Margherita pizza is my all-time favorite food, honestly and truly. It’s perfect in its simplicity — flavorful yet light, cheesy yet not too over-the-top. And fresh basil? You can’t beat it.

Now, we all know pizza isn’t exactly a “healthy” food, but it can be made a bit healthier by swapping in a different crust. This low-carb crust is made with almond flour, which also happens to be gluten free. Almond flour has twice the protein of all-purpose flour and about 1/4 the carbs. Side bar: almond flour is made from ground-up almonds, so it’s much higher in fat than traditional flour (although it’s the “good kind” of fat).

Now, to address the elephant in the room: What’s the texture like? I would compare it to a soft cracker. That may not sound super appealing, but if you’re going for low-carb, gluten free pizza, it’s pretty good. The thinner you roll out the dough, the crispier it will get.

We also chose to spruce up this traditional pizza with whole roasted garlic — because why not? It’s delicious. I truly enjoyed this pizza, and I hope you do, too!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 1/2 c. almond flour

• 2 t. garlic powder

• 2 t. oregano

• 1 t. thyme

• 1 t. red pepper flakes

• 2 eggs

• 4 T. olive oil

• 1/2 t. salt

• 10 cloves garlic, peeled

• 1 jar of marinara sauce

• Fresh basil

• Burrata mozzarella

STEPS

1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the almond flour, eggs, 1 t. oregano, 1 t. thyme, 1 t. garlic powder, 1/2 t. salt and 2 T. olive oil in a mixing bowl. Cut the dough in half.

2) Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and place a ball of dough onto each sheet. Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough into a thin rectangle (be careful not to tear it). If the dough starts to stick to the rolling pin, coat the rolling pin with a bit of almond flour.

3) Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the edges turn golden brown.

4) While the pizza is baking, add the peeled garlic to a small pan with 2 T. olive oil. Cook on high until the oil starts to sizzle, then reduce heat to low and toast until the garlic is soft. Use tongs to remove the garlic from the pan and dab off any excess oil with a paper towel.

5) Pour the marinara sauce into a large bowl and add 1 t. oregano, 1 t. garlic powder and 1 t. red pepper flakes. Stir well.

6) Spread a heaping spoonful of sauce onto each pizza. Tear the burrata into chunks and place evenly across the pizza. Finally, add a few cloves of garlic and top with fresh basil leaves.

7) Add the pizza to the oven and bake for another 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. Allow to sit a few minutes before cutting and serving.