Quinoa Pizza Crust

Everyone loves pizza.
It's America's favorite food: Fun to make, fun to eat, and it’s guaranteed to make people happy.
Beautifully crispy, covered in tomato sauce, oozing with mozzarella cheese, and sprinkled with fresh basil.
What’s there not to love?
Unfortunately — despite looking (and smelling) awesome — the vast majority of pizza is far from being healthy. Made with dubious ingredients and greasy beyond belief.
So as with so many things, sometimes it’s best to make your own. Maybe even experimenting a bit in the process.

You guys know I love me some cauliflower crust pizza. I make it so very often at home — it's been one of the staples in my kitchen for the last few years.
It’s perfect in its own right.
Nutritious, tasty, and so very easy to make.
But today I tried something different.
I made crust with quinoa.
It’s really delicious and so surprisingly simple to make.
The dough doesn’t need kneading or rolling or anything complicated really. All you have to do is to soak the quinoa in water overnight. Then blend it with garlic, herbs, and salt.
And voilà the job is done.

The quinoa base comes out thin and crunchy but still doughy.
Which I believe it’s the perfect pizza crust.
I topped mine with just some mozzarella cheese because I really wanted to taste the dough.
What’s even cooler about this is that it feels like you’re eating a “normal” dough pizza but instead you’re eating a bowl of quinoa.
And we all know quinoa is amazingly healthy, right?
Quinoa is one of the most protein-rich foods we can eat, it’s high in fiber, iron, lysine, magnesium, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
Which means that now you can eat pizza and feel almost like a superhero.
How awesome is that?

Quinoa Pizza Crust                                                                                                                                    Print this recipe!

Ingredients
Makes one pizza, enough for 2 people, or one if you're really hungry!

¾ cup quinoa, rinsed and picked over
1 garlic clove, peeled
½ teaspoon fine grain salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 teaspoons dried oregano
¼ cup water
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese (or vegan grated cheese)

Directions

Place the quinoa in a small bowl and cover it with water by at least 1-inch. Let the quinoa soak overnight or for at least 8 hours.
Once you’re ready to make the crust, preheat oven to 375°F (190°C) and place a rack in the middle.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly grease it. Set aside.
Drain and thoroughly rinse the quinoa (this will prevent any bitterness in the crust).
Place quinoa, garlic, salt, pepper, oregano, and water in the bowl of a food processor (or blender), and blend until smooth and creamy.
Transfer to a bowl and with fold in Parmesan cheese.
Using your hands, press the mixture onto the baking sheet and shape into a thin pizza “disc”.
Bake for 20 minutes. Remove, flip (be careful not to burn yourself), and return to the oven for another 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are browned and crispy.
Top with your favorite toppings, return to oven and bake for further 8 minutes.
Remove, transfer to a cutting board, slice, and serve immediately!

Nutrition facts

The whole crust yields 589 calories, 14 grams of fat, 90 grams of carbs, and 27 grams of protein.