Cauliflower Pizza Crust

First of all this is not a recipe I can take credit for but after posting a well received picture of the finished product on my Facebook profile I thought I should share.  In my efforts to eat cleaner and eat less wheat (I'm not officially gluten free...yet) I came across a few cauliflower pizza crust recipes on Pinterest.  I decided to give it a try and the results were pretty good (hubby raved about it and Magnus devoured it), although not exactly the same as a doughy pizza crust but equally as delicious in my opinion :)


Cauliflower pizza requires "riced" cauliflower.  Most suggest grating but I found something less messy, time consuming and annoying.  Chop up your head or portion of raw cauliflower into equal sized pieces and place them in a blender (my blender has a wide base and I have a feeling a wide base would work better than a smaller tapered base).  Next cover the cauliflower with a generous amount of water and pulse or blitz on high for a few short seconds and you should end up with small somewhat equal bits of cauliflower (sorry guys, I forgot to take a pic of this step but there is a video floating around the web which is where I got the idea).  Dry the cauliflower bits really well.  I let mine sit in the fridge uncovered for a few hours after I strained them.

So, the basic recipe for the crust is:

1 cup "riced" cauliflower

1 cup grated cheese (I used mozzarella but might try an Italian blend next time)

1 egg

seasoning of choice (I didn't add salt as I figured the cheese had plenty)

Mix all the ingrediants together and shape by hand on a parchment lined cookie sheet.  Personal size works best as it's easier to handle and won't be as flopsy.  I shaped mine to a 1 cm thickness and prior to baking the mix won't look dense like dough but don't worry it will come together nicely when baked.  I baked mine at 450 degrees for 14 minutes then flipped them over and baked for a couple more minutes.  The results were like a dense fritatta but not eggy.  Also there seems to be little evidence of cauliflower, no taste of it or pungent aroma.

For my husband and Magnus I topped the crust with pasta sauce and cheese (baked a bit longer under the broiler) but for myself I used I "healthy" guacamole (1/2 cup mashed navy beans, 1 mashed avocado, lime juice, salt and a generous spoonful of salsa).  The topping possibilities are endless.

I should mention the recipe only makes 2 generous personal sized pizzas so I doubled it.  I had enough "riced" cauliflower to make another batch.  I mixed all the ingredients for the extra batch except the eggs and froze for a later date.  I think these would be good cold, used as a bread replacement for a sandwich, or even cut up and served with a dip like hummus or marinara sauce.  I am watching my calorie intake and chose not to add anymore cheese as the crust had plenty.  Gluten and wheat free does not always mean low calorie, unfortunatley.  Give this one a try and you'll be pleasantly surprised at how good it is.