The Best 5-Minute Gluten-Free Pizza Crust Recipe
This green vegan pizza pairs a no-knead gluten-free crust with a fresh green topping of spinach, broccoli, tofu, pesto and olives. The dough comes together in one bowl with a spoon, no kneading and no rising fuss, so you can have a homemade pizza in the oven in about five minutes of hands-on work. It is naturally vegan and gluten-free, which means it works for celiacs and anyone avoiding dairy, while still tasting like a proper pizza.
I first made this as part of a gluten-free cooking project, when I was invited to join a campaign focused on educating people about special dietary needs, such as gluten intolerance and a lactose-free diet. I chose to cook vegan and gluten-free recipes for it, so they could be made by celiacs and people who are lactose-intolerant as well. This green vegan pizza was my first recipe for that campaign, and it came with one of the best gluten-free pizza crusts I have ever made. I was extremely surprised by the result, and it quickly became one of my favorite vegan pizza recipes.
I recently discovered this super-simple gluten-free pizza crust that does not require any kneading at all, and I have been cooking vegan gluten-free pizzas like crazy ever since. I am not sure that is great for my figure, but I am not complaining.
The ingredients that make it work
For the crust you need a gluten-free flour blend, warm water, olive oil, sea salt and dry yeast. The flour matters more than anything else here. Reach for a gluten-free flour mix, not a single plain gluten-free flour, because a blend carries the starches and binders that give the crust its structure. If you only have one type of gluten-free flour on hand, the dough will not behave the same way.
The green topping is where this pizza gets its name. Thawed frozen spinach gets pureed into a soft green base, broccoli florets add bite, grated tofu stands in for cheese, and green olives bring the salty hit. I used smoked tofu, which tastes better in this combination than plain tofu, and a vegan pesto to tie everything together. I am a huge olives fan, and the green olives here are the part I look forward to most.
Why a no-knead gluten-free dough actually works
With wheat pizza you knead to develop gluten, the protein network that makes dough stretchy and lets you toss and shape it. Gluten-free flour has no gluten to develop, so kneading does nothing useful, which is exactly why you can skip it. Instead, the starches in a gluten-free blend absorb the warm water and the yeast does its work, so the dough thickens and holds together on its own.
This is also why the dough is meant to be extremely sticky and moist rather than a smooth ball you can roll out. You are not rolling this crust, you are spreading it. That wet, spoonable texture is the recipe working correctly, not a sign that something went wrong.
How to shape and top it without the dough fighting you
Pour the dough into the middle of a greased, parchment-lined tray and spread it with the back of a tablespoon, working in circular motions from the center outward until you have a roughly round shape. Once it is round, grease your hands with a little oil and shape the edges, pressing the top to even it out. The trick is the oil: whenever the dough starts sticking to your fingers, grease your hands again and it releases instantly.
Then build the green layers in order: pesto spread across the whole base, spinach puree over that, then broccoli florets, grated tofu and olives. Bake at medium heat for about half an hour. The crust is ready when the edges are set and lightly golden and the base no longer feels wet in the middle.
What to serve alongside it
This pizza is filling on its own, but it loves company on the table. A bright, crunchy bowl like my vegan a la russe Olivier salad balances all that green, and on a cooler day a warm starter like my vegan red lentil soup turns it into a proper meal. If you are cooking for a crowd of pizza lovers, set out my veggie pita pizzas next to this one so everyone can mix and match.
Make-ahead and storage
This pizza is best eaten fresh from the oven, while the crust still has a little crispness to the edges. Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for two to three days. Reheat slices in a hot oven or a dry pan rather than the microwave, which would turn the gluten-free crust soft and gummy. The crust itself can be baked plain ahead of time and topped later, which is handy if you want pizza on a busy weeknight.
If you like having gluten-free basics ready to go, the same brand of gluten-free flour blend works beautifully in my gluten-free black cumin bread, and for a sweeter bake there is my gluten-free cocoa sponge cake. I hope these recipes inspire you the way this campaign inspired me.
If you make this green vegan pizza, I would love to know how your no-knead crust turned out and whether you went with smoked or plain tofu. Leave a star rating and a comment below with your own topping tweaks, so other gluten-free pizza fans can try them too.
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Green Vegan Pizza + The Best 5-Minute Pizza Crust
Ingredients
For gluten-free pizza crust:
- 300 g gluten-free flour MixIt Universal by Schar
- 250 ml warm water
- 2 Tbsps olive oil + 1 Tbsp oil for greasing the pan
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 1 pack dry yeast by Schar
For topping:
- 6 cubes spinach frozen, thawed
- 5 florets broccoli frozen, thawed
- 150 g tofu simple or smoked (smoked tofu tastes better in this combination)
- 6 green olives
- r tbsp vegan pesto
Instructions
- Mix all pizza crust ingredients into a large bowl. Mix using a spoon.
- The dough will be extremely sticky and moist. Don’t worry, this is just as it is supposed to be.
- Cover an oven tray with some parchment paper and lightly grease it.
- Pour the dough right in the middle.
- Start spreading it using the tablespoon, using circular motions, from the inside to the outside. You want to give it a somewhat circular shape.
- When the pizza crust has a round shape, grease your hands with some oil and start shaping its margins and make it even rounder. You can even press it on top. If it gets sticky, just grease your hands some more.
- Add pesto all over the pizza crust and spread it with a spoon.
- Add spinach puree and spread it all over, then broccoli florets, grated tofu and olives.
- Put the pizza in the oven at medium heat for about half an hour.
Notes
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. The crust is made with a gluten-free flour blend, water, olive oil, salt and dry yeast, and every topping is plant-based and gluten-free as well. Because it contains no wheat and no dairy, it works for celiacs and people on a lactose-free diet. Always double-check that your specific flour blend and pesto are certified gluten-free if you are highly sensitive.
That is exactly how it should be. This no-knead dough is meant to be extremely sticky and moist, not a smooth ball you can roll out. Gluten-free flour has no gluten to make the dough stretchy, so you spread the wet dough with a spoon and your oiled hands instead of rolling it.
No kneading is needed, because there is no gluten to develop in a gluten-free flour blend. You simply mix all the crust ingredients in one bowl with a spoon, then spread the dough onto the tray and top it. This is what makes it a roughly five-minute, no-knead crust.
It is not recommended. The technique is built around a gluten-free flour blend, and using regular all-purpose flour with gluten may not work because gluten makes the crust more elastic and changes the texture. Also use a gluten-free blend rather than a single plain gluten-free flour, since the blend provides the starches that give structure.
Smoked tofu is the topping I prefer here because it tastes better in this green combination, but plain tofu works too. The grated tofu stands in for cheese, so if you would rather not use tofu you can substitute your favorite vegan cheese. Keep the rest of the green toppings the same for that signature look and flavor.
It is best eaten fresh from the oven while the crust edges are still crisp. Leftovers keep in an airtight container in the fridge for two to three days. Reheat slices in a hot oven or a dry pan rather than the microwave, which would make the gluten-free crust soft and gummy.
This crust is honestly so good! I’m not a big fan of green olives so I made this pizza with kalamata instead and, even though it doesn’t look as pretty as yours, it was delicious! 🙂
Glad you liked it! 😀
Mi-ai facut pofta de cand ai postat pizza pe facebook asa ca astazi mi-am facut si eu pizza cu blat fara gluten facut de mine dupa reteta ta. Am mai adaugat seminte de in si susan macinate.
Mi-ar fi placut si mie cu brocoli ca prea bine arata dar nu am gasit la magazinul in care mi-am facut cumparaturile.
Iar branza tofu afumata am consumat si nu am crezut ca merge atat de bine la pizza, desi eu am pus si putin cascaval normal. Data viitoare o sa pun doar tofu!
Super ideea cu susan in blat! 🙂 Ti-a iesit ok? Cum a fost?
I’d love to try this recipe. What can be substituted for the Mixit flour for those of us who cannot access it?
Thank you!
Hi Catherine! I think it should work with any kind of gluten-free flour mix from another brand you can find locally. It’s important to be a GF flour mix though, not just one type of GF flour.