This easy AIP Pizza Crust recipe uses a combination of flours to hold together really well. Top with my tomato free pizza sauce and AIP Mozzarella for the best AIP pizza EVER!
Are any cheeses dairy free? And AIP compliant?
Nope. At least not from a cow. But I did come up with a AIP Mozzarella Cheese recipe made with coconut milk and tapioca starch. It has a mild flavor just like mozzarella. It’s perfect for slicing and topping this AIP Pizza. Recipe coming soon!
Let’s talk about the sauce. Can you use pasta sauce as pizza sauce?
Sure! If fact, my Nomato Sauce is totally AIP compliant and works perfectly as a tomato free pizza sauce. Seriously, having a good sauce is key. This recipe is amazing. When I pull this AIP Pizza out of the oven, you can smell the sauce. This helps make this a pizza not just an AIP version of a pizza.
What are the best toppings for this AIP Pizza dough recipe?
I went traditional for this recipe with just sauce and cheese but here are some other suggestions.
- Olives
- Onions
- Mushrooms
- Artichoke Hearts
- AIP BBQ Sauce with Shredded Chicken, red onions and AIP Mozzarella Cheese (doesn’t an AIP BBQ Chicken Pizza sound good?!)
- Arugula
- Pineapple
- Spinach
- Bacon
- Vegan Basil Pesto
If you have any other suggestions for toppings, let me know in the comments below.
How to make AIP Pizza Crust
1. Combine 1/4 cup of warm coconut milk (not boiling) with maple syrup in a small bowl. Add yeast and stir. Wait about 5 minutes for the mixture to start foaming and bubbling. (If the yeast doesn't foam, throw it away and start over.)
2. Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well with a spatula and form a well in the middle.
3. Add the yam, coconut oil and yeast mixture then stir with a spatula to combine.
4. Then make the gelatin egg by combining the water and gelatin. Whisk until frothy then carefully pour into the bowl. Continue mixing with a spatula until dough is smooth. Then form the dough into a ball.
5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush the parchment with olive oil. Transfer the dough to the parchment. Flatten with your hands to form a 1-inch-thick 10-inch round pizza crust. Cover with a light, clean kitchen towel and let rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
6. Place the oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the baking sheet in the oven as well.
7. After 30 minutes, uncover the dough, brush the crust with olive oil and add your pizza toppings.
8. Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until the bread is cooked through, crisp on the outside and slightly browned. Let cool slightly before eating.
Tips for making the best AIP Pizza Crust
- I always use yams for this recipe because they have slightly less liquid and sweetness to them. The yams are what keeps the dough flexible and soft. You could substitute the yams with mashed sweet potato or butternut squash although I haven’t tried it yet.
- It’s really important that your yeast isn’t dead. If you add the warm coconut milk and syrup to the yeast and it doesn’t start bubbling within 5 minutes, throw it out and repeat that step.
- Make sure the yeast says gluten free on the packaging.
- Don’t use honey as a substitute for the maple syrup. Honey has different properties and could keep the yeast from bubbling.
- I used my Nomato Sauce as a tomato free pizza sauce and my AIP Mozzarella Cheese.
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AIP Pizza Crust
Equipment
- Large Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- 1 packet Dry Active Rapid Rise Yeast 2 1/2 teaspoon, Make sure it says gluten free on the packaging
- 1 teaspoon Maple Syrup DO NOT USE HONEY
- 1/4 cup Coconut Milk
- 3/4 cup Tapioca Flour
- 1/2 cup Cassava Flour
- 1/4 cup Coconut Flour plus 2 tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon Baking Soda
- 1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tarter
- 1 teaspoon Salt
- 1/2 cup Yams mashed, sweet potato are a good substitute
- 1/4 cup Coconut Oil
- 1/4 cup Boiling Water
- 3 tablespoons Gelatin
- 3 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Instructions
- Combine 1/4 cup of warm coconut milk (not boiling) with maple syrup in a small bowl. Add yeast and stir. Wait about 5 minutes for the mixture to start foaming and bubbling. (If the yeast doesn't foam, throw it away and start over.)
- Meanwhile, combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well with a spatula and form a well in the middle.
- Add the yam, coconut oil and yeast mixture then stir with a spatula to combine.
- Then make the gelatin egg by combining the water and gelatin. Whisk until frothy then carefully pour into the bowl. Continue mixing with a spatula until dough is smooth. Then form the dough into a ball.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Brush the parchment with olive oil. Transfer the dough to the parchment. Flatten with your hands to form a 1-inch-thick 10-inch round pizza crust. Cover with a light, clean kitchen towel and let rest in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Place the oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the baking sheet in the oven as well.
- After 30 minutes, uncover the dough, brush the crust with olive oil and add your pizza toppings.
- Bake for about 12-15 minutes, until the bread is cooked through, crisp on the outside and slightly browned. Let cool slightly before eating.
Notes
- I always use yams for this recipe because they have slightly less liquid and sweetness to them. The yams are what keeps the dough flexible and soft. You could substitute the yams with mashed sweet potato or butternut squash although I haven’t tried it yet.
- It’s really important that your yeast isn’t dead. If you add the warm coconut milk and syrup to the yeast and it doesn’t start bubbling within 5 minutes, throw it out and repeat that step.
- Make sure the yeast says gluten free on the packaging.
- Don’t use honey as a substitute for the maple syrup. Honey has different properties and could keep the yeast from bubbling.
- I used my Nomato Sauce as a tomato free pizza sauce and my AIP Mozzarella Cheese.
Nutrition
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise.
- I always use Himalayan sea salt or Celtic sea salt, unless otherwise noted.
- The majority of my recipes are strict AIP or include notations for reintroductions. However while I make every effort to label non-AIP ingredients and recipes sometimes they slip past me. If you have questions, please ask in advance.
Did you make this recipe? I love hearing your thoughts on my recipes so please rate and comment below.
Crust was soggy and chewy. Only the edges were crisp. I rolled the dough to be approx 1/4 inch as I hate thick crust and found this still too thick as it did not crisp. After baking for said time, I transferred the pizza to a pizza pan with large holes in the bottom to try to firm up the crust and cooked for an additional 10 minutes. Crust was slightly better but still very much like a soft biscuit. Next time I would try to cook the crust first and then add the toppings before popping it back in the oven. Sauce was great! Cheese; meh.
I'm sorry you didn't like the recipe. AIP baking is very specific. If you didn't roll the dough out to 10 inch pizza or the oven wasn't at the right temp (I highly recommend an oven thermometer) or didn't use yams in the recipe then the results will vary. Additionally, eating an AIP version of something when you are used to the conventional will usually disappoint. I have to say, this pizza (sauce and cheese) is an extremely good substitute when AIP is and has been the only option for some time and has the reviews to prove it. But understand that everyone has individual tastes and this one just can't please everyone. I hope that you find a crust that better suits your needs.
Great crust with beets for sause and nutriyeast for cheese and other AIP but normal pizza toppings and felt like normal pizza meal. I needed that!
I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for commenting.
I cannot have any yeast. Have you tried it without the yeast? I do not mind a thin or flatbread crust.
The yeast gives it a lot of flavor in addition to helping it rise. It will alter the flavor and appearance of the recipe. However, do what you gotta do. It will probably still taste great, just different than intended. Hope it works for you.
Best AIP crust I've tried!! Soft and chewy! 3 tablespoons of gelatin was waaaay to much though in my opinion. Could it be a typo? It made a big gummy bear in the middle of my dough while mixing and would not incorporate. ☹️ I fished it out and made a second "gelatin egg" with 1 tablespoon (3 teaspoons) gelatin and 1/4 boiling water and mixed that in and was able to save the crust. I rolled mine to 1/4in and pre-baked it about 10 minutes before topping and baking another 8 minutes or so. I think you could freeze them after a 10 minute par-bake and have ready made crusts in the freezer. Thanks Beth!
I'm so glad you liked the crust. And I think it would be ok with 2 tablespoons of gelatin. And if I were to do it again, I would incorporate the gelatin in with the dry ingredients. It's just so much easier than dissolving the gelatin in water. Either way, I'm glad you got it to work for you and you enjoyed it.
I'm an AIP newbie but a luckily a kitchen nut.
Made this today with a few substitutions because coconut flavour in a lot of food makes me feel sick and it worked out great 🙂
Tigernut milk instead of coconut milk
Palm shortening replaced Most (5/6?) of the coconut oil (Never used shortening before so I thought I'll combine a bit incase it's not the right consistency)
Sweet potato instead of yam (can only order online in Ireland)
I know coconut flour isn't really subbable so I left that but I could only Very slightly taste it. With a well seasoned nomato sauce it doesn't dominate at all.
I do think I misinterpreted your pizza shaping section (was roughly 10 inches and about the same 1cm-ish thickness throughout) and the dough under the toppings stayed a little soggy.
Wrong shape aside my sauce also kind of incorporated itself into the dough... Could be because of the substitutions. Think I will try foiling the edges and prebaking or using a kitchen torch to seal the middle a bit the next time.
Thank you so much for this recipe!
Hoping to try your mozzarella recipe with tigernut milk too soon.
Grain free baking, especially AIP baking, is tricky. Substitutions are not easily made and I don't recommend them. Changing just one ingredient or not following the specific directions can turn the recipe into a total failure. However, I applaud you for tweaking the recipe and making it work with your restrictions. Good for you. And I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Step 6 & 7 say to put the baking sheet in the oven. Then uncover the crust, etc. Are you saying to preheat the pan and then transfer the crust to it?
Yes! You need to preheat the pan. I've found that it helps cook the bottom of the crust.
Hi Beth. I don’t have gelatin, is there a substitute I could use?
I don't know of an easy substitute. However, agar agar has some of the same properties. I just don't know if it would work in this recipe.
I made the nomato sauce and pizza dough for my family. It was absolutely delicious! Thank you Beth for sharing these amazing recipes!
Yes! That's great news. You've very welcome. I'm just happy that you and your family enjoyed it.
This was excellent! Can these crusts be made ahead and frozen? Would like to make a few to have in the freezer.
Oh yeah! I'm so glad. I've never tried putting it in the freezer. Not sure how that would work/taste. But if you give it a try, please come back here and let me know how it turned out. I'm very interested!
I made this along with the mozzarella and nomato sauce. It is SO good. I'll be making a couple of these for the family.