California Pizza Kitchen Just Launched a Gluten-Free Chickpea Crust Pizza

There’s something about California Pizza Kitchen that spells comfort. Whether it’s memories of nights out with middle school friends or celebrating birthdays there (gotta love that free birthday dessert with CPK rewards). And while you may have moved on from your Hawaiian Pizza obsession, the national restaurant chain has certainly evolved with your tastes, too.

In fact, we’re pleased to announce that CPK has announced the launch of its Chickpea Crust Pizza today, a gluten-free, high-protein crust that ups the health stats on your next ‘za order without compromising flavor.

FYI: If you’re strictly vegan you’ll want to steer clear as the crust contains honey. The new crust will first be available starting June 22nd at select locations throughout Southern California and Florida to start.

For this phase, the product will be tested in 21 locations:

• Southern California: Huntington Beach, Lakewood, Long Beach Marketplace, Manhattan Beach, Marina Del Rey, Rainbow Harbor, Redondo Beach, Rolling Hills, Santa Monica
• Florida: Boca Raton, Coconut Point, Fort Lauderdale, International Plaza, Millenia Mall, Naples, Palm Beach Gardens, Pembroke Lakes Mall, Sarasota, Sawgrass Mills, Waterford Lakes, Wellington Green

“Chickpea Crust represents the very best of CPK culinary — first to market, creative, and most importantly, the product brings new health benefits while maintaining the incredible California-inspired pizza taste our guests love,” said CPK CEO Jim Hyatt in a company press release. “We have incredible business momentum following a challenging pandemic year and Chickpea Crust is another example of how we are moving CPK forward.”

“At CPK, we’ve always been proud to answer the question ‘what’s next?’ for our guests, before they ask. We did it with a gluten-free crust, then with Cauliflower Pizza Crust, and now we’re thrilled to innovate once again with the introduction of Chickpea Pizza Crust,” added SVP of Culinary Innovation, Brian Sullivan in the same statement. “We’re excited to finally share what we’ve been working on, and to continue bringing bold and creative culinary ideas to our guests.”

Whether you’re simply looking to eat healthier, are a vegetarian, or embrace a plant-based lifestyle, CPK has several spectacular plant-forward options, including the vegan limited-edition Avocado Super Green Pizza (featuring cilantro pesto, smashed avocado, baby greens, cucumber, red onion, house-made salsa verde, fresh lime, and toasted sesame seeds) or the Plant-Based BBQ Chicken Pizza (just hold the cheese; you can also order plant-based chicken substitute à la carte). Guests can also order pizzas with veggie toppings, marinara sauce, or olive oil, and without cheese to customize plant-based pizzas. The new Chickpea Crust can be ordered with any toppings you’d like.

We suppose this evening sounds like a good one for a pizza night.