Quinoa Cauliflower Crust Veggie Pizza

I’m all about trying new things. I try new recipes almost everyday. This is one of those recipes I was kinda scared to try. Will it work? Pizza crust made out of quinoa, cauliflower and chia seeds? Whatever happened to good ol’ regular pizza crust?

Don’t worry.

It all works out.

This is just a reformed alternative with ingredients that your body will recognize. With all the food allergies and sensitivities to wheat and dairy nowadays, this is our way of being creative and still indulging in a classic American favorite that brings back the fondest of memories. Oh and could you tell there’s no cheese? Ha. Jeez I know. We really have gone mad. But our tummies and waistlines will thank us for it 🙂 You could add non-dairy cheese if you please. There’s plenty of recipes out there for cauliflower crust (which is quite tasty) but I wanted to add quinoa to balance out the nutritional profile. It’s all the hype nowadays. Even my grandma wants to try quinoa and always asks me about it 🙂 I really do love quinoa though, its the perfect complete protein with all the essential amino acids and is so versatile. Marty always makes fun of me because a couple years ago I always thought it was pronounced (queen-oah) instead of (keen-wah) don’t ask me why. It was all new to me. Yep, every time I pull out the quinoa I can expect a “remember when you used to” and.. yeah… you can laugh too.

What comes to your mind when you think of pizza?

We used to have the best family tradition during the summers when my brother and I were growing up. Every Friday night after my parents finished work, we would drive up to our lake house in Wisconsin. After arriving, we would my parents would unpack the car really fast and my dad and brother would uncover the boat while my mom and I would find our favorite “lake” sweatshirts to wear because the nights were usually windy and chilly out on the lake. We kept a bunch of sweatshirts up there just in case and still do to this day. They are the most comfy sweatshirts of all! Before we hopped on the boat, we had to dial our favorite local pizza joint, The Old Mill to order our pizza. Yep, no cell phones back then because there was no service!! Especially not in Wisconsin 🙂 This makes me laugh thinking about it now. No cell phones.. My dad drove slow around the lake until it was time to pick it up. The pizza joint had its own dock on the lake so my dad would pull up to it and my mom and I would jump out onto the dock and go pay for the goods. Being about 8 years old, I thought this was the coolest thing ever. Eating pizza on the boat! It was our favorite thing to do as a family. My brother and I even got to drink pop which was a special treat. Usually it was just the four of us, unless I brought a friend, and we would park the boat in the middle of the lake, listen to music, and the waves, while eating our favorite pizza. These are my some of my favorite memories from growing up! We stuck with that tradition for many years. Now, things are a bit different as I can no longer eat at regular pizza places but we will always have those fun family memories. When the livin’ was easy, right? If I had a winky smily face I would insert that here.

This Quinoa Cauliflower Crust Veggie pizza can hold its own. It’s pretty magical. And the smell is still just as tantalizing as any other pizza. That’s pretty magical too. The crust is lightly flavored with minced garlic, nutritional yeast (for a cheesy taste) oregano, sea salt, and pepper. And you can use whatever toppings your little heart desires or do what I did and use handfuls of fresh spinach, gushy tomatoes, mushrooms and red onion along with any basic marinara sauce. Be gentle with this delicate pizza as it can break easily. I used a fork and knife for this one. I’m not going to lie and say it holds together perfectly, even though it does pretty well, its a vegan pizza after all. But taking the steps like squeezing out the excess liquid from the cauliflower, spraying the parchment paper with nonstick spray so the crust doesn’t stick and making sure the crust is firm to the touch in the middle before adding the sauce and toppings will help big time. And maybe a sprinkle of fairy dust, just to be safe?

Quinoa Cauliflower Crust Veggie Pizza

• Total Time: 50

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Description

A delicious wheat-free and vegan healthy alternative to the standard pizza crust with marinara sauce and market fresh veggies

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Scale 1x2x3x

Ingredients

• 1 cup quinoa, cooked (about 1/4 cup uncooked)
• chia egg (1/4 cup chia seeds + 3/4 cup water)
• 1/2 of a head of cauliflower, florets
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional; for a cheesy taste)
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Toppings

• 1/2 jar of marinara sauce or pizza sauce
• 2 handfuls spinach
• 1 large tomato, sliced
• 4 mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 of a red onion, sliced

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Cook quinoa according to directions.
2. Mix chia egg (chia seeds and water) in asmall bowl and set aside until it forms into a gel.
3. Wash and cut cauliflower in small pieces. Add cauliflower pieces to food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Place the cauliflower in a towel (or layered heavy-duty paper towels but be careful and do in smaller batches or the paper towels will rip) and squeeze out as much excess water as you can to dry out the cauliflower so it cooks better.
4. Transfer to a bowl with the cooked quinoa and chia egg (gel). Add minced garlic, oregano, sea salt and pepper. Mix until well combined.
5. Line a pizza tray or baking sheet with parchment paper and spray with nonstick spray. Transfer dough and gently form a pizza “crust” in whatever shape you like, making sure it’s evenly spread out.
6. Bake for about 25 minutes or more until sides become golden and center is firm to the touch.
7. Remove from oven and spread out marinara sauce. Add the toppings I used or whatever toppings you love and place back in the oven for 15-20 more minutes, until vegetables are slightly softened.
8. Allow to cool 5 minutes and enjoy!

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 Hope you have a delicious fall weekend filled with lots of pizza and pumpkin pie cheesecake dip, and maybe a cocktail or two 🙂