For as long as I can remember, pizza has been one of my favorite foods. That crust! That sauce! The toppings! Oh my! I don’t do pizza too often but when I do, I like it good and I like it high quality…and I like it best if it can fit my dietary restrictions. Going vegan a few years ago presented a challenge in the pizza department but going gluten-free really made finding good pizza a challenge!
I was lucky enough to come across some great places like Pizza Fusion and Fresh Brothers that offered gluten-free and vegan options (though I do eat goat cheese now if I can trust the source!) for my pizza. Still, I really wanted to be able to make my own pizza at home because 1) I think it’s kinda fun to dress it up the way you want and 2) I like saving some serious dough (no pun intended!).
Lucky for me, I came across a yummy gluten-free crust from Nature’s Hilights at my local co-op. It’s just made of brown rice and potato….I like it when I can read and recognize all the ingredients. So now when I have the urge to splurge on pizza, I can make my own yummy creation using their crust and my own toppings.
For my gluten-free pizza in today’s video, I used:
- Nature’s Hilights pizza crust
- Seeds of Change Marinara Sauce (I cheated and didn’t make my own)
- 1 1/2 cups of sauteed crimini mushrooms (sauteed in olive oil, garlic, and a little garlic salt)
- 1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (softened in hot water and a little olive oil)
- 1/4 cup (maybe less) of a mixture of feta and chevre goat cheese from Soledad Goat Cheese Farms. You can make this vegan by using a good quality vegan cheese substitute like Daiya or skip the cheese altogether and just use extra veggies!
- A little dried basil and Italian Seasoning for your sauce and/or to top your pizza
- Fresh parsley on top of your finished product!
To make:
1. Follow the heating directions for the pizza crust
2. While that’s heating up, warm up your sauce and sauteed your
mushrooms.
3. Take out your crust, add the sauce, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, and cheese. Put your pizza back in for another 8 minutes.
4. Take out your lovely pizza, top with fresh parsley or whatever else suits your fancy! Enjoy!
What’s so fun about this is that you can really get as creative or basic as you want! Plus, Nature’s Hilights gives you 2 crusts in the box, so you could do 2 different pizzas and please different palates.
Now, I will say this crust is not the chewy, doughy yum of traditonal pizza. But I like it. It’s crispy, easy to prepare, and helps me get my fix without a bunch of crazy ingregiendts I can’t pronounce. Will I ever have the real thing again? You betcha….next time Mike and I get back to NYC, I’ll make sure we go to Brooklyn and down to Spumoni Gardens and splurge!
This pizza would go great with the yummy Italian salad I taught your guys and/or the Vegan Tomato Garlic (Gluten-Free) Soup recipe as well!
What’s your favorite way to top your pizza? How do you satsify your pizza craving and still keep it healthy?
thanks for another great looking pizza alternative Anita. We do lots of “pizza” here. I make Wasa Rye cracker pizza’s, rice tortilla pizza’s, and occasionally I purchase potato flour pizza crusts from a local baker, who bakes with potato flour. I think it is so important to have treats, yummy foods.. or we can’t satisfy our food needs, and we’d feel like we’re missing out. It is possible to satisfy all cravings, and still be healthy, stick to a healthy plan.
Looks delicious Anita!
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