Have you ever been somewhere that served gluten-free pizza crust and decided to try it? Whether you’re Celiac or not – I was curious once and never again will I experience that awful, cardboard crust! Seriously, it wasn’t even edible. Even though I’m not gluten intolerant, I have discovered I’m very gluten sensitive. I avoid it as much as possible, when I do consume it I feel terrible. Having made this transition away from gluten, I’ve obviously taken my recipes with me. Trying to make everything from here on out totally gluten-free. I will make notes on optional ingredients so you can still customize each recipe to fit your dietary needs – so no worries, I’ve got you covered!
The truth is, I felt it was needed to share the best low-fat, gluten-free crust I was able to create. I’m sure there are a ton online that are wonderful too, I know cauliflower crust is a huge one but I’m not a big fan of cauliflower. I love mushroom pizzas! I actually did 4 trials on this recipe. So by the time I went to shoot the best outcome, I had zero toppings left lol. But hey – it’s all about the crust not just the pizza!
I did seek a popular recipe online for the base, this one. I had to modify it to be vegan. So today I give you The Best Gluten-Free, 100% Vegan Pizza Crust! The secret you ask? Well my friends, it’s a little gem we call Aquafaba. It’s all the craze these days! After spending a few months testing it out in different recipes (more to come very soon!), I discovered it’s actually perfect in savory recipes too! Basically anything made with eggs, aquafaba can substitute it beautifully. You just need to experiment with it and learn its limits. I highly recommend joining the Facebook group dedicated to all the hits and misses shared by vegans all over the world. This group has inspired me SO MUCH!
Okay okay, I’ve talked enough. Let’s get to this beautiful pizza crust, shall we?!
The Best Gluten Free Vegan Pizza Crust
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 1 large
If you're looking for the perfect gluten-free, low-fat and 100% vegan pizza crust - then look no further! This recipe is sure to be a favorite, perfect for the whole family!
Ingredients
- 2/3 cups White Rice Flour + extra as kneaded (get it, haha)
- 1/2 cup Tapioca Flour
- 2/3 cups Warm Water
- 1 packet Dry Yeast, 1 tbsp
- 1/4 cup Chickpea Aquafaba (the brine from the can), whipped for 5 min.
- 2 tsp Xanthan Gum
- 1 tsp Italian Seasoning
- 1 tsp Crushed Red Pepper, optional
- 1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1 tsp Olive or Coconut Oil, melted
- 1/2 tsp Sugar, I used Coconut
- 1/4 tsp Salt, I used Pink Himalayan
Instructions
- Open a can of chickpeas and drain 1/4 cup of the liquid into a medium bowl. Using a hand mixer (or stand mixer), mix of high for 4-5 minutes. You want soft peaks to form.
- Measure and evenly combine all of your dry ingredients into a large bowl. Add in your oil, apple cider vinegar and warm water. Begin mixing on medium till fully incorporated.
- Slowly add in the aquafaba (whipped chickpea water), and mix the dough on the highest speed for 3 minutes. Adding a tablespoon of warm water as needed, only if the mixer is struggling to turn.
- Preheat your oven to 415 degrees F.
- After 3 minutes, remove the dough and place it on a lightly floured, non-stick surface. The dough will be somewhat sticky. Add white rice flour as needed to roll the dough out into a circle (any shape is fine). Preferably 1/4-1/3 inch thick.
- Bake dough for 15 minutes on a silpat or parchment-lined baking sheet. Remove, add toppings and bake for another 15 minutes. Increasing the temperature to 425 for a darker crust. Feel free to add a touch of oil (or aquafaba!) to the crust to crisp it up more. I also added seasonings once removed from the oven.
- Let cool for 5 minutes, serve warm with your favorite movie and a comfy couch!
Notes
Freeze dough for prepping ahead, dethaw the day before using in the fridge. If using thinly sliced vegetables with a high water content, you might want to precook the crust for 20-25 minutes before topping to avoid overcooking your veggies. After making this a few times I found that I liked it best when the crust was almost completely cooked, then I added everything and slightly overcooked it till light brown. Feel free to adjust as needed.The sauce is 3/4's cup Tomato sauce + 1/4 cup Savory Coconut Cream Sauce.This recipe was adapted from Food.com's Gluten-free Pizza Crust
Courses Dinner, Pizza Night
Cuisine Gluten-Free, Vegan, Low-Fat, Italian
Such an ingenious way to use aquafaba!!! (I actually never knew it was called this!) I definitely want to start experimenting with it! Your recipe sounds great! That for taking the time to get the recipe perfected! I am definitely going to give this a try!
Thank you so much, Jess! I really appreciate that, definitely give it a try and have fun experimenting. I’ve had many failed attempts, but that just makes the successes more gratifying!
I can’t wait to try this!! I’m new to the aquafaba, some recipes say you need to reduce the brine, this recipe seems to be quite clear that you don’t? Thank you !
Yay, I hope you enjoy it Sue! For this recipe I did NOT reduce the brine. I’m sure you could but it wasn’t needed. I did however whip it for a few minutes before adding it in. I also used brine that was about 2-3 days old, just stored in an air-tight container in my refrigerator. Hope this helps!
I’ve never seen a recipe using Aquafaba, we’re so excited to give it a try! What are some other uses for the chickpea brine?
It’s quite an incredible ingredient! Typically it’s been used to make vegan meringue and macarons. You can also use it as a normal egg replacer (3 tbsp. per egg). Definitely check out the Facebook I linked in the intro, so many amazing people are using it in inventive ways and having great success!
Wow! I’m pretty sure i could eat the crust alone and be happy 🙂 Looks incredible! The aquafaba craze is amazing…never in a million years would i have thought to take the brine from chickpeas and actually use it! I’m looking forward to trying this!
Haha, I’m totally guilty of doing that! It’s really delicious, I have one defrosting right now for tomorrow – can’t wait! I’m so glad it’s getting popular, so many options are becoming available for vegans now. I mean did we ever think vegan meringue would be possible?! All by the power of bean water lol it still blows my mind!
Yes! So excited about your recipe! I’ve tried some vegan gluten free crusts before and was not happy with the results. I like the sounds of this one, love that you used aquafaba! Bookmarked to make on our next pizza night!
Yay, I really hope you enjoy this one! Let me know what you think when you give it a try <3
Hie Margaret, This recipe sounds good , Can yeast be used in vegan recipes? If yes what is the best brand to buy?
Hi, Thanks so much. Yeast can be used, it’s completely vegan. Any brand works great, I like Bob’s Red Mill.
I just made this tonight and it is THE BEST GF, DF, everything-free pizza crust EVER! Absolutely perfect!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear that, thank you for giving this recipe a try Rebecca! <3
But yeast is a gluten family
I always use an active-dry yeast that’s gluten-free, if you’re not able to consume yeast then this recipe won’t work for you.
Yeast is gluten free. Almost every commercially-made, gluten-free bread has yeast in it.
Hey how well does the dough keep? Freeze it? Cook crust first then freeze? It was so delicious I wanna keep em at the ready for a quick dinner! Seriously tho, best one I’ve had!
Hi, I recommend freezing if you’re not going to use it within a day or two of making. Let it thaw out in the fridge from the freezer, about a day before you plan on using it. I haven’t tried cooking the crust and then freezing, if you give that a try let me know how it turns out! I’m so happy to hear you love this crust recipe 🙂
Is there a substitute flour for the rice flour,?
Absolutely, you can use traditional white flour, whole wheat or a gluten-free blend that you like best.
I’ve been making this for a while now. It smells sooooooooooo good while it’s baking! It’s torture waiting for it to be done! Lately I’ve been tweaking it to make a low carb version.
Yay! I would love to hear how you adapt it to better fit your lifestyle. So happy to hear you’re enjoying this recipe of mine <3
Amazing recipe!!! i have never been able to bake GF anything and this recipe has made me feel confident enough to try again. Thanks so much!
I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you, Lisa. Good luck with your future GF baking creations <3
Excited to try this but have never seen can than gum in Europe . Is this necessary or can it be subbed or left our?
It is needed, but you can try leaving it out. I’m not sure if it will hold up the same when baked though. You might need to add more flour as you’re working with it.
Omg. This really is the very best gluten free vegan pizza crust! So happy! Thank you so much! It’s the only one we will ever use from now on. It’s crispy and absolutely delicious! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I’m so happy to hear you love my crust recipe, Carol! Thank YOU for giving it a try <3
Do you think that I couldI use arrowroot instead of tapioca?
I believe so, though I haven’t attempted it myself. Keep me posted if you try it!