5 Pizza Bases You Haven't Thought Of

Pizza is one of life’s greatest joys. Herby tomato sauce, bubbling melted cheese, spicy pepperoni, chunks of ham, succulent mushrooms, juicy pineapple (controversial, we know), shredded steak, spinach and egg florentine-style – whatever you like on your pizza, I think we can all agree it’s the perfect food and nothing can beat it. There are gluten-free options, veggie and vegan versions and even dessert-style pizzas for those times when only sugar will do.

Pizza brings people together (as long as you’re not trying to pinch our pepperoni) and it can tear relationships apart. Finding out a date likes anchovies on their pizza? You’re going to need some time to work this one out.

It’s ideal food for sharing, particularly when it’s cold and you don’t want to go out to see friends. Ordering in can be expensive though, so invite your friends around and serve up pizzas you’ve made yourself. And take the impressiveness up an extra notch by ditching the traditional dough base and trying something a little different, like:

Now, we know butternut squash is not pizza dough, we’re not stupid. But thin slices of this seasonal vegetable can make a great alternative pizza base for those with a gluten intolerance or anyone who’s simply trying to eat a little healthier.

Making a butternut squash pizza is also much simpler than making your own dough from scratch. Actually, it’s a pretty tough vegetable to slice, so don’t expect it to be no effort whatsoever – you might need a few sessions in the gym to prepare your muscles for cutting through that bad boy.

Check out Nouvelle Daily’s recipe for mini butternut squash pizzas for cooking times and topping inspiration. These are perfect if you’re having a gathering and aren’t sure if anyone’s avoiding gluten or carbs.

Naan bread is not just for mopping up the last of your curry, it can also be used as a pizza base. It’s doughy, pizza sauce isn’t going to give it a soggy bottom, you can pick it up and eat it with your fingers and you don’t even need to make your own naan – you can buy it and just add your own toppings if you prefer.

Why not stick with the Indian theme and top your pizza with curry-inspired toppings, or even leftovers from curry night? Use curry sauce instead of tomato sauce, spiced chicken instead of pepperoni, paneer instead of mozzarella, shredded bhajis instead of peppers.

The possibilities are endless and it takes away the painful decision of whether to have curry or pizza – just have both! Follow the Gamekeeper’s Daughter’s recipe for chicken tikka naan bread pizza if you want some guidance on ingredient quantities.

Heard people talk about keenwah and wondered why you can never find any recipes for it? Seen the word quinoa, pronounced it as it’s written and ended up a laughingstock? You won’t be the only one, so don’t worry. But quinoa is actually pronounced keenwah.

Now we’ve cleared that up, let’s turn it into a pizza, like we should be able to do with all of life’s issues. Quinoa is a type of grain, so it can quite easily be turned into a dough.

A Rosie Outlook has a recipe for how to do just that, which makes a great healthy but tasty alternative to traditional pizza dough. Add your toppings of choice and tuck in, feeling smug in the knowledge that you now know how to pronounce quinoa.

You’ve probably not thought too much about it while stuffing a burrito in your mouth or rolling up your fajitas, but a tortilla wrap is pretty much just a very thin pizza base.

Top it with passata, cheese and any meat or veg you fancy, being careful not to overload it and make it too top-heavy, and grill in the oven for a couple of minutes. Super tasty, super easy and you’ll be wishing you’d thought of this genius invention years earlier.

We’ve already resolved the curry versus pizza debate by combining the two. Now we’re going to solve the ‘is pizza or dessert better?’ conundrum by bringing them together. We’re not suggesting that you finish off your roast dinner with a slice of margherita, rather that you make a special dessert pizza. We’ve got your attention now haven’t we.

You could use crushed biscuits combined with melted butter for your sweet pizza base, but that’s a little cheesecake-esque. Instead, we recommend making your own cookie dough using a recipe like this one from Jen’s Place, then topping it with a layer of melted chocolate (better than tomato pizza sauce? You decide) and your favourite sweets or chocolates.

So which pizza are you going to make first? Sweet or savoury? Pineapple or just no? Meat or veggie? Curry sauce or tomato? Bready base or vegetable? So many decisions, but one thing we do know is that pizza is always the answer.