I ran across this recipe on Pinterest for Cauliflower Crust Pizza....it had about a zillion pins. I decided that at some point in time I would give this recipe a try. It sounded weird, but it was quite popular with the pinning crowd. I had my reservations about it. Cauliflower is a veggie that I like (with cheese). I figured that trying it once would not kill me....hopefully.
The hardest part of the recipe is ricing the cauliflower. It isn't that it is hard, it just a little messy. However, my one head of cauliflower made a cookie sheet sized pizza, a mini pizza, and enough for another recipe that size that I put into the freezer (2 cups of riced cooked cauliflower). So at least you only have to make the mess once in a while.
I was very surprised that the cauliflower isn't really able to be detected in the finished product. I figured it would have a bizzaro flavor, but it didn't! It tasted good. Did I just say that? A veggie crust tasted good?!?! My Mom happened to stop by while I was cooking and she tried it when it came out of the oven. She was also shocked. She thought it was really good as well. She kept saying "there is cauliflower in here?" ha Yep, Mom in the crust!!
The texture of the crust wasn't quite stiff enough to pick up, however it was very close. On the mini pizza I could pick up the slices. On the bigger rectangle pizza I didn't chance dropping toppings all over. I liked the texture though.
I made a few changes to the original recipe. You know me, I never seem to leave recipes alone. It just doesn't seem possible for me to follow a recipe without making it my own. Adding and subtracting things to get MY version. Without further adieu..............
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup parmasean cheese, grated
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp Italian seasoning mix
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3 large cloves garlic, minced
Pizza toppings: veggies, cheese, pepperoni, meat etc.
To rice the cauliflower: Wash and dry one large head of fresh cauliflower. Remove leaves and stems. Chop into chunks. Place the chunks into a food processor or heavy duty blender (you may want to do several small batches instead of the whole head at once). Pulse on high until the cauliflower resembles a grain. Don't go too long or it will turn to mush and we don't want mush. (Ricing may also be done by using a cheese grater, grate the head of cauliflower if you don't own a food processor or blender). Place the cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and cook for 8 minutes. You do not need to add any liquid.
One large head of fresh cauliflower should be 3-4 cups of riced cauliflower . The recipe calls for 1 cup, however I doubled my recipe to make a pizza on a cookie sheet. The remainder may be saved for another time. I packaged mine and put it into the freezer.
The Crust:
Pre heat the oven to 450 deg. and spray a cookie sheet or pizza pan with cooking spray.
In a medium size bowl. Combine the egg, spices, and cheeses. Add in the cauliflower and mix until well combined.
Using a spatula spread the mixture out in a thin layer on the greased cookie sheet. You want a thin, even, layer of crust mixture. Be sure that there aren't any holes.
Bake at 450 deg. for 15 min. Remove from the oven and top with your favorite toppings.
Increase the heat on the oven to broil and place the topped pizza back into the oven for 8-10 min. or until the cheese is melty and slightly browned.
I never would have guessed that cauliflower makes a good pizza crust!
To rice the cauliflower I used my blender. I did several small batches.
You want to have a grain like consistency, not a mush.
Here is a snazzy little video clip of me ricing some cauliflower......get excited!
Once you have the cauliflower ready, you just need to mix up the other ingredients.
Beat the egg, then add the spices and cheeses. Then the cauliflower goes in.
On a greased cookie sheet, spread the mixture into a thin even layer.
Bake at 450 deg. for 15 minutes
Abstract mini pizza crust.
I put the leftover riced cooked cauliflower into a freezer bag and into the freezer.
Remove the crust from the oven and add your favorite sauce and toppings.
This recipe turned out much better than I had ever anticipated. I hope that you love it as much as I did. It is low-carb and gluten free and yummy! Enjoy!!!
-Jessica
Love it!...:)
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