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This classic gluten free pizza recipe has only 6 ingredients, is easy to make and shape like “real” dough, only needs one rise, and no kneading.

I developed this recipe for my first cookbook in 2011, and I've been perfecting it ever since. It's a regular Friday night meal at my house, and many of yours, every week!

Overhead image of whole baked gluten free pizza with sauce and cheese
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my take

Nicole's Recipe Notes

  • Authentic taste & texture: A light and crispy outside and chewy in the middle, this crust is full of yeasty flavorโ€”especially if you let it rise slowly in the refrigerator.
  • Quick & easy: Dump the 6 ingredients in this recipe (including water!) in your mixer bowl and beat well. That's all it takes to make the dough.
  • Versatile: You can make a “regular” sauce and cheese pizza, or load up this crust with pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, peppers and 3 kinds of cheese. It's strong enough to hold it all!
  • Make ahead: Make the dough ahead of time and store it in the refrigerator for at least 3 days, then shape and bake. Or parbake a shaped crust and freeze it until you need a quick dinner!
fingers of hand lifting triangular shaped slice of pizza from a pie cut into 8 slices on brown paper with blue cloth

Recipe ingredients

ingredients for gluten free pizza dough recipe in small bowls and containers with black block letters spelling out name of each
  • Gluten free flour: Any high quality, well-balanced all purpose gluten free flour blend should work here, including xanthan gum. No sourcing unfamiliar individual flours for this simple recipe.
  • Instant yeast: Also called rapid-rise or breadmaker yeast, you add it right to the dry ingredients. No need to “proof” it first in water.
  • Sugar: Just a touch helps feed the yeast without sweetening the dough.
  • Salt: Enhances the flavor of the pizza, and without it, bread tastes bland. Also controls yeast production.
  • Olive oil: Adds flavor, richness and tenderness to the dough.
  • Water: Hydrates the flour and other dry ingredients, and brings the dough together. Using warm water makes the yeast more active.

How to make gluten free pizza dough

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the gluten free flour blend with xanthan gum, sugar, and salt. Whisk in the yeast. Add warm water and olive oil, and mix with the paddle attachment until the dough starts to stick to the sides of the bowl and looks a bit whipped, about 5 minutes.

Transfer the dough to a sealed container that has a tight-fitting lid (or a bowl that you cover tightly with plastic wrap), and let it rise for about an hour or until it's about 50% bigger than when it started (it won't double), or let it rise in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

If the dough rose at room temperature, refrigerate it for at least 15 minutes first. Divide it in half, sprinkle it with extra flour, and press it with floured fingers from the center toward the edges into a round about 10-inches in diameter.

Transfer the dough to a piece of parchment paper on a pizza peel, and use a pizza roller or rolling pin to roll it smooth from the center to the edges. Brush the top and edges of the dough with olive oil and bake for about 5 minutes at 400ยฐF on a pizza stone or overturned baking sheet.

Top the blistered, parbaked dough with tomato sauce and shredded cheese, and bake about 7 minutes more or until the cheese is melted and bubbling and the crust is light brown. Let set briefly, slice and enjoy!

My Pro Tip

Expert tips

Beat the dough well

The instructions in the recipe card refer to beating the dough in your mixer until it begins to look “whipped” in appearance. The dough will at first come together around the paddle attachment. Keep mixing on a high enough speed, and it will begin to stick to the sides of the bowl and look more aerated. Here's a short video to show you exactly what it looks like:

Rest the dough in the refrigerator

After you've made your raw pizza dough, let it rest in the refrigerator. That allows the flours to absorb the moisture of the water, leaving the dough still hydrated, but making it much less sticky. Cold dough is a lot easier to work with than warm dough, so it's best to work with it right out of the refrigerator.

Working with sticky dough

If your dough is still a bit sticky because you can't afford the time to let it rest more, or it's not cold enough, sprinkle it with more gluten free flour, and handle it with a light touch. You can also oil your hands.

For chewier dough

Try replacing 1/4 cup (36 grams) of the all purpose gluten free flour blend with Expandex modified tapioca starch or regular tapioca starch/flour. Add 1 1/2 fluid ounces more water if you use Expandex (but not if you use regular tapioca starch).

Parbake the crust

Try partially baking (“parbaking”) the risen, chilled and shaped crust at 400ยฐF for 7 minutes. Let it cool, wrap tightly, and use it later in the day or even the next day.

Ingredient substitutions

Dairy free

The pizza recipe itself is already dairy-free. For a dairy-free cheese to use as a topping, I like Daiya, Miyoko's Creamery, and Violife brands for nondairy mozzarella-style cheese shreds.

Olive oil

Olive oil adds a lot of flavor to the dough recipe, and when brushed on the shaped dough, helps it brown int he oven. You can replace it with your favorite oil, but it will change the flavor.

Yeast

You can't make this recipe without yeast, If you can't have yeast, try our gluten free yeast free pizza dough recipe instead.

If you prefer, you can replace instant yeast with active dry yeast, though. Instead of 9 grams of instant yeast, you'll need 25% more, for a total of about 11 grams, or 3 2/3 teaspoons active dry yeast. Dissolve the active dry yeast first in 1/4 cup of the warm water that the recipe calls for, then add it to the mixing bowl when you add the rest of the water.

Xanthan gum

If your all purpose gluten free flour blend doesn't already have xanthan gum and you'd prefer to avoid xanthan gum, try using an equal amount of konjac powder. You can buy it on Amazon.

If you're using Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour, you need to add at least another 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum (or konjac powder), since it doesn't have enough xanthan gum to hold yeast bread together.

To replace xanthan gum with psyllium husk, try 20 grams of psyllium husk powder. First, dissolve it in the water the recipe calls for and allow it to gel, then add it after adding the olive oil.

round wire rack below fully baked gluten free pizza with red tomato sauce, melted off white cheese, with blue cloth and metal pizza wheel with brown handle

Easy Gluten Free Pizza Recipe

5 from 961 votes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Rising time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
Yield: 2 pizza crusts
This basic gluten free pizza dough recipe needs only 6 ingredients to make a crispy outside, chewy inside crust. Over 900 5-star reviews!

Equipment

  • Stand mixer with paddle attachment or food processor with plastic blade
  • Pizza stone recommended (or use an overturned rimmed baking sheet)
  • Pastry brush for brushing raw dough with olive oil (or use your fingers)
  • Plastic bucket for proofing (or use a bowl with plastic wrap)
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Ingredients 

  • 3 cups (420 g) all purpose gluten free flour blend, (See Recipe Notes) plus more for sprinkling
  • 3 teaspoons xanthan gum, omit if your blend already contains it
  • 1 tablespoon (9 g) instant yeast
  • 1 ยฝ teaspoons (6 g) granulated sugar
  • 1 ยฝ teaspoons (9 g) kosher salt
  • 1 โ…› cups (9 ounces) warm water, (about 95ยฐF) (See Recipe Notes about chewier crust)
  • 4.5 tablespoons (63 g) extra-virgin olive oil, (plus more for brushing)
  • Your favorite pizza toppings

Instructions 

Make the pizza dough.

  • In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or your food processor fitted with the plastic blade, place the flour, xanthan gum, (optional Expandex), yeast, and sugar, and whisk to combine with a separate, handheld whisk. Add the salt, and whisk again to combine well.
  • Add the water and olive oil, and mix on medium speed in your stand mixer or pulse in your food processor until the dough begins to come together.
  • Turn the mixer to high speed or your food processor on and process until the dough is no longer a ball but has begun to appear whipped (about 3 minutes). This is designed to add air to the dough, which will make it easier to handle after chilling, and rise better in the oven.
  • Transfer the dough to an oiled container with a tight-fitting lid or a greased bowl, spray lightly with cooking oil spray, and cover tightly.
  • Place in a warm, draft-free area to rise until itโ€™s about 150% of its original volume (about an hour), or refrigerate the dough for up to 3 days.
  • When youโ€™re ready to make the pizza, place a pizza stone or overturned rimmed baking sheet in the oven and preheat it to 400ยฐF.
  • If youโ€™ve refrigerated the dough, work with it straight from the refrigerator. If you havenโ€™t, place the tightly sealed dough in the refrigerator to chill for at least 15 minutes before working with it, as itโ€™s easiest to work with when itโ€™s chilled.
  • To make pizza, place the dough on a lightly floured surface and sprinkle the top lightly with a bit more flour. Knead the dough gently until itโ€™s smoother and not sticky, then divide it into two equal portions. Cover the unused portion, so it doesnโ€™t dry out.
  • With floured fingers, roll the first piece of dough into a ball and then press it into a disk. Begin pressing the dough from the center toward the edges with floured fingers to create a disk with a raised edge.
  • Continue pressing the dough with floured fingers toward the edge until you have about a 10-inch round. Move the dough frequently, sprinkling with more flour as necessary to prevent sticking.

Bake the pizza

  • Place a large piece of unbleached parchment paper onto the pizza peel or cutting board that you plan to use to transfer the pizza dough to the oven. Lift the dough gently onto the paper on top of the pizza peel.
  • While the dough is on the paper use a small rolling pin or pizza roller to smooth out the dough where there are uneven marks from your fingers. The dough will end up about 11- to 12-inches in diameter.
  • Use a pastry brush or your fingers to paint the top of the dough with olive oil, making sure to coat the edges generously.
  • Transfer the dough to the pizza peel or baking sheet in the preheated oven. Bake the dough plain for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the crust has begun to crisp on the underside.
  • Remove the crust from the oven using a pizza peel or large spatula. At this point, the parbaked crust can be cooled completely, wrapped tightly and frozen for at least one month. Simply defrost at room temperature, and then continue with the recipe as written.
  • To continue preparing the dough, add your favorite toppings to the parbaked crust, and return the pizza to the hot oven until any cheese is melted and the edges have browned and puffed (another 5 to 7 minutes).
  • Remove the pizza from the oven using a pizza peel or large spatula, and allow it to set for 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Video

Notes

Flour blends
My favorite gluten free flour blends are Better Batter's original blend gluten free flour and Nicole's Best multipurpose blend (with added xanthan gum). Bob's Red Mill 1-to-1 Gluten Free Baking Flour should also work, but add an additional 1 teaspoon xanthan gum to the dry ingredients or the dough won't hold together properly.
Cup4Cup changed its formula and doesn't seem to work as well as it has in the past, so I don't recommend it. To make your own blend using one of my โ€œmockโ€ recipes, please see the all purpose gluten free flour blends page.
You may also be able to make this recipe using Caputo Fioreglut flour or King Arthur Flour gluten free bread flour, but both will absorb a lot more moisture and will make pizza that is less tender. The dough should be quite easy to handle.
Optional variation for chewier pizza
Instead of 3 cups all purpose gluten free flour, use 2 3/4 cups (385 g) all purpose gluten free flour and add 1/4 cup (36 g) Expandex modified tapioca starch. You will also have to increase the water by 1 1/2 ounces to 10 1/2 ounces (1 1/4 cups + 1 tablespoon) water. Instead of Expandex, you can use 1/4 cup regular tapioca starch, without making any changes to the amount of water.
Xanthan gum
To replace xanthan gum with psyllium husk, try 20 grams of psyllium husk powder. First, dissolve it the water and allow it to gel, then add the mixture after adding the olive oil.ย 
You can also try replacing xanthan gum with an equal amount of konjac powder without making any other changes.
Nutritional information.
Nutrition information is an estimate, per pizza, without any toppings.

Nutrition

Serving: 1pizza | Calories: 305kcal | Carbohydrates: 171g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 32g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 23g | Sodium: 1930mg | Potassium: 27mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 6mg | Iron: 0.2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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make ahead/leftovers

Storage instructions

The raw dough will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for at least 3 days. It's best to work with the dough cold, so you'll shape it right out of the refrigerator.

I don't recommend freezing raw yeast dough, since it can kill the yeast. Just parbake the shaped crust, let it cool, wrap it tightly, and store it in the freezer for up to 3 months. Defrost at room temperature, top, and finish baking according to the recipe instructions.

Leftover slices of pizza can be wrapped tightly in freezer-safe wrap and refrigerated for up to 3 days. Just unwrap, sprinkle with water, and place in the toaster oven for about 5 minutes at 300ยฐF or until fully refreshed.

Overhead image of a ball of gluten free pizza dough and flour

FAQs

Can I make this dough by hand?

I've only been able to make a smooth dough using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or a food processor. That's how you mix the ingredients fully and get a smooth, aerated dough. Some readers have reported being able to make it really vigorously by hand with a Danish dough hook and then kneading it by hand with as little added extra flour as possible.

Can I bake this recipe without a pizza stone?

Yes! Place an overturned rimmed baking sheet in the oven to allow as much air circulation as possible. Or try a perforated pizza crisper.

Can I use almond flour as an all purpose gluten free flour?

No, almond flour can never be used as an all purpose gluten free flour blend, so you can't use it to make this particular gf pizza dough recipe, which has been developed to be made with a rice-based all purpose blend. Try our Paleo pizza recipe instead.

Why is my crust crumbly?

If you've added too much gluten free flour blend by not measuring by weight, used a different flour blend that isn't good quality, or overmeasured the oil you pizza crust can appear crumbly.
If it's dry and crumbly, try adding more water by the teaspoon until it's smooth. If it's dry and oily, try working in more gluten free flour.

What do you mean when you say the dough should look “whipped”?

This only means that the dough should be fully aerated, and stick to the sides of the mixing bowl as you mix it. It makes the dough much easier to handle, and allow you to roll it smooth when you shape it.

Do I let the dough rise after I shape it?

No, that isn't necessary. The only rise is for the yeast to become active and develop flavor. The rise of the pizza crust itself will be mostly in the oven during the first bake, before you add toppings. As long as your oven is hot enough, you'll see the crust puff and blister almost immediately.

A basic recipe for gluten free pizza dough is one of the single most important staples to have in your kitchen. It's super simple to make, freezes well, and defrosts easily. #glutenfree #pizza #recipes
A close up of a slice of pizza crust
Overhead image of parbaked gluten free pizza without toppings

About Nicole Hunn

Hi, Iโ€™m Nicole. I create gluten free recipes that really work and taste as good as you remember. No more making separate meals when someone is GF, or buying packaged foods that arenโ€™t good enough to justify the price. At Gluten Free on a Shoestring, โ€œgood, for gluten freeโ€ just isnโ€™t good enough!

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132 Comments

  1. Jacquie says:

    Will definitely try this! I haven’t commented before but I want to tell you that you have fabulous recipes and I greatly appreciate that you are sharing them with us. Thank you.

    1. Nicole Hunn says:

      You’re so welcome, Jacquie. I’m so glad you took a chance and commented, and I’m so grateful for the trust you place in my recipes.

  2. Wendy Cassidyโ€™s. says:

    I followed the recipe. My dough never looked whipped and itโ€™s been in a warm spot for an hour and itโ€™s barely risen. Not sure where I went wrong. I used the Bobโ€™s Mills 1:1 gf, and added the extra xanthum gum.

    1. Nicole Hunn says:

      Hi, Wendy, this dough only needs to rise for flavor development. The purpose of beating the dough until it takes on a whipped appearance is to aerate it, but most of the rise in the finished pizza is in the oven. Unfortunately, Bob’s Red Mill products, although they seem to have improved, still are of inconsistent quality and sometimes you literally just get a bad batch. There’s no way for me to know if you experienced that, though, I’m afraid.

  3. JesusPaidITAll says:

    5 stars
    Awesome, thank you!

  4. Keith Crossley says:

    Reviewing comments about the dough being “whipped”.

    I used a food processor. Why is explained on serious Eats here: https://www.seriouseats.com/basic-new-york-style-pizza-dough (ignore the gluten development notes :)

    I processed the dough till it seemed, well, “aerated” which could equate to “whipped”. Not like whipped cream but fluffy.

    Turning it out, it was a revelation in how malleable and workable it was.

  5. Keith Crossley says:

    5 stars
    I make my own pizza dough (glutenous) but have not been satisfied with my wife’s available choices at the store. So finding this was great. And, for the first attempt we both had this gluten-free pizza and it was quite satisfying for us both. Kudos!

    I was impressed by the “workability” of the dough. Other GF recipes are more like spreading mud. This was dough!

    Recipe calls for dividing in half; I divided it into fours for a good-size personal pizza. We each ended up eating half of one “personal” pizza.

    Curious on the nutrition numbers: 171 carbs. Is that the whole recipe or one of the halves? And, if I’m thinking this right, should I divide 171 by 8 for the serving we had?

    1. Nicole Hunn says:

      Nutrition information is always per serving, Keith, which here is 2 pizzas without toppings as stated in the recipe notes. So, 1 pizza.

  6. Shannon says:

    My dough looked whipped but wasn’t light and fluffy. I use your mock better batter flour blend, measured carefully by weight. There’s SOME air in it but not light at all.

    1. Nicole Hunn says:

      The “whipped” appearance is just how you know that you’ve mixed the dough enough, Shannon. It doesn’t mean that the dough will actually be light. Sounds like you did just fine. :)

  7. Denise says:

    I just made the dough, it did whip but it is not light or fluffy by any means, feels heavy and look like play dough but is much harder. is this normal?

    1. Nicole Hunn says:

      Did you use one of my recommended gluten free flour blends, Denise, and measure by weight? The dough sounds a bit too dry (although it is a relatively stiff dough). It sounds like you either used a high-starch blend that absorbed too much water or overmeasured the flour if you measured by weight.

  8. Trenton Smith says:

    5 stars
    Great recipe – thank you for sharing! I followed to a โ€œtโ€ and my dough never reached a โ€œwhippedโ€ state. Only got to small to medium sized dough balls. Did I misunderstand part of process? Thanks for the help!

    1. Nicole Hunn says:

      Did you use one of my recommended flour blends, measure by weight and not make any ingredient substitutions, Trenton? If the recipe worked for you, though, I wouldn’t worry too much about the shape and texture of the dough right after mixing.