This 2-Ingredient Quinoa Crust is both a naturally gluten free pie crust and a naturally vegan pie crust. It serves amazing as quiche crust and if made flat even as quinoa pizza crust.
I am SO proud of this recipe! SO SO SO proud! I mean 2-Ingredient Quinoa Crust, the title says it all. It screams amazingness!!!
Ok, so, usually a gluten free pie crust has an ingredient list that makes you dizzy. In order to get the crust to resemble a regular wheat flour butter crust one has to work with several different gluten-free flours and/or all kinds of sticky stuff that isn’t egg or butter.
In case you haven’t noticed, all my gluten-free recipes are always recipes that do not try to imitate anything other than what they are. Gluten-free recipes should be naturally gluten-free in my opinion. Without trying to resemble anything other than what they are. That way they aren’t compared to anything else and just enjoyed without thinking something is missing.
Was this too confusing? I mean, I don’t like all those gluten-free “tastes like flour” sponge cakes that don’t taste like the real thing AT ALL and are almost always made of 10 million different flours to get a semi similar consistency to wheat flour.
Enough of the rants. Let’s get started!
A Quinoa Crust that Serves as Gluten Free Pie Crust and Quiche Crust And Pizza Crust
Yes, you can use this crust for savory quiches or sweet pies and even pizza crust. It’s super versatile. Quinoa has somewhat of a nutty flavor and tastes amazing both salty and sweet.
The first time I made it, I did have in mind that I wanted to make a vegan quiche. However, I didn’t want to experiment with brown rice flour, tapioca starch, egg replacer stuff, some sort of oil to replace butter and what not. I wanted something simple that tastes good and if possible boosts the quiche’s nutrition even further. The crust being gluten-free was simply a nice “side effect” :)
I figured, if the crust didn’t stick together as planned, and fell totally apart after baking, I could simply eat as a side. Right?
It did however hold its shape amazingly! Which is why I’m here today to share the recipe for the naturally gluten free crust itself. It deserves a whole blog post and recipe card.
I still have to experiment with it and use as gluten-free pie crust as in “sweet pie”. You can read in comments though that others have already had success with it. Add a little honey or maple syrup to the crust to make it sweet.
Naturally Vegan and Gluten Free Pie Crust or Quiche Crust
Quinoa is vegan, flax seed is vegan and water is vegan. Which makes this a naturally vegan pie crust or quiche crust in the most simple way that can be.
Ever heard of a 2-ingredient quinoa crust (3-ingredient if you count water) before? Ya, me neither. That’s why I had to invent it, hehe.
No egg needed to make it sticky, the quinoa itself mixed with the gooey sticky ground flax form the ‘dough’ into a beautiful crust. I mean look at this:
2-Ingredient Quinoa Crust Also Good as Quinoa Pizza Crust?
Absolutely! It didn’t occur to me until I made the crust alone without a quiche filling. But look at the picture. Think away the border and you’ve got a wonderful quinoa pizza crust.
I can totally imagine putting some delicious homemade tomato pizza sauce on this quinoa crust, top it with some delicious sliced fresh mozzarella and fire roasted veggies. *pure bliss*
I’ve never been a big pizza fan but I might just have converted into one with the pure thought of quinoa crust pizza.
Gluten Free Pie Crust Video
2-Ingredient Quinoa Crust
Ingredients
- 1 cup quinoa (170g)
- 1.5 cups water (350ml, or vegetable stock if making something salty)
- 2 Tbsp flax seeds
- 2 Tbsp water (possibly more water)
Instructions
- Grind flax seeds in a small coffee grinder and mix flax meal with 2 Tbsp water in a small bowl. Set aside.
- Cook quinoa in water as you would rice. Add 1 cup quinoa and 1.5 cups water into pot, bring to the boil, stir well, cover and immediately reduce heat to simmer. Simmer for about 10 minutes or until water is completely absorbed.
- Remove from heat and fluff with a spoon to prevent from sticking to bottom of pot and quickly cover again to keep in steam.
- Preheat oven to 400 F (200ºC).
- Let quinoa cool down enough to be able to work with it with your hands.
- Once quinoa is touchable, add flax meal mush to it and knead together with your hands until the flax seed is thoroughly mixed into the quinoa and everything forms kind of a dough.
- If the quinoa falls apart into its individual little seeds, add a little more water (1 Tbsp at a time) to make it stickier.
- The dough may kind of fall apart but in big chunks, not the individual seeds.
- Put dough in a lightly greased (especially the sides) 9" (24cm) separable tart pan and press into the pan with your fingers until bottom and sides are covered up to the edge.
- Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden.
- This crust serves for both sweet dessert tarts or pies or savory quiche-like tarts or pies.
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Chrystal Bagatin says
Calories 723 kcal?
I cannot see how. It is only one cup of quinoa and 2tbls of flaxseed.
Lorena says
Yes, the thing is 1 cup uncooked quinoa makes about 2.5-3 cups cooked quinoa and 1 cup of cooked quinoa has about 200 calories. Remember you won’t eat the whole crust alone. Or at least you shouldn’t haha.
Danny Lee says
Oh, I meant to ask – did you try it as a pizza crust?
Lorena says
Hi Danny, no I haven’t it’s very high on my to-do-list though. I hope I will be able to update the post soon with that info.
Danny Lee says
Awesome, thank you SO much!!
Kelly says
Hi. Like everyone else I’m glad I found this recipe! I’m going to try it with a pumpkin pie. I bought some gingerbread spice and want to add it to the crust. How much would you recommend adding? I’ll be sure to post how it turns out. 😁😉
Lorena says
WOW!! Kelly, that sounds amazing! Can’t wait to hear how it turned out. I would probably use 1 teaspoon. Too much of it can make it taste bitter. Clove is pretty strong when added too much.
Deena says
Hi, So glad I found this recipe. I am making a baked lemon flavoured (Canadian spelling) cheesecake made from thick Greek yogurt (put in cheesecloth overnight to take out excess whey). Should I bake the crust first cause of it being baked again? Also I will be putting about 2 tbsps of organic liquid honey in the mixture for a bit of sweetness. Should I then avoid adding the water? Thanks a lot! Deena
Lorena says
Hi Deena, I think you’ll be fine adding honey to the crust, no need to remove any water from the flax egg. You need the water to make the flax become gooey and eggy. How long does the yogurt filling have to go in the oven? Maybe bake the crust about 10 minutes, then add the filling? Greek Yogurt Cheesecake sounds amazing by the way!
Cara says
Hi! Can this be made in a standard pie dish or does it require a separable tart pan? Thanks!
Lorena says
Hi Cara, yes, you can make it in a standard pie dish, you just might not be able to take it out and the first pieces will maybe not be easy to cut out nicely.
Brielle says
I made this crust for a mango & berry fruit tart. I did add a T of honey to the mixture, just for some sweetness in the crust. I didn’t use any sweeteners on the fruit, so they were both just sweet enough and blended together beautifully. Thank you so much for this recipe!
Lorena says
Amazing Brielle!! Thank you so much for coming back and giving feedback. I’m so happy you liked the crust :) Good idea to add some honey for sweetness. Will try next time I make it!
Mary says
really like the look of this. Thanks for the weight measures as I do not use cups. I am thinking of trying the crust but mixing in fresh herbs.
Thank you so much…..I am going to be able to eat tarts again.
Mary
Lorena says
Hi Mary, you are very welcome. I’m German so cups and spoons are not the measurements I grew up with. I try to include both measurements always so aaaalll my readers from around the world can make my recipes :) Herbs in the crust!!! How did I never think of that. That is a brilliant idea!!
Eelke says
Ow this looks great! I’m really gonna try this soon!! I Love looking on pinterest for Nice healthy recipies , in Dutch or English. I’m not veagan or glutenfree, Just an healthy eater that likes to try New things. Thnx!! I’m gonna take a look at the rest of your website now! Greetings from the Netherlands.
Lorena says
Welkom Eelke! I’m not vegan and not gluten-free either but I love taking up the challenge to create healthy vengan and/or vegan meals for my friends who are vegan and/or gluten-free. Besides, it’s good for us omnivores, too ?
Nicki says
Interesting recipe! If using it for quiche (I want to make broccoli and cheese), do you bake it first or add the ingredients to the “raw” crust. The latter, I would think, but I look forward to hearing from you.
Lorena says
Hi Nicki, prepare the curst, prebake it at 400F for about 10 minutes while you prepare the filling, then fill and return to the oven for as long as the filling needs. This is so the crust dries out enough on top to not soak up all the filling. I hope your quiche turns out amazing. Broccoli and cheese certainly does sound like a delicious combination.
Melanie says
I think the word you are looking for is “whole food” … Vegan and gluten free foods often try to imitate other foods (as you said)… I don’t like that labelling for that very reason… This simple pie crust is a “whole food crust”! Made from two whole food ingredients, quinoa and flax.
It is simple and I am sure it will be delicious!
Thank you for this recipe!
Lorena says
Hi Melanie, you are right! Whole Food Crust would have been a great name for it!! Thank you for leaving such a thoughtful comment!
Glenna says
several years back I started using grams for all my measurements while trying to regain control over my portion sizes. I am no t gluten sensitive and love pasta. You would be surprised how much pasta I can cram into a cup but 56 grams of pasta is 56 grams of pasta!
Thanks for posting this recipe I used to the egg bake recipe but I wanted something other than prepared pie crust for a quiche and I think this one may work. Thanks!
Lorena says
You made me laugh Glenna, I see so many people cramming their cups with their less healthy foods they are allowed to eat, hahaha. I include a lot of imperial measurements because most my readers are in the US and Canada and they are used to using imperial I do however create almost all recipes using grams. It’s so much more exact.
aly says
Hi, I am Vegan so when I see the word “Vegan” in any recipe I am all over it like white on rice. Please continue to use the word “vegan” in your Vegan recipes as our choices are somewhat limited. ty
Lorena says
Hi Aly, you are very welcome. I’m glad you like the recipe :) I have a whole category for vegan recipes on my blog. You can check it out here: https://greenhealthycooking.com/category/vegan/ all the recipes under this category are either vegan or suggest options to veganize :)
Sandra says
Yes, don’t be afraid of the word vegan!
Lorena says
:)
Lee says
How much flax is that if it’ s already ground? How much quinoa if it’s already cooked? …as in left-over quinoa. That info would REALLY simplify the recipe.
Thanks!
Lorena says
Hi Lee, I just took all the measurements for you. Cooking 1 cup of quinoa (weighing 200g) in 1.5 cups of water (as opposed to commonly suggested 2 cups) ends up being 2.5 cups of cooked quinoa (weighing 430g). 2 Tbsp of flax seeds (weighing 25 grams) end up being 3.5 Tbsp of ground flax seeds (still weighing 25g of course). I hope this helps :)
Anita says
I just found your recipe on Pinterest this morning. I tried it for lunch with tomatoes, zucchinis, thyme and garlic, first sautéed in olive oil, covered with Parmesan and gently grilled: it’s perfect. My husband and I really like it. And it’s really healthy compared to a traditional pie crust.
I think it’s going to be a classical pie crust in my vegetarian cooking now.
Thank you for this recipe.
Hope you can understand my English (I’m French)
Have a nice day.
Anita
Lorena says
Anita, your English is perfect! I’m so glad you liked the crust! Thank you for coming back and commenting. You made my day :)
sonia says
I will be posting this on my Instagram blog (instacleanfoods) for reference. I know what you mean by “you are so so so proud of this recipe”, I have been searching for this for a long time and SOMEONE DID IT!!!! Thank you so much! The majority of people in my household prefer vegan stuff and this will allow me to make dozens of pie recipes i want to try for them . I cant wait to try it after exams, Thanks again!
Lorena says
Hi Sonia, I’m so happy you like it that much :D Let me know what creations you came up with in the end :)
Sandra says
Thanks for sharing your creation. I will try it today to make an asparagus tart. I am not vegan, I just like to make/provide healthy food for my family and myself. I totally understand your point about this recipe being what it is and not trying to imitate what it is not. This is a quinoa and flax crust and that is amazing! They are so nutritious and tasty. No need to taste like a traditional pie crust! Thanks again
Lorena says
Thank you for your thoughtful comment Sandra. I’m glad you will give this recipe I try. I hope you come back and let me know how you liked it :)
Andrea Wyckoff says
This is such a creative idea! I love it! I have never tried a quinoa crust, but you have totally inspired me!
Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Lorena says
I’m glad I did Andre :D Let me know how it turned out for you.