On the left is Amy’s dairy free cheeze pizza with a rice crust. On the right is Udi’s gluten free crust with tomato paste, arugula pesto, and Daiya mozzarella vegan cheese.
I tried the Amy’s pizza a couple of weeks ago after an exhausting day. I was in a bad mood and didn’t want to put any effort into cooking. And I probably should have looked at the meal’s ingreds closer.
Pros: It’s dairy free and gluten free. And takes no time to bake. I made it in the oven following the directions on the back of the box.
Cons: As you can see, the ingredients list for this is looooong. And there are FODMAPs up the yin yang.
Also, it’s pretty small and I had to supplement the pizza with a salad.
The crust was on the fluffier side, but it still wasn’t like a normal bready (wheat) pizza dough.
Flavor-wise it was great! There was enough sauce and “cheese” to suit my taste buds, and it actually did get a little melty in the oven (although not stringy like real cheese when you pull it apart).
But it definitely upset my gut. I have no doubt it was the various FODMAPs like garlic and onion (in the sauce) and then there’s the soy protein, inulin, and agave. Basically, lots of faux ingredients trying to compensate for the dairy and meat and gluten. Successful in the taste department, but not for people with IBS who are sensitive to FODMAPs.
Which brings me to these…
Not totally fair to compare, because this is just the crust. Also, it has eggs so it’s not vegan.
Pros: You can customize as you want, making it easier to cater to multiple dietary sensitivities. It’s also big enough that a whole crust can make a personal pizza big enough to satisfy one person’s appetite. And there are two crusts in the package, so you can make pizzas with different toppings.
Cons: It’s really thin. It’s also not vegan, so for those who don’t eat eggs or any animal products, it’s not going to work.
I topped it with tomato paste (a kinda bland choice, but at least it’s FODMAPs free as it doesn’t have onions or garlic) and arugula pesto, and Daiya mozzarella.
Then I baked it in the oven as per the instructions on the back.
The Daiya melted as per usual and did it’s stringy thing much better than the Daiya on the Amy’s pizza, which made me wonder if there was something that happens to Daiya when it’s frozen that makes it lose it’s cheesiness. Or maybe the Amy’s pizzas don’t actually use Daiya in all their products, just a few.
As for the crust, well, it got really crispy, which some may like, and some may not. I was okay with it. It’s not pizza like in my opinion. If I’m craving pizza, I’m craving thick doughy crusted pizza. Something you can really sink your teeth into. This is like fancy artisan pizza.
It was a little hard to cut because of how crispy it got.
See how thin it is?
That said, it was absolutely delicious (I burned my mouth because I couldn’t wait to enjoy it) and most important of all, my GI system tolerated it.
So there you have it. The GF pizza showdown.
Of course you could always make your own dough, but in the gluten free world that’s harder to do. If you have a favorite GF pizza recipe or ready made product let me know about it.
I’ve also tried Vicolo crusts which are awesome.
Daiya makes GF frozen pizza now too! It’s delish. Highly recommend that you seek it out.
There’s a brand here in Colorado called “Outside the Breadbox,” and their GF pizza crust is FABULOUS! It does have egg though, but basic easy no filler ingredients. They also make an AMAZING GF Vegan bread– as in, for sandwiches, toast– SO GOOD and it TASTES like real bread– it’s made with oatmeal. I love their products because they don’t use corn starch (which I can only have traces of) and no canola oil (which I am mega allergic to). <3
Well, I don’t need GF but I do need vegan and wanted to weigh in on the Amy’s thing. I used to LOVE all their pizzas pre-vegan and was excited to try the Vegan Margherita pizza they have, as even though I love their vegan roasted veggie, I wanted to try the other one made with Daiya. For the first time, I was kind of disappointed with any Amy’s product.
There was SO much sauce in comparison to the Daiya and if I ever bought it again, I would have to add extra Daiya to make it cheesy, which just adds to the a) cost and b) extra calories/fat. Long story short, I was bummed and will stick to the vegan roasted veggie or make my own. Perhaps I will try those crusts up above…
Oops. Just reread the Udi’s crusts aren’t vegan. Never mind! Carry on 😉
I don’t need gluten free, but I love thin crust nonetheless! that bottom one looks good!!
I tried the Vicolo because I thought I recalled seeing that you’d liked them, but after getting them home (without a receipt), I read the ingredient list – they have wheat. I ate it anyway and it was early enough in my elimination diet that I didn’t notice the FODMAPs difference, but I was bummed that they aren’t actually GF/Wheat-free. I’m also kinda bummed about the Udi’s, because that looks a bit too crackery for my taste. I guess i’ll keep searching.
Thanks for the review, now I won’t be wasting my money on the Udi’s pizza crust! That’s too bad, I love their bread and wraps. Still really need to try the bagels!
We always use tomato paste on pizza, keeps it nice and crispy! I try to remember to sprinkle on a little seasoning. So far, my favorite gf frozen pizza is from against the grain. They sell their frozen crusts right next to their pizzas at my grocery store, but I haven’t tried those yet.
I make pizza dough from a recipe I found from gluten free goddess. I sub out extra sorghum and millet for the rice flour, since I avoid that, and use flax eggs because I don’t like the texture real eggs give gf breads. I also bake the heck out of it because we like it really crispy, but if you look at her pictures it’s more fluffy like “real” pizza.
whoa! i didnt know that! awesome!!!!
I found a brand of frozen pizza dough and crust called Gluten Free Bistro at Whole Foods (it’s made in Boulder, so it might only be available in CO right now) but it’s made from a blend of brown rice, buckwheat, sorghum and tapioca flours and it’s also vegan. I like it because you can make it as thin or as thick as you want if you get the dough and it has no weird ingredients but it does have garlic salt in it so it’s not totally FODMAPs free but it’s a good GF and vegan option!
Have you ever tried Chebe?
http://www.chebe.com/Products/Dry-Mixes.aspx
You can make pizza crust out of any of the mixes (we use the all purpose mix…no onion or garlic) and it’s fantastic. You can make it think and crispy or thicker and chewy.
is the cheeseless one dry at all? it seems so boring with just crust and veg…but if you like it maybe i should try it, even though its not gf.
oh no! i dont remember it having wheat…hmm…ill have to re-check the ingreds. i do know they have a few different kinds though, so maybe you bought a different one.
http://www.vicolopizza.com/fresh-products/crusts/
they have a gluten free one, but the other corn meal crusts are not gluten free.
I didn’t think it could be considered pizza without cheese, but it was pretty darn good (I also threw some nooch on top in the oven.) The sauce is kind of sweet-ish but good, and I don’t like sweet things. All in all it wasn’t a cheese pizza, but it had great taste for being roasted veggie.
i havent tried that brand. against the grain uses dairy in their products 🙁
never heard of it! you CO peeps get so much good stuff!
oooo, never seen this before. ill have to see if i can track it down.
oh weid. the instructions have you mix it w dairy…hmmm…odd. i wonder if it could be made without cheese/milk.
got it. thanks!
That’s how I feel about you guys in CA! I guess the grass is always greener…
hmm… this is probs why the WF rice crust pizza i get bothers me, their saucey fodmaps stuff even though i ask for daiya cheese. you smart cookie you!
thats why they pay me the big bucks…oh wait… 🙂
I just saw it and grabbed without reading (that’ll teach me). I’ll have to look for this one next time I’m at the co-op. Thanks!
My sister is gluten intolerant (ok with small amounts) and she often uses the udi bagel as the “crust” and makes a pizza bagel- maybe that would help satisfy the bready pizza craving? She also just used a tube of polenta flattened out and pre-baked in a pie dish then topped with pizza toppings. I know she has bought the chebe mixes, their brownies and blondies mixes and used almond milk and flax eggs without issues.
I am exploring the gluten-free world (no major issues, just I think I feel better without it) so your posts are very helpful. Shame though as I dont think Udi’s is available my side of the world. Need to travel for bread…:))
i miss real pizza crust but I do like udis. It’s just thin and extra crispy, yes?!
Tomato paste contains fodmaps, Elise. I was surprised too. I think the sauce is okay though.
really??? oh man. is it bc its sweetened or what? im going to have to look into it i guess…ok so instead i guess we fodmapers have to use canned plain tomatoes.
Might want to do a review of the Vicolo corn meal gluten free four cheese pizza from Whole Foods. They also sell the crusts at a reasonable price. For me, I didn’t like them and I’m easy to please. They had no taste and the texture was no good. I won’t be buying them again.