Mmmmm, pizza. I don’t know many people who don’t enjoy eating pizza, and quite frankly, I don’t think we could be friends if you didn’t. Just kidding, but pizza has always been one of my favorite foods. Just ask anyone who has ever known me. There is just something comforting about pizza. Maybe its’ the fact that even if it’s not great, it’s still pizza, and therefore it’s still good, or maybe it’s the nostalgia factor of pizza always being given as some type of reward when I was young. I’m not sure what it is, but pizza to me is that old standby meal. Always reliable and always delicious, but it isn’t exactly a top contender for healthy, clean eating. While your standard supreme pizza may be off the list, that doesn’t mean we can’t have a satisfying substitute that’s low in calories and fat, and high in veggies and vitamins.
This portobello pizza is my take on other portobello crust pizza’s I have stumbled upon in the past. Considering that I have never really been a mushroom lover, I wasn’t too sure if I would even like it, but I figured there was no harm in giving it a try if it meant I could enjoy guilt free, dare I say, healthy pizza.
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On my first attempt of making a pizza ‘crust’ with a portobello mushroom, my mushroom came out soggy, which completely ruined the dish. No one wants a soggy pizza crust, but I wasn’t going down without a fight on this. The stakes were high and I was determined to have my guilt free pizza and eat it too. After a little, okay, a lot of experimenting, I figured out how to remove the majority of water from the mushroom itself, which in turn made this healthy substitute pretty delicious. Now keep in mind, this is obviously not going to taste exactly like pizza, but it does give you that delicious pizza flavor for 1/4 of the calories and fat. The portobello mushrooms I used for this were pretty large in size, coming in at around 6″ wide, but they made a perfect personal size pizza. The recipe posted is for one personal size pizza, but feel free to double (or triple) the filling ingredients for additional mushroom crusts. Give it a try and let me know what you think!
- 1 large (6″) portobello mushroom
- 1/4 of a white onion; chopped
- 1 garlic clove; minced
- 1/4 of yellow pepper; chopped
- 1/4 cup green onions
- 1 small tomato; diced (optional)
- 5 basil leaves
- 1 Tbsp. pizza sauce (I use Eden Organic Pizza and Pasta Sauce)
- 1/4 cup crumbled natural goat cheese
- Olive Oil Spray
- A sprinkle of Italian Seasoning over the top
- Set oven to 425ºF.
- In a medium sized non-stick pan, spray surface with olive oil spray until coated and add in onion.
- When onion is lightly browned and tender, add in chopped yellow pepper and cook until soft.
- When finished, add in minced garlic, green onions and diced tomato, lightly sauteing until all vegetables are tender. When finished, remove from heat and set aside.
- With a damp paper towel, lightly wipe off outside of portobello mushroom to remove any dirt on the surface. Do not submerge mushroom in water to clean as it will absorb the water and make the crust soggy.
- When finished, gently remove mushroom stem.
- With a spoon, scrape out the mushroom gills in the inside of the mushroom cap. This will further prevent your mushroom from becoming soggy.
- Place the prepared mushroom cap on a baking sheet cup side down, and bake mushroom for 8-10 minutes.
- When finished, take mushroom out of oven, flip it over (cup side up) and gently pat dry with a paper towel.
- Lightly spray baking sheet with olive oil spray and put mushroom on it with the cap side down.
- Proceed to fill mushroom cup with filling ingredients, starting with sauce and ending with crumbled goat cheese and Italian seasoning.
- Bake mushroom for 20 minutes, or until cheese is lightly golden.