Easy Cauliflower Pizza Crust (GF)

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From the title of this post some of you may be rolling your eyes and thinking, “not another cauliflower pizza. I want REAL pizza”.  Wait, just hear me out, okay?!

I get it, nothing beats a good slice of pizza with a chewy, fluffy, doughy crust topped with sauce that makes the dough all ooy-delicious. I am not here to tell you that cauliflower pizza crust will ever replace your traditional pizza crust that is a slice of heaven. BUT I am here to tell you that cauliflower pizza crust can be delicious in its own way, it can hold together, and it can be EASY to make.

Cauliflower pizza crust has kind of become a bit of a food trend, at least in the health/gluten free food world. Really, the concept is genius: make a crust out of a delicious, nutritious vegetable such as our friend the cauliflower. It’s great for anyone who needs to avoid gluten, or is simply trying to get more veggies into their diet. Seriously, try this recipe out on your kids. I bet they’ll love it! Then you can top it with whatever kinds of toppings your prefer; the possibilities are endless. The result is a flavorful pizza crust that is crispy and doesn’t fall apart.

Easy Cauliflower Pizza Crust even has the Paul stamp of approval. You guys, this is a big deal. Paul worked at a pizza place for 8 years. The man knows what good pizza tastes like! Look at us, we rock!

See, aren’t you glad you stuck around?

What helps to make this pizza crust taste so delicious is the secret ingredient, goat cheese. The goat cheese gets all melty and helps the crust to crisp up. Plus we’ve got plenty of spices: garlic powder, salt, pepper, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Also, the roasted cauliflower – YUM!

I have tried making cauliflower pizza crust a few times in the past, and it has always fallen apart on me. That goat cheese, plus the egg,  really make the difference to help the crust hold together, even after you have loaded it with some toppings. Don’t skip the goat cheese!

So, what makes this particular pizza crust easy? We use frozen cauliflower florets! A huge thank you to Megan over at Detoxonista. I stumbled on her frozen cauliflower method that really made making cauliflower pizza crust a whole lot easier. Be sure to check her website out; she has a lot of healthy recipes.

Most cauliflower pizza crust recipes require you to rice raw cauliflower florets in a food processor – no problem – but then you need to cook the cauliflower rice in the microwave for 4 minutes, so that the cauliflower rice gets all steamy and soft. The ultimate goal is to place the cooked cauliflower rice in a dish towel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Here’s the thing: because the cauliflower rice has been cooked in the microwave and is now steaming you have to wait at least 10 to 15 minutes for it to cool down before you do all the squeezing, or risk burning your hands with scalding cauliflower water. Not fun! Plus, we don’t have that kind of time; we want our pizza!

Solution: a bag of frozen cauliflower florets that have been defrosted at room temperature or in the fridge. It’s brilliant! It really takes all of the hard work out of making cauliflower crust. Not only do you get to skip the step of chopping up your cauliflower, but the thawed cauliflower is already liquidy. All you have to do is pulse the cauliflower in your food processor to make the rice, and then squeeze away. No waiting around for the cauliflower to cool, and no risk of burning your hands. Easy Cauliflower Pizza Crust FTW!

The other issue I found when I would attempt cauliflower pizza crust in the past was the dough is very sticky and pressing the dough out onto the pan became a huge mess and half of the dough ended up on my hands. My trick is to simply wet your hands with water and press away. Your fingers still get gooped up with dough a little, but it’s much more manageable.

Guys, I have total faith that you can make this Easy Cauliflower Pizza Crust. The result is a tasty, nutritious, gluten free, grain free, low carb pizza crust that is just waiting for you to top with whatever you want! That’s a beautiful thing, my friends!

Easy Cauliflower Pizza Crust (GF)

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• Author: Emily Koch
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Yield: 2 servings ( 4 small slices per person) 1x
• Category: Entree
• Cuisine: Gluten Free, Grain Free

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Description

Easy Cauliflower Pizza Crust is delicious, nutritious, gluten free, grain free, and low carb. This crust doesn’t fall apart and is EASY to put together. Plus it can be topped with anything you desire!

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Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 bag (16 ounces) frozen cauliflower florets, defrosted at room temperature or in the fridge
• 4 ounces (1/2 cup) plain goat cheese, room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
• Pinch red pepper flakes (optional)

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Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a pizza stone with parchment paper, and lightly grease the parchment paper; set aside. (If you have a pizza stone it helps to make the crust extra crispy. If not a baking sheet will work).
2. To the bowl of a food processor add the frozen, thawed cauliflower florets. Pulse until you have achieved a rice-like consistency with the cauliflower. Be careful not to overprocess.
3. Transfer the cauliflower rice to a large clean kitchen towel. Gather all of the edges over the cauliflower. Squeeze as much of the liquid out of the cauliflower as possible. It is key to get the cauliflower as dry as you can.
4. Transfer the dried cauliflower to a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add the softened goat cheese, egg, garlic powder, oregano, black pepper, salt and optional red pepper flakes. Mix until everything is well combined and a dough forms.
5. Transfer the dough onto your prepared pizza stone or baking sheet. Wet your hands with a little water to prevent the dough from sticking Press the dough out evenly into a round shape or a rectangle shape. It should be about 1/4 inch thick, with a little more thickness at the ends. Be careful not to spread the crust too thin or it will burn. Use your hand to smooth out any bumps in the crust.
6. Bake the crust for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it is golden brown.
7. Remove the crust from the oven and top with desired pizza toppings. For the sake of demonstration I topped my pizza with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, pepperoni*, red onion, and green onion at the end. It was delicious, but you can use any kind of toppings you prefer. Make sure not to go too heavy with the toppings, or it can weigh the cauliflower crust down a bit.
8. Once you have arranged your toppings, bake in the oven for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and the ingredients are warmed through.
9. Use a spatula to loosen the pizza from the parchment paper and gently transfer the pizza off of the parchment paper onto the pizza stone or baking sheet, or onto a cutting board. Use a pizza cutter to slice the pizza into wedges. Serve immediately.
10. We have never had leftover cauliflower pizza, so I am not sure how it will hold up leftover, but I would recommend reheating the pizza in the oven. I imagine that the pizza is best when eaten fresh.

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Notes

* Although pepperoni is classic on a pizza, we found that the pepperoni grease kind of seeped through the cauliflower crust and made it a little soggy. The pizza was still delicious, but just be aware that greasy toppings such as pepperoni or sausage may seep through the crust.

The prep time does not include inactive time needed for the frozen cauliflower to defrost. Cook time does not include time needed to cook the pizza once the toppings are on it.

Recipe adapted fromDetoxonista.

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