Like most residents of planet Earth, I’m pizza crazy. I’d like to say that my love affair started with those pesky Ninja Turtles, but I have a feeling that I was addicted well before the heroes in a half shell became popular. When adopting Paleo, I was probably worried about a lack of pizza the most, and after re-introducing dairy I tried all sorts of things, from frozen GF crusts to eggplant pizzas. Finally, I hunkered down and developed a gluten and grain free pizza crust of my own, and after several failed attempts, I’m happy to say that you will love this pizza.
Do I really need to provide a food history for pizza? Okay, since you asked so nicely. Pizza is a food first traced to Ancient Greece, when they took bread and covered it with oil and cheese (this is also the base for Pita bread). Italy is credited for adding tomatoes to pizza following their introduction from the New World in the 15th and 16th centuries. Interestingly, the combination of tomatoes and cheese wasn’t popular for hundreds of years, until the famous Pizza Margherita (tomatoes, cheese, and basil) incident – wherein the combination was served to Queen Margherita in 1889 to represent the Italian flag.
Pizzerias existed in the United States at the turn of the century, but it was only popular with Italian immigrants. Soldiers returning from the European campaign of World War II raved about pizza, and it became the sensation it is now almost overnight.
Don’t forget that I am giving away a SIGNED copy of the new Perfect Health Diet book this week!
You’ll Need: (makes two pizzas)
for the crust -
1 1/2 cups tapioca starch or flour (it’s the same thing)
1/4 cup each heavy cream and water (or 1/2 cup milk instead of cream & water)
2 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1/4 tsp dried oregano
pinch of white pepper
3/4 cup parmesan cheese (or any hard cheese), grated
for the toppings -
1/2 cup pizza sauce
3/4 cup mozzarella or other soft cheese
toppings
In a saucepan, combine the cream, water, butter, and salt and bring to a simmer on med/low heat. You want to get it to the point that it’s starting to bubble, but not boiling. In a large bowl, add the tapioca starch. When the cream/water mixture is heated, add it to the starch and stir it all together. It will start to clump together, which is fine. Let the mixture cool for five minutes. As it cools, preheat your oven to 500 degrees.
Add the beaten egg to the mixture, and knead together with your hands. Add the cheese, white pepper, and oregano, and mix together until it’s dough-like. This is enough dough for two pizzas.
Split the dough in half, then stretch it out into the thinnest frisbee possible. It will likely tear if you stretch it too far, so just pull it as far as you can. Put the dough in a cast iron skillet, spreading to the edges of the skillet with your fingers. Try to get it as thin as possible – this is important so as to not make your crust too chewy. With a fork, poke some holes through the dough to let air pass through.
Bake in the middle of your oven for six minutes, then take it out and put it on your stove (keep the oven on!). The dough may bubble up a little while cooking, which is fine – it’ll go back down once you take it out of the oven. It’s hard to tell in this picture, but the dough will have taken on a more bread-like consistency at this point. This step is important because it gives the dough time to cook through without burning the toppings.
Add the 1/4 cup of sauce. Might I suggest a blended version of my homemade Superior Spaghetti Sauce?
Add the toppings, whatever you’d like. You can go with a standard topping fare like in the picture above, or try something more unique like a cheese-less pizza (often referred to as Pizza Marinara) or another favorite – Pizza Bianca, which is basically just dough, olive oil, salt, and rosemary, a popular style of pizza in Rome.
Throw it back in the oven and cook for another 8-10 minutes, until the cheese starts to brown. For extra crispy toppings, broil it for the last minute or two of cooking.
That’s it! Bear in mind that while this is the best gluten-free pizza crust I’ve ever tasted, the inside of the dough will still be slightly chewy – mostly due to the nature of tapioca starch. I assure you, it’s not undercooked!
This pizza also cooks well on a pizza stone, or just a plain baking sheet if you’re desperate for some delicious pizza. Enjoy!
BLESS YOU. I shouldn’t eat cheese either but I miss pizza. I think this is my dinner tonight. :D
Jada, I know what you mean – I don’t eat mozzarella cheese that often, but it’s definitely worth it on this pizza!
Thanks for posting this! After a couple years of low carb Paleo, I’m about to try things the Perfect Health Diet way. I’m still trying to lose weight so I’m petrified of adding back carbs. But at the same time, I’m super excited to try eating things like this delicious looking recipe! I’ve started reading the new version of the PHD diet book and am pretty impressed with the theory. I really enjoy your site and look forward to trying out a bunch of stuff I’ve previously just skimmed over. It’s a whole new world!
Mmmm, oh boy, this looks amazing! I actually don’t have a cast iron skillet, so it will be baking sheets of desperation for me! ; )
Cannot wait to try this !!!!
I love making pizza in a cast iron skillet! I had some amazing gluten-free pizzas at restaurants, but never made it myself at home. I also think that the tapioca starch makes gluten-free pizza crusts really good. Texture is nice and chewy. Reminds me a bit of Pão de queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread). Nice picture tutorial!
Good eye – the crust is definitely inspired by my Pao de Queijo recipe!: http://thedomesticman.com/2012/10/30/brazilian-cheese-buns-pao-de-queijo/
Lol. I also discovered Pao de Queijo at Fogo De Chao and did a post on it too.
Would love to try it with different spices as you suggest.
It’s nice to share this cheese bread love :)
Woot!! I’m totally going to try this. I LOVE the tapicoa buns you shared before so I’m sure this will be great. I have to ask though… do you buy your tapioca starch in bulk? I know it’s not expensive in the stores, but those small boxes don’t really hold much.
Lola, our local Asian market sells pretty big bags of it, so that’s what we’ve been doing. However, Amazon sells a four-pack of Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Flour (80oz total!) for $12!
Bob's Red Mill Tapioca Flour, 20-Ounce (Pack of 4)
Very cool, thank you! I can’t wait to try this. Also am grateful for the great printer friendly version!
Phoebe, that is great to hear – it’s always a pain in the butt to make those printer-friendly versions so I am glad people are using them! :)
Russ – This looks amazing, and I can’t wait to try this! Especially after I made your Brazilian cheese balls recently – Oh so good, and I highly recommend them. Seems to me there may have been a bit of inspiration from those for this crust…. if so, you are truly a genius!!! #envy#
Can the second half of dough be frozen for future use, or do you not suggest that? Thanks!
Jenn, you could definitely do that, but I would suggest rolling it out into the shape you want before freezing it (like a pre-frozen pizza crust you buy at the store). Otherwise, thawing a ball of dough and trying to form it into a crust will probably be quite a hassle :)
When re-heating, maybe heat the crust for 10-12 minutes before adding the toppings.
I’ve been primarily gluten free for about 4 years now due to a wheat allergy, and have been searching for the best pizza crust alternative. My search has now ended…this crust is AWESOME!! It’s super easy to make, tastes good, doesn’t fall apart when you pick up a slice, and added bonus, it’s super cheap to make. It’s by far the best recipe I’ve tried, and I’d venture to say it’s one of the best GF crusts out there, commercially produced and restaurants included. Kudos to you!!!
Abby, thanks for the awesome feedback! You just totally made my day.
Do you think this recipe would work if I substituted with flax gel or EnerG egg replacer and hemp milk? My kids have multiple food allergies and they’ve been wanting a good pizza for years.
Kristie, truth be told I haven’t cooked with any of those ingredients. I say give it a shot and let me know how it turns out? :)
I’ll keep you posted…if it works, I’ll be considered a superstar, but I’ll give you most of the credit.
Sounds like a deal :)
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2012/04/wheat-belly-safe-flours/ Is there a way to do it without the tapioca flour? I know that would change the recipe. Tapioca flour according to Dr. Davis is destructive to health.
Hi Lisa, potato and arrowroot starch might be used, but it’s the stretchy consistency of tapioca that really makes this crust. I say try it and let me know how it turns out. Despite what Dr. Davis says, I actually tend to side with the other train of thought that tapioca isn’t bad for you since its toxins are destroyed in the cooking process, and GI reaction to certain foods can be halved in many cases when eating fats, vegetables, and acids (fermented foods) in the same meal that contains a high-glycemic starch. But that’s just my $.02 :)
This pizza was AWESOME!!! It has to be the easiest paleo crust recipe I have found yet and it tasted great. Made for a great treat for the kids and I this evening… Especially after a weekend filled with holiday parties and ‘regular’ pizza that I was desperatly avoiding. Thank you for sharing!!
Jaimie, I’m glad you guys liked it! Much better than regular pizza :)
Do you think coconut milk could be used as a non-dairy substitute for the milk?
Jennifer, I think it would work. You could also just use a little extra water and another egg to even things out. Let me know how it goes!
This is a WONDERFUL tasting pizza crust & so easy to make! My entire family (they are NOT Paleo) really enjoyed it too! Making it for the 2nd time this week! :o) THANKS for sharing…I’ve shared the link with many already!
Chele, awesome, thanks for sharing!
Yum Num Yum! This is a GREAT pizza! The crust is really flavorful. I just made it the first time and will definitely spread my crust even thinner the second try, as when it gets that crackers crisp like it is at the edges … it’s to die for!
I used all organic ingredients in mine, and topped it with a nice gourmet pasta sauce, about 4 fresh diced garlic cloves, some sweet basil and mozzerella cheese. Definitely a keeper!
Carolyn, sounds delicious! :)
Reblogged this on kia's life.
I am hooked! Will be trying this soon!
This recipe sounds great! What is the size of the cast iron skillet?
Hey Janelle, it’s a 10″ skillet.
This looks fantastic! My mom can’t have gluten and this looks so good I can share it with her!
By far, the best pizza crust I’ve had since going paleo almost a year ago
Awesome, great to hear Nicole! Glad you like it.
Amazing! This is the first paleo pizza that satisfied my pizza craving! For some reason my dough was very sticky. I had to add a lot more tapioca flour than just the 1.5 cups to get it to a pizza dough consistency. But so happy that this makes 2 pizzas because I can’t wait to have it again for dinner tonight!
Greg, glad you liked it! It’s weird, because every so often we make a batch of dough using the same measurements I have in this recipe and it comes out super sticky, just like you describe. One of life’s little mysteries :) I’m curious to hear whether your next batch comes out sticky!
This recipe is fantastic! My husband and I made it twice in two days for lunch! I can’t wait to try the chicken nuggets!
Kristin, awesome to hear!
We made this tonight, delicious! New favorite pizza recipe, I’m sure we will be having it once a week!
Nice!
This came out pretty good I did have to add more flour after adding the egg and cheese to get the dough consistency back is that normal? Made it a little thick too but it worked out in the end… thanks
Nathan, we have the same issue from time to time, I think it might depend on the heat of the water/cream when you add it to the tapioca starch. Sometimes we don’t have to add any extra starch, other times we have to add up to 1/4 cup more.
This crust is AWESOME. The absolute closest I’ve ever had to a wheat based crust. Tastes amazing. THANK YOU!
Kim, it was my pleasure. Glad you liked it!
Ahh this was SO AWESOME! it’s just like regular thin crust pizza but more flavorful! Best gluten free pizza I’ve ever had. And super easy to make. I’ve developed a strong sensitivity to gluten and haven’t had real-deal-tasting pizza in a long time. I am so happy I found your recipe and site!! Also a recent Jaminet follower. thank you!! -Tara
Tara, thanks for the comment! You just made my day :)
Do you have to reheat the pizza the next day? My husband likes to eat his pizza cold the next day, but with other GF crusts you cannot do that as they are very dry and cardboard like. Does the leftover pizza freeze and thaw well?
Dena, good questions. We have had leftovers before, but we re-heated them in a toaster oven the next day to make the pizza super crispy. I can’t remember its consistency after a day in the fridge, but my money is on chewy and maybe a little soggy…in other words, probably not very good cold! :) Also, I haven’t frozen it myself, but we often freeze my Brazilian cheese buns (http://thedomesticman.com/2012/10/30/brazilian-cheese-buns-pao-de-queijo/) which are almost the exact same ingredients, and they come out beautifully.
Man, that is killer looking pizza! I love baking and cooking with cast iron. The flavor profile outrageous. Be careful on too much gluten free products as they can have their bad effects too. Moderation is the key. I love baking sour dough bread in my cast iron. It’s not gluten free, but I tell you that commercial yeast gives peeps problems too. Bread For Life sour dough starter is what I have been using for the past month. It makes killer bread.
Reblogged this on A Mélange of Contradictory Tendencies and commented:
This was amazing.
And it was a great way to introduce my teens to gluten-free homemade foods that aren’t weird or gross. They are thoroughly convinced now and are on board with our modified diet.
We used store-bought pizza sauce. I wasn’t in the mood to cook, so my husband and oldest daughter made this recipe.
Just a note though. The dough won’t be your typical “dough” consistency. It sticks to your fingers, and there’s no way around it. Just keep at it. It will totally be worth it in the end.
We made this twice last week, and everyone was fighting over leftovers. Yes, it was that good.
I just made this tonight. It was AMAZING!! My husband and both my boys just loved it. Ill be keeping this recipe on hand for birthday parties, or whenever I get a hankering. Thank you for your recipes they have been a delight to read and a treasure to cook. Thanks.
Katie, awesome!
I made this awesome pizza tonight, and froze the 2nd pizza crust (after pre-baking it) for next week… and I’ve just bragged about how great it was to all my FB friends. Really… it was the best pizza I’ve had since I had to clear gluten from the pantry. Since pizza is my very favorite food, this is HUGE… I was grieving for it, since I thought I’d never have a decent pizza again…but I kept trying different recipes, hoping. I’m AMAZED that someone thought of using tapioca starch without any other flours… it’s just so “out of the box” original… and something that would never have occurred to me!! I’m just glad you thought of it!! BIG THANK YOU from a pizza lover with Celiac, who is seriously keeping this recipe. :-)
Amy, happy to be of service! Glad you liked it.
Hi there…I am new to your site and came across this recipe the other day. I tried it out today and I LOVE it! I was using socca with chickpea flour as my pizza subsitute up to now as I am gluten free, but I think I’ll be going Paleo over the next year to help my health issues. So chickpea has to go. This pizza was so delicious and I can’t wait to eat it again. :) Thank you for sharing!
Meg, glad you liked it, and good luck with your upcoming Paleo journey! :)
This pizza crust was so good! It was my first time cooking with tapioca flour. I bought the bundle of tapioca flour from Amazon to specifically make this recipe. I’m so glad I did! The Parmesan cheese gives it such a great taste. I was a little nervous when trying to form dough into a frisbee? The flour was so gooey and sticky there was no way I could shape it into anything. But I just plopped it in my cast iron skillet and spread it around and it worked out just fine. I used all the dough for one pizza and the texture turned out fine, maybe my skillet was larger? Thanks for the recipe!
Sami, we used a 10″ skillet. Initially I was using this recipe for only one pizza, and it seemed to work out okay, and the crust was a little thicker. But once we split the dough in half and tried it that way, we found it to be much crisper (and less carb-intensive!). So I’m not too surprised that it stilled turned out okay for you! :)
WTF is wrong with me? I followed this recipe to a tee and am a seasoned paleo cook? It was mushy and gooey and two batches later never even resembled dough.
:(
Carmen, first of all, sorry that it didn’t turn out. What were you using to cook the pizza on, a skillet, or a pizza stone/baking sheet? My initial reaction is that the dough wasn’t thin enough when cooking, and my second thought is that the milk/cream wasn’t hot enough when you added it to the tapioca starch. But really, I’m not sure what to say – it’s really hard to tell without being there.
I’ve had other readers with issues with it being gooey, and my advice is that if you’re using a skillet, place the skillet on a burner set to medium heat for a few minutes either before you bake the dough initially, or while putting the toppings on. Hope this helps.
Hi! I finally made this with substitutions (my kids and I have food allergies). I used palm kernal shortening in place of butter, rice milk in place of milk and water (normally I would use hemp milk, but I didn’t have any today), Energ-E egg repacer in place of the egg, and I left out the cheese. I made one large crust, and a small crust with the remaining dough which I brushed with olive oil. The smaller crust was more like a cracker, but very tasty. The larger crust was a little thicker and it looked like glue inside. It was harder to eat and I think my kids would have trouble with the texture. I plan to make this again, though, because it is less work and tastes better than the gluten-free bread mix I have been using. Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much for this recipe! It is the best gluten-free crust I have ever had. I made it with arrowroot flour on a pizza stone, and it came out perfect. We enjoyed it topped with homemade enchilada sauce, ground beef, and cheddar cheese for a Mexican pizza. Yum!
Sounds tasty!
Great recipe! I’m not sure why this happened since I followed the dough recipe to the letter but I ended up having to double the cream/water/butter to bring it to the correct consistency. Once I did that however it came out beautifully! I topped mine with pesto, goat cheese, arugula, and sausage. Thanks for bringing this awesome treat back into my life.
Alli, your rendition sounds delicious! It’s funny, but sometimes I’ll need to add more liquid, and other times I’ll need to add more starch or cheese – often double the amount. I’m not sure if it’s a variation based on the brand of tapioca starch, or if it has to do with how hot the cream/water/butter is when I add it to the starch. One of life’s little mysteries!
Yum Yum Yum, I have only recently gone Paleo and have been gluten free for years and this was the best pizza base ever!! I brought a skillet just for this, but forgot about the handle being hot as well and grabbed the handle oops! Still ate the pizza but one handed.
Finally made this tonight. Twice. Made a trial to see if my husband was okay with it. I don’t pressure him on grain-free or paleo. Well, I made a double batch later in the day to bring to an outing. He’s on board. Thanks for the great recipe. It’s might be the one that keeps my husband from falling off the grain-free wagon.
I don’t usually leave comments about recipes I try, but I had to on this one. Gluten free pizza is just NOT good. I tried this last night and I was AMAZED. My super picky 2 year old LOVED it. It tastes really yummy. The dough is a little chewy – but what is chewy when you have GOOD TASTE! Will be making this again and again. Thank you for sharing. Also, I love that it was made in a cast iron skillet – my favorite cooking utensil and incidentally how I found your site – by googleing cast iron skillet and gluten free. :)
I don’t own a cast-iron skillet. Would a pizza pan work?
Shantell, that should work fine – I would just bake the dough for a couple extra minutes before adding the toppings to make sure it doesn’t get soggy. Good luck!
I just wanted to let you know how much I love this pizza. I mentioned before that I substitute for the dairy and eggs because of allergies, but I really don’t notice too much of a difference. Since I have a large freezer, to save time, I quadruple the recipe for the pizza dough, then I make all of the 6″ crusts that I can. I do the first bake for 6 minutes, and then I freeze the crusts. When I need a quick dinner for the kids, I just pull out the frozen crusts, put on the toppings, and do the final bake. It may not taste exactly the same as when they are fresh out of the oven on the first day, but they are still quite good!
Oh my goodness I never would have thought of that. Thank you for the great idea. I know what I’ll b doing this weekend. Baking and freezing crusts to have on stand by for my very big eating boys. Thanks again
I used potato starch for my pizza and it was delicious. This was my very first attempt at making my own dough, ever and first time using my cast iron for baking. Couldn’t believe how easy and great tasting this turned out. I won’t be buying pre-made GF frozen pizza any time soon. This way I control what I feed my kids. Gotta go check out more of your recipes….
We have made this a bunch, and it is by far our favorite (and easiest) Paleo Pizza. I’d say it even rivals non-Paleo Pizza..thats how good it is. Tonight when I went to make it, I was short a few ingredients..I subbed coconut milk for the milk/cream/water, and had chopped mozzerella instead of grated parm cheese. The consistency of the dough pre-cooking was much looser, but once cooked, it was perfect!
I just love this pizza. I wanted to let u know that some friends of mine rented a wood fire pizza oven. We did everything the same but in the cob oven and it was amazing. I even made extra dough to make the biscuits in there. And oh my goodness it was the biggest hit. In fact I’ve had to make it quite a few times since for events they’ve had out there for ppl who couldn’t have the gluten. It’s an absolute hit. Thank you. I just love all your recipes. It’s given me great perspective on different ways of using average ingredients. Thank you
Yum! I love making paleo pizza! I use goat milk cheese in mine (easier on my tummy.) Yay for PIZZA!!
this looks amazing ! I am absolutely the biggest fan of peperoni, but I thought it was not available “paleo friendly” where did you get the one you use on the pizza ?
You can find uncured pepperoni in many grocery stores. We often use the Applegate Farms pepperoni: http://www.applegate.com/products/natural-pepperoni/
The search for the holy grail of grain free/gluten free pizza crust has ended!!! This is out of this world :) I made this tonight and it received rave reviews from the fam (who are unlucky enough to have been on this quest with me at times).
I tried baking one half of the dough in a cast iron skillet and the other half I baked on a pizza stone. We slightly preferred the texture of the pizza from the stone, but both were outstanding. Baking in the lowest portion of the oven really seemed to help with the crunch factor, too.
This was my first foray into tapioca starch and I am certain it won’t be my last; boy how I have missed that, “chewy” texture!
Thanks so much!
This is the best crust! I make it all the time. Thanks for the recipe, I love it!