Vegan Red Lentil Pizza

Let’s welcome this Vegan Red Lentil Pizza for its amazing specialties. It is nutritious, delicious, free from gluten & oil, packed with fiber, and suitable for vegans. This veg pizza features red lentil, with baking powder & seasonings for crust, while toppings include the sugar-free sauce, veg mozzarella cheese, and your choice of veggies. All these items are chosen carefully to make the pizza healthy, purely plant-based, & visually appealing with colorful veggies. The most amazing benefit is that the pizza crust is friendly to freeze, so that you can save time & able to serve the freshly baked pizza without the hassle of making the veg crust at the same time.

NUMERICAL REVIEW:

• Diet: Vegan, high in proteins, free from oil & gluten
• Course: Dinner/lunch
• Cuisine: Plant-based/fusion
• Time for prep: Ten(10) mins, soaking time doesn’t included
• Twenty-five mins for cooking
• Working time(in total): 35 minutes
• Size/serving: Two slices
• Yield in total: 1 normal-size pizza
• Mode of cooking: Oven-baked
• Level of difficulty: Easy

TOOLS:

• Bowl for mixing
• Spatula
• food processor/blender
• An oven
• Paper of parchment
• Pizza stone/baking tray.

INGREDIENTS:

RED LENTIL CRUST:

• 1/2 tsp.of Italian seasoning
• 1 cup of red lentils(soaked ~four hours or whole night)
• Baking powder, a quarter teaspoon
• 3/4th cup of water
• Salt, half a tsp.
• Half a tsp. of powdered garlic
• 1 tsp. of apple cider vinegar

TOPPINGS:

• 1/4th cup of black olives
• Sugar-free pizza sauce, half a cup
• A quarter cup of red onions, sliced
• 1/2 cup of vegan mozzarella cheese
• Half a cup of bell peppers, sliced
• Fresh leaves of basil for garnishing

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Wash the red lentils & soak them in water a night earlier.
2. Drain & wash the lentils(soaked) again before use.
3. Include apple cider vinegar, baking powder, soaked lentils, Italian seasonings, water, salt, & powdered garlic in a blender’s jug.
4. Cover & blend to make a smooth batter of pancake-like consistency.
5. Warm up the oven(empty) at 220 °C & use paper of parchment to cover the pizza stone/baking tray.
6. Transfer your batter to the tray of parchment & spread it in a circular shape(10 inches in diameter).
7. Keep it in the oven till you see the firm crust with light golden edges.
8. It will take ~eighteen mins, after that you may take the crust out of the oven.
9. Layer the sauce of pizza over the crust, then evenly distribute the grated cheese(vegan).
10. Then, layer your veggies one by one.
11. Now, your pizza is ready to go back into the oven.
12. When you observe that the cheese has melted, your pizza is ready.
13. Take it out of the oven & wait for it to cool down.
14. Garnish with fresh basil leaves & serve this Vegan Red Lentil Pizza.

TIPS:

• If you don’t have the whole night to soak the mushrooms, use hot water to soak them. For only two hours, you
• must soak them in that hot water.
• If you want to have the crispier crust, turn it & bake five mins more.
• For the great visual appeal, add a bit of paprika powder or turmeric.
• To avoid soggy bake, dry the veggies using a salad spinner.
• Use of parchment paper is a must; otherwise, the batter sticks to the tray easily.

HOW TO PRESERVE(LEFTOVERS):

CHILLING:

• Save the slices of this vegan pizza(leftover) in a container with a sealed lid. Refrigerate it for ~three days. Warm it in the oven/skillet right before serving.

FREEZING:

• We advise you to top & bake the vegan pizza crust right before serving. Just bake, cool, & freeze the vegan red lentil crust. Pile up the baked & cooled crusts with parchment paper in between every two crusts. Keep them all in the bag(zip-locked & freezer-safe). Freeze them for ~thirty days. Defrost, add toppings, & bake right before serving.

FAQs:

Is the crust soft/crispy?

• The crust is light golden & crisp from the edges with a firm center. If you like enhanced crispness, turn the side of the crust & bake it five more minutes.

How much do I prepare it before the time?

• You can refrigerate/freeze the ready-to-bake/baked crust. Top and bake right before serving. This will reduce the mess at the time of serving.

Is that necessary to skip the soaking step of lentils?

• Either soaking/boiling the lentil is necessary to make it tender to eat.

What may be some other options for topping?

• Arugula post-bake, mushrooms, artichokes, & sun-dried tomatoes also go well in this vegan pizza topping.

NUTRITIONAL FACTS/SERVING:

Size/serve: Two slices (one-eighth of the full pizza)
Calories: ~150 kcal
Carbs in total: Eighteen grams
Six grams of fiber
Net carbohydrates: 12 g
Fats: three grams
Sugar: 2 g
Proteins: Nine grams
Sodium: 290 mg