Pizza Crust (Primal/Paleo)
Well, here it is. After trying coconut flour pizza crusts (we were not huge fans) and multiple tries at other types of pizza crusts, this is what has emerged from my kitchen. This is one of our favorite recipes, yet I feel like there may still be some revisions coming with temperatures and baking times. I realize the picture has cheese on it (we eat our pizza with cheese), but if you are dairy-free, you can certainly make it without! This is just a recipe for a basic crust. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Note: This makes one, large pizza. If you would like to make a smaller pizza, I will include a condensed recipe below.
Pizza Crust (Grain-free)
Ingredients:
2 cups almond flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
1 cup arrowroot powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. oregano
1/4 tsp. black pepper
3 eggs
1/2 cup homemade almond milk (or store-bought)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Grease a round pizza pan (no holes) or cookie sheet. (I use a baking stone.)
2. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk to blend together.
3. Add eggs and almond milk to the dry ingredients. Mix well. (The batter will be runny–not like typical pizza dough.)
4. Use a spatula to spread batter onto greased pan.
5. Bake crust in preheated oven 8-12 minutes.
6. Remove crust from oven and top with sauce and desired toppings.
7. Bake for another 10-15 minutes. Enjoy!
*Note: the thicker you spread your crust, the longer you will need to bake it the first time. I have occasionally made it thicker and the middle was still slightly gooey. I recommend spreading it thin or baking it long enough so that the middle is well done.
Let me know what you tried and if you experiment with times/temps!
Here is the smaller version of the recipe:
Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup almond flour (I use Bob’s Red Mill)
3/4 cup arrowroot
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. oregano
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 eggs
1/3 cup almond milk
Directions: Same as above, but cooking times will probably be shorter unless you make it thick.
Shared at Allergy-Free Wednesdays, Gluten-Free Wednesdays, Pennywise Platter and Fight Back Friday!
Banana Muffins
These muffins are a new favorite in our home! I typically make them plain, but have also added some homemade dark chocolate chips to them for a fun, chocolatey twist. They make a nice snack during the day or side for breakfast.
To see the recipe, see my guest post at The Nourishing Gourmet here.
Shared at Allergy-Free Wednesdays.
Flatbread (Paleo-Scandinavian Version)
Haha, Paleo-Scandinavian…this phrase is like an oxymoron! BUT, I am Scandinavian and LOVE my Grandma’s whole wheat/oatmeal flatbread recipe…so I ventured to make my own…without oatmeal or whole wheat. I am happy to say that the end result satisfied my craving for flatbread! I think there are lots of versions and variations of flatbread, so I apologize if this is not what you were thinking it is. This version is thin and fairly crispy. We love it topped with butter and honey-sweetened strawberry freezer jam, but you can put whatever you want on it! Enjoy!
Flatbread (Paleo-Scandinavian Version)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup almond pulp flour (I dry my leftover almond pulp from making Homemade Almond Milk on a baking pan at 250 degrees until dried out. Then I put it in a blender or food processor to break up the clumps and make it more of a flour-consistency.) *NOTE: Almond flour does NOT work the same.
2 Tbsp arrowroot
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup almond milk
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. softened butter
3 Tbsp. coconut oil, soft
1 1/2 Tbsp. honey
(extra arrowroot if needed)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix almond pulp flour, arrowroot and salt in a bowl.
3. Combine almond milk and lemon juice in a small bowl and let sit 1-2 minutes.
4. Add almond milk mixture, butter, coconut oil and honey to dry ingredients and mix well with a hand mixer.
5. Thinly, roll out dough between two pieces of parchment paper. You may need to add more arrowroot if the dough it too sticky. (I rolled mine to a thickness of about 1/8″ or less–the thinner you make it the crispier it will be.)
6. Cut into desired sizes with a pizza cutter or pastry cutter. (Mine range in sizes from 4″ x 3″ to 3″ x 2″.)
7. Using a metal spatula, carefully lift pieces of flatbread and place on a cookie sheet.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-12 minutes or until edges start to brown. (Time will vary depending on how thick you make your flatbread.)
9. Remove from baking sheet to a cooling rack to cool. Top with butter and whatever else you like and enjoy!
Banana Bread
I read somewhere that you can substitute half arrowroot and half coconut flour for regular flour and then add more eggs…so keeping that in mind, I found a regular banana bread recipe, converted it to coconut flour and arrowroot, substituted honey for the sugar and added extra eggs (I’ve heard 4 eggs per 1 cup coconut flour). And…this was the end result!
Banana Bread
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups mashed bananas (about 2 1/2 bananas)
5 eggs
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup butter or coconut oil (melted)
3/4 cup honey
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup arrowroot
3/4 cup coconut flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grease one 9×5 bread pan.
2. Put mashed bananas, eggs, applesauce, butter or oil, honey and vanilla in a large bowl and mix well.
3. Add dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Pour batter into prepared bread pan and bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 20-25 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.
Pumpkin-Apple Pie Muffins
Well, I am not sure what to call these–they are made in a muffin pan and look like muffins, yet their texture is almost more of a bar or dessert and they remind me of pumpkin pie…hence the name. The smell of fall (and pumpkin!) is in the air! And hopefully more pumpkin recipes will follow!
Pumpkin-Apple Pie Muffins
1 cup chopped apples (about 1 apple)
1 cup pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 Tbsp. vanilla
1/3 cup honey
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ginger
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup coconut flour, sifted
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped (sprinkle on top)
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line regular-sized muffin pan with liners.
2. Combine chopped apple, pumpkin puree, eggs, applesauce, vanilla and honey. Mix well.
3. Add dry ingredients and mix until incorporated.
4. Divide batter among 12 muffin cups. Sprinkle chopped walnuts on top.
5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.
6. Store in an airtight container in the fridge.
I would love to hear feedback on these–if there are things you would change, add or delete. Let me know your thoughts! Most of my recipes are a work-in-progress. 
Strawberry-Zucchini Muffins (with coconut flour)
It is September and I just picked another 3 cups of fresh strawberries! I’ve tried this recipe with both fresh and frozen and it is definitely easier to use fresh (easier to cut up), but if you use frozen, slightly defrost them first and they will be easier to cut into little pieces.
Strawberry-Zucchini Muffins
Ingredients:
1 cup shredded zucchini
8 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (or oil)
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup coconut flour
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 cup strawberries, cut into small pieces, fresh or frozen
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine zucchini, eggs, applesauce (or oil), honey and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix well.
3. Add salt, coconut flour, and baking soda to wet ingredients. Mix until there are no coconut flour lumps.
4. Gently fold in strawberry pieces.
5. Fill muffin cups 3/4 of the way full (or more).
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-28 minutes for regular sized muffins and 15-18 minutes for mini muffins.
*Makes 12 regular muffins and 6-10 mini muffins depending on how full you fill them.
Vanilla Cupcakes with Coconut Flour
This recipe comes from Comfy Belly and is found here. We were quite pleased with the taste and texture. I wish I could claim this recipe as my own, but it most definitely is not. Thanks, Comfy Belly for the delicious cupcake recipe!
Vanilla Cupcakes
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sitfted coconut flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. sea salt
4 eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil or butter (melted)
1/2 cup honey
1 Tbsp. vanilla
Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine all the dry in ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well (a hand mixer works great).
4. Divide batter among 8 cupcakes.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.
6. Cool and then frost.
*Store in a airtight container at room temperature for a few days or in the fridge for about a week.
Chocolate Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup honey
2 Tbsp. cocoa
Whip together and frost! I would like to try making the frosting using coconut oil, but I am currently out. I think the texture would be a bit lighter.
Vanilla Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp. vanilla
Whip together and frost! As mentioned above, I’d love to try this with coconut oil and see how it turns out.
Note: One batch of frosting was more than enough to do the 8 cupcakes (the way I frosted them in the picture).
Blueberry Banana Muffins (Coconut Flour)
I am constantly changing my blueberry muffin recipe…but thought I would post my latest one for those looking for a muffin recipe!
Blueberry Banana Muffins (with coconut flour)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 Bananas
4 eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. vanilla extract or almond extract
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup sifted coconut flour
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper muffin liners in muffin pan.
- Put bananas in large bowl and smash with a potato masher. (Otherwise, mash bananas with a fork.)
- Add eggs, applesauce, and vanilla or almond extract. Mix well.
- Add dry ingredients. Mix well using a whisk or hand mixer. Gently fold in blueberries.
- Fill muffin cups 3/4 of the way full. (I divided batter between 11 muffin cups.)
- Bake for 25-30 minutes. (Check by tapping on tops of muffins and if they spring back and don’t stay indented, they are done.)
- Enjoy!!!
*You could probably make these sweeter by adding a bit of honey if you would like!
Coconut Flour Zucchini Bread (with Crumble Topping)
You can sweeten this bread up even more by increasing the honey a bit in the bread or by adding more honey to the topping. We think it is sweet enough just like it is! Enjoy!
Coconut Flour Zucchini Bread (with Crumble Topping)
Topping Ingredients:
1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
3 Tbsp. sifted coconut flour
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 Tbsp. honey
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. salt
Bread Ingredients:
8 eggs
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup honey
3/4 cup grated zucchini
1 tsp. vanilla
3/4 cup sifted coconut flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Mix topping ingredients together in a bowl with a fork until crumbly. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, applesauce and honey with electric mixer (or whisk well).
4. Mix in zucchini and vanilla.
5. In a separate bowl, mix coconut flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon together.
6. Combine dry ingredients with wet ingredients and mix until there are no lumps.
7. Pour into greased loaf pan and sprinkle crumble mixture evenly on top.
8. Bake at 325 for 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
*Store in fridge.
*You can make this bread without the topping as well!
Grain-Free Sandwich Bread
I’m sure there are some good grain-free bread recipes out there–I just haven’t found one that we really like. So, I combined a few different recipes, modified it some and came up with this one. If you make it in a regular loaf pan, it will be a short loaf–about 2 inches high. But it still is good toasted or plain as a sandwich or with honey-sweetened strawberry jam. The texture is totally different than a wheat flour bread, but we like it. I hope you do as well!
Grain-Free Sandwich Bread
Ingredients:
3/4 cup sifted coconut flour
1/2 cup flaxseed meal
1/2 cup almonds-ground
1/2 cup arrowroot powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 butter or coconut oil (melted)
6 eggs
2 Tbsp. honey
Directions:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degree.
2. Combine dry ingredients.
3. Add applesauce, butter or oil, eggs and honey and mix well with a hand mixer or stand mixer.
4. Pour batter into greased loaf pan or pans (1 regular size loaf pan or 2 small loaf pans — I grease sides of pan with butter).
5. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until knife inserted comes out clean.
6. Let cool completely before storing. (I store it in the fridge, but don’t know if that is necessary.)
*Optional: sprinkle sesame seeds on top of loaf before baking.
*The loaf in the picture was made in a small loaf pan — 5″ x 2 1/4″ x 2″ (the plate was a small plate)