Taken from Part 2 of my winter break documentation, I’ve been loving my warm, filling and super quick n’ easy one-ingredient cakes. But instead of of taking it up and notch and giving it an Indian twist like in my curry cake, we’re going to Italy and making pizza! Unfortunately, I don’t have a heavily-visual dream to share with you guys, but I can tell you that I just woke up one morning with a major pizza craving. Of course, I didn’t ignore it and made a healthier version that’s oven free and super tasty!

Now, this version is quite far from your standard pizza. It’s more like a pie where you can’t exactly slice a piece and put it on a plate without everything falling apart, plus the crust isn’t crunchy on the edges and full of gluten. But regardless if you want to think of this as a pizza or not, you will not be disappointed with the taste!

You don’t even have to use a sweet potato–you can use a yam, a Japanese sweet potato, a purple sweet potato, heck, you can even use a normal golden or white potato. Japanese yams will yield a much denser, more bread-like texture that parallels pizza crust better. I just generally like the taste of sweet potatoes much more, plus white potatoes and my face aren’t exactly the chummiest pair in the bunch.

For this version, I used arugula, red bell peppers, mushrooms and marinara sauce, plus I kept all of my veggies completely raw. However, you can be a lot more creative than me and use any cheese, pepperoni, chicken, pineapple, spinach, basil, avocado, pesto, sausage, BBQ sauce, do whatever you want! You can’t really go wrong with a pizza, so as long as you make the right combinations. You can even make a dessert pizza with dark chocolate sauce, fruit, coconut, peanut butter and so much more!

RECIPE

• 1 sweet potato (the bigger, the better :D)
• Sauce of your choice; I used homemade marinara, but you can use peanut sauce, BBQ sauce, Sriracha, hummus, pesto, guacamole, basically anything–just keep it low in sodium and added sugars
  • Optional but highly recommended to retain flavor
• Protein of your choice; I recommend tofu, chicken, sausage, turkey, grass-fed beef, shrimp, smoked salmon, or eggs!
  • Optional, but recommended
• Vegetables of your choice; I used arugula, red bell peppers and mushrooms, but you can use anything you want–broccoli, kale, onions, spinach, tomatoes, potato, olives, artichokes and more
  • Can omit if you want
• Cheese of your choice; I recommend Mozzarella, cheddar, feta, Parmesan, goat cheese, Provolone, vegan cheese, you can even use a combo!
  • Optional

PROCEDURE

1. Cook your sweet potato until very soft–through baking, broiling, steaming, microwaving, boiling, etc.
2. Peel and mash your sweet potato in a bowl or on a plate. Set aside.
3. Assemble your toppings and sauce.
4. Layer sauce and toppings on top of your pizza.
5. Optional: reheat the pizza in the microwave if you want to melt or warm anything up!

What are your best ways to curb a craving? Favorite pizza toppings?