Zucchini Crust Pizza

As promised, here is a step-by-step how to recipe for Gluten Free Zucchini Crust Pizza, so you can make this delicious guilt-free pizza at home! I posted my version of this meal on my Instagram account @cook2lean earlier this past weekend. It is gluten free and a much lower-carb, healthier alternative to regular pizza because the crust is primarily made out of vegetables!

A coworker of mine gave me this recipe a while back, and it is by far one of my favorite gluten free recipes for those days when I want to indulge. It is a bit of a process, but if you have the right tools it’s not too bad. I find prepping food to be relaxing on days like Saturdays when I don’t have a lot going on, so I actually had fun making these pizzas.

What I love about this recipe is how versatile it is – I personally topped my pizza with hot Italian sausage, onions, spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, and feta cheese, but you can top it with whatever you feel like depending on your taste. I know some people like forgoing toppings altogether, so if that’s your thing, good for you! It will make your process way easier since you get to skip a step. I just happen to love all toppings.

 

Quick disclaimer: I ended up eating an entire pizza to myself, so please be aware that once you start it’s very hard to stop.

Macro Estimates per Serving (1/2 pizza, no toppings): 19g protein, 43g carb, 13.65g fat

Note: I say “Estimates” because I do not own or use a food scale – I based the estimated macros on a combination of the Macros app that I use, the nutrition labels, and trusty ol’ Google. Okay, that being said, let’s get started!

What You’ll Need (Serves 2):

Kitchen Tools:

• Mixing bowl
• Cheese grater
• Pizza stone (Prebaked at 500 degrees)
• Parchment paper
• Cheese cloth (preferable) OR clean tea towels if you don’t have cheese cloth, but be prepared for them to get pretty dirty if you opt to use towels instead
• Fork, wooden spoon or spatula for mixing

Here is a video of every single thing I used during this process (minus the eggs) before I got started!

Ingredients Needed for the Zucchini Pizza Crust:

• 3 zucchinis, grated – if you have time, allow grated zucchini to sit in a strainer for 30 minutes with some salt to help drain excess water

• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2/3 cup gluten free flour (I used Trader Joe’s brand which is made from brown rice, potato starch, and tapioca)

• Italian blend seasoning, 1-2 tbsp depending on how much you like oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp garlic powder

Ingredients Needed for Pizza Building:

• Pizza sauce (amount used based on preference)
• 1/2 cup Italian blend cheese
• Any toppings you desire. I personally used cooked hot Italian sausage, onions, mushrooms, spinach, cocktail tomatoes, and feta cheese, but I did not include those toppings in the macro count for the recipe since people like different toppings (or no toppings).

Making the Zucchini Pizza Crust

Prebake pizza stone at 550 degrees. While pizza stone is prebaking, use a cheesecloth to squeeze as much water as you can out of the grated zucchini.

Once you are tapped out from squeezing zucchini, place dehydrated zucchini in a mixing bowl with the 2 beaten eggs, 2/3 cup gluten free flour, Italian blend seasoning, salt, and garlic powder. Use a fork, spatula or wooden spoon (whatever your preference) to mix well.

Once zucchini crust ingredients are well mixed, transfer to and spread mixture on a sheet of parchment paper into a 12-14 inch diameter circular shape.

Once pizza stone is done prebaking (give it about 10-15 mins), transfer the mixture (with the parchment paper for non stick purposes) to the hot pizza stone. Let it bake for 8 minutes.

After 8 minutes, take it out of the oven (I just take the parchment paper with the crust out of the oven and leave the pizza stone in the oven) and spread the pizza sauce and cheese evenly on the crust. Put whatever toppings you are feeling at the moment, or none at all if you prefer! I happened to forget to take a picture of my raw toppings before baking because I was too excited to eat my pizza D:

Bake for another 5 minutes and remove from oven.

Allow the pizza to cool down, cut it in half (or quarters) and enjoy!

Let me know what you guys think! Do you think you’ll try this recipe out? If so, let me know how it turns out for you!

Feel free to check out my previous blog posts, leave a comment on this blog post, follow my Facebook page, or follow my Instagram page where I post pictures of my dinners daily! Let me know if you see anything you’d like a recipe for. Until next time!