From Lauren: Meet Alaena Hubber, the blogger and recipe creator behind Grazed and Enthused! I always look forward to trying Alaena’s recipes and one of my favorites is the Birthday Cupcakes she shared on The Paleo Mom. If you are on the search for creative autoimmune-friendly recipes, go visit Grazed and Enthused.
Italian Sausage Paleo Flatbread
After 15 months following the Autoimmune Protocol to treat Hashimoto’s, leaky gut, and histamine intolerance, there is one craving that has yet to take a hike. Originally cited as my favorite food on a 6th grade biography poster, pizza has and will always be the key to my heart. After watching my husband bathe in the glory that is thin crust pizza recently, I just about had it with the torture. Okay, torture is an exaggeration… it’s more like a mild mental discomfort. I wanted to create a flatbread thin-crust style pizza that is just as nutrient dense as the average AIP meal. This pizza contains 5 different fruits and vegetables! For those of you that have tried one of my most popular recipes, AIP Rosemary & Prosciutto Stromboli, this recipe will make up for any thin crust cravings that remain!
The paleo flatbread crust could not be easier to throw together. I suggest making a double batch since you will have extra Italian Sausage and Sweet Herb Sauce. Please ensure you are accurate with the crust ingredients as too little or too much flour can noticeably alter the texture. The texture of the crust improves as it cools, so be patient before diving in! Truffle salt adds an extra depth of flavor but it is perfectly fine to use a high quality fine sea salt too. I have also used this crust to make White Pizza and Pesto Chicken Pizza with fabulous results. Just be sure to lay a sauce down first or your topping ingredients will not stick to the base. Enjoy this savory treat and get creative with your own version!
- ⅔ cup arrowroot flour, available here
- ¼ cup + 2 tbsp Coconut flour, available here
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- ¼ tsp Truffle salt, available here (or use sea salt)
- 2 tbsp Olive oil
- ½ cup Warm water
- 1 lb Ground beef or pork
- 1 tsp Dried oregano
- 1 tsp Herbs de Provence
- ¼ tsp Granulated garlic
- ¼ tsp Truffle salt or sea salt
- 8 oz Mushrooms, sliced
- 1 Yellow Squash, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp Olive oil
- 1 tsp Rosemary, fresh
- Sea salt
- 1 Large Carrot, ½ inch slices
- 1 Large Pear, ½ inch cubes
- 2 cloves Garlic, peeled
- 1 tsp Dried oregano
- 1 tsp Herbs de Provence
- ¼ tsp Truffle salt or sea salt
- For the flatbread crust Preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a baking sheet or pizza pan with parchment paper.
- Whisk together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Slowly pour in the olive oil, stirring as you pour. Mix in the warm water thoroughly until a smooth ball of dough has formed.
- Place dough on a pizza pan or baking sheet with parchment paper. Lay another sheet of parchment on top of the dough and use your hands or a rolling pin to smooth the dough into a circle about ¼ inch thick and approximately 10 inches wide.
- Bake for 12 minutes until crispy. Set aside while you make your toppings.
- For the sausage Brown ground beef or pork in a large skillet set over medium-high heat for 3 minutes without disturbing. Stir in remaining ingredients and let finish cooking 5 more minutes until cooked through and well browned. Sprinkle with additional sea salt. Set aside.
- For the veggies Cook mushrooms in large skillet over medium-high heat with olive oil for 5 minutes until they begin to cook down and release their liquid. Add squash, rosemary and sea salt to the pan and cook for 5 more minutes until mushrooms are soft. Set aside.
- For the herb sauce Fit a steamer basket over a saucepan filled with two inches of water. Add carrot, pear and garlic to basket, cover, and bring water to a boil over medium-high heat. Steam for 15 minutes until pears are easily pierced with a fork. You want them to be very soft since you will be pureeing them in the next step. Reserve cooking liquid.
- Transfer to a high-powered blender or food processor and add remaining ingredients. Turn machine on low and slowly pour in ¼ cup of reserved liquid. Blend sauce ingredients until they are pureed.
- Assembly Spread a thin layer of the sauce on the cooked pizza crust. You will have leftovers for a second pizza. Top sauce with cooked mushroom and squash and press them into the sauce lightly with a spatula. Sprinkle on half of the Italian Sausage. You will have leftovers as well.
- Bake for 5 more minutes in the preheated oven until warm and crispy. Let cool a few minutes prior to slicing. I use an herb rocker knife for the cleanest slices.
About Alaena Haber at Grazed and Enthused
Grazed and Enthused is a Paleo & Autoimmune Protocol blog by Alaena Haber that has three requirements: recipes must be creative, accessible, and make others excited about nutritional healing. You can find her on Facebook and Instagram where she shares both tiny and victorious moments in her healing journey.
Will the sauce work without pears? Will another carrot or maybe butternut squash work? I’m willing to experiment just wanted your thoughts.
Definitely! This is a very flexible recipe – you can use any sauce you want but the Italian Sausage is especially yummy and simple!
This pizza looks sooo amazing and nourishing!!! can’t wait to try making it 🙂
this seems good except for arrowroot flour which is manufactured in a plant that also handles soy and nuts (paraphrasing).
I just want a clean bread….
What else can I use instead of mushrooms? I don’t like the flavor of them.
Any vegetable that you enjoy as long as it’s not a nightshade (peppers eggplant and tomatoes) to keep it AIP! Try onions instead!
does it concern you that arrowroot flour raises your insulin? That is why I like coconut flour but I’m especially hesitant to use arrowroot or tapioca flour. What are your thoughts?
Arrowroot by itself would have an impact on blood sugar – but here it is mixed with FIBRE and FAT. These things mitigate arrowroot’s negative impact on blood sugar. Having said that, it depends from person to person. Some people can eat a bowl of fruit and not have their blood sugar spike drastically. Others will feel differently after the sugar. In short, do not worry!
Looks really good,…but….
I wish you had more recipes that didn’t use arrowroot…it’s not allowed on GAPS.
I have many starch-free and GAPS-friendly recipes on my recipe page here: http://empoweredsustenance.com/recipes/
Are there any replacements for the arrowroot flour that work well? My son is on the SCD diet and can’t have starch flours.
I would suggest sweet potato flour but that’s not allowed either, correct? Can you do water chestnut, tigernut, or butternut squash flour?
Fantastic! I’ll be working at the Farm-Wise camp again this summer and besides myself there are always kids who attend camp with severe grain allergies. Since we have pizza every Friday this recipe is going on my list to try. Also thanks for the new Paleo Real Food bloggers Lauren. I’m especially looking forward to Grazed and Enthused.
Is it possible to give the cup measurements in grams? I’m in the UK and our cup measurements are different. I’ve tried to look online for the equivalent but it ranges from 90-112 grams for one U.S. cup of coconut flour. That’s quite a big range for a flour that is good at absorbing moisture.
Denise – next time I make my crust I will measure it on my food scale for you and report back!
Thank you, thank you, thank you. I did not have high hopes for the flat bread. Before it went into the oven it was quite crumbly so i had to be careful but when it came out it looked great, was very together and absolutely delicious, by no means a poor substitute for the real thing (wheat flat bread) but far far superior both in taste and how i felt after eating it. I am so pleased and grateful to have found this recipe 🙂
The sausage was divine but then i was fortunate to be able to use actual grated truffle. Like you, I have lamented not being able to eat thin crust pizza but now my woes are over. Much love !
Kate ~ Wonderful!! I am SO jealous of your grated truffle. I had friends over the other night and told them to sprinkle some truffle salt on our dinner and they responded, “I’ll just do regular salt, no worries.” I could have slapped them 😉