Keto Camping Fathead Pizza delivers all your favorite pizza flavors while you enjoy camping outdoors. The low-carb dish is easy to prep, cooks in a cast iron skillet like a dream, and tastes phenomenal. Let’s get low-carby and delicious all up in hurr!
Hey happy campers, what’s shaking? Kieran and I escaped the 90-degree heat last weekend by going camping near the coast. We stayed at the Trask River Campground in Tillamook. My favorite aspect of camping is cooking over a campfire. I live for it. Nothing makes me happier than cooking up an amazing meal for Kieran and our friends while enjoying quality time in nature. This week I made Keto Camping Fathead Pizza!
I set my sights on this pizza because it’s another legend in the low-carb community. The crust of fathead pizza is made with cheese or canned chicken meat instead of flour. I’ve seen a ton of recipes for this infamous keto-friendly dish where the pizza was cooked in the oven. I wanted to see if I could accomplish this popular recipe in a cast iron skillet!
Want to watch Kieran and I goof around and make Keto Camping Fathead Pizza? Check out our latest video:
FIRST THE PREP WORK AT HOME
Cooking over a campfire is much easier if you prep your food at home. I made the crust for the Keto Camping Fathead Pizza the morning before we left. The crust recipe took approx 20 minutes to throw together, it’s really easy. The recipe is down below!
I also shredded the mozzarella cheese before we left as well as opened a can of diced fire roasted tomatoes and poured the contents into a plastic container. That way I wouldn’t have to bother using my crappy camping can opener on site. I stuffed all the ingredients into their designated containers then packed said containers into the cooler when it was time to go. Ugh, you know what sucks though? I forgot to pack the basil. Rookie move.
NEXT THE PREP WORK AT CAMP
The prep work at camp is lighting the campfire and heating up the cast iron skillet. Our firepit came equipped with a grill so I placed the skillet on top of the grill while I lit the fire. You want to ensure the skillet is scorching hot in order for the dough to get nice and brown on the bottom. The time it takes for your skillet to get hot will depend on how big your fire gets or if you place skillet directly on the coals.
THEN IT’S TIME TO ASSEMBLE
Carefully yank the hot skillet off the grill and place it on top of a heatproof surface like a cutting board or an oven mitt/potholder. Retrieve the dough from your cooler. Use your hands to form the dough into a ball. Remembering the skillet is still hot, gently squish the dough along the bottom of the skillet with a spatula. The dough will crumble and break apart here and there but keep working it until it’s as even as you can get it. Watch the video so you can visualize what I mean.
LAST IT’S TIME TO COOK YER PIZZA
Transfer the skillet back to the grill. Cook the dough in the skillet for 30-40 minutes or until the crust is nice and golden brown. I was afraid the diced tomatoes would sog out the crust so I had Kieran layer shredded mozzarella on top of the crust, then top the cheese with tomato, any other ingredient you enjoy, and finish by adding a little more cheese.
Cook the Keto Camping Pizza until the cheese is ooey and gooey and the crust is crispy. Depending on how hot your fire is, this can take 20 minutes to another hour.
THE VERDICT
OMG, you guys, the flavors of the Keto Camping Fathead Pizza were legit. The only beef I had with the pizza’s flavor was forgetting the damn basil at home. Fresh basil on top of this pizza would have tasted marvelous. This pizza will be made again, however, here are a couple things I would fix.
- I would cook the pizza longer. I misjudged how hot the fire was. The chicken crust performed beautifully in some parts of the pan and it crumbled apart in others.
- I. Would. Not. Have. Forgotten. The. Damn. Basil.
- Did I mention the basil?
- The diced tomatoes were a tad cold since I didn’t cook the pizza long enough. Next time I’ll give the tomatoes a head start by cooking them in a separate pan. It’s an extra step but I think the outcome will be worth it.
- To ensure the pizza cooks evenly, I’ll probably top the skillet with some tin foil after layering on the cheese and toppings.
The taste of the pizza was still amazing even though parts of the crust crumbled and fell apart. Parts of the pizza you could pick up by a slice of sorts and other parts had to be eaten with a fork. The moral is it didn’t matter that the pizza crust wasn’t perfect, the taste literally hit the spot! And it’s not like you’re undercooking flour, that’s gross. If the pizza is a tad undercooked it’s still going to taste good. Afterall, the crust is comprised of cooked chicken, egg, and cheese, what’s not to love! If you’re a keto camping loving fool like me, I strongly encourage you to make this pizza, I think you’ll love it.
Alright, folks, that’s a wrap for Keto Camping Fathead Pizza. Kieran and I are hoping to share several more camping recipes before the season is over. If you have any questions or if you have a better technique for cooking this pizza over a campfire, leave me a comment below!
Thank you for being apart of the Shock Munch community, I sincerely appreciate you!
Sincerely,
Christina
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| Servings |
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- 10 oz can of cooked chicken
- 1 egg whisked
- 1 oz of parmesan
- olive oil
- 15 oz can of fire roasted tomatoes or you can use your favorite pizza sauce
- 8 - 16 oz mozzarella cheese shredded
- FRESH FREAKING BASIL (for crying out loud don't forget the basil like me)
- Any other topping you enjoy
Ingredients
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- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
- Drain the canned chicken the best you can. I squeezed the chicken with paper towels to extract as much moisture as I could.
- Lay out the chicken onto a cookie sheet and bake it for roughly 10 minutes. This will help dry the chicken out.
- Take the chicken out of the oven and let it rest until it's cool enough to handle.
- Transfer the chicken to a bowl, mix in the egg and parmesan cheese until everything is well combined.
- Transfer the chicken into a food-safe container. You can store the chicken dough in the fridge for a day or two before camping.
- If your campsite's firepit has a grill you can use that or bring your own. Place your cast iron skillet on top of the grill grate while you start the fire.
- I chose to use the flames from the fire to heat my skillet but if you don't have a grill grate, cook the firewood down to red-hot coals then place the skillet directly on top of them.
- Once the skillet is smoking hot, carefully transfer it to a heatproof surface.
- Splash the bottom of the skillet with coconut or olive oil.
- Retrieve the chicken dough from your cooler. Form the chicken dough into a ball with your hands. Place the dough in the middle of the hot skillet, you should hear it sizzle. Gently smush the dough with a spatula along the bottom of the skillet. The dough will crumble and break apart here and there but keep working it until it's as even as you can get it.
- Transfer the dough filled skillet to the grill grate or coals. Cook the dough until it's golden brown on the bottom, roughly 30-40 minutes. If your fire or coals are screaming hot, check the bottom of the dough every so often to avoid burning. Once the crust is golden brown on the bottom and the top of the crust firms up, layer on your cheese, the tomatoes, any additional toppings, and a little more cheese. At this point, I should have covered the skillet with tin foil to ensure the pizza cooked evenly but I forgot.
- Check the pizza now and then to ensure it's cooked evenly and the bottom is golden brown. How long to cook the pizza will depend on how hot your fire is.
- Once the pizza is cooked to your liking, yank it from the grill or coals, let it rest for a few minutes, top with basil, then enjoy.
If the pizza crust is undercooked a little, don't worry about it! The crust is comprised for cooked chicken, egg, and cheese. It won't have the dreaded uncooked flour taste, it will still taste like chicken.
You can easily double the dough recipe if you're cooking for more than 2 people.
Christina – this looks great! I’m happy to know Keto people can have pizza, because, truly, that’s something I would miss. And, I’d probably add some fresh basil. (Sorry.)
Hahahahaha, I deserved the basil jab 😀
That crust sounds interesting but delicious! Love cooking my pizza in a skillet, and over an open fire would be awesome! I bet the smell was amazing! But maybe next time you should remember the basil!! 😉 lol! Hope you and Kieran are having an awesome summer!
Holy crap, the smell was everything! No joke about the basil, rookie move 🙂
Hope you’re having a great summer too!
Chicken as a pizza crust!? Now I’ve seen it all. And I LOVE IT! This sounds like an amazing meal, Christina…and even better than you managed to make it over a campfire. I bet you had everyone else around you jealous. 🙂 So I love cooking in cast iron, but I’ve never done much cooking over an open flame like that. I’m not much of a camper, but if it involved cooking over a fire, then I might be on board. Sounds like you guys had fun. I bet a bit of basil on top of that pizza would’ve been a good touch, too!
Yay!! Oh yeah, the smells of fire wafted through the campsite, it was heavenly! GAH! I can’t believe I forgot the basil!
I’ve not cooked over a campfire for years Christina. It’s not because we don’t go camping anymore, because we do. We go several times a year but we have a camping gas stove. So I guess that’s kind of cheating isn’t it? But I got a cast iron skillet for Christmas last year and I’d be able to make this amazing pizza using it. So I’ve put this recipe in a back pocket until the next time! Thanks for this recipe and for the video. I always love your videos! “Fire Porn” Ha ha you got me at this I was killing myself! And who cares if it fell apart. The fact it was delicious is what matters! 🙂
Hey man, cooking over a stove while camping still works. Plus, you get to eat a lot sooner! Hahahahaha, thanks for saying you like our videos, Neil 🙂
i was so sure that this was going to be a cauliflower crust, but a chicken + egg + cheese one?! dang, that sounds super inventive + hearty (:
Hahahahaha! I almost went with a cauliflower crust so you were close 😀
Thanks for sharing what you would do next time. I think it is a good tip to do as much prep at home beforehand. Makes everything so much easier for sure. Just to let you know, I am hosting International Scone Week and it would be great if you could take part: http://tandysinclair.com/international-scone-week-2018/
Thank you SO much for the invitation. I’m not eating carbs at the moment (I need to lose weight) so scone’s aren’t in my future 🙁
Did you say the crust can be made of cheese? Because I think the only way I’d love pizza more is with even more cheese :). LOVING this recipe! Have a great weekend!
Right? More cheese, please 😀
Cooking over a campfire can be super tricky! That pizza looks delicious and is a great camping meal!
Thank you, Marcie!
Y’all sure know how to camp right! I’ve never imagined baking a pizza while camping, but you guys have inspired me to try it next time I’m in the woods in front of a fire. Have lots of fresh freaking basil in the garden right now so I’ll be sure to use it. lol!
Yay!!! Campfire pizza is the bomb!!! 😀
This pizza looks incredible! I would have added basil if it were me 😉!
Hahahaha, I’m such a doofus, I can’t BELIEVE I forgot the basil. Ha!
I have to admit I’m not a fan of cheese so I’ll stick to my beloved carbs but I love how the cast iron makes things like this so crispy!!
Seriously, cast iron cooking is amazeballs!
What a great idea! Everything cooked over fire tastes so much better!!!
Right? I adore campfire cooking!
Hi Christina,
I work for MountainHouse.com and we loved your recipe http://www.shockmunch.com/recipe/keto-camping-fathead-pizza/
We were just wondering if you would mind letting us use one of your images for our blog post? We won’t republish the recipe, just link to it and include a small blurb. And if you would like us to add anything to our description of your recipe once it’s published, please let us know.
Hopefully, some Mountain House fans will become regular readers of your site!
Thanks,
Katelyn
I just sent you an email Katelyn 😀