Quinoa is awesome. It’s packed with plant-based protein and is naturally gluten-free and super healthy. The problem is that it often tastes ‘super healthy’ so the kids won’t go near it.
Enter the quinoa pizza crust. Best pizza ever. No lie.
The dough requires only 3 ingredients (quinoa, salt, water) and is amazingly simple to make. It does involve a little planning ahead (there’s overnight soaking), but other than that, it’s even easier than making pancakes.
I’ve been gluten-free for four years and have been making my old favorite gluten-free crust from scratch using a tried and true recipe. And I love that recipe!
But I was ready to try something new; something easier. Something that was a bit more sturdy and didn’t have so many ingredients. When I recently came across a recipe for a completely gluten-free quinoa pizza crust that looked promising my interest was immediately piqued!
The quinoa is soaked overnight in water, then drained and rinsed. It goes into a blender with a little more fresh water, some salt, and if you want, herbs and garlic.
Everything is pureed until smooth, then it goes into a preheated cast-iron skillet or cake pan that’s been coated with olive oil. In about 20 minutes, the crust is ready for toppings and in about 10 more, it’s on your plate. So much easier than the other recipe I have been using!
The best part is that the texture is more like pizza crust made from wheat flour. It gets nice and crispy around the edges. It’s chewy.
And it really stands up to being piled high with toppings! I am officially in love with this crust. I’ve also used it cut into wedges as a flatbread to have with hummus. My mind is swirling with possibilities!
Oh, how I love the flavors of Mediterranean food! All the garlic and herbs. Mmm!
When I make homemade pizza, I load it up with all of my favorites—artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes and olives. But this is just a suggestion. Use whatever you like best. It’s great for a traditional Margherita pizza or any pizza you’d like to dream up.
Mediterranean Pizza with Gluten-Free Quinoa Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups quinoa soaked overnight in water
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 teaspoon dried Italian herb blend
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
- freshly ground black pepper
- 2-4 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil for pan(s)
Toppings:
- 1-2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1/2 large onion thinly sliced
- 2-3 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup julienned sun-dried tomatoes
- 1 cup organic baby spinach
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup artichoke hearts roughly chopped
- 1/2 cup kalamata olives pitted and cut in half
- 1/4 cup pine nuts
- cheese optional - feta, shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano, mozzarella, etc.
Instructions
- For crust - Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Have a 10-inch cast-iron skillet or two 8-inch cake pans nearby.
- Drain the soaked quinoa in a fine mesh sieve. Rinse well with fresh water. Place quinoa in a blender with the 1/2 cup water, dried herbs, garlic, salt and pepper. Puree until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed. The batter should be thick, but still pourable. (Kind of like pancake batter.) Set aside until oven is hot enough.
- Place the skillet or cake pans into the hot oven and let heat for about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and add the olive oil. Carefully tilt pan to cover with the oil. (Use 2 tablespoons of oil per pan.) Immediately pour the quinoa batter into the pan and place in the oven. Let bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the pan from the oven and carefully turn the crust over. Place back in oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes, or until set. (The 8-inch crusts will be a little thinner and will take less time to cook through.)
- Add the desired toppings to the crust and place back into the oven for 5-10 minutes or until the toppings have heated through. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before cutting into wedges. Serve warm or at room temperature.
this is such a genius idea. i already bookmarked this post! i have never made a pizza from scratch but why not start with this exact recipe?
rae of lovefromberlin
OMG just pinned this – amazing and I can’t wait to try it!
How much water do you use to soak the quinoa in overnight??
Hi Kristina! Great question! I usually just do enough to cover it by about 1-2 inches. It doesn’t soak up a ton of water, but enough that you want to make sure you cover it pretty well.
Oooo… I love what you have done with the crust. I have a different instant version up on my blog if you would like to check it out 🙂
This looks great!! Do you think you could bake it instead? I have bad luck with trying to use skillets for pancakes, tortillas, etc. thanks 🙂
It’s not cooked on the stovetop – you do bake it. If you don’t want to use a skillet, use a cake pan instead.
Duh!! Yes i see that now, thank you for clarifying!! This recipe is amazing. My omnivorous hubby even loved it! I love how easy and clean this recipe is.. Thank you 🙂
No worries! 🙂 So glad you liked it!
I can’t wait to try this!! That crust looks incredible, and I love any reason to use my cast iron skillet!
Wow – your pictures are lovely. I’ve had a hard time with quinoa – trying to get it just right has been a struggle – but this looks great – adding this to my “must try” file.
Thank you for the compliments, Geraldine! Let me know how you like it! It’s become my go-to “junk” food. 🙂
Hi – I just had to stop back here and say THANK YOU for this recipe! I made it last night and also just had leftovers for lunch. Unbelievably delicious, and so easy! I’ve already shared it with some friends. 🙂
Yay! That’s so great to hear – I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Woohoo! So happy you enjoyed it!
Hi! I only have 3/4 cup of quinoa. Will it be ok to substitute the rest with buckwheat, or quinoa flakes perhaps?
This looks great! Have you tried using quinoa that has been cooked on the stovetop instead of soaked overnight? I have some leftovers from breakfast I may try using for dinner. Just curious.
I have tried that. You can put it into the blender with enough water. It’s a little different texture, but still works. I’m not 100% sure on the proportions, so you’ll have to experiment to see. Hope that helps!
Hi there, I was wondering if you had any idea if I could make the crust ahead of time and then freeze it so it could be re-heated in the oven?
Sadly, this was a total disaster for me. It didn’t look remotely like a crust. Such a cool idea though!
Second time around it was PERFECT! I had cooked the quinoa beforehand last time, that was my mistake. Great recipe!