Cauliflower Pizza

I know what you are thinking. Cauliflower pizza – yuck? Don’t worry, not too long ago I was there also – completely skeptical. I had seen so many recipes using cauliflower to make different things but I hate cauliflower (taste and smell!). However, in the low point of my food life I thought, “why not?” So I tried and LOVED it. We all did.  I’m not sure how it happens but when you turn “riced” cauliflower into a pizza crust, something magical happens and it resembles nothing like the pungent veggie. Best part – low fat, little carbs, and customizable! It is a very delicate crust though so don’t be surprised when you can’t load it up with every topping imaginable.

 

1 head of cauliflower
1 cup of parmesan cheese (or Romano, etc. – just  hard, sharp cheese)
½ cup GF breadcrumbs
1 Tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried basil
1 egg

The first step is to “rice” your cauliflower. This helps make the veggie easier to work with. Take your head of cauliflower, uncooked and trim into chunks. Place the chunks into a food processor and pulse until the cauliflower resembles rice.

Cook the “rice” cauliflower in a saucepan filled with water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 2 minutes (just until tender). Strain the water from the cauliflower. Don’t use a typical colander because the cauliflower is probably small enough to fit through the holes. I use a juicer colander (very fine). You could also use cheese cloth. You just want to get as much water out as possible so your crust will crisp up.

Combine the strained cauliflower, cheese, breadcrumbs, egg, parsley and basil into a bowl and mix until well combined.

On a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, press out the mixture to form your pizza crust. I press mine to about ¼” thick.

Bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes or until crust starts to brown on top.

                NOTE: You can make this into breadsticks as well. Just don’t add the toppings

TOPPINGS

Add whatever kind of toppings you’d like, just remember, the heavier the toppings, the soggier the crust. Here’s what we typically use:

½ to 1 cup of tomato sauce (depending on how saucy you want)
4-5 fresh basil leaves cut into thin strips
6 thin slices of mozzarella cheese
Parmesan cheese (to sprinkle on top)

Onto your cooked pizza crust, layer the tomato sauce, mozzarella, basil strips in that order. Sprinkle on as much parmesan cheese as you’d like and bake at 350°F until your cheese is melted.

We’ve also tried different varieties of toppings:

                Balsamic Vinegar, chicken, mozzarella
                Ranch, Chicken, Turkey Bacon, cheddar
                Spinach, strawberries and feta cheese