Gluten-Free Broccoli and Sundried Tomato Pesto Pizza with Chickpea Crust

The first year of the pandemic, Friday gluten-free pizza dinners became a comforting salve in our schedule. We called it TGIF Friday pizza night…and I’ll let you guess what that extra F stands for.

The weekly occurrence meant a lot of time to sample different store bought gluten-free pizza crusts, boxed mixes and homemade options, like this gluten-free chickpea pizza crust. I’ll have to do a separate post with all my favorites. But when it came to freeing up necessary freezer space, the “socca” chickpea pizza crust became our favorite go-to.

All you need is chickpea flour and water, which given the state of our pantry, were always reliable resources. The batter comes together in minutes, cooks in just 10 in the oven, and then is ready for all manner of toppings.

We tried to get a little creative with our sauce game, sometimes opting for BBQ as the base, other times a simple Rao’s marinara. But if I had a little more time, I loved making a homemade sundried tomato pesto.

Especially with the homemade chickpea pizza crust, it adds a lovely sweetness. This chickpea crust, also called Socca, tends to be more sponge-like, so really soaks up all the extra oil (in a good way) and becomes a lovely flatbread.

For this gluten-free pizza recipe, I used roughly chopped broccolini (regular broccoli works too!) and raw arugula as the topping, along with some torn fresh mozzarella. You could omit the cheese or use plant-based options to make this vegan.

And if you’re low FODMAP, you can easily use a regular gluten-free pizza crust instead of the chickpea. About half a pie would be a suitable serving if you keep the total cheese under ½ cup shredded mozzarella.

I designed this recipe in partnership with a wine brand, so it goes perfectly with a light pinot noir. I’ve been drinking less and less since the OG TGIF-FPN, but Fridays are always a lovely time to enjoy a glass of something, especially if pizza is involved.

Read on for this recipe for sundried tomato pesto pizza with broccolini and arugula!

With health and hedonism,

Phoebe

Gluten-Free Sundried Tomato Pesto Pizza with Broccolini and Arugula

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This gluten-free pizza is made with a chickpea crust. I made my own based on this recipe, but you can also buy this store bought one. Of course, any gluten-free pizza crust will do! If you don't have broccolini, you can use regular broccoli. For a low FODMAP version, use a regular gluten-free pizza crust, ½ cup shredded mozzarella or less, and stick to half a pie as one serving.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Servings 2

Author Phoebe Lapine

Ingredients

• 10- ounce jar sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil
• ¼ cup walnuts
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice fresh
• Sea salt
• 1 gluten-free pizza crust (I made this chickpea crust)
• 8 ounces fresh mozzarella torn into chunks
• 1 bunch broccolini cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup baby arugula
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
• In a small food processor, combine the sundried tomatoes and their oil, along with the walnuts, garlic, and lemon juice. Puree until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add salt as necessary.
• Arrange your gluten-free pizza crust on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Slather it with a thin layer of the sundried tomato pesto. Scatter the mozzarella, broccolini, red chili flakes evenly onto of the crust and season with salt.
• Transfer to the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until your crust is golden brown and the cheese is bubbling and beginning to brown. Top with the arugula and cut into slices.

If you make this, tag @phoebelapine and #feedmephoebe - I'd love to see it!