top of page
Search

Comfort Food: Vegan Paleo Pesto Pizza


Vegan Paleo Pesto Pizza


Comfort food; the base on which it seems our modern society is built upon. What is life without divulging in a tasty treat once in a while? Well, who is to say that comfort food has to be bad for you? Why should it leave you bloated and over stuffed?


Over the last year I have found it very hard to stick to my diet if I don’t get that warm fuzzy feeling inside while eating a delicious meal. So, the trick was to find recipes that bring the same level of comfort and satisfaction as say a yummy pizza used to. For me, the key to being satisfied with the foods I make, is to not compare it to a “normal” food. I treat it as its own entity with no comparison. Yes, it is going to have a slightly different texture and taste than a Pizza Hut pizza, but I know it will fill my heart with joy while also nourishing my body.

Following the auto-immune protocol diet, means I can’t have nightshade vegetables like tomatoes. So on top of no grains, sugars, processed foods, and no animal bi-products, this adds a whole other layer to finding comforting foods. With some trial and error, I have developed a delicious vegan, grain-free, auto-immune friendly pizza recipe that is soothing to my soul.


The store was out of fresh basil so I just bought a plant. That way I will have basil for many pizzas to come

INGREDIENTS


DOUGH:

Dry Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup Cassava Flour

  • 1/4 cup Almond Flour

  • 1/4 cup Coconut Flour

  • 1/4 cup Tapioca Flour

  • 1/4 cup Arrowroot Flour

  • 3 tsp Baking Powder

  • 1 tsp Salt

  • 1 tsp Paleo Powder

Wet Ingredients

  • 3/4 - 1 cup Water

  • 2 tbsp Coconut or Avocado Oil

  • 2 Flax Eggs (2 tbsp Ground Flax Seeds or Flax Meal + 6 tbsp water)



SAUCE:

  • 2 cups fresh basil

  • 3 Tbsp pine nuts or walnuts (if nut-free, try sunflower seeds!)

  • 3 large cloves garlic

  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice

  • 3-4 Tbsp nutritional yeast

  • 1/4 tsp sea salt

  • 2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

  • 4-6 Tbsp water



CHEESE:

  • 2 cups raw almonds

  • 1/4 cup olive oil

  • 2 cloves garlic

  • 1 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1/2 - 3/4 cup water

  • 1/4 cup lemon juice (about the juice from 1 lemon)



TOPPINGS:

  • 1 can Kalamata Olives

  • 1 can Green Olives

  • 1/2 a small red onion

  • 1 medium yellow squash

  • Nutritional Yeast



ALMOND CHEESE INSTRUCTIONS:

*I usually make the cheese a day in advance so it can harden in the fridge overnight

**If you buy blanched almonds, you can skip steps 1-5

  1. In a medium pot, bring 3 cups of water to boil

  2. Add 2 cups almonds

  3. Let them boil in the water for 3 minutes

  4. Drain almonds and rinse with cold water to quickly cool them down

  5. Squeeze each almond from its end to remove its skin (hold inside bowl so the almonds dont shoot out of the skin, they are slippery little buggers)

  6. Soak almonds in water in the fridge at least one hour (the longer you soak the softer the almonds will be)

  7. Put soaked almonds, nutritional yeast, olive oil, garlic, salt, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup of water in food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy.

  8. Add more water a little at a time if necessary. It will be a ricotta cheese type texture

  9. Put back in fridge to further harden



PESTO SAUCE INSTRUCTIONS

*I usually make the sauce while the pizza dough is baking

  1. Add the sauce ingredients (basil, nuts, garlic, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and sea salt) to a food processor or blender

  2. Blend/mix on high until a loose paste forms. Add water 1 tbsp at a time until reaching desired consistency. The more nutritional yeast added, the thicker it will be.



DOUGH INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Make your flax eggs by combining 6 Tbsp water to ground flax seeds (flax meal) in a small bowl. Mix well and put in the refrigerator for later

  2. Mix all dry ingredients together in large bowl

  3. Add oil and flax eggs, mix well

  4. Slowly add in water a 1/4 cup at a time. If the dough is stiff or crumbly, add more water.

  5. Knead dough with hands 3-4 minutes

  6. Roll out dough to be about 3/8 - 1/4 inch thick. (It should spread across an entire 13”x18” lightly oiled baking sheet)

  7. Bake on 400 for 7 minutes

  8. While dough is baking make your pesto sauce

  9. Pre-cook your toppings by sauteing onion and yellow squash on a skillet until soft (this step is not necessary, but I like my veggies to be well cooked and soft)

  10. Remove pizza from oven and evenly spread the pesto sauce and almond cheese on it

  11. Add any desired toppings (you can never have too many in my opinion)

  12. Sprinkle nutritional yeast across all toppings

  13. Bake on 400 for 15-20 minutes depending on how crispy you like the crust

  14. Let cool and enjoy your made from scratch comfort food!



Comments

bottom of page