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★ Why You'll Love this Recipe ★
What is a Meatza?
Meatza is a low-carb, high-protein twist on pizza that uses a seasoned ground meat base instead of traditional pizza dough. It’s like pizza meets meatloaf—topped with sauce, cheese, and your favorite toppings.
Low-Carb and Creative
Since there’s no crust, meatza is a great option for those cutting back on carbs or following a keto-friendly diet. It’s also just a fun way to mix things up if you’re tired of regular pizza but still want something familiar and comforting.
Easy to Make — All in One Pan
This recipe starts with a layer of ground beef (and optional Italian sausage) that forms the base. To help it hold together, a bit of egg and breadcrumbs are mixed in—just like making a meatloaf. Once baked, this forms a sturdy, flavorful foundation for all your favorite toppings.
Toppings and Customization
Just like traditional pizza, you can top your meatza with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and anything else you love—pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, olives, you name it. It’s endlessly customizable and always a hit with a hungry crowd.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
- Ground beef. Use lean ground turkey or 93% lean beef to lighten it up. Adding a bit of Italian sausage boosts flavor.
- Eggs. These are simple a binder.
- Italian bread crumbs. Use gluten free bread crumbs to lower carbs
- Garlic and onion powder. This seasons your meat.
- Dried basil and parsley. You can use fresh or dried.
- Pizza sauce. I love Rao's brand. It's pricey but tastes amazing. Ragu makes an affordable and yummy pizza sauce as well.
- Mozzarella cheese. Shredded cheese works best. Add flavor with Italian cheeses like Asiago, Parmesan, or Romano. Shredded cheddar is also a great option for extra sharpness and color.
- Optional toppings: sliced pepperoni, mushrooms, peppers, diced tomatoes, black olives... anything you'd put on a pizza!
★ How to Make this Recipe ★
This meatza is simple to prep and can be made in a cast iron skillet, casserole dish or on a baking sheet depending on what you have available.
Here's are the basic steps involved: (full recipe can be found below)
- Combine meat(s) and seasoning with eggs and breadcrumbs.
- Press meat mixture into pan to form the meat "crust" layer.
- Bake.
- Remove from oven (carefully).
- Top with sauce, cheese and other toppings as desired.
- Bake again. Remove from oven, slice and serve!
That's all there is to it! Simple and delicious!
★ Tips & FAQs ★
Other than ground beef, you can use a mix of beef and Italian sausage for more flavor. Ground turkey or chicken also work for a leaner version. Pretty much any meat will work here! Be sure to cook meats to its safe internal temperature which you can check with a meat thermometer.
This recipe is inspired by Nigella's cooking show. I love her simple, passionate approach to Italian recipes—she makes cooking feel effortless and fun! My recipe is an easy-to-make, more Americanized version of her meatza.
Nope! This has been around awhile. This "meatza" recipe was inspired by my archives of vintage recipes. I found this gem of a recipe titled "Burger-Pizza" nestled in a 23-page mini cookbook put out by Hunts. The cookbook was not marked with a date since it's technically an ad and not a published book, but it looks to be from the 1950s era with one-liners like "Men, particularly, like its hearty flavor."
Meatza freezes well, so you may want to make extras to save or share. For best results, freeze the uncooked meat crust separately from the sauce and cheese. Wrap the crust tightly in plastic; freeze cheese in a bag, and store unopened sauce at room temp.
When ready to bake, place the frozen crust in a cold oven and let it preheat with the pan. Add 3–5 minutes to bake time. Then top with sauce and cheese and finish baking.
Tip: If using a glass dish, let it thaw slightly or heat slowly to avoid breakage.
Meatza cooks well in a deep pie pan or cast iron skillet. Using a round pan, you can slice it like a pizza. But if you don't own a pie pan or oven-safe skillet, you could easily make this in a small, square casserole dish.
Top your meatza just like a pizza! Veggies like peppers, onions, spinach, mushrooms, or proteins like pepperoni, sausage, or chicken all work great. I love black olives, artichokes, and even Hawaiian-style pineapple and ham. Try a drizzle of pesto or sprinkle of herbs—topping options are endless!
★ More Italian Recipes ★
Easy Beef Recipes
Looking for new ways to use ground beef or beef cuts? Check out all my easy beef recipes!
Love meatza? You might love my Taco Pasta Bake too! It's made with ground beef and always gets rave reviews!
This Meatza Pie recipe was featured on South Your Mouth!
Meatza Pizza
Equipment
Ingredients
Meat Crust
- 2 lbs ground meat beef, turkey and/or Italian sausage
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup Italian bread crumbs use gluten free bread crumbs for even lower carbs
- ½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon parsley flakes
- pinch red pepper flakes
Sauce and Cheese
- 1 cup pizza sauce more or less to taste
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
Mighty Mrs. is a #WalmartPartner.
Instructions
- Combine eggs, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, parsley, and red pepper flakes with ground meat.
- Layer meat mixture into a cast iron skillet and press to make flat.
- Bake at 400˚ for 35-45 minutes or until meat is fully cooked.
- Remove hot skillet with meat from oven and drain excess fat if desired by gently tilting the skillet over the sink. Be careful to not touch the skillet and don't over-tilt so that the meat falls out!
- Layer on pizza sauce and mozzarella cheese and any toppings you'd like! Return to oven and bake an additional 10-12 minutes or until cheese has melted.
- Remove from oven and let cool.
Video
Notes
- If using lean ground meat, you may want to lightly grease you pan to prevent the layer of meat from sticking.
- The size pan you use may vary which affect the thickness of the meat. This will affect cook time. Cook your meat to your desired and safe internal temperature. This varies by the type of meat you use.
- Use a meat thermometer if needed to determine when your meat crust is done and ready to be layered with sauce and cheese. Keep in mind, meat will continue to cook a bit more once its returned to the oven with sauce and cheese.
Char Dzugas says
This is so yummy. When I make it I do it in a 10 inch pie pan and make the meat
a layer thinner, so it appears more like the crust of the pie. Then I fill it with the toppings then the cheeses. Oh my it is always a hit.
Pam says
Really good! I also put pepperoni , green chili on top. YUM!
wendy says
Im assuming the 2 eggs are incorporated into the meat/ herb/ bread crumb mixture?
Angela G. says
Yes, that's correct! The eggs get blended in with the meat and breadcrumbs (similar to meatloaf) to help hold everything together.
Stela says
I haven't tried this. I will try this over the weekend with my kids. Great post!
Sharon says
I think this looks yummy! Meat or veggies, I will try both! Thanks for sharing!