Looking for a low carb pizza alternative? Then you really should jump on the CAULIFLOWER bandwagon.
I’ve been using cauliflower to make dishes lower carb for a couple of years now. I’ve tried low carb cauli tortillas, burger buns, bacon-wrapped grilled cheese, fried rice, and even cauliflower grits. But the one recipe I make most often is cauliflower crust pizza. It’s an absolute staple in my kitchen, especially on #MeatlessMondays.
If you’re new to low carb cooking, and not sure where to start, I highly recommend this SUPER EASY, pizza crust recipe. It’s the perfect vehicle for any topping really. I’ve thrown on fried eggs for breakfast, grilled steak for lunch, even spoonfuls of Thai curry chicken. The texture can be anywhere in between a hard-cooked omelet to a thick (albeit cheesy) crepe. It just depends on how thin (or thick) you cook it.
The cauliflower crust recipe I use now was adapted from two recipes I tried in the past. I first discovered Recipe Girl’s crust, then incorporated some tips from The Iron You blog.
If you follow me on instagram or twitter, you’ve probably seen the low carb “provolone and cauliflower crust” pizza I’ve been testing. It’s so, SO good and I’ll have that on the blog VERY soon. I thought it best to start with the basic cauliflower crust first.
PHOTOS (recipe below):
Clean and dry cauliflower florets.
Rice or grate cauliflower.
Cook in microwave (or steam florets before grating).
After cooling, add to towel and squeeze out excess water. This is the tip I got from the Iron You Website:
The secret for the perfect cauli crust lies in squeezing out all the moisture from the cauliflower “flour”.
I divide the cooked cauliflower up into small batches so I can get a better squeeze.
After squeezing out the liquid, it almost looks like a dough, right?
Note: My friend @DJfatal skipped the liquid squeeze by sautéing the cauliflower on a stovetop. He slowly heated the riced cauliflower in a frying pan for about 15 minutes.
Add egg, cheese and seasoning then mix.
Ready to make pizza!
Starting at middle, gently spread the pizza out and shape. Bake for about 15 minutes (until golden) in a preheated 450º oven.
Add toppings, warm through then cut and enjoy!
EQUIPMENT
Food Processor or Box Grater.
Pizza Pan. I currently use a nonstick deep dish, pizza pan (I actually own two). If you don’t have a non-stick pizza pan, use non-stick foil or parchment paper.
Clean dish towel.
RECIPE (Adapted from RecipeGirl AND The Iron You)
Crust:
1/2 LARGE head cauliflower (or 2+ cups shredded cauliflower)
1 large egg
1 cup finely shredded mozzarella cheese (plus more for topping)
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning or oregano
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
Pinch of pepper
Cooking spray
Toppings:
1/2 cup shredded cheese to start, then whatever you want!
In the photo above I have turkey sausage, peppers, chilies, red onion & scallions.
I’m not a fan of tomato sauce, so I use red pepper sauce or just extra cheese & toppings. More topping ideas here.
Nonstick cooking spray
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 450º.
2. Shred the florets using a food processor (or box grater). When shredding, you want tiny cauliflower crumbles, about the size of rice. If you live near Trader Joes, just skip this step and buy the cauliflower ALREADY riced. It makes this recipe go so quickly!
3. Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave-safe bowl and cook for 8 minutes. Do not add any additional liquid. If you don’t have a microwave, you can steam the cauliflower before grating (tip via From Eat, Drink, Smile). Let the cauliflower cool before squeezing out excess liquid.
4. Get your pizza pan ready. If you don’t have a non-stick pizza pan, spray a pan with nonstick spray or use parchment paper and grease with olive oil.
5. After the cooked cauliflower has cooled, use a clean towel to ring out excess water. I do this in small batches (small hands) so I can really squeeze out the extra liquid (in the kitchen sink). There should be about 1 1/2 cups of cauliflower after cooking and removing liquid. Don’t fret if ends up being less then that. Just use more cheese in the “dough”. I’ve done that several times and the pizza comes out perfectly fine.
6. Place dry cauliflower into bowl and add the egg, cheese and seasonings. Mix together then gently place in center of pizza pan. Slowly press the mixture and form into a large circle. It will seem a bit wet but that’s ok. Spray the top with cooking spray so it gets crispy. Bake 450º for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Add more cheese and warm through until melted. You may want to broil for a few minutes if you’ve added something like pepperoni.
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 15-18 minutes
When I switched to a non-stick (deep dish) pizza pan recently, I started adding provolone cheese slices around the edge to create a crispier crust. I’ll have step-by-step photos in another blog post soon.
Enjoy!
Why I cook #LowCarbJo at home.
More Cauliflower Pizza Photos
List of 40 Low Carb Foods (I keep this list bookmarked)
#LowCarbJo on twitter
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