Lentil Prosciutto Parmesan Pizza – Lentils, mmmmmm, let me count the ways I love thee! We have lots of lentil recipes on our site. We also always, have lots of lentils at the ready in our pantry too. Green, red and black beluga lentils are wonderful for a quick dish like Lentils Ole. One of our absolute favorite vegetarian recipes and one that I have made a hundred times.
We have instituted vegetarian meals or Meatless Mondays if you would like to call it, for well over a decade. Lentils fill in on many of those nights. A Carrot, Parsnip and Lentil Casserole is another great dish to celebrate lentils with. I have put lentils into salads such as Curry Lentil and Butternut Squash Salad or stuffed them into tomatoes like this Greek Stuffed Tomatoes with Quinoa and Black Lentils. They have gone into soups like this Garden Harvest Soup or a great Mulligatawny Soup. We even went to the dark side and added bacon to a dish of Black Beluga Lentils.
Lentils are very versatile as you can see but I wanted to show you even more ways. Three ways actually in just this one recipe. You don’t have to go as crazy as we did with this recipe putting in lentils in every step but my point is to add them to meals, they create color and texture like no other. They are healthy for you with great dietary fiber. They provide a lean protein and are high in folate and iron. One cup are almost all you need for folate and iron for the day!
Let’s move on to taste, the most important of all. Lentils have a mild nutty flavor and they lend themselves to many spices, flavors and dishes. You can cook up black lentils with a smashed clove of garlic and once they are cooked and drained just add salt, they make for a nutty wonderful snack just on their own. They have a very mild flavor to, as you can see with the above recipes you can add them to so many cuisines. Today we went Italian with pizza.
We added red lentils to the pizza dough by making homemade lentil flour. Look at the little orange specks, so pretty!! We still did a regular gluten pizza dough but just subbed in some of the lentil flour for the all purpose flour. Lentil flour is easy to make too, I will show you how.
We cooked up lentils and added them to the sauce. Red lentils become very soft with cooking and can be easily added to a sauce like this pizza sauce.
Fresh mozzarella was baked on top. Got to have lots of cheese. You can crisp that cheese up under the broiler to if you like.
We then added black beluga lentils on top with the proscuitto, arugula and parmesan. A great combination of flavors. Try this delicious and healthy pizza for lunch or dinner. For a quick fix buy a ready made pizza pie crust, you will then have this built and ready to eat in no time at all.

Lentil Prosciutto Parmesan Pizza
A pizza showcasing how versatile the great lentil is by using lentils three ways.
Ingredients
Homemade Lentil Flour
- 1/2 cup red lentils
Pizza Dough
- 1 cup warm water
- 1 Tbsp. active, dry yeast
- 1 Tbsp. honey
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1/2 cup lentil flour
Pizza Sauce
- 1/4 cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 Tbsp. olive oil
- Garlic Salt to taste
- 1/2 cup pizza sauce
- 200 gms. sliced fresh mozzarella
Black Lentils
- 1/4 cup black lentils, picked over and rinsed
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 garlic clove, smashed but still whole
- Salt
Pizza toppings
- Prosciutto
- Arugula
- Shaved Parmesan
- Cooked black lentils
Instructions
- For the lentil flour: Clean the lentils and rinse well and drain very well. Dry between paper towels and then lay the lentils out on new paper toweled lined cookie sheet. Let them dry in a warm spot. Transfer the lentils to a dry skillet and toast over medium heat. Stir frequently so they don't burn. Let the lentils cool and then process in a small coffee or spice grinder until they are a fine powder. You may want to sift the flour if you are using only lentil flour for a recipe. We omitted this step so you could see the lentils in the dough.
- Pizza Dough: Directions: 1) In mixer bowl, pour in warm water and sprinkle yeast over the top. Mix in until it dissolves and then mix in honey. Wait 10 minutes or until it is frothy. 2) Add in salt, olive oil and 1/2 cup of flour. Using the paddle attachment on level 2, gently mix and gradually add flour until it forms a ball that clears the side of the bowl. 3) Switch to hook attachment and knead for 3 minutes on level 5. The dough should be elastic and keep a finger imprint when touched. 4) Remove the dough from the bowl. Lightly grease the bowl with olive oil. Place the dough back in and cover for 1 1/2 – 2 hours, until it has tripled in size.
- Pizza Sauce: Simmer the red lentils in the water until very tender, 12-15 min. Mash with a fork with the olive oil and garlic salt to taste. Add 1/2 cup of your favorite pizza sauce and stir well. Set aside.
- Black Lentils: Simmer the black lentils in the water with the garlic clove until just tender about 20 min. You don't want them mushy. Drain if there is any water left. Remove to a bowl and salt. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 425F. When the dough is ready roll out to desired size. This amount of dough will make two 12" pizzas. You can freeze the other half or double the sauce and make two. Place pizza on your favorite pizza pan or stone. Top with the sauce and the sliced mozzarella. Bake for 10-12 min. until pizza dough is cooked and browned. It may take longer in different ovens and on different pans and stones.
- Remove from the oven and immediately top with a handful of the black lentils. Top with arugula, torn prosciutto, Parmesan and more lentils. Serve immediately.
- If there are extra black lentils eat them for a snack! Delicious!
This post is part of a contest supplied by Canadian Lentils.
Comments & Reviews
Linda (Meal Planning Maven) says
Looks amazing and so full of great flavors Tara!
Noshing with the Nolands says
Thank you so much Linda!
Michelle @ The Complete Savorist says
Fantastic recipe. The inclusion of lentils is wonderful. Give this pie a boost of protein.
Noshing with the Nolands says
Thanks so much Michelle!
Janette@culinaryginger says
I would never think of putting lentils on a pizza, but I’m loving the idea.
Noshing with the Nolands says
They add such a great flavor, especially those black one, so nutty and delicious! Thanks Janette!
Nicole Neverman says
What a fantastic idea for a pizza. I bet this all tastes amazing together. I can’t say I have ever tried a pizza with lentils on it but I am dying to try this now!
Noshing with the Nolands says
Thanks so much Nicole!!
Susie Gall says
I have used lentils in soup, but you have introduced me to a whole new world. Thanks for sharing such a beautiful and innovative recipe. Great post – now, I’m on my way out the door to buy some lentils.
Noshing with the Nolands says
Thank you so much Susie!! We love our lentils!
Nicky says
This is a great pizza Tara. I love how you used lentils in the different ways.
Tara Noland says
Thank you so much Nicky!
Aggie says
Can you bring me this pizza for lunch? Pretty please?? Wow, it looks amazing. I’m so pizza crazy all the time, this one looks fantastic. Love the lentils!!!
Noshing with the Nolands says
We are pizza and lentils lovers here, thought I would combine them. Thanks for coming over Aggie!!
Renee says
I love lentils and that pizza is simply awesome!!
Tara Noland says
Thank you so much Renee!
Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen says
I love this Tara! You have inspired me to work with lentils if they can make a pizza that looks this scrumptious!!
Tara Noland says
Thank you so much Bobbi, we love our lentils!
Yum Goggle says
YG here thanking you for your submission – this is a very beautiful dish and although I have never had lentils on pizza, I’m eager to try it out!
Tara Noland says
Thank you so very much, I am so glad you like it!!
Heidy L. McCallum says
Amazing looking pizza recipe. LOVE the ingredients and can’t wait to try your unique recipe!
Tara Noland says
Thank you so much Heidy!
peter @feedyoursoultoo says
Love homemade pizza. The lentils are a truly interesting addition. Never thought to try that.
Tara Noland says
Thanks Peter!
mymansbelly says
I don’t know why it makes me so happy when I can ‘sneak’ healthy ingredients into a dish (we don’t even have kids) but it does. This pizza looks and sounds delicious.
Tara Noland says
LOL, I am always doing that!! But I love lentils and was eating them right out of the bowl when I was putting them on the pizza!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
I love the idea of lentils on the pizza both in the sauce and on top. Well done!
Tara Noland says
Thank you so much Maureen!
Del's cooking twist says
What an amazing idea, love the fact you’re using lentils in this recipe!
Tara Noland says
Thank you so much Del!!