Garlic Yuca Flatbread

Come one, come all! The time has come! Whether you’re following a gluten-free, Paleo, Vegan, or Autoimmune Protocol, there is now a scrumptious flatbread that you can eat without guilt!

Who could believe that delicious flatbread can be made simply by boiling some yuca, blending it with oil, salt and garlic powder (or any other spices you like), rolling it out, and baking it! It really is too good to be true! Thank you Jennifer Robbins of PredominenatlyPaleo.com for discovering this ingenious fact! While I use a similar “yuca dough” recipe to make this flatbread, Jennifer calls hers pizza crust. Two AMAZING options! See her full recipe and video links below.

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One of my husband’s favorite sayings is, “Everything is easy when you know how to do it.” This idea totally applies to making yuca flatbread. While it isn’t complicated, there are a few tips and tricks that will help avoid some common pitfalls. We’ll take it step by step. Mastering the making of this dough is very important, since it’s the foundation of countless recipes to come!

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See Full Printable Recipe at the Bottom of Post.

Ingredients:

– 4 cups fresh or frozen yuca, peeled, boiled and cut into chunks (This is the equivalent of one 1 1/2 pound bag of Goya frozen yuca or 2 medium sized fresh yuca.)

–  3 tablespoons avocado oil – divided

– 1/2 teaspoon organic garlic powder

– 1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt (chosen for its high level of purity and mineral content)

– parchment paper

This flatbread can be made using either fresh or frozen yuca. The result will be the same either way, so use whatever feels more comfortable for you. If using frozen, it’s already peeled, cut, and ready to be boiled. There’s no need to even defrost it before boiling. Many find frozen yuca to be much more convenient.

Frozen Yuca

If using fresh yuca it must be fully peeled before it gets boiled. For step by step instructions on how to peel yuca see: About Yuca: How to Peel Fresh Yuca (Cassava) on this site.

Fresh Yuca 

Peeled Fresh Yuca

Once fresh yuca is peeled, cut it into 3 or 4 pieces and place it in a pot of boiling water. Ensure that the yuca is fully covered by water. Once water returns to a boil, cook 15-20 minutes, until just fork tender. It is very important not to overcook! Drain in a colander.

Once cool enough to handle, cut each piece of yuca in half lengthwise (top to bottom) and remove the stick-like stem that runs through the center.

Chop boiled yuca into small chunks before placing it into food processor. *Pulverize yuca in small batches (1 to 1 1/2 cups at a time) to avoid overheating the machine. Overheating the food processor is very easy to do and can be one of the most frustrating parts of making yuca dough. No one wants to wait 10 minutes for the machine to cool down in the middle of making dough! When I first started making this I would overheat my machine many times in the same day!!! Now I just pulverize about 1 cup at a time and it’s “easy peasy lemon squeezy” – as my daughters used to say! Trust me on this one. You will save a lot of time in the end.

I use a Vitamix which works very well because of its tamper (a tool used to push the food down onto the blade while it spins.) If using a different food processor you may need to stop a few times to scrape yuca off the wall of the bowl so that it blends completely.

Yuca chunks literally transform into dough in under a minute! (maybe a bit longer if a Vitamix isn’t being used.) It’s truly exciting to witness the first time you do it! Check out my little video!

Once dough forms, place it onto a cutting board lined with parchment paper. Beware – dough can be very sticky! Parchment paper is a non-stick surface which is needed to easily work with this dough. If dough seems too sticky to work with there are a few tricks that will help.

1. I try not to touch the dough much. I spoon it from the Vitamix right onto parchment paper. I then place a second piece of parchment on top, then roll it out.

2. Refrigerating or freezing dough for a few minutes will help greatly to reduce stickiness.

3. Kneading a little tapioca flour, arrowroot flour or coconut flour into the dough and keeping fingertips coated in flour will help as well. For more tips see  About Yuca: Tips For Handling Sticky Dough.

Using a rolling pin, roll out dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper.  Decide how thick or thin to make it. Thinner dough will come out crispier, although this also depends on how long it’s cooked. I love it crispy along the edges and a little soft and doughy in the center.

Remove top piece of parchment and place flatbread (along with bottom piece of parchment) on a cookie sheet. If top parchment sticks to the dough, place the whole thing into the refrigerator or freezer for a few minutes. The top parchment will then easily be removed.

Brush top of flatbread with a little avocado oil. Sprinkle with a pinch of Himalayan sea salt and garlic powder (according to taste.)

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-25 minutes, depending on thickness. Once edges start to brown and a spatula easily slides between flatbread and parchment, it’s ready to be flipped. Cook on second side for an additional 5-10 minutes – until reaching desired doneness.

Adjust cooking time according to how doughy or crispy you like it. Cooking at a higher temperature (400 degrees) will make the dough crispier as well. It can come out soft and bendable like a typical pizza crust or more crispy like a cracker. There’s no right or wrong way to bake these. They come out delicious no matter what!

Slice immediately into desired shapes with a pizza cutter. Delays in cutting will make slicing more difficult and increase breakage. Enjoy!

Variation:  “Everything But The Bagel” Flatbread – One of my favorite variations is topping this flatbread with Trader Joe’s “Everything But the Bagel Seasoning Blend.” This seasoning contains all the toppings you would expect on an “Everything bagel” including sesame seeds, sea salt, garlic, onion, and poppy seeds (I’m happy to say there are no caraway seeds and no gluten ingredients.) Who needs bagels when you have this! Cut into whatever shape you want. Eat plain or top with anything you would put on a bagel! Yummy “whole-food” goodness!!! *Note- the addition of this seasoning would prevent this flatbread from being approved for those following an autoimmune protocol.

Trader Joe’s Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend 2.3 Oz

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See Original Recipe by Jennifer Robbins here at PredominanatlyPaleo.com

See Video – Yuca Dough – PredominanatlyPaleo.com

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Healthy Eating Tip: Make extra and freeze them! Spend the time once to boil up a big batch of yuca, blend in food processor in 1 cup batches, then roll out into individual flatbreads. (I make each individual flatbread with 1 cup of boiled, chopped yuca.) Separate each flatbread with parchment paper, place in an airtight plastic bag, and store in your freezer until you’re ready for a warm, fresh flatbread in about 30 minutes. Simply toss one into the oven to bake while you prepare the rest of your dinner (or bake one to enjoy as a delicious snack anytime!) To retain freshness of leftovers, freeze baked flatbread on the day it’s baked. Baked flatbreads won’t stay fresh when simply wrapped up and left at room temperature or put in the refrigerator.

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What if you want to make flatbread, but don’t own a food processor? You’re in luck! Stacy from PaleoGoneSassy.com has devised a way to make this same yuca dough on the stovetop with grated yuca/cassava! The main reason I don’t do it this way is because I haven’t found a store near me that carries grated yuca. The one time I found it was at a Wal-Mart and they only had one package Goya grated yuca left! Unfortunately, it isn’t carried at the Wal-Mart near my house. You can check Wal-Mart.com using the store locator to see if it’s carried at a store near you. It can also be gotten at Asian markets if you live near one. Click here to check out Stacy’s technique.  

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I can’t wait to hear your feedback about these incredible grain-free, egg-free flatbreads! Once you master the making of this dough there is no limit to what you can create with yuca!  Give them a try and let me know any new variations you come up with!

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Print

Yuca Garlic Flatbread

Makes four 8” round flatbreads

Course: brunch, Side Dish, Snack

Cuisine: American, dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, Italian, nut-free, Paleo, soy-free, vegan

Keyword: bread, cassava, flatbread, garlic bread, pita chips, yuca

Servings: 4 10-12 inch flatbreads

Author: Lauren from Crazy For Yuca

Ingredients

• 4 cups peeled, boiled, chopped yuca (1 bag frozen or about 2 fresh yuca)
• 2 Tbsp avocado oil - divided. Plus additional to brush on top of flatbreads before placing in oven.
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan sea salt - divided. Plus a sprinkle on top of rolled out yuca before placing in oven.
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder - divided. Plus a sprinkle on top of rolled out yuca before placing in oven.
• parchment paper

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.

2. Meanwhile, if using fresh yuca, remove bark-like peel with a vegetable peeler or sharp knife before boiling. See: About Yuca: How To Peel Fresh Yuca (Cassava.) Once peeled, cut each yuca root into 3 or 4 pieces. Place frozen or peeled fresh yuca pieces into boiling water - ensuring yuca is fully covered throughout boiling. Return to a boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, until fork tender.  Drain water.

3. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

4. Once cool enough to handle, place cooked yuca on cutting board and cut each piece in half lengthwise (from top to bottom) to remove the stick-like center.

5. Cut boiled yuca into chunks (the smaller the better - to not overwhelm your food processor.)

6. Place yuca chunks into food processor (I use a Vitamix) in batches of about 1 - 1 1/2 cups. Add 1-2 tsp avocado oil, 1/4 tsp sea salt and 1/4 tsp garlic powder per cup of yuca. Blend for about 30 seconds until a dough forms. (It will likely take a bit longer with a traditional food processor.)

7. Spoon dough onto a cutting board lined with parchment paper. Note: dough is very sticky. Either spoon directly on to parchment paper without touching it or knead some arrowroot, tapioca, or coconut flour into dough until it can be handled without sticking to fingers.

8. Using a rolling pin, roll out dough between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Decide how thick or thin to make it. Thinner flatbread will be crispier and thicker will be softer.

9. Remove top piece of parchment paper and place rolled-out crust and bottom piece of parchment paper onto a cookie sheet. Brush the top of the dough with a thin layer of avocado oil and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt and garlic powder.

10. Place in preheated oven and bake. For thin flatbread - bake for 20 minutes before flipping. It's ready to be flipped when edges begin to brown and a spatula easily slides between flatbread and parchment. If flatbread is sticking to parchment, cook for a few additional minutes before flipping. Cook on second side for 5-10 minutes. For thicker flatbread, cook a bit longer. 

    Adjust cooking time according to desired crispiness. It can be soft and bendable like pizza crust or more crispy like a cracker.  

11. Remove from oven. Slice immediately using a pizza cutter. Delays in slicing may cause it to crumble upon cutting. Enjoy!!

Recipe Notes

Variation:  "Everything But The Bagel" Flatbread - One of my favorite variations is topping this flatbread with Trader Joe's "Everything But the Bagel Seasoning Blend." This seasoning contains all the toppings you would expect on an "Everything bagel" including sesame seeds, sea salt, garlic, onion, and poppy seeds (I'm happy to say there are no caraway seeds.)  Simply roll out dough, brush with avocado oil, and sprinkle with amount of "Everything But The Bagel Seasoning" preferred. A true favorite!!

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Disclaimer– In Crazy for Yuca I write about my own personal health and diet journey.  My experience and recipes are not to be considered expert advice or suggestive that anyone follow any particular diet protocol.  Each person’s body and medical issues are individual and need to be evaluated by a medical professional.  If you have any concerns due to your specific diagnoses, please consult your doctor before eating yuca.