I’ve been on a bit of a health kick lately and I wanted to try making a cauliflower pizza crust for a vegetable pizza. I’ve heard a lot of comments about cauliflower crusts being a bit too watery or spongy, so I experimented with a few different ways of doing it. Some folks will microwave the cauliflower to extract the moisture and others will roast it in the oven. I found that putting it in a dry saucepan and simply sautéing it over a medium heat does a nice job of drying it out. And, definitely, the dryer, the better with this crust. If anything, it’s better to error on the side of slightly over cooking it when drying it out versus having it be too moist.
The finished product has a real ‘pizza’ taste to it, but it’s definitely not a dough crust. It will be a different texture than standard pizza dough. But, if you’re trying to reduce the carbs in your diet and you love pizza like I do, this is a nice compromise. I made this one with just red peppers and mushrooms for toppings. But, feel free to experiment and have some fun with it!
Here are some quick shots before the full recipe below:
You’ll be making the crust first to set the cauliflower/cheese/egg white mixture. If the cauliflower is still too moist, then your crust will be, too.
An easy tomato sauce for the pizza is simply to blend together tomatoes, garlic, shallots, and some seasonings and then reduce it down in a small saucepan.
Once the crust and sauce is ready, the next step is just loading up toppings and cheese. This is definitely the easy part.
Then, bake the final pizza for only 7-10 minutes, just to get the toppings tender and the cheese melted.
Cauliflower Crust Pizza
makes a personal pan size pizza that serves 1 or 2
Ingredients
1/2 head Cauliflower
2 lg Egg Whites
3/4 cu Shredded Parmesean Cheese
3/4 cu Shredded Mozzarella Cheese, part skim
1 lg Tomato, roughly chopped
1 clove Garlic, peeled and smashed
1 lg Shallot, peeled and roughy chopped
1/2 tsp dried Oregano
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Salt (optional – I usually don’t include it)
1/2 med Red Pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
2 oz Sliced Mushrooms
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes (optional)
Non Stick Aluminum Foil
Cooking Spray
Method
Break off florets and chop stems into small pieces. Place in a food processor and process until everything is reduced to small uniform pieces. You should have about 2 to 2 1/4 cups of the cauliflower mixture. Transfer to a dry saucepan (preferable non-stick) and set aside for a moment.
Using the same food processor container, no need to clean it, add tomato, garlic, shallot, oregano, pepper and salt (optional). Process until smooth. Transfer to a small saucepan and place over medium low heat. Sauté this mixture until it reduces by half and becomes a thick sauce and then set it aside. At the same time, place the dry saucepan with the cauliflower over a medium heat. Sauté for about 10 minutes, without letting it brown, to cook away as much moisture from the cauliflower as possible. When done, scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon and transfer everything to a mixing bowl.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Let cauliflower cool for about 10 minutes and then add egg whites, 1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese and 1/2 cup parmesan cheese. Mix thoroughly. Line a baking sheet with non-stick aluminum foil, dull side up. Give it a light spray with cooking spray and pour cauliflower mixture on top. Shape the mixture into about a 10” circle creating a uniform thickness. Try not to make the outer edges any thinner than the middle. Place baking sheet in the oven for 15-20 minutes until crust is a light golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly before peeling it away from the aluminum.
If the crust comes away from the aluminum cleanly, you can use the same aluminum again for baking final pizza. If not, you might want to use a fresh sheet. Either way, place the crust flat on the foil and top with the tomato sauce, spreading it to the edge of the crust. Add a little bit of cheese and then arrange red peppers and mushrooms on top. Then, sprinkle remaining cheese over everything. Place pizza back in the oven for an additional 7-10 minutes until cheese is melted. Remove from oven and slice.