Grilled Portabello Mushroom Pizzas

Wondering how to enjoy pizza without eating wheat or other grains? I have seen many ideas for grain free pizzas out there. This one is my family’s favorite. We loved mushroom pizzas before so I figured why not promote the mushroom to be the crust? I am not sure if you have tried other portabello grain free style pizzas before but, if you have then you know by now you need to handle the mushrooms carefully to ensure you do not end up with a very wet pizza! Read on for my technique.

Grilled Portabello Pizzas

This recipe serves 4 people and can be doubled as needed for a larger crowd/family.

Ingredients

The Crust:

• 4 large portabello mushrooms
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

The Pizza Sauce:

• 1 cup homemade tomato paste or a jar of this tomato paste
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 6-8 fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt (where to buy)
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

The Rest:

• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 4 fresh basil leaves, chiffonade for garnish

Directions

Sprinkle the portabello mushrooms with salt and pepper and drizzle with the olive oil.

In a small saucepan over medium low heat, add all of the pizza sauce ingredients and stir together. Cook over low heat for about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, heat a grill to medium high heat. Place the mushrooms on the grill gill side down and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the mushrooms over and grill another 5 minutes. When you next check on the mushrooms they should have released quite a bit of liquid. Turn the mushrooms over again to drain the liquid and cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and place gill side up.

Spread the mushrooms with the pizza sauce and sprinkle with the cheese (use liberally).

Place the mushrooms back on the grill for another 3-5 minutes until the cheese is melted.

Garnish with the chiffonade of basil and serve with homemade ranch dressing for a real show stopper. My husband commented this was his most favorite thing I have made ever! We actually had them with grilled chicken rubbed with this Indian spice rub and some coconut sugar. The chicken was a nice combination but these pizzas shine on their own just as easily!