Zucchini crust pizza makes the perfect personal size pizza that is packed full of veggies! The crust gets crispy and golden, and is the perfect low carb pizza crust! Gluten free, grain free, dairy free options.
You might not know that deep down I am a pizza lover at heart! However, I got so tired of feeling so sluggish and uncomfortable after eating pizza made the traditional way. When I first became a vegetarian 15 years ago, I had no idea how to eat vegetarian, but I knew I wasn’t going to eat meat anymore. Well that made me a carb lover – pasta, pizza, baked potatoes, and cereal. All the usual culprits.
Creating a pizza crust made from vegetables is a great way to still enjoy my favorite flavors and foods without the discomfort. This zucchini pizza crust, cauliflower crust pizza or even using sweet potato rounds as pizza bases are a great alternative to traditional pizza crust! It’s not exactly the same but that’s ok with me!
Back to this zucchini pizza. It’s also going into my list of vegetable based favorites that I can enjoy whenever I like, since it’s such an easy recipe to throw together! The zucchini pizza crust is the perfect texture, full of veggies and it holds up well to toppings!
Zucchini Spotlight
Zucchini is full of vitamin C! I don’t know about you but I’m always looking for a way to get my daily recommended dose of Vitamin C! I have found that every little action helps when it comes to keeping my immune system in tip top shape.
Zucchini is often recommended to people on a weight management plan, as it is low in calories and full of fiber. I love zucchini for how filling it is. There is no question why zoodles (zucchini noodles) have become all the rage, zucchini has a very mild flavor and can easily take the place of pasta; or in this case flour in pizza crust.
Zucchini Pizza Crust Recipe Tips
Preparing the zucchini:
Shred the zucchini with either a hand grater or a food processor with the shredding attachment.
There is quite a bit of water in the zucchini. To get a crispy crust it is important to ring out as much of the water as possible. The easiest way to do this is to squeeze the zucchini shreds over the sink with your hands in small batches. You can also stack the shredded zucchini in a few paper towels or a kitchen towel to wring out the water or use a mesh strainer and a wooden spoon. Either way you want to get as much of the water out of the zucchini as possible. Don’t skip this step!!
How to add more protein and keep this zucchini pizza crust grain free:
Ground flax will help absorb any lingering liquid from the zucchini and help create a very crunchy crust! If you don’t have ground flax, you could try ground chia seeds as well.
Hemp hearts: Hemp hearts are a great way to add more protein and healthy fats to the zucchini crust pizza! If you haven’t tried hemp hearts yet, they can be found at most grocery stores now and have a nutty flavor that works great in savory dishes! Try this creamy garlic pasta sauce made from hemp hearts!
Zucchini Pizza Crust topping ideas:
Outside of typical pizza toppings, you could top the zucchini pizza crust with these fun ideas!
- Roasted tomatoes
- Roasted red bell peppers
- Dairy free pesto
- BBQ chicken
- Sweet and sour chicken
- Hummus
- Smoked salmon
Zucchini Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 2 large zucchinis shredded
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup skim milk mozzarella cheese or So Delicious Dairy Free Cheese
- 1/2 tsp. garlic powder
- 2 tbs. hemp hearts
- 1/2 tbs. ground flax seeds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Shred zucchini. Remove excess liquid from zucchini by pressing it into mesh strainer or ringing it out with paper towels.
- Once zucchini is as dry as possible, spread out on a parchment paper lined baking sheet, sprinkle with salt, and bake for 10 minutes at 400 degrees.
- Remove the zucchini from the oven and place in a bowl.
- Add egg, mozzarella cheese, garlic powder, hemp hearts, and ground flax seeds. Stir until everything is combined.
- Spray the parchment paper with coconut oil. Add the dough to the parchment paper and press the dough out into a pizza shape crust. The crust will be thin but should not have any holes or gaps.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Take out of the oven.
- CAREFULLY flip the crust to the other side, and bake another 5 minutes.
- Take out of the oven, add toppings and bake another 5 minutes at 400 degrees.
FABBY
June 4, 2015 at 4:16 pmThis recipe looks awesome! I love it that it’s not a carb which I try not to eat cause it makes me gain weight, lol..
Thanks for sharing,
FABBY
Sam
June 4, 2015 at 6:18 pmFabby – yes, I know I have my fair share of foods that make me gain weight too – pizza is certainly one I’m careful of 🙂 Enjoy this!
Lou Lou Girls
June 1, 2015 at 7:58 pmHello Gorgeous! This looks incredible! Thank you so much for sharing it with us. Pinned and tweeted. I hope to see you tonight at 7 pm, so we can party with you! Lou Lou Girls
Evija
May 29, 2015 at 6:19 amThis looks absolutely delicious!!! Thank you for sharing and joining our Oh My Heartsie Girl Wordless Wednesday Link Party.. Have a great day, co-host Evija @Fromevijawithlove x
Sarah Ramberg
May 28, 2015 at 8:44 amSuper interesting idea!!! Might have to try this myself. 🙂 I love that you shared this with us at Snickerdoodle Sunday- see you again this weekend I hope?
Sarah (Sadie Seasongoods)
Carole West - Garden Up Green
May 26, 2015 at 8:09 amI’m a pizza lover too – When I went Gluten free that was really the only thing that I missed. I’m going to have to try this recipe. I’ve got Zucchini growing in the garden so this is going to be dinner hopefully sometime soon. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Carole
Cathy
May 25, 2015 at 9:59 pmYum, what a great idea! This is a great recipe! I would love for you to share this at my party Making Memories Mondays going on now! Hope to see you there!
Cathy
Josie
April 19, 2015 at 9:31 amI’ve heard of cauliflower crust before, but not zucchini! This looks SO cool! Excited to try it 🙂
Sam
April 20, 2015 at 12:30 amJosie, awesome! I hope you love it – I’ve had other reviews and they were all so positive! Let me know!
Elaine@cookinandcraftin.com
March 24, 2015 at 8:25 pmWhat a great healthy alternate!! Love!! Thanks for linking up on My 2 Favorite Things on Thursday!! Hope you come back this Thursday and share some more!! I love having you! Pinned!
Deborah Davis
March 22, 2015 at 10:57 pmHi Sam,
I am a big fan of healthy, veggie topped pizza but I have never tried zucchini pizza crust, so thank you for sharing this healthy and delicious recipe with us at the Healthy, Happy, Green and Natural Party Blog Hop! I’m pinning and sharing!
Corinne
March 21, 2015 at 2:13 pmI have tried a cauliflower crust before but my kids didn’t care for it. Zucchini’s flavor is more subtle so I think this might be more successful. Thanks for linking up the recipe at This Is How We Roll Thursday.
Sam
March 21, 2015 at 5:01 pmYes, this is certainly more subtle. I hope the kids like this better!
Sabrina @ Nutritiously Sweet
March 19, 2015 at 7:23 pmOh man this look delicious! I never tried zucchini or the famous cauliflower pizza. I need to get on that. I was vegetarian for a year (still most of my meals are meat free) and I loved making homemade tomato basil soup, which I have a recipe for on ze blog 🙂
Charlotte
March 19, 2015 at 3:39 pmYour recipe comes right on time for me. We are going to go vegetarian one day a week and I really need some tasty recipes. Your zucchini pizza sounds very delicious. Zucchini is easy to grow so this comes handy for a gardener. I added your recipe to my Pinterest collection. I think it would be a great Friday dinner!
Aspen Jay
March 19, 2015 at 2:44 pmI have seen a zucchini pizza crust recipe floating around on Pinterest, but they never explained about getting all the excess water out… So I really appreciate this! You mentioned paper towels to strain out the water… How would you do that?
Robyn Petrik
March 18, 2015 at 4:53 pmI had heard of cauliflower crusts before, but never a zucchini crust. This sounds like a great idea!
Becky at Cooking with Vinyl
March 18, 2015 at 4:47 pmI love this idea. I’m trying to eat healthier, but don’t want to give up the foods I love. This is a great alternative! I’m a new food blogger and found you on a link party. I’ve followed your social sites and hope we can connect on those. Can’t wait to read more of your blog. Becky
Laurie
March 18, 2015 at 11:03 amoohhh! looks so wonderful! Thank you for sharing with us at VMG206 Brag About It this week!
Elaine Hodges
March 18, 2015 at 9:26 amHi,
I host a healthy recipe link up every Wednesday if you would like to add this recipe and others. Here is this week’s link. http://baddgoddess.com/the-healthy-eating-habit-4/
Ariana
March 18, 2015 at 12:32 amWhat a great idea!! I’ve tried cauliflower pizza crust and it was a huge fail, but this doesn’t look like it would get nearly as messy 😉 Thanks for sharing!
Deborah @ Confessions of a Mother Runner
March 17, 2015 at 8:15 pmooh love the addition of the hemp hearts! I’ve made cauliflower pizza but not zucchini yummy
Sam
March 17, 2015 at 10:04 pmDeborah – aren’t you in love with hemp hearts now!! I just can’t get enough of them!
Lindsay
March 17, 2015 at 7:14 pmThis sounds great just time consuming! I would like to try though on a Sunday perhaps when I have more time to dedicate to it. I love making homemade pizza too!
Sam
March 17, 2015 at 10:05 pmLindsay, you can skip the first batch of baking the zucchini and you could coat the crust with cheese after you flip the crust. This was just the tried and true method I used, since previous attempts left me with a less crisp crust. Either way enjoy it and thanks for stopping by!!
Farrah
March 17, 2015 at 7:02 pmI’ve been craving pizza in the worst way lately–this looks delicious, and hooray for it being super-healthy too! <3
Sam
March 17, 2015 at 10:06 pmFarrah you and me both on that pizza craving! Yes I love a good healthy alternative 🙂
Chelsie
March 17, 2015 at 6:38 pmI love Zucchini! I will pin this so I can try it later!
Sam
March 17, 2015 at 10:06 pmSo glad you like this Chelsie! Enjoy it 🙂
Jessica Joy @The Fit Switch
March 17, 2015 at 6:36 pmWell shoot, you just made my day! Thanks so much for sharing and perfecting your recipe! I have forgone pizza for awhile (hello dairy and carbs overdose…and often sugar with the sauce), minus some outings to a restaurant called, Sizzle Pie, that I LOVEEEE. But this solves my woes. I am so excited to use this. And, I know the hubs will love it too! YAHOOZLE
Sam
March 17, 2015 at 10:07 pmYou are so sweet!! Love that you you and the hubs will both enjoy this recipe! Sizzle Pie sounds interesting – I’m sure it’s fantastic!! Your comment put a big smile on my face xo
Jess @hellotofit
March 17, 2015 at 5:48 pmI’ve never made a non-flour pizza crust (shame on me). I LOVE zucchini errythang though, and this looks delish!! Thanks for sharing!!
Samantha&Bev@REinspiredDecor
March 17, 2015 at 3:56 pmThis looks so yummy! I’ve just gone gluten free but I love pizza so I will definitely be trying your recipe. Thanks 🙂
Sam
March 17, 2015 at 5:23 pmOh this will quickly become one of your favorite recipes!! Enjoy!
Alexis@FItnancials
March 17, 2015 at 12:14 pmWow! I never even thought of using zucchini for crust. I’ve heard of using cauliflower for pizza crust. This actually looks really good! I am going to have to try this. Living in Chicago and being surrounded by pizza joints makes it incredibly hard to skip out on the occasional pizza slices when I go out with friends. I wish restaurants would make healthier options.
Sam
March 17, 2015 at 5:24 pmOn occasional slice is great, I normally just eat too much and feel terrible afterwards. I’m sure if I had awesome pizza around me, I would be in the same boat. But yes, it would be so nice to have restaurants offer more healthy options.
Jill @ Champagne for Everyday
March 17, 2015 at 9:09 amThis looks incredible! I am in love! I have been eating spiralzed zucc. every night for dinner with different toppings, and can’t wait to incorporate it into something new!
xx Jill
Latest post: Oui Oui for Black and White Prisoner Stripes!
Sam
March 17, 2015 at 5:27 pmJIll spiralized zucchini is so wonderful too! I hope you enjoy this as much as I do!!
Kyra
March 17, 2015 at 8:29 amI’ve tried making zucchini crusts before but they never seem to work for me…I need to find a vegan version. Or maybe I should get experimenting and make my own! I am a total pizza lover. Cheese-free vegan pizzas of course though 🙂
Sam
March 17, 2015 at 5:28 pmI’m working on a vegan version as well! If you come up with one, please do share!! Love your blog by the way!
Andrea
March 17, 2015 at 8:09 amI’ve never made an “alternative” pizza crust before. Someday when I am feeling inspired maybe 🙂
Susie @ SuzLyfe
March 17, 2015 at 7:58 amObviously I love the idea, through I would do mine without the cheese. I wonder if it would work as well as my cauliflower crust did. Hmm. will have to experiment with that!
Sam
March 17, 2015 at 5:30 pmYes please experiment and share with me!! I’m working on a vegan version so we will see how that goes.