I like making these mini pizzas for dinner sometimes and it's almost hard to believe how much nutrition you can pack into these small, delicious bites. Best of all, they go down extremely well with my little one.
The crust is made with chickpeas and tasty spices and herbs. The texture is more like a crispy pancake rather than a typical pizza crust, but it's so good, you won't be able to stop eating. Garlic and oregano add a dash of sass and some red pepper flakes add spice.
You cook the crust twice-- first, like a pancake, on the griddle, and then you pop it under the broiler for some extra crispiness and firmness.
For the pancake/pizza crust, I used whole canned chickpeas and blended them up with some aquafaba. On top I piled on a fresh, green spinach pesto, along with some cherry tomatoes and avocados.
We finally got some snow here, and I am off now to help Desi and Jay rake it up. It's more like snow mixed with icky icy rain. Leo got his first taste of the snow, and I think he made a brave attempt to like it, although the icy sleet was a bit much. Lily, who has very little fur, refused to go into the backyard and we finally managed to get her out in the front to get her business done. Billy has been sitting at the window looking rather mad and making strange sounds, probably wishing this icy weather away so he can resume his attempts to escape each time someone opens the back door.
Those cats!
Related recipes
Mini Turmeric Chickpea Crust Pizzas Loaded with Veggies
Ingredients
For the chickpea crust:
- 2 cups chickpeas
- 1 cup chickpea brine or aquafaba (if you cook the chickpeas instead of using canned, use the cooking liquid)
- ¼ cup brown rice or white rice flour
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dry oregano
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Salt to taste
For the spinach pesto:
- 12 ounces frozen spinach
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
- Salt to taste
For topping:
- 15 cherry tomatoes, sliced
- 2 avocados, diced
Instructions
- Make the chickpea crust:
- Place the chickpeas and all other ingredients except the rice flour in a blender, and blend into a smooth paste.
- Add the rice flour and whisk it in. The batter will be like a very thick pancake batter.
- Heat a griddle and spray with some cooking spray. Wait until the griddle is very hot. Pour ¼ cup of the batter in the center and tease if needed to form a circle.
- Let the bottom brown thoroughly. When the sides and top appear dry, flip over and cook until browned. The pancakes feel a little delicate at this stage so handle carefully. They will firm up as they stand.
Make the pesto:
- Place the frozen spinach in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 5 minutes.
- Place the spinach in a food processor with all other ingredients and process into a coarse paste. If you wish, you can add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, but you can also keep this fully fat-free.
Assemble the mini pizzas:
- Place the pancakes on a baking sheet, slather on some pesto, and pop them under a broiler for five minutes.
- Slather on the pesto and pile on the cherry tomatoes and avocados.
LiLo Reese
Those pictures are so beautiful. I have to say though that this recipe not fat free with the cashews in the pesto and the avocado topping. Yes I can leave them out if I don't want to eat any fat. Please mention at the top the recipes if they contain any fat so I know from the start. Nonetheless I want to thank you for making the effort.
Lillian
These sound intriguing - look forward to trying them soon. . . Can't leave without mentioning how cool these photos are - wow! . . . As always, thanks for your blog!
Vaishali
Thanks, Lillian. 🙂 The photos in this post were all taken by Desi with his phone because the camera died just as he was about to shoot. Happy it worked out.