My husband has a condition that forced us a year and a half ago to change our eating habits completely. We are all on low sodium diets now and it’s fantastic and surprisingly easy. Salt is SO overrated! The picture does not do these masterpieces justice and every time I make them for family or guests, they are a huge hit! Salt/sodium is an evil creature that has adverse affects on many issues with the body including heart, blood pressure, and even hearing if you can believe it! I hope you’ll try this recipe and if you like it, let me know…I would love your feedback! Enjoy!
Start with the SAUCE of course (the longer you let this simmer, the better it is):
- 2 Tbsp Canola Oil
- 1 Clove (chopped) Garlic (or 1 tsp from the jar but NOT powdered)
- 1/4 Pepper (your favorite kind works best, I use Anaheim)
- 2-8 oz Cans “No Salt Added” Tomato Sauce
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- 1 Tbsp Mrs. Dash Tomato & Basil Garlic (I use more to taste)
- 1 Tbsp Mrs. Dash Garlic & Herb
- 1 Dried Bay Leaf
- 1 Dash Onion Powder (NOT ONION SALT)
Chop garlic and pepper and heat in the oil in a pot until tender. Pour the tomato sauce in the pot, add the rest of the ingredients, stir and let simmer on a low setting (at least an hour is best, but I have been known to shorten that time in a pinch).
CRUST
- 1 1/2 Cups Bread Flour (or any other all purpose flour with NO sodium, read the labels)
- 1 Tbsp Sugar
- 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp Canola Oil, separated
- 3/4 Cup Warm Water
- 1 Tbsp Mrs. Dash Tomato & Basic Garlic
In a large bowl, mix the sugar and canola oil into the warm water and stir. Pour the flour and seasoning into the bowl and mix, it should be a dry mixture, but not crumbly. After mixing, kneed the dough for about 5 minutes with floured hands and form into a ball and drizzle a teaspoon of canola oil over the ball and cover. Set aside.
TOPPINGS (This will be the only sodium in the recipe so choose wisely – like NEVER pepperoni.)
- Cheese (Swiss has the least sodium content, I mix that with Mozzarella and Colby usually)
- Fresh Veggies (mushrooms, peppers, onions, olives, tomatoes, etc.)
- Ground Beef (obviously cook it first, but ground beef has a low sodium content)
- Low Sodium Ham & Pineapple Chunks
- Whatever you like….you get the idea!
READY TO MAKE THE PIZZA…Heat your oven to 325 degrees, place your stone in the oven if you use one, if not a pan is just fine! Spray surface with no sodium cooking spray and place the ball of dough on the pan. With floured hands, spread the dough to the edges until it “fits” the pan and “build” the crust so it holds in all of your toppings. Spread the sauce as thick or thin as you like it, cover with cheese blend, then the toppings of your choice, and cook for 20-25 minutes. As we all know, ovens vary so this is an estimate, when the cheese is all melted and brownish and bubbly, your pizza is done! Let cool enough to cut, slice, eat , and enjoy!
Do you have the nutrition values for this delicious recipe?
I honestly don’t keep exact nutrition values on my recipes because we maintain such a low sodium diet (just within doctor’s recommendations) that we don’t use exact. I’m very sorry for that vague answer, but I on’t want to tell you something that isn’t true. My family doesn’t really have to watch calories or fat so I never figure that part out. If you’re talking about the sodium, you really just need to look at the content in the cheese you choose and the toppings because that’s where it will be coming from.
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I can’t wait to try your recipe. We have a similar low-sodium requirement in our household, my husband has Meniere’s disease, so we’ve been low-sodium for a few years now. it’s oddly been fun experimenting to re-create some favorite recipes, esp comfort food. thanks for posting this recipe. cheers
My husband has Meniere’s disease too. Most people don’t even know what that is so I just always call it a “condition”. We’ve been full on this no sodium kick for about 5+ years now and it’s always fun trying new things out, especially when they are a HUGE hit. Hope you love the pizza!
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Hi I was reading your recipe and saw where it says the toppings were the only sodium in the pizza so the ingredients for the dough and sauce have no sodium at all?
Heather, As long as you make sure the flour has no sodium and you only use the spices I used above for both the dough and the sauce (Mrs. Dash is sodium free), then no, there’s no sodium at all in either.
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We tried this recipe but had trouble with the crust. It came out soft and doughy even after 30+ minutes of baking. Can you give us some advice about how to cook the crust completely without burning the toppings?
Thank you
You can either add some more flour to make it thicker, or you can poke holes in it, just the crust, and cook it for about 7 minutes before you top it. We’ve had this issue before too. It totally depends on your oven.
My family loves homemade pizza on Christmas Eve and just learned our son has kidney disease.
I served your pizza last night to our son. Your crust recipe turned out absolutely perfect. I did not precook the crust. We use fresh or canned (no salt added, well-drained) tomato chunks rather than sauce by tradition. As you suggested, I used swiss + mozarella cheese, hamburger & pork browned in salt-free seasoning, and lots of oregano sprinkled over the top.
Thank you for giving us back Christmas and hope!
This just made my day! I’m so happy that your family loved the recipe and your son can enjoy pizza again.
I also have Ménière’s and miss pizza so so much. Lol. So this is great. I can’t wait to try it !
Life without pizza isn’t really living, now is it? 😉
Ground beef ABSOLUTELY contains sodium!!
Yes it does, Will, but it’s very low which was my point in the article. The toppings are the only sodium in the recipe so using lower sodium toppings (ground beef has 77 mg in a 3 oz serving: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/beef-products/6206/2) and you certainly wouldn’t get 3 oz on a slice of pizza. I don’t know of anyone with any condition that eats no sodium since your body does require some daily. 🙂
I have zero experience making pizza, but now have a low sodium patient, so I’m gain for new recipes. That in mind, when you say ‘put the stone’ in the oven, place the ball of dough in the middle of stone….is that stone hot from oven? Sounds like I need a ‘pizza for dummies’ book :).
I’m sorry for the late reply. For whatever reason, these comments are just coming through. Yes the stone is somewhat hot which is why I always cover mine in foil and am careful to keep the dough thick enough to not burn my hands. I really should have been more clear on that. The recipe would still work fine (we’ve done it) on a pizza tin that isn’t preheated, but you need to spread the dough on the cold pan, poke fork holes throughout it, then heat it in the oven for about 5-7 minutes before you start the sauce and topping process. Then you continue to cook it as instructed above. Hope that helps!
CHRISTY. I WAS SO HAPPY TO FIND YOUR RECIPE. I AM ALSO ON VERY LOW SODIUM AND PIZZA IS MY MOST FAVORITE FOOD. I CAN NOT WAIT TO TRY THIS RECIPE. THANKS FOR SHARING!!!!
So happy you stumbled into this recipe because you’re really going to love it. Everyone deserves a little (lot of) pizza in their lives!
Thank you so much for this recipe I am a young mother of two and I was just diagnosed with congestive heart failure so I have to now watch my dietary sodium levels as well as fluids and this is a great recipe for a family favorite!! Thanks again
I’m sorry to hear of your diagnosis, but glad you are taking the means to take care of yourself while still enjoying the finer things in life, like good food and your children. You will all love this pizza so much. Enjoy, and please do take care of yourself!
Tried this crust recipe tonight…following the recipe the dough was REALLY soupy (literally had to add another cup of flour) and resulted in a dough that was so chewy that it took so much effort to eat that the toppings really did not matter.
Sorry you had this experience. We really enjoy it!
I was so excited to try your recipe. I am in heart failure so I am also on a low sodium diet and I’ve been craving pizza. The only problem I had is that the crust came out very soft and doughy. I’m also wondering the the sugar in the recipe is really necessary. I do not like the taste of the sugar in pizza. Otherwise, great!
If your dough is too sticky, just add more flour until it stiffens up, and certainly you can omit the sugar if you’d like. That’s just a matter of taste!
I am on a low sodium diet and looooove pizza. This was super yummy, but I found I didnt need as much water as the recipe called for.
Also, next time I make this I am going to cook the pizza dough by itself for about 10 minutes and then take it out and put the toppings on and then put it back in the oven for the 20-25 minutes.
The sauce recipe is super good, and works for spaghetti too. Thank you!
Used the pizza dough recipe to make thin bread sticks and then left over pizza sauce as a dipping sauce and it turned out super good!
Thanks for the tip. I’ve never tried that before, but I sure will next time!
Depending on the toppings I use, I often adjust the cooking time and I do, sometimes when I’m not rushed, precook the crust as well. This is the sauce recipe I use for all of our pasta recipes and we love it!
How much yeast?
I don’t use yeast in the crust because yeast contains sodium. You do have to “work” the crust a little more to get it spread on the pan without the yeast, but it’s just as delicious. If you do want to add yeast, you can just add one of those single packets you can buy at the grocery store.
What SIZE pizza pan does this work for? I have a 16″ should I double the recipe?
This is the recipe I use for a 12 or 14″ pizza. You can just bump it up a bit for a little bit larger pan.
Thank you!
Just finished this recipe, it was amazing! The sauce in particular was a pleasant surprise! Thank you, I’ll be making this again!
We use this base sauce recipe for EVERYTHING from spaghetti, to lasagna, to calzones, to chili if you can believe it. Glad you love it too!
Hi Christy… If you are using a pizza stone and it is very hot. How do you prepare and place the dough on the stone?
I’m just a tad confused. I always use a pizza stone but don’t have a low sodium recipe so I want to try yours as it seems easy enough. Thanks so much for your help.
Nancy
I’m one of those non-traditional home chefs. I don’t preheat my pizza stone. It seems to heat just fine while I’m cooking the pizza and I don’t have to deal with a hot surface when working the dough. After I preheat the crust a bit, I do let it sit for about ten minutes to cool before topping and baking fully. Hope that helps and hope my instructions didn’t contradict that. Thanks for asking!
Christy,
Hi, made the pizza the other night. Loved it!
I have 2 questions.
1. Do you think I can make a bunch of dough ahead and freeze?
2. Do you think I can pre cook the crust to crisp it up a bit?
Making more today. Really enjoyed it. Gotta have pizza.
Sorry for the delayed response! You can certainly make a big batch and freeze some. We do that all the time. I do often precook the crust for about 5-7 minutes before topping depending on how thick my toppings are. The recipe I shared here really is more for just a “cheese” pizza so it cooks fine without pre-cooking!