Product Review: Udi’s Pizza Shell (gluten free / dairy free, contains egg)

Let me start by saying that I’ve never made a pizza shell before (gluten free or otherwise) so this was a new experience for me. I also haven’t had gluten containing pizza in about 20 years (I’ve only been on a gluten free diet for about six years but have been on a dairy free diet for over twenty!) so I’m comparing to memory mostly. I have had GF/DF Pizza at Pizza Fusion and occasionally have frozen GF/DF pizzas by Amy’s.

Udi's Gluten Free / Dairy Free Pizza Shells
with Boar's Head Dairy Free Turkey Pepperoni

On to the review: I’ve had a package of Udi’s GF Pizza Shells in my freezer for a couple of weeks now. I was on a hunt for pork free/dairy free pepperoni. While I found plenty of turkey pepperoni they all contained lactic acid starter culture which is often derived from milk (not sure exactly which part of milk makes me sick). I even considered meatless pepperoni but these were all made from wheat protein. I finally settled on Boar’s Head gluten free turkey pepperoni that claimed it was also milk free (even though it also contained lactic acid starter culture).

Just a quick tangent on Boar’s Head. I gave them a call and their lactic acid is not sourced from dairy. As a matter of fact, as of this writing, only four of their meats contain dairy (Mortadella, Chorizo, Pesto Parmesan Ham, and Italian Style Roast Beef with Braciole Seasoning). Oh, and they make these at the end of the day so they are sure nothing else is cross contaminated!

Ok, back to the pizza. I defrosted one of the shells (I let it sit out for maybe 10 minutes, it fully defrosted pretty quickly) and a small container of sauce I had frozen for eventual use on pizza. I covered the center of the shell with about 3 or 4 tablespoons of No Tomato Pizza sauce (of course, those who can, can use tomato sauce) and baked it for the recommended seven minutes at 375.

I then covered it with shredded Vegan Gourmet Mozzarella Cheese, a couple of slices of Boar’s Head Turkey Pepperoni and broiled it for 3-5 minutes more. In hindsight this was a mistake. The package instructions are for regular cheese that melts, I should have only baked the shell and sauce for 3-4 minutes before adding the vegan cheese and broiling. The edges of the crust were a touch more well-done than I had hoped. [That’s the nice way of saying – burnt!] I made the second shell two days later and these reduced times worked perfectly!

One other tip, don’t layer the shredded vegan gourmet too thick or the pieces underneath will liquefy and not melt correctly. Besides this not being the correct texture, you could burn yourself. I used about half the package but probably should have only used a third or so.

The pizza itself was great! The crust was thin but dense and chewy. It held together perfectly. It is a hair thicker than I remember thin crust pizza being but it is much more pizza-like than the Amy’s frozen pizza crusts (by-the-way: I do really like the Amy’s, I just accept that their crust is thicker and fluffier). The crust is also thicker than the Still Riding gluten free crusts most NJ pizzerias seem to be using but it was more malleable. If you don't over cook the crust (see above) it even folds like real pizza! (But, at 8” round, you really don't need to.)

Overall, I really liked them and will most likely buy them again. Dinner was ready in about 20 minutes (including defrosting, shredding, etc.) which on a busy weeknight wasn’t bad at all.

I’ve seen these in a lot of places that carry Udi’s other products. If you can’t find them you can order them at the Gluten Free Mall here: Udi's Gluten-Free Pizza Crusts.

Other product reviews you may be interested in:

 Feel Good Foods Asian Style GF Dumplings

Using Udi's GF Hotdog Bun to make a sub sandwich