How to Make Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Why would you make your own cauliflower pizza crust? Well, maybe you eat gluten free.  Maybe you’re cutting back on white bread and the accompanying carbs.  Maybe you bought the double large riced cauliflower from Costco and need to use up the second bag.  Maybe you don’t like or can’t easily find the frozen pre-made cauliflower crusts out there.  Maybe you have no intention of doing this whatsoever and are just curious to see what it’s all about.  Whatever your reason, read on, vegetable warrior!

The key to having the crust not fall apart is squeezing out all the water once it’s cooked.  (Warning: if you have time, maybe let the cauliflower cool a bit before you squeeze the boiling hot water out of it and onto the soft flesh of your hands.  Just a suggestion, not that I did that or anything.)

First step is to pulse the cauliflower in a food processor.  If you don’t have a food processor, look for pre-riced cauliflower at the grocery.  The only problem you may have is that some riced cauliflower pieces are still relatively big and you want these to be small so you don’t have big cauliflower chunks in your crust.  So if you buy pre-riced cauliflower, just look through and remove any bigger pieces before cooking.  Generally, you want it to look like this:

Your next step is to cook it, which I do in a skillet by sautéing and then steaming (details in recipe below).  Once it’s cooked, it will be soft and look this this:

Then after it cooks comes the most hazardous part of this journey, where you will test your mental toughness as you endure the sensation of burning hot cauliflower on your bare hands.  Unless of course you took my advice and let it cool slightly before this step.  You’ll want to wrap the cooked cauliflower in a clean dish towel and squeeze, squeeze, squeeze until you get out as much water as you can.  You’ll end up with something that actually looks like a ball of dough! Who woulda thought.

Then you add in the egg, cheese, and seasonings, spread it out just like you would normal pizza dough (being sure to use parchment paper so it doesn’t stick) and bake!  I like to make it about 1/4 inch thick, with the edges of the crust a little thicker just like with normal pizza.  Below is what it looks like before and after baking.

Looks kinda sad, like it needs some toppings, right?! Once it’s done baking, spread your preferred sauce/cheese/toppings on there, pop it back into the oven to warm/melt the cheese, and you’re done!  I used this crust for a version of my mini thai pizzzas with sriracha and smoked gouda and it tasted great with those flavors if you’re looking for some topping inspiration.

Let me know if you try this and how it turns out!

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Homemade Cauliflower Pizza Crust

Prep Time

25 mins

Cook Time

40 mins

Total Time

1 hr 5 mins

 

Made with just a few simple ingredients, this tried and true method will keep your cauliflower pizza crust from falling apart!

Course: Main Course

Servings: 1 crust

Author: ewankewellness

Ingredients

• 2 lbs fresh cauliflower
• 1.5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 2/3 cup shredded cheese (I like to use gouda or goat)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 400.

2. Cut the cauliflower into large florets, add to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the pieces are very small (see picture in my post). You may need to do this in a few batches depending on how large your food processor is.
   

3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium.  Add the garlic and stir for one minute.  Add the cauliflower, stir, and cook (covered) for 5-8 minutes until soft.

4. Allow the cauliflower to cool, either in the skillet or another bowl (important so you don't burn your hands!).  Then pour it into a clean dishtowel, wrap up, and squeeze hard several times to remove all the liquid.  You'll be left with a ball resembling pizza dough.

5. Mix in the egg, cheese, salt, and onion powder.  Spread the "dough" onto a baking pan covered with parchment paper (I also spray the parchment paper with cooking spray for extra stick protection.)

6. Bake the crust for 30 -35 minutes, or until the top is browned and firm to the touch.  Add your toppings, and if the toppings need warming/melting, pop it back into the oven for 5-7 minutes.  You're done!