I have been wanting to try making a pizza with a cauliflower crust ever since I came across the idea on Recipe Girl; I mean what’s not to like about a cauliflower crust for a pizza? I actually got a chance to try a cauliflower crust a couple of months ago but I ran into a problem, the crust stuck so badly to the parchment paper that I could’t get it off. What bits that I could get off tasted great though so I was determined to get it right! After hours of going through comments on various cauliflower pizza crust recipes the secret seems to be that you need to squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible from the cooked cauliflower before baking it. As sometimes happens this project fell through the cracks and I forgot about it until the holidays when I picked up a silicon baking mat and it practically had the cauliflower crusts name written on it. I tried the recipe again, this time squeezing out the excess liquid and using the silicon baking mat, and the crust came out beautifully and just as tasty as expected! This crust is seriously good! I could easily eat the crust all by itself as a snack or maybe with a dipping sauce not to mention all of the tasty pizza topping options!
The cauliflower pizza crust holds together really well and you can easily eat the pizza with your hands!
A healthy thin crust pizza crust!
I can’t wait to make more pizzas with cauliflower crusts!
BBQ Chicken Cauliflower Crust Pizza
Cauliflower makes a surprisingly good pizza crust and it goes really well with a BBQ chicken topping!
ingredients
- 1 cauliflower pizza crust (see below)
- 1 cup chicken, cooked and shredded
- 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
- 3/4 cup mozzarella, shredded
- 1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons cilantro, torn
directions
- Mix the chicken and barbecue sauce, top the pizza with the chicken, mozzarella and red onion and bake until the cheese is bubbling, about 10-15 minutes.
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Cauliflower makes a surprisingly good pizza crust that is much healthier!
ingredients
- 1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup mozzarella, shredded
- 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
- 1 teaspoon oregano or italian seasoning blend
- salt and pepper to taste
directions
- Rice the cauliflower in a food processor, place it in a microwave safe dish and microwave for 8 minutes or until cooked.
- Place the cauliflower in a tea towel and squeeze as much moisture out as you can.
- Mix the cauliflower, egg, mozzarella, parmesan, oregano, salt and pepper, press the mixture onto a baking mat or parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake in a preheated 450F/230C oven until lightly golden brown, about 15-20 minutes.
Pepperoni Pizza Cauliflower Casserole
Zucchini Pizza Crust (with Chipotle BBQ Bacon and Grilled Corn Pizza)
Thin Crust Pizza Dough
Balsamic Strawberry and Chicken Pizza with Sweet Onions and Smoked Bacon
Thai Chicken Pizza with Sweet Chili Sauce
Pizza Quesadillas (aka Pizzadillas)
Pepperoni Pizza Casserole
BBQ Ham, Bacon and Pineapple Quesadillas (aka BBQ Hawaiian Pizza Quesadillas)
Eggplant Pizzas
Grilled Corn, Roasted Poblano and Bacon Zucchini Crust Pizza
No Crust Pepperoni Pizza
Loaded Baked Potato Broccoli Crust Pizza
Crispy Tortilla Skillet Pizza
BBQ Chicken Pasta Salad
BBQ Chicken Pizza Baked Chicken
The same thing happened to me when I tried to make cauliflower crust, so thanks so much for sharing your tips! This looks and sounds INCREDIBLE. BBQ chicken pizza is a favorite, and with this healthy twist, it's a must-make. Pinning to try!
Very original and surely extremely scrumptious!
Cheers,
Rosa
Definitely going to try out this crust!!! love the idea! thanks for sharing!
Angela
http://lemoinefamilykitchen.blogspot.com
I have gone gluten free and the one major thing I missed was my pizza ! I had heard that this pizza crust was really good and now your pictures have convinced me…I have to make this ! Thanks Kev …looks sooooo good !
Cheryle
I am so impressed that it holds together! I must try that.
I have never ever heard of this. I actually bought two cauliflowers this week as they were on sale for $1.50 each at No Frills. A Ham and Cheese topping would also be yummy…..
Gill
That looks so yummy and healthy!
Rachael xx.
http://theteacozykitchen.blogspot.co.uk/
How fun! I've never heard of anything like this! Looks delish!
Sooooooo trying this!
Welcome back, Kevin! So glad to see more of your *absolutely mouth-watering* posts!
Love cauliflower crusts & your pizza looks amazing Kevin 🙂
Love the crust!
Say what?!? Cauliflower pizza crust? This is something I HAVE to try.
I have a fresh head of cauliflower in the fridge as I type and the perfect pizza fixins', too. Lovely Kevin!
I totally am obsessed with the cauliflower crust. MUST try this!!
I need this asap Kevin! Looks amazing!
Hi Kevin, Love your website and this looks like an amazing pizza. I made a veggie pizza just the other day with the cauliflower crust from eatingbirdfood.com. She eliminated the need for squeezing out the liquid by sauteing the cauliflower! It turned out amazing!
Looks great!! Great excuse to buy another kitchen utensil, a silicon baking mat 🙂
i've made an almost identical version of this pizza and i can attest that the cauliflower crust is AMAZING!! i love me some bbq chicken pizza 🙂
Cole Riley Ian Wendy Thompson: I was thinking that using roasted cauliflower would have a similar affect.
My hubby was just asking me to make one of these. Thankfully I already have a Silpat. Thanks for the great recipe!
Must give this a go. Thanks for the tip about the silicon mat! Having gone grain-free last June, I am always on the lookout for healthy ways of making various things I used to use wheat for.
I have been wanting to try one too–this pizza looks great!
But does it taste like cauliflower? I hate cauliflower, but I love pizza. Just found out I'm allergic to dairy and trying to go without pizza right now is killing me!
I use a potato ricer to squeeze the moisture from the cauliflower when I'm making crusts or faux-tatoes (which I love much more than insulin raising mashed potatoes)! A tip: I did learn not to get the cauli too dry using this method or my recipe needs extra liquid. And, no, the cauli doesn't squeeze through the ricer's holes. 😉
Jillian
Hi Kevin,
What a great recipe!!! I'm diabetic & cauliflower has almost no effect on my blood sugar.I love pizza & now pizza will be more healthy for me!!Cauliflower makes a great substitute for mashed potatoes,sauteed they make great hash browns too. You have great site & news letter.You have a lot of talent keep up the great work !!!
Kevin do you think that it would be possible to just use 2 egg whites instead of one whole egg?
oh I absolutely love this idea!! totally trying it this week.
Do you by chance have the calories, fat, carbs, fiber, and protein for this recipe. It seems really doable for being on weight watchers, but I need the above. Can you help?
Did you eat the entire pizza?bc I could never imagine this being a pizza that fills you up….
(came across it in the Paleo scene).
Or did you eat something else along with it?
Anonymous: I split it into 3 and had a salad along with it. I was hoping to get 4 servings from it but you are right, the cauliflower crust is not as filling as a regular dough crust.
I had an idea for editing the recipe, so it is lower in fat and higher in protein. Sub the mozzerella for TVP (textured vegetable protein) and see if that along with the egg with bind the cauliflower for the crust. This might make it stretch further with being more filling too!
🙂
Sarah
Ally Fry: I have not tried it but 2 egg whites should work.
Anonymous: You will hardly notice the cauliflower flavour at all with all of the other ingredients.
Super cool! I haven't tried this yet, but judging from your photos, I can't make it soon enough.
i hope this works w/o cheese or egg. will try to think of something to hold it together….but I like the concept!!!
This is perfect for a low carb diet!! What about steaming the cauliflower and then ricing?
I'm going to try your version Kevin – I've tried it several times to not so great results.
thanks for your tip about squeezing out the water!
Pizza looks delicious and made my mouth watering. I am going try this recipe but with less cheese.
Donna More: Yes you can steam then rice the cauliflower!
I've heard so much about this crust but still have yet to try it! You make it sound super enticing.
This sounds great and you made it look even better!
This looks incredible, Kevin! I've always wondered if the cauliflower crust could support a heavier topping like chicken, and now I'm inspired to try this barbecue version. Yum!
What a beautiful idea !
Hi Kevin! Wow, this looks great. I've heard of this before, but I've yet to try it. Your pictures make me want to make a batch tonight! Thank you for sharing another dose of inspiration. I hope you are having a great week and are staying warm.
I have been wanting to try this crust also, now I'm inspired!
Hi Kevin!
I always love your recipes. I have made this pizza several times & I too have issues with it sticking, it's maddening! I've found you can get away with the parchment paper as long as its good quality paper (I was formerly confused & thought wax paper was the same thing), you must give it a good spray of olive oil too, this combo seems to do the trick.
Also my BFF just tried making it without cheese & added a little almond meal, she said its even better then the cheese version, I'm trying that next!
This looks absolutely divine !!
http://yummei.blogspot.co.uk
looks absolutely scrumptious, can't wait to try it!
Hi Kevin! I had the same problems you mentioned when I last tried cauliflower crust. It tasted good but stuck like crazy. Unlike you, I gave up and now my staple low carb crust is cheese based (http://www.anykitchenwilldo.com/white-pizza-on-a-wheatless-crust/). Works great every time, and also works as 'breadsticks'. You give me hope, and maybe I will try your cauli recipe.
HOLY MAMA!! This just moved to the top of my to do list! I am so making this!!!!!
Absolutely love following along! Wanted to let you know I've nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award on my Blog, LeMoine Family Kitchen. Will be posting it tomorrow, please visit and say hi.
Angela
http://lemoinefamilykitchen.blogspot.com
Delicious! Made it tonight and it was awesome. Even my partner (who HATES cauliflower) and my 8 year old daughter both loved it!
Yay… made it into the rotation! 🙂
Have you tried baking the crust on a pizza stone? Just wondering…
Anonymous: I have not as I do not have a pizza stone but I worry that it might stick to it like it does to a pan.
rachel: Glad you and your family enjoyed it!
Sarah: I will have to try the almond meal!
I have been very suspicious of cauliflower crusts since I've seen them bouncing around on Pinterest (I've tried a few off-the-wall ideas from Pinterest with about a 92% fail rate). You have convinced me to give them a shot. 🙂
I made this tonight and although I enjoyed it, I will not be making it again because it's too much work – at least the part where you process the cauliflower then have to squeeze water out of it.
I made this yesterday and it was great. I followed the crust portion of the recipe but i flipped it for 5 minutes at the end. and of course made the toppings my own. I tried to make the prep as easy as possible. Preshredded cheese, ctumbled turkey burgers. It is labour intensive but I would totally make this on a Sunday prep day for s Tuesday night quick dinner.
HI,
I am worried about the crust being too soggy if I use fresh mozzarella, which is quite watery. What kind of mozzarella did you use?
Catherine Elizabeth: I used the mozzarella that comes in a brick which does have less water than fresh mozzarella. I would say that fresh mozzarella would be ok for the topping but another cheese would be better in the crust.
i have tried cauliflower crust twice now and I just cannot get it dry enough to call a "crust." I tried yours tonight, but sauteed the cauliflower rather than boil hoping it would be dry enough. I struggle with the squeezing of the water when it's boiling hot! How do you do it without 1) waiting a long time for it to cool, or 2) burning your hands! I cooked the crust for at least 30 minutes and it still required a fork and knife to eat it. It was very tasty though.
Anonymous: This crust can be tricky! To squeeze the water out while it is hot, place the cauliflower in a towel and twist the top until it is tight and then use a bowl, pushing down on it to get the liquid out. Using the bowl will also give you more pressure and allow you to push more liquid out. Once you get more of the moisture out it should bake up nice and crisp and be easy to pick up with your hands. Another thing that I wanted to try was roasting the cauliflower to cook it as roasting it removes some of its moisture.
Try a double broiler to steam the cauliflower. Line the steamer pot with paper towel. put the cauliflower on top of the paper towel and cook. Remove from the heat and remove the bottom pot with the hot water in it. Then press down with a tea towel to squeeze out the excess juice. This works great because the top part of a double broiler has holes! Fantastic recipe!
I did this recipe but was a bit soft. I made it again. Squeezed out the water from the cooked cauliflower and the added about 1/4 cup flax seed meal. Made a Sicilian style pie and baked it for 20 minutes. Came out a bit crispier! using it for sandwiches and for crackers. Atkins rules!
I did this recipe but was a bit soft. I made it again. Squeezed out the water from the cooked cauliflower and the added about 1/4 cup flax seed meal. Made a Sicilian style pie and baked it for 20 minutes. Came out a bit crispier! using it for sandwiches and for crackers. Atkins rules!
This is good with pineapple too!
Oh my gosh, this was DELICIOUS! I made the crust exactly as instructed, but topped it with ricotta, feta, mozzarella and sauteed kale and garlic. This recipe is a keeper! Thanks! MD from Roswell, GA
Just used a blender and raw cauliflower – didn't need to squeeze any moisture out. I did put a little flower on my parchment paper as I was worried about it sticking.
Turned out great!
I made this last night exactly as instructed and it was DELICIOUS! It didn't hold up as well as I'd hoped, and we wouldn't have been able to hold each piece without it falling apart. However, being gluten free/paleo, I don't mind eating "pizza" with a fork. It's an instant hit in our house. Thank you!
Making this tonight! Subbing red onion for orange/red pepper so hopefully that's ok!
This pizza was delicious! I added a heaping Tablespoon of almond flour to the crust. It was a big hit in our house. Thanks, Kevin
I have made this crust SO many times! when I crave pizza, I just whip this up and I don't feel guilty about it!
I haven't made this for pizza but I'm working on retooling it for crackers!! Still comes out a bit soft (next time i'm going for a much lower temperature— 350º, and for a longer time) but it's DELISH no matter how it's prepared!!
How many calories would this bring?trying it tonight..can't wait.
I made it today and we all liked it. It was a little tough to get off the pan but not bad.
Grill the cauliflower instead of using a water method to cook it. There will not be any extra moisture for it to absorb.
Just made this…. wow! So delicious 🙂 I did however add bacon and basil as toppings. I even made my own BBQ sauce with this recipe (http://www.primallyinspired.com/the-best-homemade-healthy-bbq-sauce/). Definitely labor-heavy, but well worth all of the effort. Thanks for sharing your recipe, I enjoy all of them 🙂
~Natalie
I made this just a little bit ago,and it wasn't half bad. I tried to get as much water out of the cauliflower as I could. Impressed!
HI, LOVE LOVE LOVE your site. I have a question…do you think there is any way to do this crust without egg? I have thought perhaps egg free mayo could hold it together? What are your thoughts…husband is highly allergic to egg but I so want to make this crust. !!!!
God Bless! Georgiana: I would say that using some extra cheese should help hold the crust together without the egg.
I am making cauliflower crust for the 3rd time tonight. I do add some ground almonds which add a nice crunchy texture. I agree that squeezing the riced cauliflower really helps reduce sticking. I've divided the "dough" into 6 patties to make mini-pizzas that I can take to work.
Thanks for sharing!
Hi, quick question. Instead of buying a head or two of cauliflower, I opted for a frozen bag of cauliflower (none of the heads looked good enough to buy). How should I tweak the recipe for the frozen bag of cauliflower? Should I microwave it as long as fresh cauliflower? Thanks!
Brandy Holder: You want about 4 cups of the 'riced' cauliflower and I would thaw it and use it the same for the rest of the recipe.
Hi Kevin, quick question. Do you bake the crust first and then bake it again once the toppings are on it? This looks great!
Heather: Yes, the crust is baked once by itself and then again with the toppings. Enjoy!
Hi! Love all your recipes. I made the cauliflower crust for family who is doing low carb. I microwaved the cauliflower and then put it in iron skillet to get rid of moisture and to give it more flavor. It was a huge hit especially for the doubter in the group!! It is a lot of cheese if you don't stick with one or two pieces but a real treat!!
Thanks!
Oh thank you so much – we loved this pizza. I recently found out I was allergic to all grain rice and corn. So this recipe really was spectacular as Pizza is my favorite = I used a pizza stone with no parchment and it turned out awesome. we used tomato paste with Italian seasoning for the paste, cut up ham, pinaeapple feta and additional cheese. Besides this is a great way to get the kids to eat cauliflower!
The process of squeezing the water out, seemed a little labor intensive to me. So instead of using my food processer to rice the cauliflower, I used my juicer. I got 2 cups of cauliflower juice out of 1 head of cauliflower, and all the pulp was perfectly riced and ready for the microwave. 🙂
Do you cook the crust first and then put the toppings on and cook it again?
Brooke
http://www.simplykategrace.etsy.com
Hi Kevin! I do not have a microwave, only a conventional oven & countertop convection. Can I cook the riced cauliflower in an oven? If so, how?
Brooke: That is correct!
Miranda Husek: You can cook it in a pan or steam it or boil it until just tender.
This sounds like it would be great on the Atkins Diet.
Tengo una duda,que es:
No entiendo lo del arroz?Por que yo no tengo ese aparato y ni lo conozco.
Gracias,un bico
Roski Noia: The 'rice' is the cauliflower that has been grated so that it has a similar appearance to rice.
You could open up your own gluten free pizza franchise with that!
delicious! Follow your blog for years …. love ..
gluten free and the one major thing I missed was my pizza ! I had heard that this pizza crust was really good and now your pictures have convinced me…I have to make this ! Thanks Kev …looks sooooo good !
Cheryle