Cauliflower Pizza Crust

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.

If 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!

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