Red Lentil Blender Pizza Crust
This easy vegan, gluten-free red lentil blender pizza crust recipe creates a flavorful pancake/tortilla-like crust in just over five minutes.
I’d been looking for an easy blend-and-pour pizza crust recipe when some recipes on Pinterest caught my attention. The idea of using protein-rich legumes as the primary ingredient intrigued me and inspired me to develop this recipe.
Red Lentil Blender Pizza Crust
I am a fan of using store-bought tortillas as pizza crusts. But I recognize homemade crusts are usually healthier. This red lentil blender pizza crust recipe offers a great solution. It’s easy to prepare, and it’s made with healthy ingredients. The end result is a flavorful pancake/tortilla-like crust that pairs well with a variety of toppings.
Why Red Lentils?
Lentils come in different colors, including red, yellow, brown, and green. Some are larger, and some are smaller. Red lentils are on the smaller side and cook a little more quickly compared to other types. As such, they are perfect for this recipe because they break down easily. You are basically making the lentil flour and mixing the ingredients all in one step when you blend.
They are also a great meat alternative because they are more than a quarter protein. Can your regular pizza crust make the same claim? 😁 With a protein-rich crust, you can focus on adding veggie toppings without worrying about adding a protein source.
Suggested Toppings
The toppings pictured here include:
- Tomato sauce
- Daiya Mozzarella Style Shreds
- Chopped red onion
- Chopped baby portobello mushrooms
- Fresh parsley
- Vegan parmesan cheese
What kinds of toppings would you add?
What’s Needed?
I’ve written an entire article about pizza-making tools. That’s not to say you need a lot of fancy tools to make pizza. But a few special items make the job easier.
As far as this recipe goes, you definitely want a high-speed blender to get the right consistency for the batter. (It should be similar to pancake batter.) A good blender can be pricey—but totally worth it if you are following a plant-based diet.
Red Lentil Blender Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 2 cups uncooked red lentils rinsed and sorted
- 2½ cups rice milk
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp. fine sea salt
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. dried marjoram
- ½ Tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat large non-stick pan over medium heat.
- Place ingredients in a high-speed blender in the order they are listed.
- Begin blending on lowest setting and slowly turn up to highest setting.
- Blend on high for approximately 40 seconds.
- Scrape sides and blend from low to high for another 10-20 seconds.
- Pour about ⅔ cups of batter into heated pan to form an 8-inch crust. (I use a ⅓ cup ladle. Then I use the back of the ladle to spread the batter evenly into a nice round shape.)
- Cover pan with lid slightly askew and cook for about 3 minutes or until top of crust begins to set and you can easily slice a spatula underneath.
- Flip the crust and continue to cook about 2 more minutes.
- Place cooked crust on a plate and repeat steps 6-8 until batter is finished. (Recipe makes about 5 crusts)
- Preheat oven to 450ºF. (I use the pizza setting on my convection toaster oven.)
- Place a crust on a pizza screen and add your favorite toppings.
- Bake about 8 minutes or until crust edges begin to brown.
Notes
Nutrition
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Are the red lentils raw? How do make sure they are well blended?
Hi Carol – yes, the red lentils are uncooked. Thanks for asking. I have updated the recipe to make this clear. If you use a high-speed blender like a Vitamix you shouldn’t have any trouble making sure they are well blended. Red lentils break down pretty easily compared to other varieties.
What a great idea!! Can’t wait to try:)
Thanks! It’s quite tasty – and I love the convenience of the blend and pour approach. 🙂
Hi! Can I use oat or soya milk instead?
Hi Carla – I don’t see why not. But you might need to adjust the quantity to reach the right consistency. Rice milk tends to be a little thinner than other kinds of plant milk. You want to be sure the batter is thin enough to pour easily.
This looks great I will try it. As for toppings lots of options out there and may be add a bit of cheesy vegan sauce. What I struggle with is the base sauce. I can’t eat tomatoes sadly and so many vegan recipes include tomatoes
Thanks Dianne – I have a few pizza recipes that do not include tomatoes – check ’em out:
Quick Vegan Portobello Pizza
Spinach Hummus Pizza
Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Pizza
🙂
I just made these and they are fabulous!! Thank you so much!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Catherine! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Great flavor. It stuck pretty bad to the pan, any suggestions.
Hi Shawn – are you using a non-stick pan? If not, you may need to use a bit of oil to keep it from sticking. If you are using a non-stick pan and are still having trouble with the batter sticking, again, try using just a little bit of olive oil in the pan. Let me know how you make out. 🙂
The recipe sounds great, if i bake this I’m surely going to have to cook my lentils. Uncooked lentils are way too starchy.
Hmmm – not sure how it would work if you cook the lentils ahead of time. The lentils cook when you make the crust. Red lentils break down very easily – you are essentially making the flour and mixing the ingredients all in one step when you blend.
What does lentils taste like???
Lentils taste similar to other legumes (think beans and peas). They have a mild nutty flavor. Red lentils are milder, almost sweet, compared to other lentil varieties.
Hi, excited to try this!
If I wanted to do toppings that do not need baked, do you think the crust would still work well being only cooked the one time? Or would I need to bake it a bit longer?
Hi Monique! If you want a crispy crust, you would want to bake it a bit. The crust has more of a pancake consistency prior to baking.
While it is great to focus on eating whole and not focusing on calories and individual nutrients (or macros)… those of us who have type 1 diabetes very much need to know the carb content in order to properly dose for insulin. It would be nice to see a simple nutrition breakdown.
I understand. But since the information I would provide would be an estimate at best, I prefer folks with dietary concerns rely on calculators they trust to determine this information.
WHat is the consistency of this supposed to result in? I added all ingredients to the blender, started it, and it is super runny. Some of the lentils won’t even break down!
Are you using red lentils? Red lentils break down easily and the consistency should resemble pancake batter.
This recipe is amazing and I use it in many different forms to replace any conventional flour recipe. I often make it without the savory items and bake to use as bread, pancakes, muffins, etc.
That’s great to hear Diana. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Hi ?♀️ Thank you for such a unique and easy way to make a crust for pizza!! I only need two crusts, so I’m wondering if simply dividing all the ingredients in half would work out okay. Can’t wait to try it!!?
Yes – absolutely! I often halve the recipe. Another option would be to make extra and freeze them. I’ve done that as well. It all depends on how ambitious you feel. 😉
Hi, are you able to use water instead of rice.milk?
Water should work. I haven’t tried it, but I don’t think it would be a problem.
As a diabetic on a strict diet I need to know the carbohydrates and sugar count so I can adjust my insulin accordingly. U fortunately without that information I cannot try this recipe. Perhaps you should rethink your policy
Thank you for sharing your concerns, David. I understand where you are coming from and have gradually been adding the information to my recipes. However, it’s important to note the information is a rough estimate. I’m updating this recipe to include the information now. 🙂