Those of us who like pizza tend to fall into one of two camps – thick crust or thin crust. Fans of thick crust pizza tend to be bread lovers who enjoy the crust as much as the toppings. They’re the ones who eat the leftover scraps of crust that others leave on their plates. The thin crust advocates tend to be a little more passionate, espousing the virtues of their preference with great enthusiasm . They’re of the mind that the crust is simply a vehicle for the toppings and that high quality meat, cheese, and vegetables should be the highlight of the pizza – not the bread. Thin and Crispy Quinoa Crust Pizza might not satisfy the thick crust folks, but if you’re a thin crust fan looking for a gluten-free option you will definitely want to try this recipe.
This pizza has a nice thin crust that is super crispy around the edges – almost like a cracker.
You’ll need quinoa flour to make this pizza. Quinoa flour is becoming more widely available at well stocked grocery stores and can usually be found in the natural foods aisle. Bob’s Red Mill makes a quinoa flour and there are other brands as well. I make my own quinoa flour by grinding quinoa grains in a Vitamix until I have the consistency of flour. If you have a high-powered food processor or blender try making your own quinoa flour. It’s much less expensive and more convenient as you can grind only what you need. Once you’ve got your quinoa flour, make up a bunch of Thin and Crispy Quinoa Pizza Crust mixes by measuring and combining all the dry ingredients into plastic storage bags. Then all you need to do when you want to make a pizza crust is combine the mix with water and olive oil, pour the batter into a prepared pan, and bake.
Be sure to spray your nonstick pan VERY liberally with nonstick olive oil cooking spray before pouring the batter into the pan. It will have the consistency of a thin pancake batter. It helps to rap the bottom of the pan on the counter a few times to make sure the batter is evenly distributed and to release any air bubbles.
After 20 minutes of baking here’s what the crust will look like. Flip it over and return it to the oven to bake for 5 more minutes. (Those little dark flecks are the Italian seasoning which gives the crust a delicious savory flavor.)
After the crust has baked for a total of 25 minutes you can top it with marinara and mozzarella and return it to the oven for 3-5 minutes more until the cheese is fully melted.
Then sprinkle on some basil, cut into slices and enjoy!
- Olive oil cooking spray
- 5.5 oz (about 1¼ cups) quinoa flour
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. garlic powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 tsp. coconut sugar, brown sugar, or regular white sugar
- 2 tsp. Italian seasoning or pizza seasoning
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1¼ cups water
- ½ cup marinara or pizza sauce
- 4 ounces/1½ cups (loosely packed) shredded mozzarella cheese
- 4 or 5 large basil leaves cut into long thin strips (chiffonade)
- salt and pepper
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Liberally spray the bottom of a 14 inch round nonstick pan (or two 9 or 10 inch nonstick pans) with olive oil cooking spray. Whisk the quinoa flour, baking powder, garlic powder, salt, sugar, seasoning, olive oil, and water together thoroughly. (It should have the consistency of a thin pancake batter.) Pour batter into the pan and bake on the bottom rack of the oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and using a plastic spatula loosen the crust from the pan, flip it over, and bake for an additional 5 minutes.
- At this point you can let the crust cool and freeze it for later use if desired. If you're making a pizza immediately top the crust with marinara and mozzarella, and season with salt and pepper. Return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes until the cheese is fully melted. Top with basil before serving.
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Healthy never looked more delicious! I want to grab a slice through my screen, it looks amazing! 🙂
Thanks Natanja! If you try I think you’ll find it hard to believe the crust is made with quinoa.
We just made it. Is great recipe!!!!
Hi Eunice – So happy you liked it! Thanks very much for the feedback!
Has anyone tried these on the grill?
Hi Lisa – You could cook this pizza on the grill but you will have to make the crust in the oven first as it’s made from a liquid batter. I would make the crust ahead of time and freeze it then top the frozen crust and cook on the grill.