This recipe is titled “Best Ever Hummus Pizza” for a reason, folks. First off, I love using hummus as the sauce on pizzas because it (1) makes the pizza more filling, meaning you’ll eat less of it, (2) it’s a great source of plant-based protein and (3) it’s oh-so-flavorful.

This pizza is deemed “the best” mostly because of the delicious harissa hummus and the healthy-fied crust. The crust is made with riced cauliflower, rolled oats and almond flour — in other words, veggies, whole grains and plant-based protein. The texture is a bit softer than regular pizza crust and not quite as chewy, but it’s a fantastic substitute when you’re craving pizza but are trying to maintain a healthy diet.

This pizza is naturally gluten-free and can be made vegan with a couple of tweaks: leave off the feta (it honestly doesn’t need it), and sub regular eggs for “flaxseed eggs.” If you’ve never made this egg substitute before, it’s super simple — for every one egg you’re swapping, whisk together one tablespoon ground flaxseed + three tablespoons water. Flaxseed eggs are great substitutions when baking, but you certainly wouldn’t want to make an omelette with them!

Finally, add whatever toppings you’d like. I went with red onions, shredded carrots, kalamata olives and pepperoncinis because they went will with the harissa hummus — if you used basil pesto hummus, for example, you might go with spinach, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts. You do you!

INGREDIENTS

1 c. rolled oats
1 1/2 c. almond flour
12 oz. riced cauliflower
4 eggs (or “flaxseed eggs”)
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. red pepper flakes
1 - 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
2 T. olive oil
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1 T. tahini
1/4 t. smoked paprika
2 garlic cloves (no need to chop)
2 roasted red peppers (I used Mezzetta brand)
1 T. harissa
Shredded carrots
Red onions, diced
Sliced pepperoncinis (from a jar)
Pitted kalamata olives
Diced green onions, to garnish
Crumbled feta cheese (optional)
Salt & pepper, to taste

STEPS

1) Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Combine the oats, almond flour and riced cauliflower together in a bowl. Crack the eggs into the bowl (or add the “flax eggs”) and add the garlic powder, oregano and red pepper flakes. Season will with salt and pepper and use your hands to fully combine.

2) We split the dough into two pizzas, but feel free to keep it as one (steps below are for two pizzas). Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and spray the paper with olive oil cooking spray. Place one ball of dough onto each baking sheet. Use a rolling pin to flatten the dough, or do what we did — set another baking sheet on top of each dough ball, and press hard! The dough will flatten perfectly.

3) Bake the pizza crusts for 22 minutes. While the crusts are cooking, prepare the hummus. Add the chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, smoked paprika, garlic cloves, roasted red peppers and harissa to a food processor and season well with salt and pepper. Pulse until smooth.

4) When the pizza crusts are done, remove them from the oven and spread them with an even layer of hummus. Top with the shredded carrots, red onion, pepperoncinis, kalamata olives and crumbled feta cheese (if desired). Cook the pizzas for another 8 minutes, then remove from the oven and top with the green onions. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before slicing and serving.