Paleo Grain-free Pizza Crust with… Swiss Chard?

Cherry-Tomato-and-Corn-Veggie-Pizza6

Let me guess, you’re thinking, “okay I get the Paleo grain-free pizza crust…but Swiss Chard? In my pizza Crust? Weird.” And maybe you’re right, BUT I have to say that this little creation turned out pretty darn good!

The idea came about when I randomly decided to purchase a bundle of Swiss Chard at our local farmers market. Having absolutely no idea what I was going to do with it. So leaving church the following Sunday and thinking about what to make for lunch, somehow using a portion of the huge quantity of tomatoes I got in my CSA, and yet craving pizza, I decided to see what I could find in the way of a healthy pizza crust recipe. I’ve done the cauliflower pizza crust several times, including this recipe, so I figured if I could put cauliflower and eggplant into a pizza crust, why not the swiss chard I impulsively bought? Surely it would help disguise the bitter taste, right? I mean, let’s be real, I didn’t buy it because I wanted it, or thought it’d taste good, I bought it because it’s healthy and good for me/us.

So after searching the web for various grain-free pizza crusts and wanting to add in this dark leafy green, I came up with the recipe below. I also recalled seeing a beautiful picture earlier in the week from theKitchen of a Grilled Cherry Tomato and Corn Pizza and knew that was the perfect way incorporate my tomatoes and corn. I love it when things come together!

Because I wanted to use more of my tomato stash than was needed for just the toppings, I decided to make my own pizza sauce. It came together quickly and added a really lovely sweetness to the pizza. However, if you don’t have the abundance of tomatoes like I did, or the time to make your own sauce, any all-natural pizza sauce would do the trick.

The sweet onions, corn and tomatoes, paired with the homemade pizza sauce and feta cheese, were seriously so good on this oddly green pizza crust. Not to mention, fresh, colorful and healthy! We don’t have any little ones running around, so I’m not sure whether or not you could convince your kids that this is pizza, I think they’d be suspicious of the green crust, but it’s definitely worth a try. Maybe you could convince them that they’ll be strong like the Hulk or something. Clearly you can see I have very limited experience with kiddos.

BENEFITS OF SWISS CHARD:

  • Swiss chard is a nutritional powerhouse – an excellent source of vitamins K, A, and C, as well as a good source of magnesium, potassium, iron, and dietary fiber.
  • One cup of chopped Swiss chard has just 35 calories and provides more than 300% of the daily value for vitamin K.
  • Swiss chard offers fantastic antioxidant protection in the form of phytonutrients known as carotenoids. These carotenoids help maintain eye health and may reduce the risk of cataracts.
  • One cup of cooked Swiss chard supplies more than a third of your daily value of vitamin C, which helps boost immune support.
  • The high levels of Vitamin E found in chard, have shown anti-inflammatory effects and helps protect tissue from oxidation damage. Vitamin E may also reduce the chances of developing coronary artery disease, which can lead to a heart attack or heart failure.

I hope you’ll try some form of this pizza, be it the crust, tomato sauce or just toppings on a more traditional pizza crust – if you do, I’d love to hear about it. Do any of you eat Swiss chard on a regular basis? If so, how do you incorporate it into your meals?

Healthy Pizza Crust with Flax, Almond, Coconut and Swiss Chard

HEALTHY pizza crust made with flaxseed, almond meal, coconut flour and swiss chard – a must try!

  • FOR THE CRUST:
  • ¼ cup coconut flour
  • ¼ cup almond meal
  • ¼ cup ground flax meal
  • 3 garlic cloves (minced)
  • 1 tsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp Italian seasoning
  • large bunch Swiss chard
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil (room temperature)
  • 2 organic eggs
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • FOR THE SAUCE:
  • 2 cups chopped tomatoes
  • 3 garlic cloves (minced)
  • ¼ cup finely chopped onion
  • 5 fresh basil leaves (chopped)
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • dash salt and pepper
  • pinch of cayenne
  • FOR THE TOPPINGS:
  • corn shaved from corn on the cob
  • ½ cup sweet onion (sliced)
  • ½ cup bell pepper (sliced)
  • 6-10 cherry tomatoes (cut into halves or quarters depending on size)
  • ¼ shredded cheese blend
  • ½ cup feta cheese
  • Spicy Spaghetti Seasoning (or combination of salt, onion powder, garlic powder and dried bell pepper)
  1. Crust Directions:
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease pizza pan with coconut oil nonstick spray.
  3. Combine all dry ingredients in large bowl.
  4. In a separate bowl, whisk together two eggs with coconut oil. Add Swiss chard to Nutribullet or food processor, pour egg mix in with chard and process until finely pureed .
  5. Add pureed mix to dry ingredients in large bowl, add honey and stir until well combined.
  6. Smooth dough out onto pan and spread into thin crust Bake for approx 15 minutes.
  7. Sauce Directions:
  8. Over medium heat cook minced garlic and onion until soft, add in chopped tomatoes and bring to a boil. Add chopped basil, parsley, salt/pepper and cayenne and simmer on low for approx 5-10 minutes. Once tomatoes are cooked and flavors combined, allow to cool for a few minutes then add to food processor or Nutribullet to puree for sauce.
  9. Toppings Directions:
  10. Add corn, sliced onions and peppers to skillet and saute until veggies are soft and slightly brown.
  11. Add half cup sauce to baked crust, top with cooked veggies, ¼ cup shredded cheese and chopped grape tomatoes. Sprinkle with Spicy Spaghetti Seasoning and bake for additional 5-minutes or until cheese is melted and tomatoes are heated through. Remove pizza from oven and top with feta cheese. Serve warm and enjoy!

**NUTRITION INFO IS FOR THE CRUST ONLY.

Nutrition facts taken from WebMD.com and wholeliving.com.

Pizza crust inspired by Gourmet Girl Cooks and the roasted root, toppings inspired by theKitchen.

By Kaylee Pauley

Health and nutrition have always been important to me, but over the past several years, my knowledge and interest in food and how it affects our body has really expanded. So, with my love for cooking, organic produce, and whole foods, with my food blog Lemons and Basil, I hope to inspire you in your cooking adventures and journey of good health, the way so many other food blogs have inspired me!

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