I’ve made cauliflower pizza crust in the past with not much luck. It tended to be tasteless, filled with cheese, and fell apart in my hands. I was never a believer that cauliflower could replace “real” pizza crust — until I found this recipe.
This cauliflower pizza crust is also a paleo friendly, which means it contains no cheese, no flour, and no grains. But you can still pick it up like a regular piece of pizza, and it’s so good you will honestly forget you’re eating cauliflower crust.
And, of course, the best part of making a pizza crust is the endless potential when it comes to toppings. There are so many options from buffalo chicken, grilled vegetables, pesto, steak, and arugula, or just the basic red sauce and mozzarella (if you don’t mind losing some “cheese points” during the Challenge). I made mine with some leftover red sauce from the night before, caramelized onions, sauteed red pepper, and rotisserie chicken. Simple and delicious.
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
This cauliflower pizza crust is paleo friendly, which means it contains no cheese, no flour, and no grains.
Ingredients
- 1 small- to medium-sized cauliflower head cut into large pieces, using just the florets and not the stems
- 1/4 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- Pinch crushed red pepper to taste
- 2 Tbsp almond meal
- 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast optional
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large egg
- Nonstick cooking oil or olive oil
Instructions
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Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Place a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven.
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On a cutting board or cookie sheet, place a piece of parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking oil or brush the parchment with olive oil.
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Take your head of cauliflower and cut off the florets. You don’t need to use the stem. Pulse in a food processor for about 30 seconds, until you get very fine cauliflower crumbs. You may need to do this in two batches.
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Place the cauliflower in a microwave safe bowl and cover. Microwave for 3-4 minutes, until steaming. Let cool in the bowl.
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Once cooled, dump the cooked cauliflower onto a clean tea towel, wrap it up, and wring the water out of it. Squeeze as much water out as possible. There will be a lot, so keep squeezing!
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Dump the dry cauliflower into a bowl. It should resemble pulp. Add all your spices, almond meal, yeast, and olive oil. Mix the mixture to incorporate all the ingredients.
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Now add your egg and mix together well.
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Once mixed together, use your hands to form your dough into a ball. Place the dough on the oiled parchment paper and press down to form a thin circle shape.
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Using your cutting board or cookie sheet, slide the dough on the parchment paper onto your hot pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven.
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Bake for about 12 minutes, or until it starts to turn golden brown and the edges start to crisp. Remove from oven.
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Add your toppings and bake for another 5 minutes, or until your toppings looks delicious and the crust starts to crisp.