5-Ingredient Chickpea Pizza Crust

Made with just five simple ingredients, this chickpea pizza crust recipe is easier and faster to make than traditional pizza dough, using canned chickpeas and chickpea flour. The dough comes together with just a food processor. Oh, and it’s totally gluten-free!

Pizza is my love language – it’s always a dreamy bite that takes me back to my Italian travels. Over the years, I’ve developed a handful of pizza recipes, including truffle pizza, pesto pizza, bruschetta pizza, and more!

Now, I’m onto the pizza components, starting with a pizza crust made from a can of chickpeas and chickpea flour. This high-protein chickpea flour crust is surprisingly easy to make.

Why you’ll love it

• Just 5 ingredients come together to make this crispy pizza crust. And none of those ingredients are yeast – win-win!
• Add whatever spices you like to this dough. Like my homemade pizza dough, I like to keep this one plain and simple so that the toppings shine. But you can add fresh herbs, dried Italian seasoning, or even a little garlic powder.
• This pizza crust is dairy-free and gluten-free, as it does not contain wheat flour. Instead, it is made with chickpea flour.

you don’t need much

I know I already said this is only 5 ingredients, but wait until you see that it’s more like 4 since two are variations of chickpeas. Jump to the recipe card for the full measurements.

• Chickpeas: You’ll need one can of chickpeas and some chickpea flour (see, one ingredient). Chickpea flour or garbanzo bean flour can be found in the baking aisle, or you can make homemade chickpea flour.
• The basics: Like any great pizza dough, this one needs an egg to bind everything together, a little salt for flavor, and a little olive oil for richness.

How to make chickpea crust pizza

Making this flourless crust is super simple – see below for just how simple (check the recipe card at the end for the full instructions!).

1. Blend the chickpeas with the other ingredients.
2. Shape the dough into a pizza shape (circle, square, triangle, we don’t judge).
3. Pre-bake the crust to be crispy, then add the toppings and bake a little more.

Is this chickpea crust the same as Banza pizza crust?

It won’t ever be exactly the same, but as a food scientist I pride myself on being able to develop recipes by working backwards from the store-bought version. So, this recipe is pretty darn close in taste and texture.

Recipe Testing Notes

• Using warm water is a staple when making pizza dough so I tested this crust that way first. But, it wasn’t necessary since the oil and egg added enough moisture.
• Oat flour can sometimes be used in place of chickpea flour, but in this case, it absorbs too much liquid, leading to a dry crust. You can, however, use almond flour!
• Pricking the crust is something common with pie crusts, so I tried this pizza crust with and without pricking it with a fork. There was no difference with or without poking!

what to put on the perfect pizza

I thought I should share what I put on this gluten-free chickpea pizza crust to make what I feel is the perfect pizza. Of course, this is subjective, so you may take this as a starting point if you disagree with the perfect statement.

• Homemade marinara sauce with fresh tomatoes is modeled after the delicious pizza sauce I tried in Italy. It’s sweet and flavorful, making it the perfect first layer for this pizza.
• Liquid mozzarella is a homemade version of the famous vegan mozzarella cheese flying off store shelves.
• Basil oil drizzled on top is the final touch to this perfect pizza. If you don’t have fresh basil, use this basil oil!
• Veggies like mushrooms and peppers round out this vegetarian pizza of my dreams!