Oh cauliflower pizza crust, I have been skeptical of you for so long. So, so long. The first time I attempted a cauliflower crust was back in the day, long before Pinterest existed or I knew what a blog was, after getting a recipe from someone in my local gym. I didn’t love cauliflower at the time but I didn’t loathe it either. Plus, it came loaded with lots of cheese, so it had to be a win. Right?
Wrong. It was pretty terrible. So terrible in fact that, until I found this recipe—this recipe for The Best Cauliflower Crust Pizza ever—I vowed that I wouldn’t succumb to the trend once again.
Now, I’m so glad that I did. Michelle is one smart cookie.
Not only is the crust simple, it is FAST. That’s the key for me. Now, let me say that I don’t think I will ever replace my favorite pizza crust. I make a mean whole-wheat dough and love it all up. But this is an awesome recipe for when you want pizza and you are short on time, or when you want pizza but are willing to draw outside the lines a bit, or when you want pizza but need to stay away from gluten. Or maybe you’re trying to sneak in some extra veg. Story of my life.
This gets even better with an array of toppings. I am boring in my pizza choices so I kept it simple with some cheese and sauce. But now, all I’m envisioning is buffalo chicken, grilled vegetables, cheeseburger pizza, and other endless options. So excited. Let’s get started!
This is all you need for your crust: a small (emphasis on small!) head of cauliflower, one egg, some mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, garlic powder, oregano, basil and crushed red pepper flakes. That’s it! Plus, whatever toppings you choose.
This specific method uses a pizza stone or baking sheet. Begin by adding the stone or sheet to the oven and preheating your oven. Having a pizza peel is ideal, but if you have another object (like a cutting board) that you can flour, it will work too.
First up, add the cauliflower to your food processor and pulse.
You want it to look like cauliflower “snow.” That expression made me so happy.
Once your cauliflower is pulsed into tiny crumbs, you want to microwave it. Let it cool completely or else you’ll burn the heck out of your hands.
After the cauliflower has cooled, place it in a towel and ring the heck out of it to remove as much liquid as possible.
You will be left with something like this—a sort of cauliflower “pulp,” if you will.
Add in the cheeses and the spices and mix the mixture until combined. Then add in your egg.
Using your hands to bring the dough together is necessary, and it happens easily. Form the dough into a ball. Spray a sheet of parchment paper with nonstick spray and place it on top of a pizza peel. Add the dough ball on top.
Form the dough into a thin circle and bake it for a few minutes until golden.
It will look like this! At this point, it smells freaking delicious. Definitely good enough to eat. So much cheeeeeeese.
But clearly not enough cheese, as you add your toppings and bake it a bit longer. Uh huh.
Cheesy goodness. All the way.
Let the pizza cool slightly before cutting. By doing this, the crust remains intact.
Serve it up. Savor the cheese. So, so good.
I am so glad I took another shot at the cauliflower crust because my mind has changed. It’s totally a winner in my book. Thanks so much to Michelle for the fabulous recipe. Be sure to check out her blog, The Lucky Penny, for more delicious recipes.
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Description
This cauliflower crust pizza is so good it’s hard to believe it is gluten and grain-free! You can even pick it up like a regular slice of pizza.
Ingredients
- 1 head (Small Head) Cauliflower
- ¼ cups Parmesan Cheese
- ¼ cups Mozzarella Cheese
- ¼ teaspoons Kosher Salt
- ½ teaspoons Dried Basil
- ½ teaspoons Dried Oregano
- ½ teaspoons Garlic Powder
- Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
- 1 Tablespoon Almond Meal (optional)
- 1 whole Egg
Preparation Instructions
Place a pizza stone in the oven, or baking sheet if you don’t have a pizza stone. Preheat oven to 450ºF. On a cutting board, place a large piece of parchment paper and spray it with nonstick cooking oil.
Wash and throughly dry a small head of cauliflower. Don’t get one the size of your head unless you are planning on making 2 pizzas. Cut off the florets—you don’t need much stem, just stick with the florets. Pulse in your food processor for about 30 seconds, until you get powdery snow like cauliflower. You should end up with 2 to 3 cups cauliflower “snow”. Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and cover. Cook for 4 minutes. Dump cooked cauliflower onto a clean tea towel and allow to cool for a bit before attempting the next step.
Once cauliflower is cool enough to handle, wrap it up in the dish towel and wring the heck out of it. You want to squeeze out as much water as possible. This will ensure you get a chewy pizza like crust instead of a crumbly mess.
Dumped squeezed cauliflower into a bowl. Now add Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, kosher salt, dried basil (crush up the leaves even more between your fingers before adding), dried oregano (crush up the leaves even more between your fingers before adding), garlic powder (not garlic salt), and a dash of red pepper if you want. I also added 1 tablespoon almond meal because my cauliflower yielded closer to 2 cups of cauli snow; this is optional and I would not add the almond meal if you have closer to 3 cups of cauli snow. Now add the egg and mix away. Hands tend to work best.
Once mixed together, use your hands to form the dough into a crust on your oiled parchment paper. Pat it down throughly, you want it nice and tightly formed together. Don’t make it too thick or thin either.
Using a cutting board, slide the parchment paper onto your hot pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven. Bake for 8-11 minutes, until it starts to turn golden brown. Remove from oven.
Add however much sauce, cheese, and toppings you want. I’m not gonna give you measurements for this. You know how you like your pizza—so go for it! Slide parchment with topped pizza back in the hot oven and cook for another 5 to 7 minutes until the cheese is melted, bubbly, and slightly golden.
Test your patience and allow it to cool for a minute or two. Probably closer to two. Then using a pizza cutter and a spatula, serve up your delicious grain-free cauliflower crust pizza!
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Jessica Merchant is a personal trainer turned food writer and blogger. Her blog, How Sweet Eats, is where she proclaims her love for all things sweet, all things bacon, and everything else in between. She works her magic in her Pittsburgh kitchen, which she shares with her husband of 2 years.
52 Comments
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Lileth on 12.12.2013
Wow this is amazing. Looks so good and very healthy. Thumbs up!
Deb Newton on 12.11.2013
Mine is in the oven with about three minutes to go!!!!! AAUUGGHH!!!!!!
Tracey on 12.8.2013
This was wonderful! When you have a family member with Celiac, it was a blessing to find this. We have been searching for a good pizza crust for a while and this was a payday recipe!!!! Thank you!!
Jackie @ Chronicles of a Dietitian on 12.4.2013
This sounds amazing! I will have to give it a try soon!
Julie on 11.29.2013
Ab, FAB! My fiancé and I love this low carb pizza!! I can’t say how amazing it is.
Can we freeze the cauliflower dough to use at a later time?
Colette on 11.28.2013
This was sensational! If you get all the moisture out it really doesn’t crumble and feels like an absolute treat if you are on a low carb diet. Will be making this again soon!
Valeria Hysong on 11.16.2013
I just made this pizza. OMG it was so delicious…. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Rosemary Mullally on 11.11.2013
Amazing!
Ashley Burke on 10.29.2013
This crust is SO GOOD! I just made it for dinner and it was delicious! Can’t believe its made from cauliflower. Thanks so much!!
meagain2 on 10.25.2013
Great recipe, thanks. Just wondering why your measurements, while fractional, are plural? 1/4 teaspoons, 1/2 cups? Odd.
Susan Breitzer on 10.25.2013
This could also work for Passover!
Tami Hammond on 10.24.2013
WOW!!! Can’t wait to try this! Thanks so much for sharing
sonya on 10.23.2013
would love a PIN IT button for Pinterest for your yummy recipes!! Make it so much easier to save your recipes!! Thanks for all you do!
RP on 10.15.2013
Made this last week! I will be making it again. My husband loved it as well. Making this again this week! Yum! The only hard part, as I have problems with my hands, was wringing out the moisture in the cauliflower. Great Keeper Recipe!
Lori on 10.13.2013
Delicious!! Even my picky husband liked this!
Alicia on 10.9.2013
I had some serious doubts about this but wow. I took a bite and boom. Pizza. I don’t even taste cauliflower! Preheating the pan was key because I got such a good crust! Chewy, delicate, held together perfectly with ooey gooey cheese. My mom is even a fan!
Thanks for the recipe! When I have children this is going to be something I mak for them so they can enjoy yummy foods without all the carbs and calories!
Laurie Nelson on 10.3.2013
This cauliflower crust will be the new food rage! My husband and kids loved it and they detest cauliflower!
Lynnda on 10.1.2013
Just made this and it turned out great. Next time I think I would add less of the spices or try fresh. They were a bit strong. Very happy it worked!!
Burntsidedown on 9.26.2013
OMG…what can I say other than FANTASTIC and DELICIOUS. I received a very large cauliflower in my recent ‘good food box’ and wondered what I could do (besides the regular way to eat it) My girlfriend told me about a ‘cauliflower pizza’ dough and seeing that my family and I have recently become ‘gluten’ and ‘wheat’ conscious I thought this would be the best route to take. And I am glad I did.
Your recipe was easy to follow and spot on.
Thanks for sharing. I even took pictures because I didn’t burn it (like I usually do…thus my blog/website.)
Liz on 9.24.2013
My crust did not stay together at all. I was not using a pizza stone, just a regular pan. It was still delicious but I would like it to stay as a slice.
Debra Rose on 9.21.2013
Great idea to use cauliflower instead of flour for a pizza crust. I want to try this – love that it’s grain and gluten free.
Todd on 9.18.2013
Maybe the type of cloth used to wring out? I used cotton then polyester…
Todd on 9.18.2013
I tried this and I fail, every time. Idk what I’m doing wrong. The crust is always mushy and falls apart and sticks to the pan. Please help! Haha…I used evoo for oil, which I know is wrong because my kitchen was smoking. And I wrung the cauliflower out but id what the heck is wrong!
Kez aus on 9.16.2013
OMG fantastic!!
I made this last night I added 1/4 Cup coconut flour it was the perfect base.
So light and beautiful tasting.
BumblB on 9.13.2013
I made it and the flavor was to DIE for, but I think the red sauce moistened it too much and it fell apart when i tried to cut slices…what did i do wrong? I wrang the **&$ out of the cauliflower, so not sure if I should try it again and just skip the pizza sauce and just add veggies and cheese on top. any suggestions?
Nancy on 9.10.2013
Sounds and looks really good! I wonder if you could make up a few of these and freeze them after the first baking (8-11 minutes)?
Becki Sue on 9.10.2013
We found the cauliflower taste of the crust too strong. Crust didn’t hold up to the toppings we used. Definitely knife and fork kind of meal.
CeliacSafe on 9.9.2013
Need a dairy-free version for those few of us who are truly allergic to any dairy…cow, goat, etc.
A on 9.6.2013
For the microwave-less, try steaming. (Untested idea alert!)
Andrea D on 9.3.2013
Lisa – I have made a cauliflower crust with a different, but similar recipe. It called for boiling the cauliflower bits in a small amount of water. I suspect it requires more squeezing to get the liquid out, but it turned out well. Squeezing out the water is the most annoying part of the recipe. Someone needs to develop a tool for that.
Laura S. on 8.31.2013
Oh my gosh! It was so good! So very delicious…..thank you for the recipe. I shared and know others will love it too!
Lisa on 8.31.2013
I don’t own a microwave (I know) – any thoughts on how to get the same effect stove top? Do I boil until soft, blanche, sauté? Thanks!
fit foodie le on 8.27.2013
yeah i haven’t had much success with cauli crusts in the past either but this one… ooooh but this one! definitely looks worth a shot. thanks for sharing.
Randi Lynne on 8.26.2013
Third attempt at making this trying different methods. This was the first time I wrung out all of the water in a towel and was pretty surprised at just how much water came out! The crust was much crispier and not crumbly at all and actually could be held with one hand while eating without falling apart like my previous attempts did. This will be the only method I recommend to friends.
Ashley on 8.25.2013
Wow! This looks incredible!
Arthur in the Garden! on 8.25.2013
Amazing!
experimental cook on 8.25.2013
This is genius work !
Jordana on 8.24.2013
Looks delish! Just curious, how do this do with re-heating?
Jean on 8.24.2013
I bet the crust would taste good just by itself too.
Emma @ Coriander and Cumin on 8.24.2013
I’ve seen this recipe posted a few times on Pinterest, and have always been a bit skeptical of it. But these pics look very tasty! And I’m trying to be more healthy! So I’m going to give it a go! x
Ashley H on 8.23.2013
I truly hate the taste of cauliflower. Does the pizza have a cauliflower taste to it at all? Or would I like it?
Colette (Coco in the Kitchen) on 8.21.2013
Cauliflower crust! NO way. I’m so trying this!
Mediterranean Baby on 8.21.2013
This is genius!! Talk about a guilt-free, healthy way to enjoy pizza!! Thanks!
jackie d on 8.21.2013
I would love to make this, but I do not own a microwave…what type of cooking would you suggest? and how long? Thank you….
Tracy Turner on 8.20.2013
I made this for lunch today. Every bit as good as it looks.. bonus: I love cauliflower so the flavor is great! Thanks for sharing!
Ali @ Inspiralized on 8.20.2013
I love this! Cauliflower pizza crust sounds absolutely delicious. I just made a pizza crust using sweet potato and Idaho potato noodles – check mine out.. and yay for gluten-free pizza crusts! http://www.inspiralized.com/2013/08/17/recipe-gluten-free-margherita-spiralized-pizza/
Jayne on 8.19.2013
This is revolutionary! Never heard of such a thing. makes me think now if mixing some broccoli in would make it even better!
mnheather on 8.19.2013
Going to try it this weekend! I’ve been trying a few low-carb pizza recipes, but have yet to try a cauliflower one. Can’t wait!
Maria Tadic on 8.19.2013
This looks so freaking good. All that ooey gooey cheese. You sold me right there! This recipe definitely looks better than some of the other ones I’ve seen. The whole squeezing out excess water seems like a good idea!!
JulieD on 8.19.2013
Wow this looks so good! I need to try this!!