This Very Good (Not Sad) Gluten-Free Pizza Is My New Go-To Recipe

At Kitchn, our editors develop and debut brand-new recipes on the site every single week. But at home, we also have our own tried-and-true dishes that we make over and over again — because quite simply? We love them. And we decided to start sharing some of our absolute favorites with you. Here’s a peek into what we’re cooking and eating in our own kitchens.

Gluten-free eating has made some major strides in the last few decades, but when it comes to pizza, it’s still never quite as good as the real thing.

That said, there are some versions out there that get pretty close. Restaurants have done wonders with gluten-free pizza dough (and everything tastes better when cooked in wood-fired ovens). And I’m sure there are some righteous, if slightly tricky, recipes out there for homemade dough, but one of the things I love most about pizza — one of the things I want most, is for it to be quick and easy. Pizza is a dish of simplicity, and when I want to satisfy a pizza craving at home, I tend to want it to be simple.

I thought I was stuck heating up frozen pies, but the options always seemed to taste either too sweet (graham cracker) or too dry (cardboard). I had all but given up on my quest to find something uncomplicated that passed muster.

That’s when I got my hands on a copy of Liz Moody’s cookbook Healthier Together. In it there’s a recipe for “Super-Quick Cast-Iron Pizza,” which first drew me in with the promise of speed, and then continued to intrigue me with a highly appealing photo of a thin, crispy-looking pizza. I was sold as soon as I read the suggestion of using my favorite tortillas.

You see, I always keep a pack of Siete tortillas (I’m partial to the cassava flour ones) in my fridge. I use them for quesadillas, wraps, and tacos, but I had never thought to try making pizza with them, so I was intrigued.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: A tortilla pizza, really? Talk about sad! But this one is different, I promise. Liz’s method, inspired by a J. Kenji López-Alt recipe, relies on both the stovetop and the oven to give it a supremely crispy crust. It is not your average (read: soggy and disappointing) tortilla pizza.

Start by preheating your oven. While that’s happening you heat some avocado oil in a skillet on the stovetop and, once the skillet is warmed, place your tortilla in to cook for a minute or so. Then flip the tortilla and let that side warm for a minute while you add tomato sauce. Then take the skillet off the heat (but leave the stovetop on!) and add the rest of your toppings (Liz offers some fun options in her book, but I’m partial to chunks of fresh mozzarella). Next, put the skillet into the preheated oven for a couple of minutes. Then you put the skillet back on the stovetop for just a minute or two more to crisp up and brown that bottom one more time.

After I transfer the pizza to my plate I shower it with freshly chopped basil, a sprinkle of flaky salt and Aleppo pepper. I can hardly wait for it to cool to dig into a slice. The resulting pizza is impossibly crisp, and sturdy enough to hold up to the sauce and cheese — no sagging slices here.

Is it really pizza? No, of course not. Is it close enough? Absolutely. And it comes together with fridge and pantry staples in a matter of minutes. Take that, sad frozen pizzas!