Today I am satisfying my pizza craving with bagel pizzas THREE ways.
I have yet to meet someone who doesn’t love pizza. It’s a universal love language and contrary to popular belief, yes pizzas CAN be healthy especially when you control the ingredients that go in them.
This is an easy pizza you can make at home with ingredients you have on hand. It is ready in minutes and you don’t have to go through the process of making your own dough from scratch.
If you are like me, you switch it up when it comes to your pizza toppings.
Bagels are the perfect vehicle for an array of fun, delicious toppings and the combinations are endless.
For the base, I used Udi’s Gluten Free Whole Grain Bagels. Whole grains pack protein, fiber and B vitamins unlike their refined counterpart. B vitamins are important for metabolism and energy production so opt to choose whole when it comes to your grains products.
Udi’s is unique because all their products are gluten-free. Besides their bagels, I am a fan of their granolas which are low in sugar and their millet-chia bread made with hearty ancient grains.
As a dietitian I am often asked whether we need to go gluten-free.
While a majority of us don’t need to, there is a percentage of the population who is celiac or gluten-intolerant and are advised to do so as gluten-free diets may alleviate gastrointestinal symptoms and improve nutrient absorption and utilization.
Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barely and rye. Fortunately it is not very difficult to eliminate gluten from your diet if you focus on dietary staples like fruit, veggies, meat, poultry, fish, dairy, nuts and legumes. When it comes to your grains and breads, you should seek out gluten-free options and brands like Udi’s makes that easy for consumers.
Back to these pizza bagels. After experimenting with different flavor profiles, I settled on these combos. I am particularly loving pesto right now so pesto with kale was just perfect. Each of these boasts ample protein as well, so it’s the perfect lunch or dinner option to pair with some extra veggies on the side. Don’t forget to share you pizza bagels with my on Insta!
- 1/2 Udi's Gluten Free Whole Grain Bagel
- 2 tbsp goat cheese, crumbled
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and baked
- 1/2 cup chickpeas
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/2 Udi's Gluten Free Whole Grain Bagel
- 1/2 cup cherry tomatos, sliced in half
- 2 oz mozzarella
- 2 tbsp basil, chopped
- 1/2 Udi's Gluten Free Whole Grain Bagel
- 1/2 cup kale, torn into bite sized-pieces
- 1/4 cup pesto
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Place bagel halves on a lined baking sheet.
- In a medium skillet, sauté chickpeas in one tablespoon of olive oil with salt and pepper until crunchy. Set aside.
- Using a high speed blender, blend sweet potato with one tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper to make a sauce.
- Spread sweet potato sauce on one bagel half and top with crumbled goat cheese and crunchy chickpeas.
- Cut mozzarella thinly and place evenly on second bagel half. Top with sliced cherry tomatoes and chopped basil.
- Spread pesto evenly on the third bagel half and top with kale pieces.
- Bake bagels in the oven for 8-10 minutes and broil for 2-3 minutes at the end.
- *You can use store-bought pesto or make your own. Search 'broccoli walnut pesto' in the search bar for my homemade recipe.
