Can You Just Eat The Toppings Off A Pizza While On Keto?

Who doesn't like a slice of pie, pizza pie that is? 

There is a reason so many different keto pizza recipes are floating around, and now every pizza place is starting to come out with their own “keto-friendly” pizza crusts. But what do you do when you're at a party or gathering, and nobody ordered the “keto pizza” for you, can you pick off the toppings and keep it keto?

Most pizza toppings and cheeses are relatively low in carbohydrates, which can be eaten while following a keto diet. The majority of carbs in a standard pizza are found in the crust and sauce, which should be avoided if trying to keep net carbs as low as possible.

In this article, I'll go over what toppings you can eat and which to avoid other popular keto pizza-related questions, and even share with you some delicious keto-friendly pizza recipes for you to get your fix.

Can You Eat Pizza Toppings Or Cheese Off Pizza While On Keto?

I get it, you're at a party, and maybe you've snuck into the bathroom and reading this wondering if eating the toppings off a regular pizza will de-rail your keto diet. 

 First, don't stress; everything is going to be ok. Secondly, yes, you can eat the toppings or the cheese from the pizza, and you should be ok. 

Of course, if it's a Hawaiian pizza, you may want to skip out on the pineapple. 

This reminds me of that one episode from the Jersey Shore (yes, I watched it… it was my guilty pleasure) where Vinny, also known as the “keto guido,” was drunk scraping off the toppings from the pizza.

Major props to him, because in that drunken state, I may have gone into screw it mode and ate the entire pizza.

Crust and all  

Most toppings, including the cheese, are relatively low in carbohydrates. 

While there may be some places that use a few fillers here and there, it's not enough to add any significant amount of carbohydrates.

Do Pizza Toppings Have Carbs?

Some carbs are to be expected within pizza toppings, even cheese has a few trace carbohydrates, but not so many as to throw you out of ketosis. 

Read: Kicked Out Of Ketosis?

Since most pizza toppings are based on meats and vegetables, I'd say m most toppings fall in the keto-friendly category.

Toppings with low to no amount of carbs:

Topping 1 oz. (28g)	Net carbs
Green Peppers	1.2g
Olives	0g
Mushrooms	0.7g
Spinach	0.5g
Jalapenos	0g
Anchovies	0g
Bacon	0g
Beef	0g
Canadian Bacon	0g
Chicken	0g
Italian Sausage	0g
Meatballs	0g
Pepperoni	0g
Salami	0g
Sausage	0g
Philly Steak	0g
Cheddar Cheese	1g
Mozzarella Cheese	1g
Parmesan Cheese	1g
Roma Tomatoes	1g
Onions	0.6g

Toppings with the most amount of carbs:

Topping 1 oz. (28g)	Net carbs
Pineapple	15.2g
Pizza sauce	6g

Short of wiping off the marinara pizza sauce from the cheese, you should be ok eating the toppings off a pizza while following a ketogenic diet. 

Just don't be surprised if you get odd looks from others in the room.

Can You Eat Gluten-Free Pizza On Keto?

Some may confuse gluten-free with being keto-friendly, and while most keto-friendly pizzas are gluten-free, not all gluten-free pizzas are keto-friendly.

Wait, huh?

 Not all gluten-free pizzas are keto-friendly.  

Gluten-free means that the pizza-crust does not contain any gluten. Gluten-free DOES NOT mean that a pizza does not contain carbohydrates.

Gluten-free pizzas can easily be made with flour substitutes with just as many carbohydrates as a regular pizza. 

And this can be tricky.

I've browsed the aisles looking for keto-friendly pizza crusts, only to find ones I thought would be keto-friendly, but were still high in carbohydrates. 

Take this Caulipower pizza crust (which is gluten-free); you may automatically think it is keto-friendly at first sight. Still, aside from cauliflower, they also use brown rice flour or cassava flour, which is relatively high in carbohydrates.

One serving, or 1/3 crust, has 26 grams of carbohydrates with 2 grams of dietary fiber. This means that the caulipower pizza crust has 24 grams of net carbs per serving or 72 grams of net carbs for the entire crust.

Eating Pizza Without Crust

What about eating the pizza, but just chopping off the crust from the outside? Unfortunately, that won't do.

Even a thin-crust pizza has enough carbs in it to add a significant amount of carbohydrates. While it may be possible to fit in a small slice or two, you'd be rolling the dice, which is entirely up to you, of course.

Of course, if you've been dying to have a slice of pizza, you could always have one if you're good about hopping back on your diet soon after.

For others, this may be too tempting and could lead to binge eating. 

However, if you're the type of person that can moderate themselves and exercise restraint, there's nothing wrong with living a little every once in a while.

It's about what you do MOST of the time that will dictate your results. 

Can You Have A Cheat Day In Keto?

Now, you may be wondering… can you have a cheat day on keto? 

Well, that's entirely up to you. 

As I've said before, if you're mindful and can exercise restraint, short of having any allergy, having a small cheat with foods “not keto-friendly” could be doable.

Of course, if this small cheat turns into a large one, then you can easily undo a week of progress in a single day.

I've seen it done.

But if having that small “cheat” allows you to adhere to your diet as a whole, it could be a worthwhile trade-off for some individuals. 

Other individuals may find that these “cheats” open the flood-gates to uncontrolled appetites and eventually binge eating.

You may also feel a little sluggish or less than optimal the following day. This ill-feeling is likely due in part to the fluctuation of going in and out of ketosis.

I like to supplement with exogenous ketones if I decide to have an unplanned meal to help “bridge” the timeframe between knocking myself out of ketosis and getting back in. 

By supplementing with exogenous ketones, it helps me bypass that sluggish feeling I might have otherwise experienced from kicking myself out of ketosis for that short period.

My recommended exogenous ketone supplement:

• Perfect Keto BHB. I worked a deal out with Perfect Keto where you can get 15% off by clicking on the banner below and using code: AOK

Keto Friendly Pizza Recipes You Won't Have To Scrape The Toppings From

These are just a few of my favorite keto friendly pizza recipes that I enjoy using various ingredients. 

For more inspiration, visit my keto-pizza Pinterest page with 1000's of different keto pizza ideas. 

Deep Dish Keto Pizza

I'm a bit bias when it comes to pizza. I LOVE DEEP DISH! 

So the first recommendation can't be anything else but a deep dish one.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Gnom Gnom 

Fathead pizza dough

Fathead pizza was all the rage among keto dieters. Use this recipe to make the crust and top it with whatever you prefer.

Photo and recipe courtesy of How To This And That 

Keto Fathead Pizza Pockets

Not exactly a pizza, but close enough! I used to live off of pizza pockets when I was a kid.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Hey Keto Mama 

Meatza 

This is my creation that was invented out of laziness.

1. Simply take one to two pounds of ground beef and flatten it out (thin) on a cookie sheet. 
2. Bake in the oven until the meat is well-done.
3. Take out the cookie sheet and drain the beef.
4. Top meat crust with a little Rao's pasta sauce, your favorite cheese, and you have yourself a meatza! 

The Takeaway

Most pizza toppings, including the cheese, are keto-friendly. 

If for whatever reason you want to eat the cheese and toppings off a pizza, they should have very few carbohydrates. It's best to stick with toppings that are high in both fat and protein.

Frequently Asked Questions