Vegan Gluten Free Pizza – Best Ever!

Hi folks! I love pizza and I really love this pizza. The crust is gluten free and the toppings can be as wild and crazy a you want or as simple as you want. You can make it vegan with vegan cheese (I’ll tell you more soon) or add regular cheese if you prefer vegetarian. Either way this Vegan Gluten Free Pizza is a winner!

As this is such a good recipe and it takes so much time, you could double the recipe and make two pizza’s. I know when I make it my daughter Meagan comes over and poof its gone! Wish I’d made more!

Vegan Gluten Free Pizza

As previously mentioned this pizza has a number of steps and takes a bit of time. The crust takes a while to cook and you have to keep you eyes on things, well worth the effort. Once the crust is ready the rest is a piece of cake.

What you will need for the gluten free crust:

This gluten free crust recipe comes via Oatmeal with a Fork (Lauren) http://www.oatmealwithafork.com/2012/08/28/zucchini-pizza-crust-and-wiaw/ I’ve slightly modified it and most is as she suggested. Its marvellous, thanks Lauren!

• 2 c zucchini, finely grated
• 3/4 c almond meal (basically put the almonds in a food processor and process into grain like pieces)
• chia egg (1 T chia seeds, soaked in 3 T of water for a few minutes)
• 1 T coconut oil
• 1/2 t oregano
• 1/4 t garlic powder
• a pinch of salt

What you can use for toppings:

Pizza is one of those wonderful things, that everyone can personalize to their taste. Me, I like lots of toppings and I like my pizza spicy. Also I make the vegan version of this recipe, so I use a vegan cheese too!

What I used this time:

• Fresh basil from my garden (roll leaves and cut in pieces)
• Fresh spinach from my garden (whole or cut leaves)
• Red onion (sliced into thin rounds and then separate the rounds)
• Fresh tomatoes (sliced and cut in half)
• Mushrooms (any type will do. This time I used Portabella mushroom and sliced it and sautéed in a bit of oil
• Red pepper (sliced and diced)
• Kalamata black olives (cut into pieces)
• Jalapeño peppers (they can be hot so cut into smaller pieces)
• Daiya Shredded Vegan Cheese  (Mozzarella or cheddar or a combo)

*The Daiya Cheese is gluten free, dairy free and vegan. Please note not all Soy cheeses are vegan. Many contain casein which comes from milk. I love Daiya cheese! To me it tastes like cheese when melted on pasta, pizza or in a grilled cheese sandwich. I plan to write a blog on cheese and share a couple of recipes that you can make at home and they are yummy and vegan.

Method

1. 

   Grate the zucchini and drain with a sieve

2. Sprinkle a bit of salt on the zucchini and toss the zucchini to mix the salt all over. You are going to sweat the zucchini with the salt, that will get most of the water out.
3. Place the sieve with the zucchini over a large bowl to allow the water in the zucchini to come out, will need about 30 minutes to do this.
4. Turn on the oven now, you are almost ready to start the steps for the initial baking of the crust. 400° will do nicely.
5. After 30 minutes draining, take the zucchini and place in the middle of a clean tea towel and wring over the sink.  Squeeze out all of the remaining liquid. Then put the zucchini in a large bowl.
6. Add in your almond meal, that you ground in the food processor. This adds a beautiful nutty flavour and some substance to your crust.
7. Add in the chia egg, while it was soaking it turns into a jell texture, stir it up before you add it into the zucchini and almond mixture.
8. Now add you spices, garlic powder, oregano and a pinch more salt.

   

9. Take a sip of water, whew you’ve worked hard up till now….and still more to do!

10. 

    Put parchment paper on a large cookie sheet, two sheets if you doubled the recipe.

11. Spread the zucchini mixture into a large oval, using a fork to make sure its compressed and evenly spread out. I take the fork and gently press in the edges when I am done, to be sure they are the same thickness as the rest of the crust.
12. Now you are ready to pre bake the crust. Place your cookie sheet on the bottom rack. If you made two you can start with two racks near the bottom and switch them 1/2 way thru each process. Did I mention this takes time and paying attention! Cook for 20 minutes.
13. While your crust is cooking for 20 minutes, you can chop up the toppings for your pizza, that way you are ready when the crust is ready. See below for potential toppings.
14. Now put both racks to the top of your oven and cook the crust/s for 8 minutes, until turning brown.
15. Remove the pan and flip the crust. This is where having parchment paper is awesome! I lift the crust out with the existing sheet of parchment and place a clean piece on the cookie sheet, then I can easily flip the partially cooked crust onto the new sheet when I flip the pizza. Hope this makes sense.
16. Now bake for another 5 minutes in the middle of the oven.
17. Remove the crust and turn oven to 500°
18. Now it is time to top your pizza with your favourite toppings!
19. When I top my pizza, I start with my favourite pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce, vegan pesto sauce, whatever type of sauce you like.
20. Next I add my fresh basil and my onions, jalapeño peppers and mushrooms
21. Next I sprinkle about 1/3 of my cheese (about 1/2 c)
22. Then I add my spinach, red peppers, black olives tomatoes and the remainder of the cheese.

23. 

    Now its ready to pop back in the oven for about 5-8 minutes depending on how many toppings you put on. A few – less time, many – more time. Sometimes if it needs a bit more time, I place it on the top rack for 1-2 minutes on broil to make sure the cheese is melted. Make sure you don’t burn your creation! Keep an eye on things.

24. Remove from oven, let sit for as long as you can stand not eating it, or about 8 minutes, slice and enjoy! Tastes awesome the next day too…if you don’t have a Meagan in your life, who eats it before you get a chance to have leftovers! Enjoy your Vegan Gluten Free Pizza.