I’m not going to tell you that this recipe is exactly like store-bought wheat & cheese pizza because it’s not. I’m not going to tell you that it’s like frozen gluten-free, dairy-free pizza, because it’s not. It’s very pizza-like, but it’s not actual pizza. To a little kid it will seem like pizza. To a teenager or an adult, it will not. It will be extremely similar, but not exactly the same. I feel that truth in advertising is vital when trying to sell new dishes to my kids, so I tell them the absolute true about things like this one. They coined the title, Pizza, Not!
This recipe is baked in two 12-inch pizza pans, the kinds with sides. Or use a 15-by-10-inch cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan, the kind with sides.
If you eat dairy, you can top it with mozzarella cheese. If you don’t, then you can top it with Daiya dairy-free Mozzarella. If you don’t have Daiya then you can sprinkle the top with a bit of Nutritional Yeast, the kind you buy at the health food store. I really like it with the Nutritional Yeast, but my kids prefer the Daiya. If you don’t have any Nutritional Yeast then you can simply leave out any cheese-type toppings. It still tastes like pizza without it.
One of my favorite things about this recipe is that I can make it from items I keep in my pantry, like rice flour, eggs, ground meat, onions and spaghetti sauce. Plus you can pick up and hold the slices in your hand like regular pizza and it’s kid-friendly. Yay! And finally, I find this recipe much easier to prepare than traditional gluten free pizza.
Pizza, Not!
Ingredients
Crust
- 4 eggs or 2/3-cup egg white
- 1 cup soymilk or water
- 1-1/2 cups rice flour
- 1 teaspoon oregano or basil
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Meat & Veggies
- 1 pound ground meat–sausage or ground beef or ground turkey
- 1/2 to 1-cup chopped onion
- Optional: chopped bell peppers, sliced mushrooms, olives, broccoli, pepperoncino’s etc.
Sauce & Cheese
- 14 ounce jar pizza sauce (Great Value brand is excellent) OR 2-cups canned spaghetti sauce (see note below)
- Optional: 1/4 to 1/3 cup Nutritional Yeast OR 1 or 2 cups shredded Daiya dairy-free cheese OR other dairy-substitute of your choice (maybe smashed tofu, seasoned with garlic and onion powder?) OR just use sauce and don’t worry about cheese.
Directions
Set the oven to 425° so it can preheat.
Begin by frying the meat. While the meat is cooking you can prepare the crust.
Place the meat in a 10-inch skillet and fry it until it’s well browned. Break it up with a fork while it cooks. If desired, drain off the fat and rinse the meat in water to remove as much fat as possible. After you return the meat to skillet add the onion and any raw or frozen vegetables such as peppers or broccoli, or whatever you like. When the onion and other vegetables are tender add any drained, canned or jarred vegetables such as canned mushrooms or olives. Stir it up until it’s nice and hot.
Meanwhile, prepare your pan. Coat a 15 by 10-inch cookie sheet, the kind with sides, OR two 12-inch pizza pans (the kind with sides) with no-stick vegetable oil cooking spray. Or rub them generously with solid vegetable shortening. Set the pan(s) aside.
To prepare the crust combine all of the crust ingredients in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk well. Pour the batter evenly into your prepared pan(s). Shake the pans a bit so that the batter settles evenly.
When the meat and vegetables are done spoon them over the crust batter. The meat and veggies will sink down into the batter. They are supposed to. If desired sprinkle lightly with red pepper flakes.
Bake at 425° for 15 to 20 minutes, or until lightly browned and well set.
Remove the pans from the oven. Top evenly with the pizza sauce or tomato sauce. Sprinkle the top with your favorite cheese alternative, or skip the cheese entirely. Return the pans to the oven and continue baking for another 7 to 10 minutes or until the top is bubbly and hot.
Remove the pans from the oven. Allow to cool briefly and then cut into serving pieces.
In theory this makes 6-servings. In practice it makes 4-servings if you serve it with something else like a big salad.
NOTE: If you don’t have pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce you can make your own from canned tomato sauce. Combine 2 (8-ounce) cans of tomato sauce or 1 (15-ounce) can of tomato sauce with Italian seasonings of your choice. I use 2-teaspoons Italian Seasoning or 1-teaspoon EACH basil and oregano. Also add 1-teaspoon onion powder and 1/4-teaspoon garlic powder. Stir it up nicely and use it for your sauce.
Assuming 6 servings; prepared with regular ground beef that has been drained and rinsed, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 2/3-cup egg white, water instead of soymilk, a 14-ounce jar of pizza sauce and 1-cup Daiya.
Per Serving: 396 Calories; 16g Fat (35.0% calories from fat); 20g Protein; 46g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 35mg Cholesterol; 844mg Sodium.
Calories By Percentage: 35% Fat; 45% Carbohydrate; 20% Protein.
Exchanges: 2-1/2 Grain(Starch); 2 Lean Meat; 2 Vegetable; 2 Fat.