I’m always searching for the best ways to make gluten-free homemade pizza, so I’m excited to bring you this one! I find that using sweet potato gives it a more “doughy” texture, which is a great alternative to the delicious but more frittata-like cauliflower crusts out there. I’ve adapted the recipe from my friends at Sakara Life – it’s so good and really satisfies those pizza cravings.  This recipe makes 6 -7 mini crusts, which also freeze great without any toppings on them.  After letting them cool, just pop the ones you aren’t going to eat that night in a tupperware and divide them with little sheets of parchment.  They reheat super easily in the oven and you can top with whatever you have on hand!

Ingredients

Crust

  • 1 medium-large sweet potato
  • 1 tablespoon ground flax
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1 cup gluten-free oat flour
  • ½ cup almond flour
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar (or raw apple cider vinegar_
  • 1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (like oregano and sage)
  • Sea salt + pepper to taste
  • Red pepper flakes to taste

Arugula Pesto

  • 2 cups arugula, roughly chopped
  • 1/2 cup hemp seeds
  • 1/2 tsp. spirulina
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
  • salt and pepper to taste

Topping

  • 2 medium Portobello caps, chopped
  • 1 small red onion, sliced
  • 2 large handful arugula
  • Cherry tomatoes
Method

For the sweet potato crust:

Peel sweet potatoes and bake in an oven at 375 degrees until fork tender. Take out of oven and let cool.  (If you want to speed up this process you can also chop the sweet potato and steam). In a small bowl combine ground flax and water and mix until consistency resembles an egg.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Once the potatoes have cooled enough to handle, mash in a bowl and add in flax “egg,” flours, olive oil, vinegar, fresh herbs, red pepper flakes, and salt + pepper. Stir until mixture achieves doughy consistency (can add in more flour if necessary!).

Grease a baking sheet with olive oil and using your hands, or a spatula, spread out sweet potato mixture into 6 small circles. Crust should be about ½ inch thick.

Place pizza crust into oven and let bake for about 20-25 minutes. When the crust has browned a bit, take out and let cool.

For the pesto:

Combine the hemp seeds, arugula, salt, spirulina, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice in a food processor. Pulse a few times, and then begin to drizzle the olive oil into the mixture while continuing to pulse until the pesto is smooth. Taste, and adjust if needed with more salt or lemon juice.

For the toppings:

Sauté mushrooms and onion over medium-low heat until slightly browned and cooked through.

Spread pesto over the pizza crust then top with sautéed mushrooms. Place pizza back in the oven for up to 5 minutes until vegetables and crust are warmed through. Place arugula on top of pizzas and stick back in the oven for 30 seconds – 1 minute.

Take out of oven, sprinkle with extra herbs and red pepper flakes, and serve!