Paleo Pizza Recipes a Caveman Would Love!
Paleo and pizza are two concepts that don’t usually go together. After all, the paleo diet—also known as the caveman, primal, or stone-age diet—is based on the premise that eating the same foods our long-lost ancestors ate makes for healthier genetic development. That, in turn, leads to better health and general well-being.
Grass-fed meat, fish and seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, healthy natural oils don’t necessarily sound like traditional pizza ingredients. Cereal grains and dairy are forbidden on a strict paleo diet and pizza has plenty of both. If you’ve chosen the paleo lifestyle, chances are you can’t call out for an extra-large and expect to stay with the program. That doesn’t mean you have to live pizza-less.
You’ll need to adapt your crust, of course. Fortunately, grain-free pizza crust isn’t just possible, it’s possible in any number of ways. Substitutes for wheat flour include almond flour, almond meal, cauliflower, even carrots mixed with coconut flour.
Here are some specific, terrific recipes guaranteed to keep paleo people pizza happy!
Paleo “That’s Not Cheese” Pizza
With a crust made of almond and tapioca flours and a DYI non-dairy cheese substitute based on raw cashews and pine nuts, this margherita pizza says paleo in every possible way. Kudos to Amy at Paleo Cupboard for coming up with this homemade taste treat! You can find a recipe at Paleo Cupboard.
The BEST Cauliflower Crust Pizza!
Michelle’s Lucky Penney Blog recommends giving cauliflower florets a whirl in the food processor before microwaving them and and using a towel to wring the moisture out. Bake the resulting flour-like crust before adding the toppings of your choice! The Lucky Penny Blog has a recipe for you.
Sweet Potato, Goat Cheese, and Kale Pizza
This pie is also built on a cauliflower crust, with mashed, seasoned sweet potato for “sauce.” Add kale and goat cheese (allowed in most paleo diets), and voila! We got this recipe from Pure & Simple website, where the pizza gets rave reviews. The Pure and Simple Blog has a recipe available.
Cauliflower Crust Pizza Marinara
If you like a more traditional pizza sauce, this could be the pie for you. The crust combines cauliflower (hold the mozzarella shown in the recipe), topped with marinara, black and green olives, capers, and—if you’re up for them—anchovies. You can find the recipe (and many others) on The Iron You blog.
Salmon Pizza
Salmon is one of paleo’s top food choices, and this pie gives you a delicious way to get yours. This pizza uses a tapioca-flour crust and a topping made of smoked salmon, capers, and tomato puree. You’ll find this and other grain-free treats on Suzanne Perazzini’s Strands of My Life Website.
Low Carb Deep Dish Veggie Pizza
Go Chicago style with this pizza recipe from the blog From Fries to Fit. The pie uses almond meal and egg whites for the crust. Switch goat cheese or a cheese substitute for the mozzarella, then pile on the onion, sweet peppers, kale, shallots, and mushrooms. The From Fries to Fit blog has a recipe.
Primal Portobello Pizza
Portobello mushroom caps as pizza crust! Once again, you’ll want to exchange cheese for goat cheese or a cheese substitute. Top your pies off with meatballs made from grass-fed beef, green peppers, onions—basically, whatever veggies trip your trigger. The Primal-icious pizza blog provides prep instructions.
Yummy Paleo Pizza
Pizza with a poor crust isn’t much of a pizza at all. Try blind baking a pizza crust based on coconut flour and almond meal before topping it with marinara, seared chunks of grass-fed beef, sliced mushrooms, and the veggies of your choice. The Almost: Primal blog provides this recipe.
