What is a meatza pie, you ask? Well, it's kind of like a pizza pie but, you know, meatier.
★ Why You'll Love this Recipe ★
This meatza pizza has no crust so it's great for anyone looking to cut carbs. It's also just a fun spin on traditional pizza so great if you're in the mood to try something new but not too far out of your comfort zone.
This meatza recipe is made with a layer of ground beef (plus optional Italian sausage) instead of crust. The meat is seasoned and a small amount of bread crumbs and eggs are added simply to hold the layer of beef together, similar to meatloaf.
Topped like a traditional pizza with sauce and cheese plus any of your favorite pizza toppings, this meatza is a crowd pleaser and can be customized just like a pizza.
★ Ingredients You'll Need ★
- Ground beef. You can substitute some or all for leaner ground turkey if you'd like. You can also lighten this up byt choosing a lean blend of ground beef like 93% lean. Substituting half or less Italian sausage adds really nice flavor as well.
- 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 works best. You can add other cheeses to layer on extra flavor. Asiago, Parmesan, and Romano are all good choices and are typical Italian cheeses. You can include shredded cheddar as another option which adds a nice color as well as a sharpness to the flavor.
- 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 your 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 ★
Is a Meatza pie a new thing?
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."
I do believe this would make a pretty great and funny Father's Day dinner though, don't you think?
A Meatza? Who's ever heard of a Meatza?
An Italian meat-pie-of-sorts has been on my list of recipes to make and share for some time. I originally became acquainted with the idea of layering ground beef into the makings of a traditional pizza on the short-lived cooking show Nigella.
The show was hosted by English bombshell Nigella Lawson who had a way with Italian recipes. I loved her simple recipes and the way she effortlessly prepared her dishes with such passion! Great show, too bad they never aired any more seasons past the first one.
What kind of meat is in a “meatza?”
You can use any kind of ground meat so if you want to lighten things up, I'd recommend a mixture of half turkey, half beef.
If you're after that "hearty flavor," you could add in some Italian sausage.
You could also use ground chicken. Pretty much any meat will work here! If you opt to use chicken, make sure to cook it to the safe internal temperature of of 165˚ which you can check with a meat thermometer.
Freezer Friendly
This meatza freezes well so you can make a couple at a time and freeze one or give one away. For best results prepare the meat crust and freeze that separately from the sauce and cheese. Wrap it tightly in plastic and freeze the meat crust before cooking it.
The cheese can be frozen in a sandwich bag and unopened sauce can be stores at room temperature.
When you're ready to prepare, unwrap the meat crust and place it in the oven. Let the pan heat up with the oven. Add 3-5 minute to the bake time as needed to accommodate defrosting. Then apply sauce and cheese, return to oven as directed in the recipe below.
Note: glass baking dishes can shatter with a sudden change in temperature so allow frozen dish to defrost some or slowly heat the dish with the oven if using glass.
What's the best dish to use to make this?
I think the meatza looks best in a pie pan or cast iron skillet. 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.
Could you possibly make this meatza vegetarian??
I haven't tried but I know there are a lot of faux meat products and recipes out there using beans, nuts, soy and/or tofu. If you give it a try, let me know!
What toppings could you put on a meatza pie?
You can top your meatza with anything you'd put on a pizza! Vegetables like peppers, onions and spinach are always good choices. You could also add mushrooms, pepperoni, sausage, or chicken.
My personal favorite toppings, inspired by our local pizza shop, are black olives and artichokes. Try adding a few drizzles of pesto sauce, a sprinkle of sea salt or a dusting a herbs.
I also really love hawiann pizza toppings — pineapple and ham. Just like a regular pizza, the topping possibilities for a meatza are limitless!
★ More Recipes You'll Love ★
Easy Beef Recipes
If you're looking for something new to do with ground beef or beef chunks, check out all my beef recipes! Be sure to Pin your favorites for later.
Love this meatza pie recipe? Then I think you might just love my Taco Pasta Bake too! It's made with ground beef and always gets rave reviews!
This Meatza Pie recipe was featured on Meal Plan Monday and South Your Mouth!
Meatza Pie (Crustless Low Carb Pizza!)
Ingredients
- 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
- 1 cup pizza sauce more or less to taste
- 1 cup mozzarella cheese
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.
- Carefully remove the 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!
- Next 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. Serve your meatza using a wedge-shaped pie spatula.
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.
Really good! I also put pepperoni , green chili on top. YUM!
Im assuming the 2 eggs are incorporated into the meat/ herb/ bread crumb mixture?
Yes, that's correct! The eggs get blended in with the meat and breadcrumbs (similar to meatloaf) to help hold everything together.
I haven't tried this. I will try this over the weekend with my kids. Great post!
I think this looks yummy! Meat or veggies, I will try both! Thanks for sharing!