Easy, cheesy pizza made with a simple yet totally delicious cauliflower crust – it’s healthy and tastes SO good!
Cauliflower crust. It’s been mysteriously floating around the internet, occasionally catching my eye every now and then for the past year or two and my reaction has gradually been warming up over time. At first sight, I thought ewe, gross, never. But then as I have ventured out into the world of flourless cookies and quinoa, I’ve realized that usually very healthy (while often strange) foods are totally delicious.
All I’m saying here is that cauliflower crust is something you really need to try. Scratch that. This cauliflower crust is something you really need to try. Because really, I can’t vouch for any recipe but his one. And this one, is very very good.
Let’s be serious for a second though because there is one thing we really need to address. Does this taste like regular pizza crust? Really…. Do we have to ask that? It’s not made from flour and yeast and eggs and water, it’s made from cau-li-flow-er. Not flour. No, it does not taste like a traditional flour pizza crust. But is it crazy delicious and does the most incredibly mouth-watering aroma waft from your oven while it is baking?? YES.
So how does one go about turning cauliflower into the base for a cheesy pizza? It’s a simple 4 step process. First you throw the cauliflower florets into your food processor and pulse for about 30 seconds til it’s fluffy. Then microwave it for a few minutes, and lastly you squeeze all of the excess water out of the cauliflower and it’s ready to be mixed with the rest of the ingredients.
After you mix all of the other ingredients with the cauliflower, just roll it out like normal pizza dough and bake it – and here’s the key – on the rack. Just crust on top of foil on top of oven rack. This helps to get the crust nice and crispy. After adding the sauce and the cheese, you put it back in the oven, this time on a baking sheet or pizza stone.
Don’t be shy with the toppings now, go crazy with your grilled chicken, pepperoni, or ham and pineapple. Mmmmmmm.
- 1 medium-large head of cauliflower
- 1 egg
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 cup pizza sauce
- 1-2 cups shredded Italian style cheese (such as mozzarella)
- optional: fresh basil
- Preheat oven to 420. Line with a piece of aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Chop the stems off of the cauliflower and discard (or save for another recipe.) Roughly chop the remaining florets. Place florets in a food processor and pulse until you have a finely chopped cauliflower "snow". (You should have 2-3 cups of the "snow".)
- Place cauliflower "snow" in a microwave safe bowl and microwave on high for 4 minutes. Pour the cauliflower out on a tea towel (or on paper towels) and allow to cool for a couple of minutes. Use the tea towel to wring out the excess water from the cauliflower. (Alternatively, you can use paper towels to grab a handful of cauliflower at a time and squeeze out the excess water.) You want to get all possible moisture out of the cauliflower or it will crumble when baked. Your cauliflower will now resemble a pulp-like substance.
- Add the cauliflower "pulp" to a large bowl. Add egg, salt, parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder to the bowl and mix with your hands until all ingredients are incorporated. Shape it into a ball, then place the ball in the center of your prepared baking sheet. Roll out into a circle. Transfer the crust on the foil only to the oven. (Not the pan, just place the foil or right on the oven rack). Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden. Remove from oven and return the crust and foil to the baking sheet. Spread pizza sauce on top. Sprinkle with cheese (and any other desired toppings) and return to oven (on the baking sheet) for another 10-15 minutes until cheese is melty. Serve warm and top with fresh parsley or basil if desired.
*Recipe adapted from Tasty Kitchen
I love making cauliflower crust pizza! It’s much lighter and tastier!
I absolutely LOVE cauliflower crust, even by itself. I’m surprised you just tried it but naturally it is going to be your go-to when you’re craving pizza!
This sounds amazing! I tried making cauliflower pizza twice…once it was okay, not great. Second time? Stuck my wooden spoon into the food processor to push the cauliflower down and BOOM! Broken food processor and cauliflower all over the kitchen. It was a scarring experience to say the least, but I want to try it again, especially with your tips to make it extra yummy! Pinned, and going to work up the nerve to try this soon 🙂
Oh no! Last summer I was making a blueberry spinach smoothie and the lid wasn’t on tight enough on my Blendtec and my oh my did it make a mess. I was taking action shots in my living room too so it made a HUGE mess all over our plantation blinds – I think we still have a couple of purple stains!! Don’t stick your spoon in their this time Rachel!!! 😉 🙂
It looks amazing! I’ve seen it all over Pinterest and have wondered so many times about it. I’ve gotta try it.
See you’re like me, I kept thinking uhhhhh, cauliflower in my pizza?? But so glad I finally gave it a shot, it’s definitely different but the cheese in the crust is my favorite part! 🙂
Loving the idea of a cauliflower crusted pizza.. this is something I have never tried before and must do so. So healthy and I bet delicious too!
I also just had my first go at cauliflower crust and loved it! Great idea to bake right on the oven rack. Going to try that next time!
Burning my mouth to eat because I was anxious to try it! As you said it’s not regular pizza crust, but it’s very good. Trying to really limit my carb (due to dietary issues) so this was a great Friday night pizza idea. I did add pepperoni and mushroom to the top layer of cheese. Very good, thank you.
Mmmmm pepperoni & mushrooms?? Yes please!!!
Dear Tiffany, congrats for your awesome blog. I discovered it today and have pinned lots of recipes so that i can try them out.
I have a question – I don’t have a microwave – how can I prepare the cauliflower for a Cauliflower Crust Pizza ?
Please advise
Thanks
Romina
Hi Romina, You can boil the cauliflower til tender.
I make this on a regular basis and make extra largerectancqle on cookie sheet…then cut in half, cut again and freeze. When my family eats regular pizza I have mine. Frees well in food saver seal bags. Lovin the way it goes in on foil first then back to pan.