I know it may be difficult to envision an entire head of shredded cauliflower adorned with pizza sauce and mozzarella, but trust me on this one – it’s simply amazing! My kids and husband gave it an 8 out of 10 – impressive being that we’ve had a generous share of various gluten-free pizza crusts.
Here’s my take on this wonderful recipe found at Eat Fat Lose Fat.
I’ve been thinking of making a cauliflower pizza crust for some time and now I wonder what I was waiting for. We’ve been a gluten-free household for a long time now and I must say I’m most enchanted with recipes that are grain-free at this point. Living with type 1 diabetes I can attest to the fact that pizza has been my nemesis over the years. The combo of gluten and fat can destroy blood sugars not only when it’s eaten but hours afterward as well.
Here’s my proof-in-the pudding: a peek at my continuous glucose monitor for the few hours after I ate two pieces and didn’t give any insulin for it!
(You’ll have to see how it affects your glucose- we’re all different in that respect.)
Enough on the science behind why I like this recipe so much; let’s get to making it.
Cauliflower Pizza Crust Recipe:
For The Crust:
1 Head of organic cauliflower (fresh cauliflower will be free of brown spots)
1 Tsp of salt
1 Tsp of Italian spices
1 Cup of shredded mozzarella + 3 Tbsp shredded parmesan cheese
1 Egg
For The Topping:
Generous amounts of shredded mozzarella
Shaved Parmesan
Cooked meats or precooked veggies are wonderful on top – be sure to squeeze any extra moisture out prior to topping the pizza crust. Cauliflower surprisingly contains a lot of water and the goal of this recipe is to get rid of it! (So, adding pineapple on top isn’t such a great idea.)
Fresh basil, more Italian herbs or whatever your favorites are.
Get started!
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
- Shred a head of cauliflower with a hand held shredder – it’s even easier than shredding cheese.
- Place it in a bowl and microwave it for 8 minutes = cauliflower rice!
- Let it cool for a few minutes and then wring the daylights out of it. Place the cauliflower rice in cheesecloth or simply into a kitchen towel. Wring the water out of it, then wring some more – I kept pushing it against the inside wall of my kitchen sink.
- What remains no longer resembles cauliflower and that’s good; you’re doing it right.
- Mix with the other crust ingredients and beat them with a large spoon.
Cauliflower Pizza Crust Making
- You don’t need to get fancy with this – if you have a silpat (non-stick cookie sheet liner) that’s great, otherwise use parchment paper but no wax paper.
- Line a baking pan with the parchment paper and lightly spray with gluten-free cooking spray.
- Press it out by taking the mixture by the handful and placing the pizza crust dough onto the parchment paper and gently pressing into your desired shape. You want it thin but not so thin that it develops holes. This in no way will resemble any glutinous pizza crust you have ever made.
- It will look something like this before you put it in the oven:
- Cook for about 15 minutes or until a nice browned top appears – you may want to stick it under the broiler on low towards the end for a few minutes.
- Blot it if it’s wet at all. Tap at it with a dry paper towel – if you press it out well enough from the get-go you won’t need to do this step.
- This is what you want your cauliflower pizza crust to look like:
- Make another tray setup just like the one you began with.
- Place the new set-up face-side down on top of the crust.
- Flip it over, remove the original pan and parchment paper and place the pizza crust back in the over to cook the underside that’s now on top.
- Turn your broiler on low and slip the crust into the oven for 5-10 minutes, watching it closely.
- Pull it out when it looks something like this:
- Top it – Place your sauce followed by toppings and put it back under the broiler for 5 minutes or until it looks like pizza perfection.
- Let it cool for 5 minutes prior to cutting with a pizza cutter.