Gluten-Free Chickpea Crust Pizza

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I love pizza, but sometimes I’m looking for a quicker and healthier alternative to traditional pizza. Enter chickpea flour! Chickpea crust pizza might sound a bit strange, but it’s easy to make and a delicious gluten-free option when you are craving pizza. The crust is made from ground-up chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), which are high in protein and fiber. Today, I’ll share my recipe for chickpea crust pizza and tell you why it is a healthier alternative to traditional pizza.

Nutrition

Chickpea flour is gluten-free making it a great cooking or baking alternative for those with Celiac disease or gluten intolerance. The only ingredient is chickpeas. The amount of chickpea flour used in my recipe gives you a whopping 13 grams of fiber and 13 grams of protein per individual-sized crust. That’s quite a bit more than what you would find in most pizza crusts!

Health benefits

The high protein and fiber content of chickpea flour helps to:

• Stabilize blood sugar levels for people with prediabetes and diabetes

• Keep the heart healthy by potentially lowering blood pressure and cholesterol

• Fill you up so you can eat less, which can help you lose weight

Making your pizza

What toppings can you add to your chickpea crust pizza? Pretty much anything you’d like! I’ve made this with a tomato sauce or just olive oil as the base, but pesto would also work. I like to load my pizza with veggies, some of my favorites being broccoli, bell pepper, onion, and mushroom. Sliced Italian chicken sausage adds a little extra protein, but you can leave this off for a vegetarian pizza. You can also make this a dairy-free pizza by leaving off the cheese and it still tastes great.

Chickpea Crust Pizza

Ingredients

Crust

• 2/3 cup chickpea flour
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion granules
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 1 tsp oregano
• Dash of salt

Toppings

• Base - tomato sauce, olive oil, or pesto
• Shredded cheese - omit for dairy-free
• Chopped vegetables
• Sliced chicken sausage or other meat - omit for vegetarian

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit/220 degrees Celsius.
2. In a bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, garlic powder, onion granules, dried herbs, salt, and water. It will look like pancake batter.
3. In a nonstick skillet, heat oil or cooking spray over medium heat.
4. Pour the batter into the pan and cook until the edges start to brown, about 3-4 minutes.
5. Flip the crust over like a pancake and cook on the other side for another 3-4 minutes.
6. Transfer the crust to a baking sheet.
7. Add your desired toppings.
8. Bake until the cheese is melted and bubbling, 12-15 minutes.
9. Slice into 4 pieces and enjoy!

I hope this recipe encourages you to try chickpea flour. It’s a great way to make a homemade pizza that is a bit healthier but still delicious. I’d love to hear your thoughts about it and what you did to make your chickpea crust pizza unique!