Keto Pizza Casserole Recipe (Keto & Low Carb)
This delicious Keto Pizza Casserole without cauliflower is one the entire family will love. It is easy to make, delicious, and super filling with only 2g of net carbs per serving making it perfect for the keto diet.
Pizza Casserole Keto Friendly
I love pizza. I mean, I love it. Pizza for dinner last night? No problem, I’ll eat pizza for dinner again tonight. So, when we started following a keto lifestyle, I was a little concerned because completely giving up pizza made me feel sad. Yes, I love it that much. So, one of the very first recipes I started looking for was an easy pizza recipe.
I had already tried several different cauliflower crusts, and my family is just not sold on such an atrocity. Maybe there are better recipes for a fabulous cauliflower crust. However, I haven’t found it yet. I came up with the perfect Keto Pizza Casserole without cauliflower. It’s easy to make, satisfying, and tastes like a smorgasbord of deliciousness.
More Keto Pizza Recipes without Cauliflower
I have several other recipes for keto pizza without cauliflower; you might want to check out that are equally as delicious.
- Quick & Easy Keto Crustless Pizza
- Keto Pizza Chaffle
- Mini Keto Pizza Recipe with a Crispy Crust
- Easy Keto Chicken Pizza Bake
Ingredients You’ll Need to Make This Delicious Low Carb Pizza Casserole
- Deli Ham – I prefer using either the smoked or black forest deli ham. You want to avoid honey ham due to the added carbs. It should be sliced thin, but not too thin.
- Marinara Sauce – Make sure to choose the lower-carb version of marinara sauce. If you don’t have a favorite brand already, this low-carb Marinara sauce is a good choice at only 4g net carbs per serving.
- Ground Beef – Choose your favorite type of ground beef for this recipe.
- Mozzarella Cheese – Mozzarella cheese makes a pizza! I usually buy a block and grate it myself if I have time. But pre-grated is fine too if you need to save some time. (Those that eat keto avoid pre-grated cheese as it contains fillers to keep the cheese separated that contain added carbs.)
- Parmesan Cheese – Make sure to purchase freshly grated parmesan cheese and not the canned variety. (You’ll want to buy a block to grate yourself see the note above.)
- Italian Seasoning and Oregano – Add an added dimension of flavor to this already delicious recipe.
- Pepperoni – You’ll want to get the regular-sized pepperoni for this recipe and not the minis as they will be the pizza topper.
Directions for the Keto Pizza Casserole
For the full, printable recipe for Keto pizza casserole, scroll to the bottom of the page. I also include the visual process for those who might find it helpful. I am sure you will enjoy this as much as we do!
Step 1: The first three layers of the keto pizza casserole are deli ham, low carb marinara sauce, and browned ground beef. Start by browning the ground beef. Once it is browned, add in the sugar-free, low-carb marinara sauce and seasonings. Let this cook on medium-high for about five minutes.
Next, it’s time to start assembling the casserole. Spray a 9 x13 casserole dish with cooking spray and then cover the bottom of the dish with ham. They will probably overlap a little bit, and that’s okay. Add just half of the marinara and beef mixture on top of the ham.
Tip: If you keep ground beef already browned in the freezer, you can put this casserole together in less than 10 minutes. If you don’t like ground beef, you can sub turkey or ground Italian sausage instead.
Step 2: It’s time to start adding the cheese. I love how the layers come together to make a delicious casserole that tastes amazing and curbs my craving for pizza.
Step 3: You’ll add a second layer of ham. If you prefer, you could use turkey, salami, or large deli sized pepperonis instead.
Step 4: Continue the second layer by adding ground beef with marinara sauce and the cheese on top. This time you will top it off with your pepperoni.
Step 5: Bake in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes. Then move the casserole dish to the top rack and turn the oven on broil. It will only take 1 to 3 minutes for the cheese to lightly brown on top. Watch it closely, so it doesn’t burn.
I love to sprinkle fresh parsley on top. It makes it seem fancier than just a casserole.
Can this recipe be made ahead of time?
Sure, you can assemble this recipe and pop it in the fridge to bake later. You will likely need to bake a little longer since it is coming out of the fridge.
Why do I need to use sugar-free marinara sauce?
Sugar is often hidden in store-bought sauces like marinara. Make sure to look for a marinara sauce with no added sugar in the ingredient list. You will see carbs and sugar listed on the nutritional information, but it is from the natural sugars in tomatoes, and it is minimal.
Here is a great list of low carb marinara sauces and the net carb count for each:
- Rao’s Homemade Marinara Sauce – 4g net carbs per ½ cup
- Rao’s Homemade Tomato Basil Sauce – 3g net carbs per ½ cup
- Lucini Italia Organic Tuscan Marinara Sauce – 3g net carbs per ½ cup
- Lucini Italia Organic Rustic Tomato Basil – 3g net carbs per ½ cup
- Mezzetta Napa Valley Homemade Sauce Marinara – 6g net carbs per ½ cup
- ALDI Simply Selected Premium Marinara – 5g net carbs per ½ cup
- Keto Marinara Pasta Sauce by Yo Mama’s Foods – 4g net carbs per 1/2 cup
Variations to this recipe:
I made this keto pizza casserole with ham as the base layer, much like a pizza lasagna. If you don’t like ham, you could use turkey instead or omit it.
Feel free to change up this Low Carb Pizza Casserole with your favorite pizza toppings. I’ve listed a couple of ideas below:
- Green Bell Peppers
- Onions
- Mushrooms
- Sausage
- Bacon
- Spinach
- Olives
- Chicken
- Jalapenos
More Keto Recipes
If you aren’t already following my Easy Keto/Low Carb Recipe Page on Facebook, where I post all my new recipes, you can join here and follow me on Pinterest. You’ll find more Keto recipes in my keto recipe index here. Plus, if this keto pizza casserole isn’t sounding like what you want tonight, check out my other favorites below!
- Instant Pot Pot Roast
- Keto Baked Chicken Fajitas
- Keto Bacon Wrapped Cheesesticks
- Low Carb Keto Chicken Crust Pizza Recipe
Keto Pizza Casserole Recipe (Keto & Low Carb)
Ingredients
- 8 pieces of deli ham (I use smoked or black forest)
- 1/2 jar of marinara sauce (lower carb version)
- 1 lb ground beef browned
- 3 cups mozzarella cheese
- 1 cup parmesan cheese (freshly grated not the canned version)
- 1 tablespoon Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon oregano
- pepperoni (for topping)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350.
- Brown ground beef then add sugar-free marinara sauce and seasoning. Cook on med/high for about 5 minutes.
- Spray the casserole dish with cooking spray. (I use a 9 X 13 pan).
- Cover bottom of dish with 4 pieces of ham. It's okay if they overlap.
- Add 1/2 of the ground beef/marinara mixture on top of the ham.
- Next, sprinkle half of the mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
- Layer again with ham, ground beef/marinara mixture, and cheeses then top with pepperoni.
- Bake in a 350-degree oven for 20 minutes.
- Move pan to the top rack and broil 1-3 minutes or until cheese is lightly browned on top.
Video
Notes
Variations to this recipe:
Feel free to change up this Low Carb Pizza Casserole with your favorite pizza toppings. I’ve listed a couple of ideas below:- Green Peppers
- Onions
- Mushrooms
- Sausage
- Bacon
- Spinach
- Olives
- Chicken
- Jalapenos
How much is a serving?
I divided it into 8 equal servings.
Can you tell me how much protein is in the pizza casserole? I see the calories, carbs and fat, but no protein.
It’s 44.3g.
What’s the protein count
It’s 44.3g.
Is grated Parmesan cheese used or shredded? Ki
You can use either.
This may seem silly, but is the nutritional information per casserole or per serving?
It is per serving.
So does this take a 12 oz can of marinara sauce, you said 1/2 of a 24 oz. can? I am confused.
1/2 of a 24 oz can is 12 ounces. So both are one in the same. 🙂
Actually making this tonight. But I am gonna use Italian sausage instead of beef, pepperoni, and Rao’s sauce. Fingers crossed it turns out.
Sounds great! I hope you enjoyed it!
I just made this for dinner 2nite and I absolutely LOVED IT!!! Oh my goodness pizza on the weekend again. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you, Thank you. I made it for dinner a couple of nights age and it was decadent. Did not miss a crust at all. It was hard not have more but I do keep track of my macros. Your recipes are the best. Your 90 sec bread is the best and your roast beef can not be beat.
I’m so glad that you enjoyed it. Thanks so much for your kind words and support. I appreciate it very much!
Made it.. was delicious but how do I go about entering it in MyFitnessPal app?
I don’t personally track macros but you can import recipes from a url into MyFitnessPal or I would think you could add it manually.
Hello is there any other meat you can use instead of ham I hate ham thanks
Sure! Use whatever meat you prefer or omit. You can also use deli sized pepperonis.
Ok thanks love all your recipes
I make this often and my husband and I love it! Sometimes I add ricotta cheese as well to make it more like lasagna.
One question – I did freeze some portions (after cooking). Now that I am ready to pull it out of the freezer, do you think I should thaw it and then reheat? or just reheat directly from frozen? I plan to use the oven rather than microwave to heat. Thanks!
If you stick it in the oven straight out of the fridge I would cover with aluminum foil so the top doesn’t burn.
This was so yummy! We did bacon instead of ham. Also next time I would chop up the bacon for easier serving. We did strips this time and it was sort of hard to cut through.
Sounds good! Glad you all enjoyed!!
A good tip is to put 1-2 layers of lasagna noodles in the bottom and they will soak up the extra liquid. I just serve everything except the noodles and let my non-keto family members eat those! You can use these noodles in any casserole that tends to be watery and then just serve the top part of the casserole.
This is an excellent tip! Thank you!