This high-protein pizza crust takes minutes to make with cottage cheese, flour, Italian herbs, and no yeast or rising time. It bakes up golden, chewy, and crispy at the edges. All it needs is your favorite pizza toppings!
High-Protein Pizza Dough Crust
Cottage cheese pizza crust is a spin on my yeast-free pizza dough recipe. Still, no yeast. It’s so easy to make with minimal ingredients, replacing half of the flour in the original recipe with creamy cottage cheese.
Similar to mozzarella and cream cheese in my keto pizza crust, cottage cheese binds the dough and packs the crust full of protein without impacting the flavor. The resulting pizza base is chewy, crispy, and golden. I load it up with our favorite toppings to make an oven-baked or grilled pizza, and everyone at the table loves it!
I’ll show you how to make a pizza margherita using this easy homemade cottage cheese pizza crust. You can add any other toppings you’d like, such as pepperoni slices, olives, mushrooms, and fresh herbs, like basil.
What’s So Wonderful About This Cottage Cheese Pizza Crust?
- Only 5 ingredients. The basic dough is cottage cheese, flour, baking powder, olive oil, and salt. I also add Italian herbs.
- No yeast or rising time. I love a dough that I can get in the oven right away! Have a delicious, hot, extra-cheesy pizza that’s ready to eat in 25 minutes.
- Bake it as usual. Mix and give it a quick knead. The cottage cheese crust rolls out and bakes just like classic pizza dough.
Cottage cheese is quickly becoming one of my favorite ingredients in recipes like cottage cheese flatbread and cottage cheese Buffalo chicken dip. I’ve also been eyeing those trendy cottage cheese pizza bowls similar to my baked pizza dip. Maybe I’ll make those next!? 👀
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here’s what you’ll need to make this high-protein pizza. For the complete recipe with measurements, scroll to the recipe card below.
- Cottage Cheese – The cottage cheese can be low-fat or full-fat, large or small curd, since you’ll blend it in the food processor. If your cottage cheese is on the drier side, add 1-2 tablespoons of plain milk to loosen it.
- Flour – I use all-purpose flour. Self-rising flour works in this pizza dough recipe, too.
- Baking Powder – Creates a fluffy texture in this yeast-free dough recipe. Do not substitute baking soda. They aren’t the same thing!
- Italian Herbs – Optional, but added for extra flavor. You can use ready-made Italian seasoning or any combination of dried herbs like oregano, basil, and thyme.
- Olive Oil – Oil helps the dough crisp up and also helps with sticking.
- Salt – I suggest adding salt to taste, as cottage cheese is already salted in most cases. I add around 1 teaspoon. You don’t want your pizza dough to be overly salty.
- Toppings – Pizza sauce, fresh mozzarella, and grated Parmesan cheese for a classic margherita pizza.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- For a smoother dough, I recommend blending the cottage cheese first using a blender or food processor. It takes seconds, and you won’t have small lumpy curds throughout the crust.
- Let the pizza rest. I like to rest the pizza for 2-3 minutes after it’s fully baked. This allows the pizza sauce to cool down a bit and the crust to set up for neater, less-gooey slices.
- You can use different flour. This recipe works with all-purpose or self-rising flour. While I haven’t tested it with gluten-free flour, I’d think it should work with either a GF blend or an alternative, like oat flour. If you try it, drop a comment below!
- White base. Make a white pizza base with olive oil (or garlic butter) and Parmesan cheese. Or try Alfredo sauce.
- More than classic pizza. This cottage cheese pizza crust also works as a flatbread base for my favorite Macedonian fried pork pizza. You could even try it as the dough for pizza rolls or stromboli.
FAQ
Optional. I usually blend my cottage cheese to make it smoother. If you’re not blending it, consider using small-curd cottage cheese.
Yes, I highly recommend it. If you skip the par-baking step before adding the toppings, your pizza may come out underbaked and soggy.
The cottage cheese crust is very sticky, so always line the pan with parchment paper before pressing out the crust. You can even coat the paper with cooking spray or olive oil.
Yes! The pre-baked pizza crust freezes well for up to 3 months. See the Storage section below for details.
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Blend the cottage cheese. Add the cottage cheese to a food blender and blend until smooth.
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Make the dough. Combine the flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, and salt (around 1 teaspoon) in a large mixing bowl. Add the blended cottage cheese and 1½ tablespoons of olive oil. Stir with a spatula until the dough comes together. You can also use a stand mixer fitted with dough hooks.
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Knead. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead until cohesive and mostly smooth. It will not be as smooth as classic pizza dough, so do not try to achieve that.
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Get ready to bake. Preheat oven to 450ºF. Place a piece of parchment paper on a pizza plate or pizza stone. Without parchment paper, the pizza dough may stick to the surface.
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Bake the pizza dough. Roll out the pizza dough on a floured surface to a 12-inch circle or press it out directly onto the prepared pan. Brush the edges with the remaining olive oil and bake for 10 minutes.
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Add the toppings. Once your dough is pre-baked, add toppings. Start with pizza sauce, then add mozzarella cheese and parmesan. You can also add any other desired toppings.
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Bake again. Bake the pizza for another 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is nicely melted and starts to get a few browned spots.
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Serve. Remove the pizza from the oven and add fresh basil if using. Let the pizza rest for 2-3 minutes before slicing and serving.
- Blend the cottage cheese in a food blender for a smoother dough. If your cottage cheese is dry, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of plain milk.
- You can use self-rising flour for this recipe if you don’t have all-purpose flour.
- The dough can be made in a food processor if you are in a rush.
- Nutritional values are for 1 pizza crust topped with pizza sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese and do not include pizza toppings.
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 215kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 340mg | Potassium: 208mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 249IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 175mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.
How to Make Cottage Cheese Pizza Crust
Get ready to bake by preheating the oven to 450ºF. It needs to be nice and hot to crisp up the crust! Meanwhile, line a pizza plate, pizza stone, or baking sheet with parchment paper. Don’t skip this step. The pizza crust may stick without it.
- Mix the dough. Blend the cottage cheese. Then, add flour, baking powder, Italian seasoning, and salt to a bowl. Fold the blended cottage cheese along with 1½ tablespoons of olive oil into the dry ingredients and mix until the dough comes together.
- Knead. A quick note: Even after blending the cheese and kneading, this cottage cheese pizza dough won’t be as smooth as traditional pizza dough. Just knead it on a lightly floured surface until it forms a cohesive ball.
- Bake the dough. When you’re ready, roll out the pizza crust. Press it out on your lined pan, and brush the edges with olive oil. Next, par-bake the crust for 10 minutes at 450ºF.
- Add your toppings. Take out the crust, and cover it with pizza sauce. Add mozzarella, then Parmesan for a margherita pizza. If you’d like, you can add any other toppings on top of the cheese (try the toppings from my goat cheese pizza or BBQ chicken pizza). Afterward, return the pizza to the oven for another 5-10 minutes to melt the cheese.
- Enjoy! Garnish with fresh basil and let your cottage cheese pizza rest for a couple of minutes, then slice and serve.
Make It in the Blender
If I’m in a rush, I’ll blend the cottage cheese and add the rest of the ingredients right into the food processor. Pulse a few times, and the dough is ready to go. I use this same technique to make pie dough. It’s perfect if I’m in a hurry.
Storage
- Store the dough. You can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for 1-2 days before rolling it out and baking it.
- Refrigerate leftover pizza. Store leftover pizza slices in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
- Reheat. Warm up cottage cheese pizza in a 350ºF oven until it’s crispy again and hot throughout.
Make-Ahead Tip: Freezing the Pizza Crust
This is one of my favorite ways to prep this pizza crust ahead:
- Pre-bake the crust for 10 minutes at 450ºF. Afterward, allow the crust to cool, then wrap it in a double layer of plastic wrap. You can even bake multiple crusts and stack them with parchment in between.
- Freeze for 2-3 months. For an easy dinner, thaw the crust at room temperature, add the cheese and toppings, and bake for the last 5-10 minutes as usual.
