Vegetarian quinoa crust pizza is a healthy, easy to make and delicious dish. It’s made with crispy quinoa crust, coriander pesto and some fresh lovely toppings, such as zucchini, yellow onion, black olives, mozzarella and sunflower seeds. And the good part is, you can enjoy it all year long, either for lunch, breakfast or dinner.
Such a simple dish, yet so delicious and nutrient-rich. I also love the colours. They are so earthy but fresh and they look very appetizing. Then, you have plenty of textures. In fact, on a simple pizza like this, you have something crispy, crunchy, soft and creamy.
This vegetarian quinoa crust, more than real pizza dough, reminds me of a German “pizza” called Flammkuchen. Jump here to check this classic onion-bacon Flammkuchen out. Wink. The crust is thin and extremely crispy and a complete opposite to the “airy” pizza dough. More, it’s eggless and without yeast as well.
Protein, protein, protein
Besides looking good it’s good for your body, too. I fact, only quinoa itself is rich in fiber, vitamin B2, iron and magnesium. And, it’s one of the most protein-rich plant-based foods in the world. Moreover, just like quinoa, also flax seeds are high in fiber. However, the most important benefit of the flax seeds is being high in omega 3’s and antioxidants. Last but not least, tahini paste is just like the other two rich in protein, vitamins and minerals. All of these you’ll find in the yummy quinoa crust. Wink.
In many of my quinoa recipes, I wrote how good and healthy quinoa is for us. Therefore, you can check out these recipes and maybe you’ll get inspired to cook more with quinoa: healthy poached egg over quinoa, savoury carrot quinoa muesli, a super quick quinoa avocado salad, healthy leek quinoa bowl.
Another reason why I like this pizza is, I can eat it with my hands. Yes, it definitely belongs in the category of fun food. After all, pizza has to be eaten with hands, right? But eating pizza with your hands is not all the fun you can have. In fact, the fun starts with choosing your toppings. And here you can go crazy. Which toppings would you choose?
I picked simple toppings, like fresh zucchini, soft sauteed onions, black olives, creamy mozzarella and some sunflower seeds. Instead of a sauce, I used homemade coriander pesto. Delicious! Here you can be creative, too. Make your favourite sauce or spread and create your own unique pizza.
In addition, I would like to recommend soaking the quinoa for at least 12 hours. In fact, I soaked it for 16 hours (from 8 in the evening till the next day noon). Simply put the quinoa in a bowl, cover with cold water and let it sit overnight until you are ready to use it.
Ingredients for one vegetarian quinoa crust pizza (30×20 cm):
- 150g quinoa (soaked 12-16 hours)
- 1 Tbsp of flax seeds
- 1 Tbsp of tahini paste
- 2 Tbsp of flour
- salt
- 4 Tbsp of homemade coriander pesto
- 1 zucchini (strips)
- 1 yellow onion (sliced)
- sunflower seeds
- 1 mozzarella
To begin, preheat the oven to 230º C. Drain the soaked quinoa under cold water. Then, combine quinoa, flax seeds and Tahini paste in a food processor. Blend until you get kind of a paste texture. At this point, add the flour and salt and blitz for 20 more seconds. Don’t you worry if it doesn’t look like a yeast pizza dough. It’s perfectly fine. Wink.
Next, take a baking sheet and flip the quinoa pizza crust mixture on it. Using a silicone spatula, evenly spread it on the sheet. It can be oval-, round- or square-shaped. More importantly, it has to be only 2-3 mm thick.
Once you are satisfied with the pizza base, carefully take the hot baking sheet out of the oven and slide the baking sheet with the dough on it. Put back in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown.
In the meantime, prepare the toppings. Peel and slice the onions and sauté them in some olive oil for 10 minutes until soft. Wash the zucchini, slice it into thin strips or circles and shortly (1-2 minutes) sauté them in some olive oil, too.
When the top of quinoa crust gets crispy, take it out of the oven, flip it over, spread the coriander pesto on it and garnish with toppings. Nicely spread the onions around the base, followed by zucchini and black olives. Last but not least, add the mozzarella pieces (simply pull it apart with your fingers) and some sunflower seeds. Drizzle with some olive oil and put back in the oven for 5-7 minutes or until the cheese starts melting.
Finally, cut into slices, serve the vegetarian quinoa pizza on a lovely wooden cutting board along with some extra pesto and a glass of white wine or a nice cold beer. This makes a wonderful lunch, movie snack or dinner.
Enjoy!
