Easy Lentil Pizza (with Regular Crust)

Have you ever tried putting lentils on a pizza? They’re not a pizza topping you see too often, but they work so beautifully!

Not only do these tasty red lentils make your pizza extra hearty and comforting, they also add heaps of nutrition – nearly 13 grams of additional protein per pizza! Such an easy way to amp up a simple vegetarian pizza into something a bit different.

The red lentils are used as a replacement for a traditional pizza sauce. They’re cooked with tomato and spices, so they have plenty of flavour, and when you add a good handful of grated cheese and your favourite pizza toppings, you’ll end up with a seriously comforting dinner.

In the past, I’ve made bean pizza and chickpea pizza… so really, lentil pizza had to happen, didn’t it?

I used shop-bought pizza bases to make my lentil pizza, since these days my energy levels could barely reach my knees. But of course, you can make your own pizza base from scratch if you prefer. Naan bread pizza also works really well!

❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• It’s pizza. It’s always going to be good.
• The red lentil mixture is seriously easy to prepare, and really adds something special to an otherwise simple recipe.
• The lentils add nearly 13 grams of protein and 4 mg of iron per individual pizza! Since we vegetarians often have to consider our protein and iron intake, this is a huge plus.
• You can add all sorts of flavours to the lentils as they cook to change the feel of your pizza – this time I went for my favourite spice, smoked paprika!
• It’s always satisfying to know that your choice of comfort food is providing plenty of nutrition too.

🥗 Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this lentil-topped pizza:

• pizza bases. I used 2 shop-bought bases that each measured about 8 inches in diameter. Feel free to use homemade pizza bases, and / or combine the two smaller pizzas into one larger pizza (one 12-inch crust should be roughly equivalent).
• red lentils. You must use red lentils for this recipe, as they cook down to become really soft. Other types of lentils, like brown or green, will not give the same result, as they hold their shape when cooked.
• grated cheese. I used cheddar, as it has a lovely flavour and brings a nice saltiness to the pizza. You could use something creamier, like mozzarella, but it won’t be quite as tasty.
• tomato puree and smoked paprika to add extra flavour to the cooked lentils.
• vegetable stock. I used a solid stock cube, which I dissolved in water, but you can use liquid stock instead if that’s what you have.
• pizza toppings. I chose sliced tomatoes and red onion.
• fresh herbs for garnish. These are optional, but they do bring a lovely pop of colour and a fresh flavour to the finished pizza. I used parsley, but cilantro or basil would work well too.

See the printable recipe card below for detailed ingredient quantities.

🔄 Ingredient Swaps

Here are a few ways you could adapt this recipe:

• You can swap the pizza toppings for any of your other favourite toppings. Sliced mushrooms, peppers, olives, sweetcorn, etc. will all work really well.
• You can flavour the red lentils however you like. I used smoked paprika, but I have also made this recipe using Indian-style lentils flavoured with garam masala. You could even use some leftover tarka dal!
• If you don’t have any pizza bases to hand, you could use naan bread, or even a flour tortilla.

Becca’s Top Tip

If you don’t have any ground spices to hand, any sort of flavour paste will also work. Perhaps try adding a dollop of pesto or curry paste to your lentils instead!

📋 Instructions

Here’s how to make this lentil pizza – see below for the printable recipe with detailed ingredients and instructions.

Step 1: Cook the red lentils with your choice of additional flavourings (tomato puree, smoked paprika, etc.). You want them to end up breaking right down to give a thick paste, so don’t rush them.

Step 2: Spread the lentil mixture over your pizza bases.

Step 3: Add some grated cheese and your choice of pizza toppings, then bake until crispy.

💭 Lentil Pizza FAQs