In most cases, pizza and keto aren’t compatible, so Marco’s pizza bowls aren’t typically suitable for a keto diet.1
But the good news is that a chef who shows how to remove carbs from Marco’s pizza bowls so dieters on a low-carb diet can have the best of both worlds if they simply follow the chef’s tips.
Are Marco’s Pizza Bowls Low Carb or Keto Friendly?
Pizza bowls provided by Marco’s Pizza resemble casseroles, featuring the same ingredients as a pizza but without the crust. This makes for a somewhat keto-friendly meal, allowing the chain to align with one of the nation’s trending diets.2
For those who aren’t aware, a ketogenic diet (keto) is low in carbohydrates (less than 20-50 grams per day) and this forces the body to burn and use fat as its source of energy.3 And if you’re wondering about the amount of weight can you lose on keto, there are no limits, similar to any other diet that creates a caloric deficit.
In any case, Marco’s Pizza bowls are not carb-free because individuals may be easily tempted to include pizza crust in the bowl or sauces that can be a source of carbs. To put this into perspective, a slice of cheese pizza with a crust that does not have the signature sauce can pack 23g of carbs. 4 Staying away from the pizza crusts, desserts, and fizzy drinks is key to ensuring a keto-friendly diet.
Marco’s pizza bowls have less than 20g of carbs for 1 serving which is half a bowl and start at $8.95. Diners can choose from barbeque sauce, steak sauce, and garlic olive oil. The garlic olive oil is not keto friendly. The other two sauces are, however, keto friendly. Another source of carbs is the tomato sauce which can pack 6g of carbs.
Do Marco’s Pizza Bowls Fit into Keto & Gluten-Free Diets?
Source: gavs_ira via Canva.com5
For those wondering if Marco’s pizza bowls are keto friendly, yes, they can generally be keto-friendly if certain options are not added. A majority of their toppings and sauces are gluten-free. It should be noted that not all ingredients on Marco’s Pizza are gluten-free. However, since Marco’s pizza bowls are crustless, there is no source of gluten from the crusts when savoring these tasty bowls.
Marco’s Pizza Bowl Carbs – How Many Carbs Are in Marco’s Pizza Bowls?
Marco’s Pizza offers a variety of pizza bowls that are low in carbs and come in five options—all meat, deluxe, garden, Philly pizza bowl, and buffalo chicken. The carbs vary from bowl to bowl; however, all bowls are crustless to make them keto friendly. The bowls can serve two people and the data below is based on half a bowl. Marco’s pizza bowls are somewhat keto-friendly depending on options that may be stacked.
Marco’s all-meat pizza bowl— the all-meat pizza bowl does have Marco’s pizza signature sauce and comes with ham, Italian sausage, bacon, and pepperoni. It comes with three cheese options and romesan seasoning. Half a bowl contains 5 overall carbs 4g of net carbs.
Marco’s deluxe pizza bowl—Marco’s deluxe bowl comes with Italian sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, and green peppers. It comes with three cheese options and romesan seasoning. Half a bowl contains 7g of overall carbs 6 grabs of net carbs.
Marco’s garden pizza bowl—the garden pizza bowl is a vegetarian meal that includes black olives, diced tomatoes, mushrooms, and onions. It consists of the 3 cheese options, garlic sauce, and romesan seasoning. Half a bowl contains 9g of overall carbs and 8 grams of net carbs.
Marco’s buffalo chicken pizza bowl—Marco’s buffalo chicken bowl is crustless like the others and is served with grilled chicken with La Nova sauce (hot). It includes the 3 cheese options and red onions. Half a bowl contains 7g of overall carbs and nets 6g of carbs.
Marco’s Philly pizza bowl— the Philly pizza bowl is a delicious crustless bowl with steak, green peppers, mushrooms, onions, and a cheese option. It has the lowest calories of all the bowls. Half a bowl contains 8g of overall carbs and nets 7g of carbs.
Marco’s Pizza Bowls Nutrition
The table below summarizes Marco’s pizza bowls keto options and the nutrition contained in each category of bowls detailing carbs, protein, fat, and overall calories consumed in grams.
All Meat Pizza Bowl (1 serving or ½ a bowl)
- Calories = 630
- Carbohydrates = 12
- Fats = 46
- Protein = 41
Deluxe Pizza Bowl (1 serving or ½ a bowl)
- Calories = 520
- Carbohydrates = 14
- Fats = 38
- Protein = 29
Garden Pizza Bowl (1 serving or ½ a bowl)
- Calories = 420
- Carbohydrates = 15
- Fats = 30
- Protein = 23
Buffalo Chicken Pizza Bowl (1 serving or ½ a bowl)
- Calories = 440
- Carbohydrates = 7
- Fats = 30
- Protein = 33
Philly Pizza Bowl (1 serving or ½ a bowl)
- Calories = 340
- Carbohydrates = 8
- Fats = 21
- Protein = 23
Marco’s Pizza Bowl Keto Friendly Additives & Substitutes
Photo by Katerina Holmes via Pexels6
Pizza bowls at Marco’s don’t have to taste bland, and Marcos pizza bowl keto options has several additives and other substitutes all while staying in ketosis. Marco’s pizza bowls keto options friendly toppings include:
- Pineapple = 5 grams of carbs
- Onions = 2 grams of carbs
- Black olives = 1 gram of carbs
- Mushrooms = 0.5 grams of carbs
- Green olives = 0.5 grams
- Spinach = 0.5 grams of carbs
- Anchovies = 0 carbs
- Bacon = 0 carbs
- Garlic sauce = 0 carbs
- Banana peppers = 0 carbs
- Garlic sauce = 0 carbs
- Grilled chicken = 0 carbs
- Ground beef = 0 carbs
- Jalapenos = 0 carbs
- Green peppers = 0 carbs
- Tomato slices = 0 carbs
- Ham contains = 0 carbs
- Italian sausage = 0 carbs
- Meatballs = 0 carbs
- Salami = 0 carbs
In addition to the toppings, Marco’s pizza keto-friendly cheeses and sauces include:
- Original signature pizza sauce = 7 grams of carbs
- Roma seasoning = 3 grams of carbs
- Cheddar cheese = 2 grams of carbs
- Regular or mozzarella cheese = 2 grams of carbs
- Feta cheese = 1 gram of carbs
- Parmesan cheese = 0 carbs
- Shaved parmesan cheese = 0 carbs
- Romesan seasoning = 0 carbs
Other substitutes are available in addition to the pizza bowls that are low carbs and keto friendly. These are:
- Chicken wings: packed with protein and low in carbs, Marco’s wings are delicious and perfect for those on a keto diet. The wings come as plain or hot and contain only less than 1 gram of carbs per piece. Every piece includes 8g of protein, 7g of fat, and 100 cal. Chicken wings come with ranch dip, blue cheese, or the La Nova sauce (hot). To ensure the wings stay keto-friendly, the BBQ sauce should be excluded as it contains melted sugar.
- Meatball bake: this has been on the menu before the bowls were introduced. It is also crustless and is made up of meatballs, sausage, the signature pizza sauce, and cheese. A serving of meatball bake contains 11 grams of carbs. It can be made even more keto-friendly by excluding the sauce which contains a lot of sugar.
- Cinnasquares: each piece of cinnasquares contains 11g of carbs, 1g of protein, and 1g of fat and is 60 cal.
- Garden salad: this salad contains 8g of carbs, 10g of protein, 14g of fat, and 220 cal.
- Italian chef salad: the Italian chef salad bowl is 8g of carbs, 10g of protein, 14g of fat, and 220 cal.
- Chicken Caesar salad: a bowl of this contains 8g of carbs, 24g of protein, 58g of fat, and 660 cal.
- Greek salad:the Greek salad bowl contains 8g of carbs, 8g of protein, 62g of fat, and 660 cal.
- Chicken ranch salad: chicken ranch salad bowl contains 14g of carbs, 44g of protein, 26g of fat, and 480 cal.
- Cheezy bread:the cheezy bread contains 11g of carbs, 3g of protein, 1.5g of fat, and is 80 cal.
- Chicken dippers: chicken dippers contain 4g of carbs, 6g of protein, 2.5g of fat and are 60 cal.
The salads should not include the croutons as they are high in carbs to ensure they remain keto friendly.7
Marco’s Keto Pizza Options
In addition to their bowls, Marco’s Pizza options can also be made with lower carbs, but since they all have a crust, eating more than one slice of their curated pizzas seen below will put dieters over 50 grams of carbs.
The carbs for one slice of their small sized curated pizzas include:
- All meat pizza = 25 grams of carbs per small slice
- Cheese pizza = 24 grams of carbs per small slice
- Chicken fresco pizza = 26 grams of carbs per small slice
- Deluxe pizza = 26 grams of carbs per small slice
- Hawaiian Chicken pizza = 26 grams of carbs per small slice
- Pepperoni Magnifico pizza = 24 grams of carbs per small slice
- Buffalo chicken pizza = 24 grams of carbs per small slice
- Philly pizza = 24 grams of carbs per small slice
- White cheezy pizza = 24 grams of carbs per small slice
- Cauliflower = 12 grams of carb per small slice
Of course, they have various crusts but some of the lower carb crusts like the gluten free crust can only be ordered in a medium size and up. The amount carbs in one slice of their medium slice pizzas by the type of crusts is as follows:
- Original crust = 24 grams of carb per medium slice
- Thick crust = 32 grams of carb per medium slice
- Thin crust = 25 grams of carb per medium slice
- Lite crust = 17 grams of carb per medium slice
- Gluten free crust = 14 grams of carb per medium slice
With this in mind, ordering the small pizza in either a cauliflower or gluten free crust is the best option for keto pizza at Marco’s.
However, using their nutrition calculator to experiment with various crusts, pizzas, toppings, sauces and more is a great option for those who like to customize their pizza. The nutritional facts are seen and will allow a much more informed decision to ensure a keto-friendly pizza.
Marco’s Pizza Bowls Reviews
Marco’s pizza bowls reviews are ranked below with the most keto-friendly—least amount of carbs and the number of calories they contain. This review is based on the signature sauce being present and is the default specialty bowl from Marco. Opting out of the sauces or other toppings will alter the carb content of the bowl. The chef shows how to remove carbs from Marco’s pizza bowls to make them keto friendly.
#1 Buffalo Chicken Pizza Bowl
The buffalo chicken pizza is the most keto-friendly option and comes at 7 grams of carbs with 440 calories— chicken has zero carbs.8 Buffalo flavor is quite strong, with tangy-vinegar prominent in the taste, while the chicken does not stand out. Overall, the taste is satisfying.
#2 Philly Pizza Bowl
Philly pizza bowl has a low carb count of 8 grams and has the lowest calories at 340. It is one of the most popular tasting bowls among them all with nice thinly sliced steaks and is delicious. It is on the salty side.
#3 All Meat Pizza Bowl
The all-meat pizza bowl comes in 3rd for carb friendly with 12 grams of carbs and has the highest calories at 630 calories. Being in a tray, the oil does gather on the surface; the cheese and sauce are of good quality. The Italian sausage is very prominent and is tender, and of exquisite taste.
#4 Deluxe Pizza Bowl
Marco’s deluxe pizza bowl is higher on the carbs at 14 grams and has a fairly high-calorie count at 520. This bowl is also popular with diners proving to be delicious and savory.
#5 Garden Pizza Bowl
The garden pizza bowl comes in last due to its high carb content of 15 grams with a fairly low-calorie count at 420. This option is targeted at vegetarians and is very tasty with its mix of black olives, mushrooms, green peppers, and onions.
Marco’s pizza bowls can be keto friendly depending on the options and toppings that have been chosen since it is quite easy to cross the line and not be low in carbs. The chef shows how to remove carbs and make these delicious bowls the ultimate keto meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which Marco Pizza Bowl Has the Least Amount of Carbs?
The buffalo chicken pizza bowl has the least carbs in its default setting of having all its toppings, cheeses, and sauces served. However, it can have even fewer carbs if the red onions or the white American cheese were taken off, causing it to shed 4 grams of carbs.
What Sauce From Marco’s Pizza Has the Least Carbs?
The La Nova hot sauce from Marco’s pizza has no carbs and is the sauce with the least amount of carbs.
Are Marco’s Pizzas Keto Friendly?
Marco’s pizzas are not keto-friendly since they contain crust with different crust widths, and these range from 17g-32g in carb content.
References
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2Wikipedia. (2022, August 22). Marco’s Pizza. Retrieved 2022, from <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco%27s_Pizza>
3Medicine, N. L. (2022, June 11). Ketogenic Diet. Retrieved 2022, from <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499830/>
4Control, C. F. (2021, August 10). Carb Choices. Retrieved 2022, from <https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/managing/eat-well/diabetes-and-carbs/carbohydrate-choice-lists.html>
5gavs_ira. “Pizza with olive marco.” Canva. Accessed 11 April 2023. <https://www.canva.com/photos/MADFqEMljlg-pizza-with-olive-marco/>
6Holmes, Katerina. “Laughing Asian mother and daughter preparing pasta in kitchen · Free Stock Photo.” Pexels. Accessed 11 April 2023. <https://www.pexels.com/photo/laughing-asian-mother-and-daughter-preparing-pasta-in-kitchen-5907601/>
7Medicine, N. L. (2020, December 20). Analysis of Food Labels to Evaluate the Nutritional Quality of Bread Products and Substitutes Sold in Italy: Results from the Food Labelling of Italian Products (FLIP) Study. Retrieved 2022, from <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7766686/>
8Agriculture, U. S. (2011, September). Nutrition Facts. Retrieved 2022, from <https://www.fsis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/import/Chicken_Turkey_Nutrition_Facts.pdf>