Name: Chickpea Flour Pizza with Pesto and Roasted Beet Noodles
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 45 min
Ingredients: For the crust:; 1 cup garbanzo bean flour; 1 cup filtered water; 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (plus 2 teaspoons for the pan); 1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional for a touch of sweetness); 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt; 1/4 teaspoon onion powder (optional for added flavor); 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (optional for added flavor); 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper (optional for added flavor); 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional for heat); For the sauce:; 1/3-1/2 cup parsley pesto*; For the toppings:; 1 small beet, spiralized on blade D of The Inspiralizer(or thinly sliced); 6 white button mushrooms, thinly sliced; 1/4 small red onion, spiralized on blade D of The Inspiralizer (or thinly sliced); 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil to drizzle on top of the veggies; Sprinkle of fine salt and pepper for the veggie toppings

This pizza is the answer to all my foodie prayers! For someone who is allergic to yeast, wheat, soy, dairy, gluten and eggs, it is almost impossible to find a suitable pizza crust that doesn't taste like cardboard. Until now!

When I discovered you can literally make a light, soft, chewy and flavorful pizza crust out of just chickpea flour and water, I was skeptical. I thought, this seems too healthy, too easy and too right for me. Well, I was right! It was all those things and more! This chickpea flour pizza tastes incredible and actually doesn't require much effort at all. Before you know it, you will be shouting "pizza night!"

I'll walk you through it below step by step (the whole process takes about 45 minutes with only about 5 minutes of hands on time). This has quickly become my go-to easy weeknight dinner solution.

Here is how I do it:

Combine store-bought garbanzo bean flour (chickpea flour) with water. Add a little oil, maple syrup (optional for flavor) and spices (I like salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and red pepper flakes). Let it sit for 30 minutes to allow the chickpea flour to absorb some of the liquid.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to broil 500 degrees. Five minutes before your batter is done resting, place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in your oven on a rack six inches below the heating element. Heat the bare skillet for 5 minutes.
Using oven mitts, remove the skillet from the oven and add 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the skillet to evenly coat the bottom. Pour in the batter and place back in the oven for 5 minutes on broil.
Remove from oven. You could stop right here and just enjoy the crust as a flatbread. You could dip it in marinara sauce, pesto sauce, hummus, guacamole or flavored olive oil. If you leave out the seasonings and make it plain you could even use it as an open-faced sandwich for nut or seed butters with jelly or fresh fruit such as berries or bananas.
If you want to turn it into a pizza, you can then spread on marinara sauce or pesto sauce and top with veggies. You could also add vegan cheese at this point. Once the veggies are in place, I drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt. I then return the pizza to the oven at 425 degrees and cook for another 10 minutes or so until the veggies are tender.

The pizza part of this recipe is very flexible. I personally love the combination of parsley-pesto with roasted beet noodles, onions and mushrooms. But you could add whatever sauce and toppings suit you best. For quickness and ease, I like to spiralize my beet and red onion toppings but you could also thinly slice if you don't have a spiralizer.

If you go to my Instagram account, under my story highlights, go to "PIZZA" to see me make this pizza from start to finish (with slightly different toppings). Hopefully this demo helps you visualize how easy this recipe is.

This recipe is vegan, soy-free, peanut-free and gluten-free. To make it nut-free substitute hemp seeds or pepitas for pine nuts in the parsley pesto (either or both will work). You could also use basil in place of the parsley if you prefer.

If you give this recipe a try, please let me know! Leave a comment below, rate it above, and tag a photo @eatingbyelaine and #eatingbyelaine on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook so I can see your chickpea flour pizzas!

Equipment: In this recipe I use The Inspiralizer, a mini food processor and a 10-inch cast iron skillet (affiliate links to my exact models of each).

Chickpea Flour Pizza with Pesto and Roasted Beet Noodles

Here is how I do it:

Combine store-bought garbanzo bean flour (chickpea flour) with water. Add a little oil, maple syrup (optional for flavor) and spices (I like salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder and red pepper flakes). Let it sit for 30 minutes to allow the chickpea flour to absorb some of the liquid.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to broil 500 degrees. Five minutes before your batter is done resting, place a 10-inch cast iron skillet in your oven on a rack six inches below the heating element. Heat the bare skillet for 5 minutes.

Using oven mitts, remove the skillet from the oven and add 2 teaspoons of olive oil to the skillet to evenly coat the bottom. Pour in the batter and place back in the oven for 5 minutes on broil.