A super thin, super crunchy pizza crust made from 100% whole wheat! Go ahead and pile on the toppings because this pizza crust is sturdy enough for holding boatloads of your favorite pizza toppings.
Adapted from Two Red Bowls
There’s a fantastic phenomenon in the Midwest called the cracker crust pizza. Sometimes I’ll see it on menus as “flatbread pizza”, but it’s basically the same thing. This cracker crust pizza boasts a super thin crust that’s crunchy and sturdy. Personally, I absolutely love them because (1) it’s pizza! and (2) crunchy things feed my happy zone.
So yeah, pizza with a crunchy crust makes me a very happy camper. I’ve long been on a quest for the perfectly crisp thin pizza crust recipe and I’ve tried a BUNCH of recipes, but none of them delivered the kind of cracker crunch I was craving. Until now.
The other cool thing about this crust is there’s no yeast, so you don’t have to wait for the dough to rise. So if you get your pan pre-heating and the toppings and sauce prepped while the pizza dough is resting, you can have fresh, crunchy pizza on the table in about an hour. Oh and I almost forgot to mention, it’s low in carbs! An entire half a pizza has just 9 carbs, plus it’s whole grain, so much better for your body.
Honestly, I had to make the pizza crust a couple times to perfect the crunch factor, but I’ve got it down now and I’m uber happy. There are tons of fun pizza ideas dancing around in my head and I kind of want to make them ALL today.
Unfortunately, my kids don’t like crunchy crust pizza, so I’m on my own for eating ALL of this crunchy pizza-liciousness. Not that I mind, really … leftover cold pizza in the morning is kind of an epic breakfast, in my book. I will have to jot down all my ideas so I remember them later! I topped this one like a Thai Chicken pizza, taking advantage of some of that delicious leftover chicken from my Asian Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wraps. One can only eat so many lettuce wraps before you need to change it up a bit.
This time, I slathered my nice crunchy crust with that addictive peanut sauce, then topped with a hefty amount of my Asian peanut chicken, a bit of cheese, matchstick carrots, red onion, sweet pepper slices, plus a bit of celery and then topped it off with more cheese to hold it all together. A little sprinkle of cilantro was all it needed after it came out of the oven. Check out that lovely crunchy crust! Oh baby …
What is the secret to a perfect crunchy cracker style pizza crust?
Before you add the toppings, the pizza crust is cooked in a SUPER HOT cast iron pan. You oil the pan with a bit of avocado oil, set the pan in a hot oven ahead of time to get nice and hot, then add the crust. Bake it for 8 minutes or until golden brown, then flip the crust over before topping it so the other side can get nice and crunchy too. That’s it! Isn’t that easy?
Just be careful to use an oven mitt when handling that cast iron pan. I may have accidentally grabbed the handle of the pan while it was hot and that HURTS! I hope you’re smarter than me and don’t have to learn that the hard way.
Once you’ve perfected the crunch factor for your crispy crust, the next question is: how are you going to top your pizza? In case you’re undecided on that front, my foodie friends and I have some seriously amazing pizza sauce and topping ideas for you. However you decide to top your pizza, go ahead and load up those toppings. This whole wheat cracker crust has got you covered!
7 Fun Homemade Pizza Sauces:
- Homemade pizza sauce from Cooking with Mary and Friends
- Creamy good vodka sauce
- Creole Remoulade sauce
- Sun dried tomato ranch dressing
- Eggplant bolognese sauce (a delightful Italian meat sauce that uses buttery eggplant as a thickener)
- Smoky Romesco sauce
- Jack Daniels Chipotle BBQ Sauce
15 18 Creative Pizza Topping Ideas:
- Reuben Pizza and Spinach Artichoke Alfredo Pizza from An Affair from the Heart
- Meatball Parmesan Pizza and Eggplant Parmesan Pizza from What’s Cookin’ Italian Cuisine
- Mexican Pizza from The Fountain Avenue Kitchen
- Aussie Lamb Strawberry Arugula Pizza, Butter Garlic Herb Pizza and Breakfast Spinach Pizza from Ally’s Kitchen
- Butternut Alfredo Pizza with Prosciutto, Mushroom Artichoke Sun-dried Tomato Ranch Pizza and Chicken Bacon Apple Fig Pizza from my own archives
- Turkey Meatball and Fig Pizza and Spring Pea and Pineapple Pizza Fresca from Bacon Fatte
- Steak and Cheddar Pizza and Sundried Tomato, Olive and Goat Cheese Flatbread from Carrie’s Experimental Kitchen
- Korean Seoul Food Pizza, Shrimp Scampi Pizza with Melted Lemons or Savory Blueberry Pizza from ChinDeep
and if that’s not enough inspiration for you, here are 15 more drool-worthy pizza recipes!
Print
Crunchy Whole Wheat Cracker Thin Pizza Crust
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: Pizza
- Method: Baked
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon white whole wheat flour (or regular whole wheat)
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian Seasoning
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 6 Tablespoons water
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon honey
- For baking: avocado oil (or other oil with high smoke point)
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, garlic, Italian Seasoning, salt, and baking powder. Add the water, oil, and honey and stir until the dough comes together. Switch to your hands and knead the dough until smooth and supple, about 5 minutes. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, shape each one into a round disk, cover with a cloth, and let rest for 30 minutes.
- While waiting for the dough to rest, oil a cast iron pan with avocado oil. Set the pan in the oven and set the oven temperature to 450 F. Let the pan set in the hot oven for at least 10 minutes after the oven is heated to get good and hot.
- When the dough is ready, on a floured surface, roll out one of the crusts into a 9-10 inch circle.
- Set one pizza crust in the hot pan and prick with a fork a few times. Bake for about 8 minutes or until crisp and brown on the bottom and a little browned on top as well. Flip the crust over.
- Top with sauce, cheese and toppings and set back in the oven for about 8 – 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted, bubbly and browned in a few spots. Cut into slices and enjoy!
- Repeat with the other crust, or wrap the crust in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for later.
Notes
Premade crust will last for at least a week in the fridge or you can freeze it for up to a month. For easier rolling, let the dough warm up at room temp before rolling it out.
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 of a pizza crust
- Calories: 99 calories (for the crust ONLY)
- Fiber: 1.7g
- Protein: 1.7g
Nutrition information is for the crust only.
4 comments
Thanks for including me! Everything looks delicious and Pizza is my favorite food of all time period could eat everyday and now I have so many to choose from! YUMMY~~
Oh I’m so with you! If my waistline would let me, I’d eat pizza every day.
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