Sooo I have a bit of a pizza obsession…honestly I could eat pizza every day. And I’m pretty much always willing to try a new pizza product. You may recall my review of the Trader Joe’s Cauliflower Pizza Crust that was a heartbreaking disappointment. That was why I didn’t want to get my hopes up too much when I found the Flatzza Sprouted Grain Pizza Crust but I had to give it a try.
This is from a company called Angelic Bakery which makes it seem even more virtuous. They come two in a package and are super thin crusts made from a mixed sprouted grain mash. They don’t carry the USDA Organic label, but they are non-GMO and are also produced in a very allergy-friendly facility (according to the label). As with the frozen cauliflower crust, there were a lot of factors I took into consideration here, including ingredients, nutrition information, texture, and flavor.
Verdict: We have a winner!
I have a new favorite pizza product and it’s these pizza crusts.
What’s the Deal with Sprouted Grains?
Sprouted grains are a bit of a fad right now, and for good reason. Sprouting the grains used in breads actually increases many of the key nutrients found in whole grains, such as B vitamins, vitamin C, folate, fiber, and certain amino acids. Sprouting the grains may also lessen their impact on individuals with food sensitivities as they have a lower gluten content and higher soluble fiber content than grains that have not been sprouted. These factors make sprouted grains a nice addition to your diet.
Now onto the product itself…
Nutrition
Looking at the Nutrition Facts, a serving of 1/4 of this crust contains 140 calories, a impressive 5 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein, and just 1 gram of sugar. It’s also a good source of Calcium and Potassium and a source of Iron. Depending on what you put on your pizza for toppings, you could feasibly up your serving size of this crust as well. As a heath coach, I love seeing 5s in the fiber and protein categories.
Ingredients
The first 6 ingredients in these crusts are the various sprouted grains found in them. From there, it’s all real food ingredients – no chemicals or artificial ingredients.
Flavor
OK so these are nice and nutritious, but do they taste like cardboard? They’re actually really yummy! They taste like pizza crust, not like cardboard. They have a very slight nuttiness from the grains. Because they’re a thin crust, it’s easy for the flavor to be kind of overpowered by the toppings but I found them to be just right for my tastes.
Texture
When it comes to the texture of a pizza crust, I will admit I am a huge snob. Floppy, soft, or soggy pizza crusts are an abomination. I like a nice, crispy pizza crust and was a little worried that these wouldn’t be able to deliver since they are thin and could presumably become water-logged by the liquid in the tomato sauce. This wasn’t the case though! It took longer to cook than the packaging says, but we got them nice and crispy, just the way I like. If you like your crust softer, just don’t bake it as long. If you are a crispy crust person like me, I also suggest pre-baking it for just a few minutes before you top it to further protect against the liquid in the sauce.
Price Point
For any of you who buy Ezekiel or other sprouted grain breads, you are probably bracing yourself for the price on these crusts – I know I was expecting $5+. We paid $2.99. For two crusts! My frugal little heart was very happy with this!
It’s Important to Note…
that the crust is just one component of the pizza and that what you choose to put on it can really make or break your meal nutritionally. This isn’t a nutrition miracle product.
Check out my recipe for a simple but delicious tomato sauce.
All in all, I am super happy with these pizza crusts and would definitely suggest them for your pizza night.
Please note that I am not affiliated with this product or company in any way and this post is solely for informational purposes for my clients.
After reading a few online reviews, I bought (on Jan. 18) the 5-pack of Flatzza Buddy (flatbread pizza crust) 7 sprouted whole grains with the date of Jan. 31, 2021 on it. That evening, I opened up the package and all the layers were stuck like glue together, plus four of the five had already cracked in half. It was hard to even separate one layer with a spatula. I baked it according to directions with simple toppings: pizza sauce (to which I added extra Italian seasonings, cooked ground sausage, onions, mushrooms, and light cheese) and baked it until the cheese was just beginning to brown. I took it out and it was a limp as a wet tortilla; I had to use kitchen scissors to cut into flabby slices. I was SO SO disappointed: the “flatbread” could have just been a flimsy whole wheat tortilla — feeling and tasting nothing like a pizza crust. On top of that, the “Peel and Reseal” packaging feature pulled off the top, but the package still would not open in any manner. I had to use scissors. I don’t know what to do with the other four “crusts,” but I certainly wasn’t going to try to make more pizzas with it. Makes me wonder if the larger Flatzzas 2-pack was more pizza-crust like, but I just don’t want to waste any more money on this product or brand. Sorry, but I was really let down.
Hi Lisa! I’m so disappointed to hear about your experience with this and I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy it! I’ve only been able to find the 2-packs so maybe it is possible that having 5 in a pack causes issues with added moisture as you posited? As I mentioned in my post, I found that to make these crispy, pre-cooking them for a bit before adding toppings was helpful and then I also continued to bake it longer than the packaging suggested until it got to the crispiness I prefer. It would be nice if they updated their packaging instructions to reflect the bake time needed for crispiness (please note that I am not affiliated with this company or product in any way – just a coach looking for things to recommend to clients). Do you have a favorite pizza crust product you recommend? I’m always looking to try new ones!