It was yesterday when I asked a friend of mine, who is basically a wizard of health and fitness, about healthy pizza. I expected her to say, “Oh, just cut down on some cheese,” or, “Use so many veggies that a rabbit would get queasy eating the pie.” Unfortunately, she sent me recipe involving a tortilla as a crust and when I read that my eyes shriveled up and my stomach came to a halt.
I like to take risks, but the idea of substituting a tortilla in for a flour-based crust. What purpose does flour, yeast, and water have if it’s not for a pizza? We can’t have tortillas coming in here stealing all the pizza jobs. Tortillas already have a place in this world!
This morning I stumbled upon this recipe for a healthy pizza. It involves oats, so you know it’s bonafide. This pizza looks like pizza and it’s something that’s not going to cause your body to shutdown the rest of its functions as it tries to digest the disc.
Maybe I’ll make some this weekend for a pizza review? Who knows! Read on for the recipe.
Oatmeal Crust Veggie Pizza
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Assembly/ Cook Time: 40-50 minutes
Serving Size: 3 palm sized crusts
Ingredients:
- For crust:
- 1 package active dry yeast
- ¾ cup warm water (separated into ¼ cup for proofing and ½ cup for mixing the dough)
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1 1/2 cups oat flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- For pizza (individual serving):
- ¼- 1/3 cup of your favorite tomato sauce
- ¼ cup mozzarella cheese (I substituted nutritional yeast- not the same, but works in a pinch)
- 1/8 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 1/8 cup green pepper, diced
- 1/8 cup carrots, thinly sliced
- 1/8 cup zucchini, thinly sliced
- 1/8 cup green onion, sliced
- Black olives
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
- Proof your yeast by combining ¼ cup warm (but not hot) water, ¼ tsp sugar, and package of yeast in a small bowl. Let sit for about 8 minutes.
- While the yeast is proofing, process oats until they become a fine flour.
- In a large bowl, combine oat flour and salt. Then add yeast mixture and additional ½ cup water. Mix until well combined.
- Spread out dough on a pan. You can make one large crust (cooking time may vary) or three palm-sized individual crusts.
- Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown.
- While the crust is baking, prep your sauce and vegetables for the crust.
- Remove crust from oven and reduce temperature to 350.
- Put sauce and toppings onto crust to your desired liking.
- Return the pizza to the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked and cheese is melted.