I’ve had a big sack of chickpea flour in my pantry forever – or at least it seems like forever, but really its been since I used it to make my chickpea flour pancakes.

I’m fascinated with the concept of chickpea flour; it’s a higher-protein, higher-fiber, gluten-free, grain-free alternative to normal flour, and it has this earthy taste that I like. I’ve toyed around for a while with the idea of using chickpea flour for pizza crust, and tonight after I picked the kids up from school, I decided to go for it.

With mild trepidation, I mixed the first batch. I wasn’t sure how thick or thin the batter had to be, or how it was going to taste. All I knew from my research was that chickpea flour crust needs to be cooked on the stovetop like a pancake, not in the oven like traditional pizza crust. I threw some basic spices in and crossed my fingers.

I was basically ecstatic with the outcome right off the bat; the crust has an earthy taste and the texture is nothing like regular pizza crust – so be prepared – it’s more like a rigid pancake than chewy and doughy. “I don’t know, baby” my husband The Critic said as he ate it for dinner. He ended up polishing off two small pizzas, so safe to say he got used to it pretty fast. My 8 year old loved it, my 6 year old, not so much.

I made 3 versions – one with the traditional cheese and sauce, one with hummus, fresh rosemary and olive oil, and one dairy free with sauce and peppers – which I also drizzled with olive oil before serving. The crust is dense enough to support some serious toppings, so when you make this recipe, feel free to experiment!

If you make a pizza that’s topped with hummus, I recommend still baking the bare crust in the oven for around 10 minutes, but before you put it in, brush it with olive oil and a bit of crushed garlic. Remove from the oven, let it cool a bit, then put the hummus on it.

I made the entire pizza – batter to table – in 30 minutes. I would definitely make it again in a heartbeat.

Chickpea Flour Pizza 1

Chickpea Flour Pizza 2

Chickpea Flour Pizza 3 Chickpea Flour Pizza 4

Chickpea Flour Pizza 5

 

 

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(Gluten Free, Can-Be Dairy Free) Pizza with Chickpea Flour Crust
Servings: 3 people
Ingredients
  • 1.5 cups chickpea flour
  • 1 1/3 cups water
  • 2 T olive oil + more for greasing pans
  • 1 t onion powder
  • 1 t garlic powder
  • ¼ t salt
  • (Optional: fresh rosemary snipped, for throwing on the crusts when they go into the oven)
  • Ingredients for topping – sauce cheese, fresh herbs, hummus, vegetables
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 400F.
  2. In a mixing bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients and whisk until smooth.
  3. Heat a large nonstick pan with 1T oil on the stovetop. Carefully ladle the batter into 1 large pizza base, or 3-4 smaller ones.
  4. Cook for around 5 minutes or until slightly browned, then flip and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and place the crust on a greased baking sheet.
  5. Top with sauce and whatever else you want on your pizza.
  6. Bake in the oven at 400F until cheese is bubbling or toppings are the desired doneness.

 

Enjoy!!