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Pizza Crust

  • 1/2 box of Namaste gluten free pizza crust (or other pizza crust of your choice)
  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • 1 teaspoon melted coconut oil (or other oil)

Black Bean Spread

  • 1 15-ounce can of black beans
  • 1/2 cup water
  • juice of 1/2 a lime or lemon
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil (optional)

Nacho Cheese

  • 1/2 cup cashews (soaked in boiling water for 15 minutes)
  • 1 small or 1/2 of a medium peeled, cooked sweet potato
  • 3/4 cup of water
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Pizza Toppings

  • 1 avocado - cut into cubes
  • 1 pint of cherry tomatoes - wash and cut in half if larger size; or leave whole if smaller
  • handful of fresh cilantro

Sometimes you just put some yummy ingredients together and hope it works out! Pizza is always a fun dish to try in a variety of ways, and I’m always motivated by using natural colors of vibrant produce. It was sort of a taco/pizza fusion; but it’s really about just mixing flavors that work well together. Avocado, tomato and cilantro is one of my favorite combinations. Mind you, I used to hate cilantro. Now I put it on so many different dishes. There may always be some ingredients you don’t like; but I do believe it’s true that your tastes change and you may enjoy new foods after going plant based, that you didn’t enjoy before. As with my last pizza dish, I have a go-to pizza crust I love to use. It’s a simple mix from a box, and it happens to be gluten-free. I don’t require gluten-free foods; but this mix is made with just a few ingredients, and it’s so easy and quick. Please feel free to use whatever pizza crust you prefer.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees; or make your own crust according to directions on the package. For the crust I use, it will make one large or two smaller pizzas. Put the crust in the oven for 20 minutes (or as per the package instructions). Drain the can of black beans and add them, along with the rest of the black bean spread ingredients to a food processor. Process until smooth. After the pizza crust has had it’s initial 20 minutes in the oven, remove it from the oven and cover the crust with the black bean spread as the “sauce”. Put back in the oven for about 10 minutes. While the pizza is still cooking in the oven, add the nacho cheese ingredients to a high speed blender. Blend until smooth. Remove the pizza from the oven. Add the cheese sauce, chopped avocado, tomatoes and cilantro.