Gluten free, low carb and perfect for diabetics, this crock pot pizza recipe is so easy you might have to swoon across a couch or three just to make it look like you worked hard. If you’re a fan of good measure, throw some coconut flour wantonly across your face and hair to look even more haggard.
The secret is in how easy this dish is to prepare ahead, even on your busiest days.
Easy to assemble and served up with a dollop of molten cheesy love, this uber-stuffed dish will delight even the pickiest of eaters. (I even share ideas for baking this dish in the oven below, so be sure to read recipe tips.)
As an aside, I totally almost killed myself making this dish.
- Loaded with sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, green peppers, fresh mushrooms, more
I was carrying the crock pot, cord and all, across the dining room to take the pictures above and below, and I stepped on the cord plug. Barefoot.
I almost threw the entire device, all six quarts of it, filled with prepared fillings! Needless to say, I managed to hop about a bit and gingerly place the crock pot and contents on the table before hopping about some more. I should name this a Hop Pot because I keep forgetting to carry the cord plug in my hand.
I live a life of danger. Madcap, zany danger.
Here with added pepperoni for some added pizza-ness
Crock pot considerations and recipe ruminations:
- If you don’t have a crock pot, you can bake this dish in a casserole pan for about an hour on 350 degrees. I’d cover the top with a tent of tinfoil to keep the cheese from over-browning and then remove during the last 10 minutes of baking.
- This dish freezes well, so if you bake it up, you can pop it in the freezer and thaw/reheat as needed.
- Need to cut the fat? Thankfully, because you can pretty much put anything you wish on your pizza, you can use lower-fat cheeses and leaner proteins. If you’re a vegetarian, skip all the meats, and you’re golden.
- I use store brand pizza sauces because they’re thin (go farther), cost less and tend not to contain added, unnecessary ingredients. My two store brands of jarred pizza sauce used in my recipes come from Kroger and WalMart because that’s where I shop most often.
- This dish is induction friendly, gluten free and sugar free and just over 5 net carbs per serving (due to pizza sauce).
This is what it looks like served up. Now really. Wasn’t that easy?
Crock Pot Pizza
.75 lb ground beef, cooked
.75 lb bulk Italian sausage, cooked
1-15 ounce jar pizza sauce
3 cups mozzarella cheese, shredded
3 cups fresh spinach
16 slices pepperoni
Toppings(optional. Add your faves)
I used (* = accounted for in nutritional information):
1 cup olives, sliced*
1 cup mushrooms, sliced*
1/2 green pepper, chopped*
1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped*
1/4 cup marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced*
In a 6 quart crock pot, combine sausage and hamburger with sauce and onions. Place half of sauce mixture in crock pot. Place half of fresh spinach on top of sauce mixture. Place pepperoni and 1/2 desired toppings on top. Place half of mozzarella cheese on top of pepperoni. Repeat layers ending with mozzarella. Cook on low 4-6 hours. Let cool slightly and cut into 8 slices. Refrigerate remaining.
Makes 8 ginormous slices.
Nutritional Information Per Serving: Calories: 487, Carbohydrates: 7.6g, Fiber: 2, Net Carbohydrates: 5.6g, Protein: 30g, Fat: 37g
Looks great and we have company so this may be perfect!!
And wait until the whole house smells like this dish. It’s like aromatherapy. I also love how the cheese turns golden brown. I never knew that could happen in a crock pot until this year!
The first instruction is to “combine sausage and hamburger with sauce and onions.” Are those onions cooked and are they in addition to the onions suggested in the toppings ingredients?
Hi there! I didn’t pre-cook the onions, no.
I love me some vegetarian pizza. Thanks for the oven directions.
I am such a fan of veggies! With artichoke hearts, fresh spinach, sun-dried tomatoes… I just load it up! I think this would be awesome in the oven, too.
Thanks this recipe couldn’t have come at a better time. I was just making my shopping list and have a bunch of spinach to use up!
Awesome! I love fresh spinach in dishes, because it just adds that little bit of phyto-nutrient oomph.
Hi Jamie:
Wow! This looks great! You might even say “to die for”? Be careful with your lighter side!
So true, Cinthia! Thankfully, no food bloggers were harmed irreparably in the writing of this recipe.
Hello, beautiful!!! I’ve been looking for low carb meals to do in the crock pot because a 10 month old on the move doesn’t leave me as much time in the kitchen as I’d like, and ideally I need to prepare said meal during naptime…bingo! Thanks Jamie!
Hi, sweetness! I totally remember those days. Those toddlers keep us on our toes. I hope you love this dish!
this looks great, i was wondering do you think instead of the sausage could one do ground chicken or would it taste funny?
Hi, Miranda! No, that wouldn’t be funny, I don’t think. In fact, I would think you could combine any meats for this dish and it would be perfect, so long as the textures are comparable.
“In a 6 quart crock pot, combine sausage and hamburger with sauce and onions. Place half of sauce mixture in crock pot.”
Am I reading this wrong? LOL
That would be a little confusing for sure! I meant to put half into the crock pot at a time… I’ll edit that. Thank you for catching that!
I just found your site at 200am its now 7.45 am and I have not left yet need to be getting ready for church lol I have came to the conclusion, ILOVE YOU and your wonderful site
Thank you so much for the kind words and the warmest welcome being sent your way!
Sounds and looks yummy! I miss pizza. And who needs the crust anyway, right? Thanks! I’m looking forward to this!
You won’t even miss the crust when you have this. The cheese and toppings have always been the stars waiting in the wings for their big moment to shine!
Will have to try this one this week. I just discovered that you can “”bake” in a crock pot I always thought you had to put everything in a water bath. Opened up the crock pot to so many more uses!
Water baths around here are deal breakers– at least for one of the boys and the cat. Well, in terms of bathing anyway…
Love the looks of this…thanks for it!!!
I hope you enjoy!
Love this recipe, will definitely try it but LOVE your humor even more. What more could we ask for a delicious recipe and a laugh…perfect! Thanks & keep cooking!
Thank you so much, Dolores!
I’m not sure how I feel about this recipe! On the one hand it looks amazing, but on the other, I SOOO love your chicken crusted pizza that I feel like I might be cheating on it if I were to make this crock-pot version.
Dear Lighter Side: Do I have room in my heart (and stomach) for both pizza recipes?
Dear Paul,
I think if you still propose to keep room in your fridge for chicken, the crock pot will understand not to become too haughty, and the chicken shouldn’t act too naughty. The key in these circumstances is to build up chicken crust’s confidence and assuring there won’t be much (if any change).
Yours in bacon,
Jamie
Chicken crusted pizza??? Recipe please!!
This looks so goeed!
Do you cook this with the crock pot’s glass lid on or off?
I cook with the lid on. Good question!
So is one serving one slice?
YUM!!!!!!!! Thanks for combining 3 things I love: pizza, low-carb & crock pot.
YES! I like the way you worded that!
I cooked this for 4 hours and have it cooling now – but how do I know for sure it’s done? Is there something to look for? Is smells wonderful…
Rho– After four hours you should be good! You mostly want the cheese to do its melty thing. If it’s lightly browned, all the better!
Made this last night in the oven. Awesome! Very customizable for preferred tastes. Looks like it will warm for lunches quite well too. I am going to try it in the crockpot next when I dig out my large one. Perfect for those nights when everyone is craving a meaty dish.
Tammy– I love that you baked this in the oven and came back to let me know you liked it! I’ll bet the cheese even had a little more bite to it. My brain is drooling a little.
I am SOOOO excited to try this! Compiling a grocery list now. The hubs and kids usually have pizza night on Fridays, so now I will just have it with them!
You are in for such a treat! It’s like aromatherapy for pizza lovers. I hope you fall instantly in love.
AMORE! (ah-MOR-ray) I love it!
Wew hew, Eric! I am so glad!
Has any one added more layers? Need a dish to take to a large picnic. Thought this might be a hit, and I don’t want to run out fast!
I say build it as deep as you’d like, but just count on more cooking time. I think for a large picnic, you might want to use a lasagna-sized pan, load it up, bake it and then you can share the love more easily.
What I’ve been thinking here too.
Mine came out a little runny, (more like a casserole than pizza) but MAN did it taste good! Definitely making this again!
To lower the humidity in a crock pot and to reduce the watery chance of getting a soupy consistency place a layer of paper towels, completely covering the top of the crock pot opening then place the lid on top. This will give a more baked in the oven feel but the convenience of a crock pot.
Thanks! I’ll give that a try
Made this last week for the boys and I. They RAVED. I had to do it in the oven since I forgot to put it in the crockpot that morning. The boys have been asking for it since then. I was worried that it looked a little runny when I pulled it out of the ove. I let it rest a bit, and when I came back to it everything had solidified nicely. Kinda like a pizza lasagna of tastiness. Thank you!
Yay! I love a happy ending. Thank you so much for sharing it with me, Alexandra!
Could you let the meat cook in the crockpot? Usually I am throwing things together the night before or before work in the morning, and like to have as little prep time as possible. Looks great regardless, though!
I think you might be able to, sure! Especially if we’re talking about it cooking for hours. I would hope so, anyway.
Mmmmm Love!!!! Made this tonight. Delish. Used my favorite pizza sauce recipe from Tyler Florence. Thanks for the great recipe and blog. 🙂
Wow! Amazing taste. I made this last night and we ALL loved it. Tasted just like my favorite pizza at my favorite pizza joint! I added a LOT of fresh chopped garlic to mine. Yummyummy. The only question I have is about the pizza sauce. You don’t specify sugar free, so I looked at the sauces on the grocer’s shelf and picked the lowest carb option. It had 4 carbs per 1/4 cup and others had anywhere from 5-9. After thinking about it, I still think that seems like a lot for the recipe if it’s split 6 ways. Any opinion? No Kroger around here in central Florida.
Hi, Shelly! I buy mine from WalMart and I want to say it’s either 3 or 4 carbs per 1/4 cup without added sugar. It’s thin, so you could always use less. There’s so much flavor coming from the other elements of the dish, you only really need that tomato hint to get the point across.
For a sugar free, low carb option,take a can of regular tomato sauce, add oregano, or “Italian spice” ,salt and pepper parmesan cheese
Tried it, turned out great. Thanks 🙂
For something like this it would be good to use a crockpot liner. Looks fabuloso!
I am making this today!
I adore this recipe. I hope you love it!
Ok, I made this!! IT WAS AWESOME!!! My family gobbled it up, so I have to make another! 🙂 Thanks for this recipe. Mine did turn out a little runny and was more like a casserole, but man it was so good!
I am so glad you like this! Thankfully, the liquids are reabsorbed as the casserole chills, which makes it really nice later on.
I’m a little late to the party, but I made this in the oven tonight, adding about 1/3 c ricotta (leftovers…) to the first layer. The veggies were still crisp, which we decided we liked very much. Baked at 350 for 30 mins, rotating it at 20 to get the top evenly brown. Totally going on the regular rotation!
That sounds amazing, Wyn! I love your process. Thanks so much for sharing.
I appreciate this recipe. My nephew is in prison and they have just been able to buy a crock-pot. It is only a 5 cup but with the limited ingredients this recipe would work, since it does not have to have dough. Now all I have to do is figure out the amounts. I am going to go buy one so I can experiment.
Hi Melanie! I would say for a crock pot of about that size, cut the recipe by about 2/3, and that should fit! I love the crock pot. You can create such hearty meals in them–especially when your space is limited. I am sending good thoughts to your family. Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help with more recipes!
Im guessing it would but just like your opinion, do you think this will freeze well?
sorry just realized it says so in the instructions lol. Making this now!
This is so good frozen! Just proportion before freezing and you’re golden. I love having food at the ready for those days I want something hearty but don’t have the time to cook something new.
Time is 4-6 hours but what about those of us who have to work an 8 hour day? If I increase the ingrediants will that offset the additional time?
Hi there! In that case, you could make in advance and keep it on warm until evening?
Thanks Jamie! Just wasn’t sure if having it in the pot on warm would mess with the yummyness.
I think if you have it on warm it should be all right, but you could also bake ahead and then place on warm in the morning and see if it heats through by dinner!
This is in mah crock-pot! I can’t wait! Thank you Jamie! You make the best stuff!
FANTASTIC. Mine came out more like a casserole, even with the people’s tips, but still great!
It really is a lot like a casserole, but I’m glad you like it! I want to make another one. Thank you for the reminder.
Do you have to use spinach my family all except me won’t eat it 🙁
Going to try this tonight! I have some turkey sausage that I think I add!
Do you cook the beef/sausage before putting in crockpot?
Nope! It will cook in the crockpot 🙂
Confused – the recipe says to add the beef & sausage cooked. Planning on making this tonight. Which is it?
this was AWESOME!!! it was super easy to throw together- literally took me 20 min! it was in the crockpot for 5 hours and came out super flavorful.
So happy you enjoyed it 🙂
FY ,,the Walmart pizza sauce I checked had a wheat warning on the label. If you’re sensitive don’t use it. i’ll be trying this recipe as my husband is on a low carb diet and I am gluten free.
I’ve made this twice and it is watery each time. Am I missing something?
Hello! I made this and noticed it tasted a little salty.. Has anyone else had this problem?
What is a serving size? i slice or 2?
Are onions required in the dish? Your instructions say to put the sausage and beef in the sauce with onions but onions are listed under the optional ingredients. I was planning to make this today but only bought the base ingredients.
Made this for a work luncheon, but I doubled the recipe, and it was a HUGE hit. They ate it all and asked for the recipe! I also made it 3 times after that, and think it’s the best thing since giving up sliced bread. 🙂
Awesome!
Might sound like a dumb question but when you say put the meat and sausage in the slow cooker, are you meaning AFTER its browned?
I know one of your other recipes has a printer friendly version. Do you have this one that way as well, or would I need to just copy/paste?
I thought this recipe was pretty good. It didn’t WOW me, but oh my word – my husband said it’s the best dish I’ve ever made. You would have thought he died and went to heaven. I had another Pizza bake recipe that has been his favorite for years, but apparently this has replaced it as #1 in his heart. With that kind of rave review, I’m definitely keeping this around!
I love that it has so much spinach in it. Adds some veggies and doesn’t compromise the taste at all. I also added some bell pepper. I wish I had removed the grease from the hamburger and sausage, because it was little watery. That being said, it might be good with a little more sauce (My grocery only had a 14 oz jar). Next time, I may use ground turkey instead of beef to make it leaner. We had caesar salad to go with it and will definitely be enjoying leftovers!
Awesome!!
Do you chop or tear the spinach or is it whole leaves?
Personal preference! Which way do you prefer?