Skinny Pizza Dough
How was Skinny Pizza Dough Created?
I first wrote this recipe in December of 2017, after I could not for the life of me get the viral Weight Watchers “Two Ingredient Dough” to work out for me without having yogurt all over my hands, or having to add a shit ton more flour, which basically defeated the whole purpose!
With the addition of yeast and water, it’s a whole new ball game. It feels like traditional pizza dough. I talked about this recipe on social media for months on end (and I make pizza once or twice a week!) and it took hundreds of postings before people starting making it.
I think I saw my first post of someone making it in October 2018, and it’s been made thousands of times since then, which makes me so happy!
How Do I Track Skinny Pizza Dough on WW?
CLICK HERE TO ADD SKINNY PIZZA DOUGH TO YOUR TRACKER. This recipe is for 1 ounce of dough, so adjust as needed for however many ounces of dough that you use. For example, if I made a personal pizza with 5 ounces of dough, I need to track 5 “servings” since each serving is for 1 ounce.
Frequently Asked Questions about my Skinny Pizza Dough
This post has been updated several times as I try to include everything that people have asked over the years! I do see a lot of similar questions, so here are the answers.
DO I NEED A BAKING STEEL?
While it’s not necessary, I do think it’s the best vessel for making restaurant quality pizza in your own home kitchen. Andris FINALLY gave me a discount code! Biz10 saves 10% at checkout – you can click their link here. They are expensive, but I’ve had mine for over six years and I’ll have it until the day I die. 😂
Instead of a baking steel, you can also get a good and sturdy jelly roll pan (which is essentially a baking/cookie sheet with taller sides) – find one that can go to 450 degrees – and then you can preheat it like I do my baking steel and you’ll get a crispier crust. The magic in this is that the pizza will cook from both the top and bottom simultaneously, so the crust gets extra crispy.
No matter what you cook it on, please use parchment paper! It’s so much easier to build the pizza on the parchment paper than it is to carry the pizza in and out of the oven without.
In the below photo, I tried baking on a regular baking sheet at 425 for 15 minutes. I pre-heated the baking sheet for 20 minutes before placing my pizza on the hot baking sheet, and I got a nice crispy crust! Plenty of people have said that their baking sheets can be preheated at 500 degrees, but start with 425 and see what works for you with your baking sheet and oven. If it’s not crispy at 425 degrees, bump up the temp in 25 degree increments.
WHAT TYPE OF YEAST SHOULD I USE?
There are two types of yeast – regular active dry and instant yeast (which can also be called fast-rising, rapid-rise, quick rise, or even bread machine yeast – depending on what brand you use). These can be used interchangeably – the only advantage of using the instant yeast is that your dough will rise faster – perfect on those nights when you get home from work and you’re like “f*ck, I wanted pizza tonight!” Whether you let the dough rest overnight or use instant yeast and enjoy it within 30 minutes, it will be delicious!
WHAT IF MY SKINNY PIZZA DOUGH DOESN’T RISE?
If your Skinny Pizza Dough doesn’t rise, chances are that your yeast is expired. The best way to make sure that your yeast is active is to proof the yeast. To do this, simply take the 1/2 cup water in the recipe, add the 1 teaspoon of yeast with a pinch of sugar and mix until combined. Let it sit for 10 minutes. If it’s super foamy on top (i.e. the yeast doesn’t sink to the bottom) you are good to go! Add the 2 cups of self-rising flour to a bowl, add the 1 teaspoon salt, mix with a fork, then add the water/yeast mixture and yogurt and mix until combined. If the yeast sinks to the bottom or the mixture doesn’t get foamy, I would recommend replacing your yeast.
Note: I always recommend for cost savings to purchase the jar of yeast over the packets. You will get many more servings of yeast from the jar than the packets, and it will still last a while in your fridge!
I LIVE ALONE, CAN I HALVE THE RECIPE?
Well, you could, but make the whole recipe! It lasts in the fridge for 7 days, and actually gets better the longer it sits in the fridge. By day 7, you’ll notice that the dough is a bit wet and really stinky, like in the best way possible – think sourdough bread stinky. You should toss it out if you see brown spots on the dough or it’s slimy. Time to make a new batch!
WHAT TEMPERATURE SHOULD I COOK MY PIZZA?
Here is my rule of thumb:
FOR THIN CRUST: If you have a regular cookie sheet – bake at 425 for about 12 -15 minutes for a thin crust. If you have a good jelly roll pan, bake at 450 for 9-11 minutes. If you have a baking steel, bake at 500 degrees for 7-9 minutes – or until your desired doneness – I tend to like mine on the more well done side.
FOR PAN OR DEEP DISH PIZZA: you’ll want to bring the temperature down to 425 in increase the baking time to 20 minutes for pan pizza, and 30 minutes for deep dish. I make my pan pizza in an 8 inch cast iron skillet. I make my deep dish pizza in an 8 or 10 inch cake pan.
FOR DEEP DISH PIZZA: You need to order the ingredients differently because of the longer baking process. I use a cake pan and brush the pan with oil (you can check out my detailed post here) you need to put the dough in the pan first, then put the cheese layer first, top with whatever else you are using (sausage, mushrooms, etc.) and then TOP with sauce. You need to sauce farthest from the bottom of the dough so the dough is crisp, not soggy.
CAN YOU PROOF THE DOUGH IN AN INSTANT POT?
Yep! My IG friend Rachel told me about this method. Simply mix the ingredients in the instant pot (I usually double or triple the recipe in the instant pot) and use the yogurt setting. It automatically sets a timer for 30 minutes, but I leave it in there for 3 hours. If you have an older instant pot, you may have a “keep warm” setting. Many people told me that they have used this method, but only for the 30 minutes, then turn the instant pot off and let it sit there for 30 minutes. Simply dump the dough on your counter, add a bit of flour to bring together and store a ziplock bag.
I bake my pizza on my baking steel, but even if you use a cookie sheet, use parchment paper because you’ll be able to transfer your pizza in and out of the oven so much easier. I dock the dough, meaning I stick a fork in the dough so I don’t get any big dough bubbles on the pizza.
I used my zero point marinara and sauteed mushrooms.
Then added baby spinach and two ounces of Trader Joe’s lite mozzarella cheese (2 points).
Baked it on my baking steel for 14 minutes. The bottom crust was amazing and the lite mozzarella got super cheesy. One quarter of the dough recipe is 5 points, my toppings were free except for the cheese, making this pizza 7 smart points and totally filling.
Skinny Pizza Dough
The ORIGINAL skinny pizza dough. Not just for pizza, great for naan, dumplings, pasta - the sky's the limit!
Ingredients
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
- 1 teaspoon yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup water
Instructions
- In a bowl, mix the flour, salt and yeast together. Sir in the yogurt and mix until it starts to combine. Start with just shy of 1/2 cup of water, mixing until it comes together, adding a tablespoon of water at a time until it fully comes together.
- Place the dough in the microwave, covered with a towel or saran wrap, to slow rise all day. Refrigerate at the end of the night.
- On the day of baking, heat oven to 500 degrees. I use 5 ounces of dough for an individual pizza, but the dough is one point per ounce on all plans.
- Roll out, top with desired toppings, and bake for 8-11 minutes, or until desired doneness.
Notes
If you are weirded out by leaving the dough in the microwave because of the yogurt, you can slow rise the dough in the fridge for 24 hours. I bake my pizza on a baking steel, if you don't have one, reduce the temperature of the oven to 450 and use a jelly roll pan, but preheat the pan for 30 minutes before baking.
To track this dough to your WW app or check the point value, click HERE!
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 22 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 44Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 186mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 2g
WHAT IF I DON’T LIKE GREEY YOGURT?
Replace the greek yogurt with cottage cheese! Hannah prefers this to the OG recipe!
Skinny Pizza Dough with Cottage Cheese
If you don't like Greek yogurt, you'll love this switch! By accident I decided to use 1/2 cup whipped fat free cottage cheese in place of the Greek yogurt and it was the best decision evah! Light, flakey, and Hannah prefers this to the OG skinny dough.
Ingredients
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 1 teaspoon yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup whipped fat free cottage cheese*
- 1/2 cup water
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt. Add the yeast, cottage cheese and water and mix until combined.
- Place plastic wrap on top and store in your microwave for 12 hours. Refrigerate and use up to 7 days.
Notes
* I just put cottage cheese in my food processor and whipped until smooth and stored it back in the container.
Click for the WW tracker. It's 1 point an ounce.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 22 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 43Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 244mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 2g
IS THERE A LOWER CARB VERSION OF SKINNY PIZZA DOUGH?
Yes! Here is a low carb skinny pizza dough made with King Arthur Keto Wheat Baking Flour.
This is on the pricey side as one 16 ounce bag of flour is around $11.00. But each bag makes two batches of dough. Each batch of dough makes 4 individual 5 ounce crusts, so the cost is going to be around $1.10 per crust.
Low Carb Skinny Pizza Dough
A LOW CARB PIZZA THAT DOESN'T HAVE CHICKEN! I recently discovered King Arthur Keto Wheat Baking Flour and was a bit skeptical. The dough is a bit "elastic" and took a bit of elbow grease to roll it out, but I loved how this came out. Do I prefer the OG dough - yes! But this dough is very close to the original one. If you are living a low carb lifestyle, or living with diabetes, you will love this option.
Ingredients
- 2 cups King Arthur Flour Keto Wheat Baking Flour
- 1 teaspoon active yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup nonfat Greek yogurt (any brand works)
- 1/2 cup + 6 tablespoons water*
Instructions
- Optional: proof your yeast - add the water, yeast and 1/2 teaspoon sugar and let sit for 10 minutes. If it's frothy, you are good to go!
- Mix the flour and salt together. Pour in the yeast water, the yogurt and stir just until combined.
- Cover and set aside in the microwave for 12 hours.
- Note: this doesn't rise a whole lot, but I did get 21 ounces of dough
Notes
My usual individual pizza is 5 ounces of dough, which is 2 WW points. Click this link for the WW tracker.
Looking for a Gluten Free Version?
The Best Gluten Free Pizza
A delicious pizza that is gluten free by using Bob's Redmill 1 to 1 baking flour or Gluten Free Baking Flour. No one will know it's gluten free!
Ingredients
- 2.25 cups 1 to 1 Bob's Red Mill 1 to 1 baking flour or Gluten Free baking flour
- 1.5 teaspoon yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup cornmeal
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon softened butter
Instructions
This is enough dough for two 10 - 12 inch pizzas depending on how thin you roll your dough.
In a large bowl, mix 1/2 cup water, yeast and sugar together. Stir and let sit 10 minutes.
Mix in the the flour, corn meal, salt, together and mix well. Add in only enough water (tablespoon at a time) until the dough comes together.
Let rise one hour (I let mine rise in my microwave with plastic wrap over the top).
Roll out dough. Spread the butter in the dough and knead for 5 minutes. Separate into two pizzas, and put in the refrigerator until the oven is up to temp.
Heat oven to 425. I have a baking steel so I can put my stove up to 500. Roll out dough, top with pizza sauce and desired toppings. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 425, or 8-10 minutes at 500.
Notes
I made this dough 8 servings - or 1/4 of each pizza. On my WW plan, 1/4 of a pizza is 4 points. Click here to find out the points on your WW plan.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 145Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 279mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 4g
Hannah made a great graphic to compare the three doughs: the original skinny pizza dough, the low carb pizza dough and the double protein dough with added Starkist chicken breast. Thanks Hannah!
Happy Monday my friends – make it a great day! And make this pizza dough! You’ll thank me later. 😀
Say Goodbye to Two Ingredient “Dough”
Party Pizza Friday just got a whole lot better with this Skinny Pizza Dough! It seems that all the Weight Watcher peeps are making the two ingredient “dough.” I found the recipe through Jane (the mucho mama on Instagram) who found it from Jen (jen_weightwatchers on Instagram) and people are making everything from bread sticks, to bagels, and obviously pizza dough. You just use equal portions of plain Greek yogurt (non-fat) with an equal portion of self-rising flour. People have also had equal success with using plain old all-purpose flour. I personally could never get it to mix properly and it always tasted…gross! It’s not like regular dough, because it’s…not!
I took it just a step further and decided to add yeast because I think it adds to the texture and actually creates a traditional dough. My no rise pizza dough has long been used by blog readers over the years, so this recipe is the same concept – just better!
Hi Bizzy…..this sounds delicious!! When I clicked on the link to track it on the WW website, it showed as 0 points..(this was for the recipe using cottage cheese)…..can you explain or tell me the correct points value? Thank you!!!
Hey Janet! When I clicked on the WW link in the cottage cheese recipe, it shows 1 point per ounce – the serving is 22 since the dough weighs 22 ounces. https://cmx.weightwatchers.com/details/MEMBERRECIPE:6410b8a80364834884f4bd8f
Why does this have a serving size of 22? That seems odd for 4 individual pizzas. That doesn’t even divide by 4. It makes it impossible to use on the WW app by clicking your link.
Hi Emily! It’s 22 servings because the dough weighs 22 ounces. Each ounce is 1 WW point. My individual pizzas are usually 5 ounces of dough, or roughly 1/4 of the recipe.
I followed the recipe and left my dough in the microwave covered with Saran Wrap for 12 hours but it doesn’t seem to have risen much. Is that normal or did I mess it up ?
Hey Amy! Some people have trouble with that, so we just made a youtube video: https://youtu.be/2HUT_JBJamQ
Watch that and let me know if you have any questions – thanks!
Biz, can I bake this pizza is my cast iron skillet?
Thanks.
Absolutely! I usually cook my cast iron skillet pizza at 425 degrees though, because I use more dough and cook it for 25-30 minutes.
Hi. Can I use gluten free flour and will it rise just the same or no?
Hi Helen! It doesn’t rise the same as regular flour, but I have a youtube video you can check out:
https://youtu.be/Y-S7uUrn0zM
Hello. Anxious to try this dough but wondering how nutrition totals compare to the traditional recipe with flour and water. thanks
Hi Cheryl! The greek yogurt adds more protein which makes it less WW points – hope that helps!
Biz! The protein skinny dough was out of this world. So genius! I used my preheated baking steel (highly recommend) at 500 for about 7 minutes. I couldn’t even detect the chicken; but pumped to get an extra 15 grams of protein so easily. Crust was crispy and just out of this world. Thanks for sharing your brilliance with the world!!
Yeah! So happy you enjoyed it Carrie!
Hi. Why does the ww recipe/link say that it is for 22 servings? The recipe, not the serving size that can be adjusted. 😳
Hi! The dough weighs 22 ounces, so it’s 1 point an ounce. If you make a pizza using 5 ounces of dough, that would be 5 servings. Hope that makes sense!
Love your recipe! Tried the Instant Pot method for the first time. Game changer – thank you!!
Yeah!
Just tried this dough for the first time but it won’t be my last! It is absolutely perfect and totally surpassed my expectations!
So happy Kathi!!
Do you take it out of the fridge and use it cold or do you let it come to room temperature before using it?
Either works! I don’t find it’s hard to roll out straight from the fridge, but if you fridge is on the chillier side, maybe take out 30 minutes before rolling out.
Hi Biz,
I have been following you for about 9 months now. Love your content.
Question is can you use almond flour & if so is the points more on WW. I am pre diabetic and insulin resistant. So I was told cut out carbs and eat low glycemic food. I love pizza and miss it.
Thank you
Hey Karen – I’ve tried it with almond flour and it was super dense and didn’t roll out very well. I am a Type 1 diabetic, but even when I was type 2, my diabetes nutritionist suggested 125 grams of carbs per day.
Hello, Where can I find the actual recipe for this pizza dough? I know I have read it somewhere, but I can find it now. Excited to try it. Thank you!
Hi – so sorry I just saw this message – https://mybizzykitchen.com/2017/12/18/skinny-pizza-dough/
Hi Biz, can you use a Paleo baking flour or does it need to be the self rising flour? I try to use healthy flours.
Hey Audra!
I’ve literally tried every flour to make the skinny pizza dough EXCEPT Paleo flour. My guess is it will work, but may not roll out as easily as self-rising, so build the pizza on parchment paper to make it easy to get in and out of the oven – hopefully that makes sense! Happy New Year!
Hi Bizz,
Can you share how you use the instapot for the dough to rise?
thank you!
Hey Debbie – I have an instagram reel, I’ll try to add it to the blog post, but here is the link: https://www.instagram.com/reel/CilYxmTLVUW/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
The video is above on how to make in the instant pot – let me know if you have any questions – thanks!
Hi Biz!
Have you ever tried to cook this in the air fryer? Just wondering how it turned out if so 🙂
Hi Rebecca! Yes! I use a 6 inch cake pan to make a pan pizza – basically anything that can go in your oven can also go into the air fryer. I usually cook for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees. Just make sure to spray the bottom of the cake pan with avocado oil spray and be careful taking it out of the air fryer. ❤️
I did this in the IP on Keep Warm for 30 minutes. The bottom actually started to cook and it stuck to the bottom of the pot. I had to take small chunks of hardened dough out. I followed the recipe and watched your video. Any idea what might have gone wrong?
Hi Anne Marie – sorry I just saw this message. I don’t have a keep warm button, but many people used that method with no problem – maybe your model just keeps the temperature hotter than others? Maybe start with 15 minutes?
I think I must have done something wrong. Can I use the dough right out of the fridge or does it need to rise again? The dough was really stiff and hard to pat out. Does it actually rise just at room temp while sitting in the microwave or did I miss a step?
Hi Maggie – I’ve used it right out of the refrigerator with no problem rolling out. Is your dough dry?? Maybe let the dough sit out for about 10-15 minutes before rolling out.
I love love this pizza dough. Tonight I rolled it out to place on top of a pie pan as the topping to my chicken pot pie and it stuck terribly on the parchment paper!! Thoughts?? I ended up just placing it more like biscuits on top of my pot pie.. still delicious 😉
Oh no – was the dough really sticky? I would have just added a bit of flour to my parchment paper before rolling out.
Hey BIZ, can I use regular gold medal flout for the skinny pizza dough?
Hello! Yes, you can use regular flour.
Why do you need the yogurt at all ? My basic recipe is flour, yeast water and salt. Won’t yogurt just ADD calories (albeit good calories ?) Thx !
Hey Mike! The reason I keep the greek yogurt in the recipe is because a few years ago, greek yogurt was a “free” food on the Weight Watchers plan. This reduced the overall point total to the recipe on the WW plan. I also love the added protein, because being diabetic, it doesn’t spike my blood sugar as much. You can’t taste it – pinky swear!
How many points is the entire batch if using to make 1 pizza? I’m getting conflicting numbers!
Thank you
Hi Sue! Your comment went into my spam folder – sorry about that! It’s 22 ounces of dough, so 22 points. I usually use 5 ounces (or roughly 1/4) of the dough for my personal sized pizzas.
I’m excited to try this but I’m confused by the nutrition information… it says “Yield 22” and “44 calories” but how many calories are in 1/4 of the full recipe (which is one pizza dough, right?)
Hi Jen! So some people don’t have food scales. When I weigh the dough, it’s 22 ounces, so I that the recipe makes 22 servings in the WW app, then add however many ounces I make for my pizza, which is typically 5 WW points. On the old plan, it was a point an ounce. On the new plan (it’s different for everyone based on if yogurt is free or not) 5 ounces of dough is now 6 WW points for me.
A typical batch of dough makes 4 individual pizzas (around 5 ounces each) or two large pizzas. Hopefully that helps – let me know.
I’ve been making this since I discovered you Biz…. Several years now… I think today I finally made the best party pizza Friday ever!!! 😊
Yes! So excited Kelli!!
Can the dough be made and then frozen?
Hi Lisa! Yes, it can be frozen. I typically freeze in half batch portions – enough for two individual pizzas or one large pizza. I just pull out the dough in the morning and let it defrost in the fridge until I am ready to use it.
I am obsessed! It’s delicious!! Have you ever tried freezing the dough?
Thanks Jessica! It doesn’t last long enough in my house to freeze, but if you did, I would freeze in 10 ounce portions – enough for one large pizza or two individual pizzas. Just defrost in the fridge the morning you want to make pizza that night.
I tried this recipe for the first time and it is fantastic! My only issue was the bottom of the crust didn’t get very crispy. I used parchment paper and a jelly roll pan in a 450 degree oven. Any idea why the bottom did crisp?
Hi! Sorry I just noticed this comment. Did you preheat the jelly roll pan for at least 30 minutes? That way the pizza starts to cook from the bottom and the top at the same time.
I am going to try this recipe today in the instantpot. Which position do you put the release valve while the dough is in yogurt mode? Sealed or vented? Thanks!
You don’t need to do either – it is so low heat there is no steam to escape 😀
Oh my word!!! You will never need another dough recipe! This was outstanding and next time I will be sure to make a double batch!! I wish I could add the pictures of my pepperoni pizza! Phenomenal! Thanks Biz! ❤️
Yeah! So happy Charlotte!!