Three Cheese Plantain Crust Pizza

🍕 Gluten-Free Main

Three-Cheese Plantain Crust Pizza

Gluten-free. Naturally sweet. Ready in 30 minutes.

Prep

10 mins

Bake

20 mins

Servings

1 pizza

I'm always looking for tasty gluten-free options for pizza crust, so I was especially excited about this plantain recipe! On my first try, I made a basic pizza with mozzarella and parmesan cheeses and Canadian bacon.

A few key learnings: you definitely need to use a very ripe plantain (black, not yellow!), and I highly recommend using a food processor to mash it instead of doing it by hand. I was afraid to burn it on my first attempt, so it came out a little undercooked with a bready texture. Next time, it'll be crispier. I didn't have any almond meal, so I substituted with oat flour and it worked beautifully.

This is a genius gluten-free pizza crust made entirely from plantains and a few simple ingredients. The ripe plantain creates a naturally sweet cornbread-like base. It's perfect for using up those ripe plantains from your neighbor's gift, and it's ready in just 30 minutes. This would be absolutely delicious as a Hawaiian pizza—the subtle plantain sweetness complements pineapple perfectly.

Why This Recipe

It's genuinely gluten-free. No rice flour, no almond flour (though that's an option), no complicated substitutions. Just a ripe plantain, egg, and cheese. That's your crust.

It's quick. From mashing plantain to eating pizza: 30 minutes. This isn't a slow-rise bread situation. It's weeknight dinner.

The flavor is unique and delicious. The crust has a naturally sweet, slightly cornbread-like quality from the plantain. It doesn't taste like banana. It tastes like pizza, but better.

It uses your plantain abundance. One pizza per ripe plantain. Those 30 plantains your neighbor gave you? You've got 30 pizzas worth of crust.

It's endlessly customizable. Traditional three-cheese, Hawaiian with pineapple, loaded with vegetables, simple margherita. The crust works with everything.

About the Ingredients

🍌 The Plantain (Star of the Show)

The ripe plantain is the most critical ingredient. It must be ripe—black or very yellow with lots of black spots. Underripe (yellow) plantains are starchy and hard to mash. Overripe (mostly black) plantains are soft, sweet, and mash like butter. A ripe plantain is your best friend here. If your neighbor's gift included mostly yellow plantains, leave them on your counter for a week to ripen.

🥚 Binder & Cheese Base

The egg helps bind the mashed plantain together. Mozzarella cheese adds richness and helps create structure. Together they hold the plantain together into a cohesive crust.

🌾 Flour (Flexible!)

The flour adds some structure and helps the crust crisp up. It's flexible—use what you have on hand. Almond meal, regular flour, gluten-free flour, oat flour, or even coconut flour. I've used oat flour successfully.

✨ Seasonings & Toppings

Oregano and a pinch of salt season the crust. Pizza sauce, shredded mozzarella, shredded parmesan, diced cherry tomatoes, ricotta, fresh basil, and black pepper are the traditional three-cheese toppings. But use what you have—any pizza toppings work.

Pro Tips

Use a food processor to mash the plantain. A potato masher works, but a food processor is faster, easier, and creates a smoother texture. Janet learned this the hard way—hand-mashing is tedious for a ripe plantain.
Make sure the plantain is very ripe. If you can't mash it easily, it's not ripe enough. Black or very yellow with black spots = perfect. Green = not ready.
Use parchment paper, not a silpat or baking mat. The crust will stick to silpats. Parchment paper is essential for easy removal and browning.
The crust needs two stages of baking. First 10 minutes at 375°F to set the crust. Then raise heat to 400°F and add toppings for another 10 minutes. This is important for proper texture.
If you want a crispier crust, bake the first stage a bit longer. Janet's first attempt was slightly undercooked with a bready texture. She can adjust by baking 12-13 minutes the first stage for extra crispiness.
Don't overload with toppings. This is a delicate crust. Light to moderate toppings work best. The crust is the star.
Hawaiian pizza is perfect with this crust. The plantain's subtle sweetness complements pineapple beautifully. Try ham, pineapple, and a drizzle of sriracha.
Make one pizza at a time. This recipe is one pizza per plantain. Scale up by making multiple, but prepare them sequentially.
This is a great way to use abundant ripe plantains. When you have a bunch ripening on your counter, you have unlimited pizza nights ahead.

Recipe

Ingredients (Makes 1 Pizza)

For the Crust:

1 very ripe, black plantain
1 large egg
¼ cup (30g) almond meal, flour, or oat flour
2 tbsp mozzarella cheese, shredded
½ tsp dried oregano
Pinch of salt

For the Toppings (Basic Three-Cheese):

3 tbsp pizza sauce
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Shredded parmesan cheese
Diced cherry tomatoes (optional)
Ricotta cheese, dolloped
Fresh basil, chopped
Ground black pepper

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Peel the very ripe plantain. Using a food processor (or potato masher), mash the plantain until smooth. If using a food processor, pulse until you reach a smooth consistency.
In a medium bowl, combine the mashed plantain, egg, almond meal (or flour), mozzarella cheese, oregano, and salt. Mix until well combined.
Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet and spread it into a circular pizza shape, about ¼-inch thick. Make the edges slightly thicker for a crust.
Bake at 375°F for 10 minutes, until the crust is firm to the touch and just beginning to set.
Remove the crust from the oven and increase heat to 400°F (205°C).
Spread pizza sauce over the crust (about 3 tbsp). Sprinkle with shredded mozzarella and parmesan. Dot with ricotta cheese. Add diced cherry tomatoes if using.
Bake at 400°F for 10 minutes, until the cheeses are melted and bubbly. Top with fresh basil and black pepper. Serve immediately.

About plantain ripeness: This is absolutely critical. The plantain must be very ripe—black or very yellow with black spots. If it's still mostly yellow, leave it on your counter for several days to ripen. Underripe plantains are nearly impossible to mash and won't create a good crust.

About mashing: A food processor makes this task infinitely easier than hand-mashing. If you don't have a food processor, use a potato ricer or push the plantain through a fine-mesh strainer. Hand-mashing is possible but tedious.

About flour substitutes: Janet successfully used oat flour instead of almond meal. Regular all-purpose flour, gluten-free flour, and even coconut flour work. Use what you have on hand. The amount stays the same regardless.

About crust crispiness: The first bake at 375°F sets the crust. For extra crispiness, bake 12-13 minutes instead of 10. For a softer, breadier crust, stick with 10 minutes. Adjust to your preference on subsequent attempts.

About toppings: The recipe shows three-cheese traditional, but use any pizza toppings you like. Hawaiian with pineapple and ham is excellent. Loaded vegetable pizzas work beautifully. Keep toppings light to moderate so the delicate crust can support them.

About scaling: This recipe is one pizza per plantain. To make multiple pizzas, prepare them sequentially rather than trying to fit multiple crusts on one baking sheet. Each crust needs proper space for even baking.