In the past few years, cauliflower pizza crust has gained a huge popularity among people who are watching their carb intake. Now you can indulge in “pizza”, America’s favourite comfort food, and eat it too. I held off making cauliflower pizza crust recipe until now, simply because I was confused by various cooking methods, and knew it would take me some time to come up with a foolproof recipe. And I was right, it took me 3 pizzas and 2 days, and here we are.
You are looking at the best cauliflower pizza crust recipe on the web. It’s not mushy and you can really hold the slice. And it is delicious! I won’t lie, the crust doesn’t taste like regular pizza crust (duh!) but is super tasty, plus the toppings on top => to die for.
MY LATEST RECIPESIf you are looking for a less time consuming but yet lighter pizza recipe, check out my oatmeal pizza crust. Cauliflower biscuits and cauliflower breadsticks are a great guilt free alternative too.
Because I made all these pizza at various times, you will see different pans and crusts. The Mediterranean one was delicious but mushy. Not anymore though since I perfected the dreaded cauliflower crust.
How to Make Cauliflower Pizza Crust
You need a large head of cauliflower, 6″ – 7″ in diameter, about 2.5 – 3 lbs. Naturally, cauliflower contains a lot of water, and after you remove the outer leaves and separate it into florets, you are not left with much. Rinse it under cold water and do not dry. I would also recommend making 2 pizza crusts at a time since cauliflower cooks down a lot and doesn’t make a huge pizza. Unless you are cooking cauliflower pizza crust recipe only for yourself.
Place cauliflower florets in a food processor and process until “rice” texture. Some coarse chunks are fine. You will be baking and then squeezing the cauliflower, so really chunks do not matter.
Tip #1: You can use store bought cauliflower rice instead of making your own, about 5-6 cups. Today, you can buy it in Walmart, Trader Joe’s, Costco etc. I love cauliflower rice a lot and buy bags at a time and freeze. If you are looking for more cauliflower rice recipes, see my cauliflower rice recipes and frozen cauliflower rice recipes.
To cook cauliflower, you can either bake it in the oven for 15 minutes or microwave for 8 minutes. Then transfer cooked cauliflower to a bowl lined with cheesecloth. You can also use a linen tea towel like this one. I used it to make cauliflower breadsticks and it worked like a charm.
Tip #2: You can find cheesecloth in most well-stocked supermarkets, dollar store or on Amazon for a very reasonable price.
Holding by the four corners of cheesecloth with one hand, squeeze out the liquid as much as you can with another hand. Squeeze really well, quite a few times, I mean it! Count it as an arm workout for the day. Cauliflower should be pretty dry. I squeezed and then moved the cauliflower around a bit, and squeezed again. If your arm is sore for a bit after, you did it well.
You should be left with a cauliflower mash. Transfer it to a bowl with remaining ingredients and mix.
Using your hands, flatten cauliflower mixture on a lined with parchment paper or silicone mat regular baking sheet or round pizza pan (don’t forget to spray it with cooking spray). Make it smaller than shown in the video. I made it a bit too thin which is not the end of the world, it’s just crust needs longer cooking time which burns the edges a bit.
Tip #3: More likely your crust will not cover as much of a pan as shown in the picture above. It depends on the size of your round pizza pan. And if you are using rectangular baking sheet, size will vary. Any baking sheet works.
Then bake for 20 minutes, flip and bake for a few more minutes until crispy. Your healthy cauliflower pizza crust is ready.
Now the fun part begins – toppings. I made 3 kinds: Mediterranean, chicken, and pepper + cheese.
Pictured above is Mediterranean cauliflower pizza: tomato sauce, bell pepper, tomato, olives, red onion, feta cheese and parsley.
And below is chicken and pepper cauliflower pizza: tomato sauce, sliced grilled chicken breast, olives, red onion and cheese.
Honestly, my favourite was cheese cauliflower pizza. I was quite surprised with myself but I loved the combination of cauliflower + cheese.
So, if you have been waiting to jump on the cauliflower pizza crust bandwagon, here is your chance. I think I took all the guessing out for you. Make it and let me know how your cauliflower pizza turns out. Also what pizza toppings have you used?! I would love to hear your ideas!
PrintCauliflower Pizza Crust
Cauliflower Pizza Crust that is healthy, crispy and simply the best foolproof step by step recipe with tips on how to make it faster.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 8 slices
Ingredients
- 1 medium head of cauliflower (6″ – 7″ wide or 2.5-3 lbs) or 5-6 cups of store bought cauliflower rice
- 1 egg, large
- 1 tsp Italian seasoning (dried oregano or basil)
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese, grated/shredded
- Cooking spray (I use Misto)*
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and line baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper or silicone mat.
- Rinse cauliflower, remove the outer leaves, separate into florets and chop into smaller pieces. Process in a food processor in 2 batches, until “rice” texture forms (skip if using store-bought “rice”). Transfer cauliflower rice on a prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 mins.
- Remove cooked cauliflower rice from the oven, transfer to a bowl lined with a double/triple layered cheesecloth or linen towel, and let cool for 5 minutes. Then squeeze the liquid out of the ball (cauliflower inside the cheesecloth) as hard as you can. Be patient and do this a few times until barely any liquid comes out. Muscle work.:)
- Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl whisk the egg with dried herbs, salt and pepper for 10 seconds. Add cheese and squeezed cauliflower; mix very well with spatula until combined.
- Line same baking sheet with new parchment paper or same silicone mat (just make sure to scrape off any bits of cauliflower) and spray with cooking spray. Transfer “dough” in the middle and flatten with your hands until thin pizza crust forms. Make it thicker that in my video, I made it a bit too thin.
- Bake for 20 minutes, carefully flip with spatula and bake for a few more minutes. Top with your favourite toppings and bake again until cheese on top turns golden brown. Slice and enjoy.
Store: Refrigerate covered for up to 2 days.
Freeze: Tightly wrapped in plastic for 1 month.
Notes
You could cook cauliflower rice in a microwave (I just don’t have one) adjusting time according to your microwave’s abilities (they all differ).
Did you make this recipe? Please give it a star rating in the comments.
