Lentil pizza crust
Katerina Pavlakis 
The easiest healthiest pizza you haven't tried yet
For some reason, 'pizza' rings synonymous with 'unhealthy'.
And maybe you think 'healthy pizza' has to be sad, or complicated, or both.
But pizza is not inherently unhealthy. Homemade pizza, that is.
What makes the difference is what goes into it, and whether it was made in a factory, or your kitchen.
The issue with pizza from a packet or a delivery box is the processing. Most frozen and fast-food pizzas are loaded with preservatives, refined oils, artificial flavourings, and far more sodium than necessary.
Make it yourself, and you control all of that. You choose the ingredients. You know exactly what's in it. Tomato, cheese, a good crust, some veg, that's a pretty balanced meal.
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What if the crust itself was full of goodness?
A standard white flour pizza base is... fine. But it's mostly refined starch. Low in fibre, lower in protein, not doing much nutritionally beyond holding your toppings up.
Now here's where it gets interesting.
What if the crust, the part most people think of as the "bad" bit, was actually one of the more nourishing things on the plate?
Red lentils are, by nature, packed with plant protein and fibre. A crust made from them brings iron, folate, magnesium, and potassium to the table before you've even thought about toppings. More fibre means slower digestion, more stable energy, and you actually feel full rather than uncomfortably stuffed and then hungry again an hour later.
And the bit I really love: they also make the crust far easier to make from scratch together than a traditional one (bye bye frozen pizza bases).
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A proper pizza base is actually quite a lot of work
A classic yeast-leavened bread crust is a project. You're activating yeast, kneading dough, waiting for it to prove, knocking it back, rolling it out. It's satisfying when you do it. But on a Tuesday evening? It's quite a commitment.
A lentil crust takes about five minutes of active time, and I mean that.
I made one last night. Here's how it goes:
Soak a mug of red split lentils for a couple of hours, or overnight if you're organised enough to think ahead (I totally wasn't, a couple of hours is plenty).
Drain them, then tip into a blender with roughly the same volume of fresh water and a generous pinch of salt.
Blitz until you have a smooth batter. It looks a bit like pancake batter, which is more or less what it is.
Pour onto a paper-lined baking tray (or pizza tray) and spread it right to the edges.
Bake in a hot oven until it sets and starts crisping at the edges, about 20 mins. You'll know it's ready when it's firm to the touch and starts cirsping at the edges. Then you just add your toppings, whatever you like, however you like it, and bake a bit longer until the cheese has melted to your satisfaction.
One mug of lentils does one baking-tray-sized pizza. The proportions are forgiving. The timing is approximate. You are not going to get it wrong.
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About those toppings
Most traditional pizza toppings are good food: A tomato base, some cheese, olives or capers or anchovies, maybe an egg or some cured meat, maybe some chopped veggies, these are all real food ingredients.
The toppings are not the enemy. The ultra-processing is.
So pile on what you like. More veg is always a good idea. Go easy on processed meats if you want to, but don't feel obliged to eat joyless pizza in the name of health.
The crust you're starting with is already doing more for you than most people's 'healthy' alternatives.
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Why this is now my favourite
'Alternative' pizza bases have this reputation for being complicated, or a compromise, or something you make when you're on an 'eating healthy' bender.
None of that has to be true.
(I thought a cauliflower pizza base was too complicated. It isn't. But the lentil crust is even easier.)
A lentil crust is simpler than a bread crust, faster than a bread crust, and more nourishing than a bread crust.
It tastes different, yes, slightly earthier, a bit more substantial, but in a good way. It holds up. It crisps. It works.
And if you happen to be someone who's gluten-free, or just trying to get more variety and goodness into everyday meals without turning dinner into a project, a lentil crust is quite a useful hack to have in your kitchen.
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Try it once and see what you think.
