Potato-Crust Pesto Pizza with Avocado

It’s hard to come across someone who doesn’t like pizza, but the delicious combination of white bread and cheese isn’t the ideal choice for people who like to eat healthy. Although it might sound blasphemous, this pizza contains no bread and no cheese, but it will still have you drooling over a slice, as its crust is made out of crispy potatoes, and toppings include a flavorful kale pesto, fresh tomatoes, zucchini, and Italian herbs. All you need is a spiralizer, an oven-safe pan, and a hearty appetite to enjoy this healthified pizza that not only looks and tastes great but is vegan, gluten-free, and brimming with nutrients.

Serves 1 or 2 (makes 1 pizza)

Ingredients for Crust

1 large russet potato

1 tablespoon coconut oil

1 tablespoon almond flour

1 tablespoon flaxseed meal

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for drizzling

Ingredients for Kale Pesto

1⁄2 cup kale

11⁄2 tablespoons walnuts

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

Juice of 1 small lemon

Ingredients for Toppings

1⁄2 zucchini, uncut

1 small heirloom beefsteak tomato

1⁄2 avocado

4 or 5 basil leaves

Olive oil, for drizzling

Oregano

Pepper

  1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Peel potato, cut in half crosswise, and slice off both ends. Spiralize using the small-noodle blade. Toss with coconut oil, almond flour, and flaxseed meal.
  2. Heat an oven-safe pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil on medium heat. Add noodles to the pan; form into a circular shape and pat down with a spatula. Cover and cook for 3–4 minutes.
  3. Remove pan and place it in the oven; cook for about 10 minutes until potato crust is solid enough to transfer to a baking sheet. It may not be completely crisp and firm yet, which is okay. It just needs to stay together so you can continue to cook it on the baking sheet.
  4. While potato crust is cooking, add kale, walnuts, garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and lemon juice to a blender or food processor and blend together. Set aside. When potato crust has cooked for 10 minutes, remove from oven and drizzle with olive oil; bake for another 10–20 minutes or until crust is almost crispy.
  5. Remove crust from oven and turn up oven temperature to 475°F. Using a peeler, create zucchini ribbons by dragging peeler from top of the zucchini to the bottom. You’ll need about 5 zucchini ribbons. Thinly slice tomatoes and dice avocado.
  6. Spread pesto over crust. Place basil leaves on top of pesto and then top with tomato, zucchini, and avocado. Bake for about 7–10 minutes or until veggies are cooked.
  7. Remove pizza from oven. Drizzle with olive oil and a dash of oregano and pepper. Serve warm.