Pizza is a delicious delicacy that everyone loves—especially children, my children are always asking for it! So I’m constantly experimenting with ways to make pizza more nourishing, easier to digest, and aligned with Ayurvedic principles.
For me, the biggest challenge has always been the base. I don’t like serving my children a pizza crust made primarily from refined all-purpose flour, which offers very little nutrition. Instead, I like to transform the base by incorporating wholesome ingredients such as millets, seeds, nuts, quinoa, and other nutrient-dense foods to make it more nourishing while still keeping the texture delicious.
For this recipe, I used amaranth flour, quinoa, and potatoes to create a completely gluten-free crust—and honestly, this turned out to be one of the best pizza bases I’ve made!
We also made a beautiful green pesto with fresh basil, spinach, and overnight-soaked nuts. The color, texture, and flavor were absolutely amazing, and my children loved it!
I also chose mozzarella cheese because it is a relatively fresh cheese and works beautifully with this recipe.
This pizza does take a little time and love to prepare, but the end result is completely worth it. It’s gluten-free, nourishing, wholesome, and delicious, while incorporating Ayurvedic principles of thoughtful ingredient selection and balanced preparation.
My children enjoyed every bite, and I hope your family does too!
Here is my Ayurvedic-inspired, nourishing pizza recipe—a little labor of love that brings together health, flavor, and the joy of good food.
Servings: 2 medium large Pizzas. About 12-14 inches diameter - best for family of 4-5 members.
Gluten-Free Amaranth & Quinoa Pizza Base
Ingredients
- 2 cups amaranth flour
- 2 cups cooked quinoa — adjust slightly depending on your preferred texture
- ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ cup yogurt
- 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
- 1 tsp black pepper powder
- 1½ tsp Italian seasoning
- 1 medium sweet potato, boiled and peeled
- 1 golden potato, boiled and peeled
You can use only sweet potato and skip the golden potato if you want to reduce the carbohydrate content.
Method
- In a medium or large bowl, add the amaranth flour, cooked quinoa, salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning. Mix roughly until everything is well incorporated.
- Add the mashed boiled sweet potato, golden potato, olive oil, and yogurt.
- Using your hands, knead everything together until it forms a soft, cohesive dough. Depending on the moisture in your potatoes and the consistency of your yogurt, you may or may not need to add a little water. The dough should be moist enough to press easily onto the pan without being overly wet.
- Cover the dough with a lid or a slightly damp cloth and let it rest for about 15 minutes.
- Divide the dough into two portions. I highly recommend using a cast-iron pan or stone baking pan for this pizza base. It helps the crust cook beautifully and gives it a delicious texture compared with a thin aluminum baking pan.
- Press each portion directly onto the pan with your hands, forming a round pizza base approximately ½ cm thick. You can make it slightly thinner if you prefer a thinner crust.
- Bake the bases at 350°F (175°C) for approximately 25 minutes, or until they are nicely baked and firm.
My Tip for the Perfect Texture
I like to prepare the pizza bases a few hours ahead of time. For example, if I’m serving pizza for lunch, I’ll prepare and bake the bases around 10 AM.
Once baked, remove them from the oven and allow them to cool completely. This cooling process is important because it allows the base to firm up and develop a better texture.
I recommend not adding the sauce and toppings immediately after taking the base out of the oven. Letting the base cool first makes a noticeable difference in the finished pizza.
Once completely cooled, the bases are ready for your pizza sauce, toppings, and cheese.
Make-Ahead Option
These pizza bases can also be prepared ahead of time for parties, gatherings, or meal preparation. Simply bake the bases, allow them to cool completely, and store them until you’re ready to make the pizzas.
When you’re ready to serve, spread on your pizza sauce, add your favorite toppings and cheese, and bake again until the toppings are beautifully cooked and the cheese is melted.
Make-Ahead Tip
I recommend not storing the pizza bases for longer than 3 days. As I always recommend, fresh is best, and homemade is always the best option whenever possible.
If you’re busy, you can absolutely prepare the bases a day ahead of time. I’ve done this many times when I know I’ll have a busy day or week ahead. I simply bake the bases, let them cool completely, and place baking paper between the bases so they don’t stick together. Since it’s gluten free, just be careful handlign and storijng them properly. I also like to make smaller individual-sized bases, especially for the children.
That way, when they’re hungry, the bases are already ready to go! The kids can simply add some basil pesto, cheese, and their favorite toppings, and help themselves to a delicious, wholesome homemade pizza.
Of course, freshly prepared food is always my first recommendation as per Ayurveda. But if meal prepping and storing some home-cooked food for the next couple of days helps you stay nourished during a busy week, that is absolutely wonderful too. Home-cooked and home-prepared is still the best choice compared to outside foods, even when prepared a little ahead of time.
The base takes a little extra time and effort, but the end result is absolutely worth it — nutritious, gluten-free, wholesome, and delicious!
Now your pizza base is ready for the final bake.
So while the base is baking/cooling down, you can prepare for the Fresh Basil pesto/sauce.
A pesto is more for corse and crunchy texture and here in this recipe I will make it into a smooth texture that is easy to spread so that some good nuts a seeds and not available to spot and be picky about!! Anyways as my children have been cooking with me a long time and they have learnt to appreciate and be less picky. (WORK IN PROGRESS ALWAYS)
Fresh Basil Green Sauce
Ingredients
- 3–4 oz fresh basil
- ¾ cup baby spinach
- 1/2 a cup olive oil
- ½ cup almonds, soaked overnight and peeled( can use up to 3/4 cup for more creamy consistency)
- 3 tbsp pumpkin seeds, soaked
- Juice of 2 fresh lemons, or 2½ lemons to taste
- ¾ tsp white pepper and red pepper flakes, or use black pepper to taste
- 1 tsp Himalayan pink salt
- 3–4 ice cubes(medium size cubes)
- ½–1 cup water, as needed
Method
Strain and discard the soaking water from the almonds and pumpkin seeds. Peel the almonds before use.
Add the basil, spinach, olive oil, soaked almonds, pumpkin seeds, lemon juice, pepper, and Himalayan pink salt to a blender.
Add 3–4 ice cubes before blending. The ice helps prevent the friction from creating too much heat, which helps preserve the fresh green color and flavor of the basil.
Start with about 3/4 cup of water and blend. Add a little more water at a time, as needed, until you reach the right consistency.
The sauce should be thick, smooth, spreadable, and pourable—not too runny and not overly thick.
Assemble & Bake
Now that your green sauce is ready and your pizza bases are baked and cooled, it’s time for the fun part! This is a wonderful step to get the kids involved—let them spread the sauce, add the toppings, and sprinkle the cheese before the final bake.
Spread a generous amount of the fresh green sauce over each pizza base. Add mozzarella cheese, followed by your favorite toppings. We used zucchini, broccoli, baby corn, and peppers.
Bake at 350°F for 20–25 minutes, or until the cheese is melted, lightly golden, and the pizza is nicely done.
Once it comes out of the oven, top it with fresh basil and, if you like, a sprinkle of Italian seasoning.
A Note About Cheese in Diet
A little note about the cheese I use and how I look at dairy from an Ayurvedic perspective.
Cheese can be a little nuanced. Some Ayurvedic practitioners recommend limiting cheese, especially for those with weaker digestion, because it can be heavy, dense, and, depending on how it is fermented and aged, may be more difficult to digest or aggravate Kapha. At the same time, Ayurveda also recognizes that when Agni—the digestive fire—is strong, foods that are naturally nourishing can often be digested well and provide the nourishment the body needs.
Cheese and other dairy foods have also been part of traditional diets in many cultures around the world for generations. For me, it is less about labeling a food as simply “good” or “bad” and more about considering the quality of the food, how it is prepared, who is eating it, and how well it is being digested.
Personally, I prefer vegetarian-friendly cheeses made with microbial/vegetarian rennet rather than animal-derived rennet. For this pizza, I prefer mozzarella over aged cheeses or cheddar because mozzarella is a fresher, softer cheese—somewhat closer in quality to fresh paneer—and I find it a more suitable choice for this type of meal.
Fresh dairy can provide protein, calcium, and other nutrients, which can be especially valuable for growing children who need adequate nourishment during their developmental years. At the same time, cheese can be Kapha-enhancing and heavy, so it is best enjoyed thoughtfully and according to the individual child's digestion and constitution.
From an Ayurvedic perspective, I would not recommend dairy-heavy foods for children who are experiencing asthma, wheezing, congestion, or other respiratory concerns, as dairy may be too heavy or aggravating for them. And when children are actively sick, especially with fever, congestion, or digestive disturbance, it is generally best to keep dairy light or avoid it temporarily until digestion and appetite return to normal.
As always, Ayurveda is about understanding the individual rather than following a one-size-fits-all rule. If your child digests dairy well, feels nourished by it, and has no reason to avoid it, a good-quality, organic, grass-fed cheese can be enjoyed as part of a wholesome, balanced diet.
Now slice it up and enjoy a beautiful slice of goodness with your family!
I hope you enjoy making this recipe as much as we did. If you try it, come back and let us know in the comments how you liked it—and, most importantly, how the kids enjoyed it! And if you love it, please share the blog with your friends and family so they can enjoy a little slice of goodness too.
See you in the next blog, Squash MoongDal Curry.
Thank you for visiting Food for the Soul. We invite you to explore more Ayurvedic-inspired recipes, handmade organic herbal teas, traditional medicated Ghritams, personalized Ayurvedic consultations, and our integrative pre-diabetes wellness program. May every meal nourish your body, mind, and soul.
Blog post: https://foodforthesoul.net/blogs/news
Ayurvedic Products:
Teas: https://foodforthesoul.net/collections/tea
Medicated Gritham: https://foodforthesoul.net/collections/ghee
Culinary Dosha Balancing Spices: https://foodforthesoul.net/pages/spices
Sundari Devi Dasi
MS Ayurveda and Integrative Medicine
