekend and keep in the fridge for an easy meal throughout the week.
When I want all the pizza vibes, and I have a little more time, I’ll serve this with cheesy garlic bread and a Greek salad.
Ingredient Notes
I tested this crustless pizza bowl with mild and hot Italian pork sausage, and both work. Turkey, beef, or chicken sausage would also work. You can swap in cooked ground beef if that’s what you have, but you’ll want to season it well so the flavors don’t fall flat.
If you’re not a mushroom person, just leave them out or swap in your favorite pizza toppings and veggies.
Full fat cottage cheese works best here. Low fat gets a little watery, and I don’t love that texture in a keto pizza in a bowl.
Use a thick keto pizza sauce. I recommend my homemade. You could also use marinara sauce, but it is a little thinner.
I used turkey pepperoni because that is what I had. But any will do. Black olives also make a nice addition, but my kids won’t eat them, so I leave them out.
Step-by-Step Instructions
See the recipe card below for full instructions.
Tips & Tricks for the Best Keto Pizza Bowl
- Lean sausage needs help. If you’re using chicken or turkey sausage, coat the skillet with a little olive oil first.
- Watery pizza bowls come from the wrong dairy and sauce. Thin sauce or low-fat cottage cheese will leak liquid as it bakes. When I tested this recipe with thick keto pizza sauce and full-fat cottage cheese, it wasn’t at all watery.
- Bland flavor almost always starts with the meat. Italian sausage brings a lot of flavor. If you swap in ground beef or turkey, season it well.
- Grease control matters. Sausage and pepperoni release fat. Drain the pan before assembling, especially with higher-fat sausage.
- Cottage cheese is the structure. You can skip it, but I don’t recommend it. Cottage cheese is what makes a keto cottage cheese pizza bowl creamy and filling instead of oily and loose. When I tested it without, the texture fell apart.
- Make-ahead works with one small tweak. Assemble the pizza bowl recipe keto-style, cover, and refrigerate. Bake when ready. Add pepperoni right before it goes into the oven so it crisps instead of steaming.
Keto Pizza Bowl with Cottage Cheese and Sausage
Ingredients
- 8 ounces Italian sausage
- ½ cup sliced mushrooms
- ¼ cup diced onion
- 1 teaspoon pizza seasoning or Italian seasoning
- 1 cup full fat cottage cheese
- ½ cup keto pizza sauce
- 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- 8 pepperoni slices
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 °F. Spray 2 - 3” to 4” ramekins with cooking spray.
- Spray a large skillet with oil and heat to medium-high.
- Add the sausage, crumbling with the back of a spoon. Cook for 5 minutes, and add the mushrooms and onion. Sprinkle with pizza seasoning and cook until tender.
- Transfer the meat to the prepared ramekins. Add the cottage cheese, pizza sauce, mozzarella, and parmesan. Top with pepperoni slices.
- Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until cooked through. Broil for 2 minutes, if desired.
- Let it cool for 5 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning, dried oregano, or fresh basil if desired.
Véronique Dunagin says
This pizza bowl is amazing. Definitely a keeper recipe. Next time I will double the recipe to have it again the next day .
Wendy Polisi says
So glad you enjoyed it! It is a favorite of mine too.