Pizza Fest has been in full swing at ATX Gluten-Free for two weeks now.  I’ve been salivating over amazing pizza photos in posts with recipes like:

• Top Shelf Pizza
• Roasted Garlic and Three-Cheese Pizza
• Potato Pizza with Herbs de Provence
• Mushroom Pizza
• Breakfast Pizza with Chorizo
• White Pizza with Capers
• Dessert Pizza with Goat Cheese and Apples

With all of those fantastic ideas, I had topping combinations keeping me awake at night. (Yes, I’m serious.)  It was an overwhelming task to create the perfect pizza pie.  There are just so many options to choose from.  (I know, my life is rough.  I’m overwhelmed by pizza toppings.)  I couldn’t decide on any one pizza, so I finally settled on two fantastic pizzas to share with you and to submit to Pizza Fest. Both pizzas are gluten-free, dairy free, and absolutely yumilicious.

This also gave me the opportunity to review a gluten-free pizza crust that I had never tried before.  A friend gave me a package of Kinnikinnick‘s personal pizza crusts that are packaged in fours.  I really didn’t expect to like the crusts as they looked…well…prepackaged.  But I was pleased with the short list of ingredients and decided to give them a try.  (Ingredients:  Sweet Rice Flour, Water, Tapioca Starch, Whole Eggs, Sunflower and/or Canola Oil, Sugar, Dextrose, Cellulose, Yeast, Pea Protein, Sodium Carboxy Methylcellulose, Salt, and Corn Meal)

Oh am I glad that I did!  (Thank you, Elizabeth for the crusts!)  They were wonderful! The sweet rice flour and the corn meal added a sweet taste that truly complimented the toppings of my Roasted Artichoke Mushroom and Pesto Pizza.

(I apologize for my pink photos.  Apparently you shouldn’t use Reveal light bulbs in your camera lighting!  I’m learning…)

Roasted Artichoke Mushroom and Pesto Pizza

by Heather

Ingredients:

• 2 gluten-free Kinnikinnick pizza crusts (or your own favorite crust)
• 2 1/2 T. olive oil, separated
• 1/3 c. of pesto
• 1/2 can artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 c. sliced mushrooms
• 1/2 c. red onions, cut in thin slices
• dash of sea salt and pepper

Directions:

1.  Cut the artichoke hearts into quarters and place them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Brush the pieces with 1/2 T. of olive oil.  Place them on the top rack of the oven and broil until the edges of the artichokes have browned.  Set aside.

2.  Heat 1 T. of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add red onions and mushroom slices and saute until tender.  Set aside.

3.  Brush 1 T. of olive oil on one large pizza crust, or divide it evenly between two smaller crusts.

4.  Spread the crusts with pesto.  I used pesto that I made last summer and froze for such a time as this.  You can make fresh pesto with a recipe like this one at Sea’s Book of Yum, or buy a jar of your favorite pesto.

5.  Top the pesto with the roasted artichoke hearts and sauteed red onions and mushrooms, and season with sea salt and pepper.

6.  Bake at 375 for 10-15 minutes or until the crust begins to brown.

My next pizza had a Mexican flair.  Okay, maybe it was more than a flair.  It was a Mexican fiesta complete with mariachi band on top of one of my favorite gluten-free crusts from Whole Food’s Gluten-Free Bakehouse.

Mexican Black Bean Pizza
By Heather

Ingredients:

• 1 Gluten-Free Bakehouse pizza crust (or your own favorite)
• 1/2 can of Muir Glen organic pizza sauce
• 1/2 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 T. olive oil
• 1/2 c. sliced black olives
• 1/2 c. diced green peppers
• 1/2 – 1 c. Daiya vegan mozzarella style shreds
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• dash of cayenne pepper

1.  Heat 1/2  T. of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add diced green peppers and saute until tender.  Set aside.

2.  Spread pizza sauce over the crust and top with black beans, green peppers, and black olives.

3.  Sprinkle Daiya on top of the pizza.  I only needed about 1/2 c. of Daiya, but feel free to use more.  No, it doesn’t stretch and melt like dairy cheese, but it tasted delicious.

4.  Mix chili powder and cayenne pepper together in a small bowl and sprinkle it over the pizza.

5.  Bake at 350 for 10-20 minutes, until the crust reaches desired crispiness.

So, which pizza did we like better?  It was not a unanimous decision.  The guys surprised me by choosing the Roasted Artichoke Mushroom and Pesto Pizza as their favorite.  Not only did they love the toppings, but they actually preferred the Kinnikinnick pizza crust over the Gluten-Free Bakehouse crust.

But my favorite was the Mexican Black Bean Pizza, which should not be any surprise since I love, love, love Mexican food.  The tomatoey sauce and black beans created a hearty, satisfying pizza, and the spicy kick and salty black olives made this pizza my number one pick.

But both pizzas were so tasty that no one missed the dairy cheese.

I have two questions for you:

1. What are your favorite pizza toppings?
2. What is your favorite gluten-free pizza crust?

Head on over to Pizza Fest at ATX Gluten-Free for some more pizza inspiration!

This post is linked to:

• Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays hosted by Amy at Simply Sugar & Gluten-Free
• Pizza Fest hosted by Jessica at ATX Gluten-Free