Like most people, I worked at a pizza place for 8 years during my 11-year pursuit of a 4-year degree. So when I tried cutting pizza out of my life, I lasted about 3 weeks before I was snorting parmesan packets in the bathroom while my wife thought I was in there doing actual drugs.
When it comes to REAL pizza, the low-carb world has continued to swing-and-miss. The cauliflower crust option isn't the worst thing I've tried - but it's not PIZZA. I've tried a few different brands that use cheese or chicken dust to hold the crust together. That also isn't pizza.
The crust on the Buff Chickalini is made from Carbquik: a flour substitute that mimics regular flour but only has 2 net carbs per serving (and 90 calories, AND half the sodium of flour). I've heard some people don't like using Carbquik because it's "too good to be true" or it "makes me fart". Cool. More for me.
Ingredients
The Numbers
This recipe makes 6 servings. I could have cut it into 8 slices to pad the stats, but we don't play like that.
The Chicken
You can use any toppings you like on this pizza crust, so if you don't want chicken - skip ahead.
I'm using one 10 oz. chicken breast for this recipe because if you add too much meat, it'll be too heavy for the crust and you'll have to eat it with a fork. If that sounds awesome to you, don't let me stand in the way of your poultry dreams.
-First you'll dice up the chicken into small cubes. I prefer small cubes because it's easier to distribute them on the pizza AND the cubes cook much faster than big hunks of meat.
-Add chicken cubes into mixing bowl with mixture of 1/2 cup of Carbquik, black pepper, and cayenne pepper. Toss them around until the cubes are fully coated.
-There should be plenty of the mix left over, so you're actually only gonna consume about half the mix - or whatever portion sticks to the chicken.
-Place chicken in air fryer at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes (flipping/tossing once halfway thru) until all sides are golden brown. Careful - the cubes will overcook quickly if you don't check them. It's better to check too early than wait until they're dried out.
-I typically put the chicken in the fryer first, and then move on to the next steps while the cubes cook, but you do you, Boo-Boo.
The Crust
The crust is pretty simple (3 ingredients), and hopefully you have a better rolling pin than the cooking oil can I used. I also used parchment paper for the first time, and while you can totally make this pizza without it, it made the whole process neater, cleaner, and minimized the dough sticking to stuff.
-Preheat oven to 450
-Add 1.5 cup Carbquik and olive oil in mixing bowl. And YES, I washed the bowl after the chicken - I'm not a monster.
-Slowly add hot water as you stir the mix into a dough.
-Mash the dough around for a minute or two to make sure it's smooth, then roll it into a ball and place on top of pizza pan/cookie sheet (and parchment paper if you're using it)
-Take another sheet of parchment and place over the top of the ball, smushing it flat. Take a rolling pin, a tee-ball bat, or your hands and spread the crust until it's flat and level.
-TIP: To prevent sauce & ingredients from running, use your thumb & fingers to pinch the crust so the edges are slightly elevated (see picture ^)
-Some people say you should poke holes in the crust with a fork, but I just do it because it's almost as much fun as popping bubble wrap. Poke holes, don't poke holes - this is not turning into a political debate.
-Bake naked crust for 8-10 minutes before adding any sauce or toppings.
The (optional) Onion for my Wife
I'm an onion agnostic. If there's an onion, I'll eat it; but I'm rarely going add onions to a dish on my own account. But my wife loves onions, so I'm gonna show you the best way to add 'em. **PRO TIP: If you don't like onions, DON'T USE THEM.
-Dice up a thin slice of onion as small as you can comfortably chop them.
-Add a drop of olive oil (or cooking spray if that's what you've got) into a saucepan over medium-high heat and drop onions in
-Sautee for 2-3 minutes until onion bits are slightly browned but not burnt (they should look like the picture to the far right when they're done)
Top that Mother
Once the crust has pre-baked for 8-10 minutes in the oven, you're ready to add sauce and toppings
-Pour tomato sauce in center of crust and spread evenly to cover the parts where the sauce goes. I like to keep a defined "crust" area by not allowing sauce/toppings on the outer ring of the crust, but if you like to live on the edge, I will not judge you.
-Toss the cheese over the sauce, then distribute the chicken on top of cheese. Sprinkle the onions on whichever portion you'd like to have onions (mine is a 1/2 and 1/2)
-Stick pizza back into oven for another 8-10 minutes until crust is browned but not burnt.
-Grab that Buffalo sauce and go to town. You can make a spiral, you can dump it on each individual chicken bite, or you can pour it into a dipping bucket if you love the taste but hate convenience.
This pizza isn't going to melt your bodyfat or give you wings. But if you're trying to watch your calories and you can't live without pizza, I've found this to be the most appetizing option. The real value here is the crust - you can recreate any combination of sauce/toppings on this crust - I just happen to love Buffalo chicken and this is my recipe, so...
We'd love to hear feedback if you've tried making any of our recipes - especially if you made it even better than we did. And if you're having a similar issue with a certain favorite food and ou'd like to see a healthier option, shoot us an email at robbie@unclebod.com and we'll take a swing!
For more recipes/workout tips/videos, check out the UncleBlog!
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