Pizza has to be one of my favorite meals EVER.
Gooey cheese, chunky tomato sauce… I’m already drooling.
But since traditional pizza is mis-combined, thank goodness for whoever came up with the idea of making a cauliflower-based pizza crust. Now we can have our crust AND cheese, and eat it, too! All without feeling sluggish and greasy afterward.
You may remember that I’ve tried my hand at a cauliflower crust before. It was fine, but definitely more egg-y than traditional pizza crust—> and it certainly couldn’t be picked up by hand!
Luckily for us, Doris has taught me the secret to making perfect cauliflower pizza crust.
The kind you can pick up with your hands.
The kind that will fool your family.
The kind you’ll want to eat again and again!
–
Cauliflower Pizza Crust
makes 1 large crust
Recipe courtesy of Doris Choi
Ingredients:
4 cups cauliflower rice, steamed and strained
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup soft goat cheese (chevre)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
pinch of salt
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 400F, then get to work on your crust.
Step 1: Begin by making your cauliflower “rice.”
Simply pulse batches of raw cauliflower florets in a food processor, until a rice-like texture is achieved.
–
Step 2: Steam & Strain the rice.
Fill a large pot with about an inch of water, and bring it to a boil. Add the “rice” and cover; let it steam for about 4-5 minutes. Drain into a fine-mesh strainer.
Now here comes the secret:
Once you’ve strained the rice, transfer it to a clean, thin dishtowel.
Wrap up the steamed rice in the dishtowel, twist it up, then SQUEEEEEEEZE all the excess moisture out!
It’s amazing how much liquid will be released, which will leave you with a nice and dry pizza crust. 
–
Step 3: Make & Shape the dough.
In a large bowl, mix up your strained rice, beaten egg, goat cheese, and spices.
Don’t be afraid to use your hands! You want it very well mixed.
It won’t be like any pizza dough you’ve ever worked with, but don’t worry– it’ll hold together!
Press the dough out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (It’s important that it’s lined with parchment paper!)
Keep the dough about 1/3″ thick, and make the edges a little higher for a “crust” effect, if you like.
–
Step 4: Bake!
Bake for 35-40 minutes at 400F.
The crust should be firm, and golden brown when finished.
–
Step 5: Load on the Toppings!
Now’s the time to add all your favorites– sauce, cheese, and any other toppings you like.
This goat mozzarella is ridiculously good, without a “goat-y” flavor.
Time-Saving Tip: I recommend making a double-batch of cauliflower pizza crusts–> make one for now, and save one for later. After baking the crusts and adding the toppings, wrap up the whole pizza in foil, and FREEZE it for a quick “frozen pizza” to enjoy another night! Simply thaw and bake at 400F, as directed below, until the cheese is hot and bubbly.
Return the pizza to the 400F oven, and bake an additional 5-10 minutes, just until the cheese is hot and bubbly.
Then slice and serve immediately!
Enjoy!
©Detoxinista.com
–
There is something so comforting to me about eating rectangular-shaped pizza slices.
It’s reminiscent of cafeteria pizza… only WAY better.
Hope you try this the next time a pizza-craving strikes!
Related posts:
Did you cook the cauliflower “rice” right in the 1″ of water? or in a steamer basket in the water?
Yes, I cooked the rice directly in the 1″ of boiling water– no steam basket. I drained it all into a fine mesh strainer after cooking, before transferring it to the dishtowel to squeeze out the rest of the moisture.
Hope that helps!
since you have had 51 comments to date, and no one has asked for clarification, i must be asking a question that needs none. however, i am unsure about the steaming of the cauliflower…you said boil the water, put the cauliflower in, and cover and steam for 4 to 5 minutes. does that mean you let it boil on high, or does that mean you cover it and turn it off to steam??? what is the desired doneness of the cauliflower at the end of the 4 to 5 minutes. thank you for enlightening me. i appreciate it.
Hi Sue! I do let the water continue to boil while the cauliflower rice is covered for 5 minutes– though, I’m not sure it’s necessary. After 5 minutes, I usually just assume that it’s done, and don’t really check the texture, but it should be at a “fork tender” consistency. (Of course, it’s nearly impossible to check with a fork since the consistency is already rice!) You can usually smell when it’s done, as well, as your kitchen will start to fill with the strong scent of cooked cauliflower.
Hope that helps!
hi megan,
thank you, and now will you trouble shoot for me?…
i did not think you wanted it to continue to boil covered, because, one, i did not think that meant steaming, and two, i thought it might burn. so what do i do now…can i salvage the cauliflower? put it back on and cook it a little longer? i know this is not rocket science, but i wanted to do it the way you did, at least for the first time. thanks for your patience with this neophyte cook.
If you brought the water to a boil, added the “rice” and covered for 5 minutes, it should be steamed properly– even if you turned off the heat. Next time I make it myself, I will probably reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, rather than keeping it boiling, because I don’t think it’s necessary.
If you’re concerned that it’s not cooked enough, (if the rice still feels too firm) I imagine you could cook it another 2 minutes in boiling water, then pick up the recipe from there! Be sure to drain and squeeze out the moisture well– that’s definitely the key to a good crust! And be prepared for the texture to be more moist and crumbly than traditional dough. You’ll have to shape a rather mushy dough onto the parchment paper, but it will be nice and firm after baking! Good luck!
I was surprised at how tasty this was! Truly a keeper in the recipe book. The texture, flavor and look was all similar to pizza! I cannot wait to make this again. Wow. Thanks for the recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Tiffany!
My rice was still mush the second time around, and still didn’t look like yours, but I decided to proceed anyway, and I’m glad I did because it worked! It held together just fine and could easily be picked up to eat, we did not use any utensils. We topped it with sauce, mushrooms, onions, spinach, chili pepper flakes, parmesan, mozza, and fresh basil.
Yay, I’m so glad it worked for you!!
[...] et lidt mislykket forsøg, formående jeg at fremstille en fast pizza bund af blomkål, som faktisk smagte helt hæderligt. Resterne af pizzaen kom i fryseren og er sidenhen blevet brugt [...]
[...] give kudos to Liana for sending this idea my way.) There are dozens of sites with recipes for Cauliflower Crust. You can also substitute a purchased crust, or even crusty french bread as your base. But as [...]
Hi, Megan. My younger daughter was recently diagnosed with gluten and casein intolerance, so for now we steer clear off any milk products, including goat milk (it has a diferrent form of casein, but during the “cleansing” period none of it is allowed). So, my question to you – can i make the same crust but skip the cheese altogether? DO you recommend any alternatives? Is it just for flafor, or it actually keeps the thing together?
Thanks so much,
Jennt
Hi Jenny!
I haven’t tried making this without the cheese yet, so I can’t say for sure how it will turn out. I think if you reduce the cauliflower a bit, and just use the egg, it should turn out fine… but you just never know until you try.
If food combining isn’t an issue for you, perhaps adding a tablespoon of ground flax would help bind it together as well.
Let me know how it turns out!
this crust was great. i was not expecting to like it but I really did!!!
My daughter followed the recipe exactly and the crust was easy to pick up, crisp, and I would not have known that it was cauliflower had she not told me. we are going to make it when we get home for sure. you must wring out the moisture after the cooked cauliflower cools some.
bon appetit!
Hi Megan. I made your Cauliflower Fried Rice two nights ago and your Cauliflower Pizza Crust for dinner tonight and both were SO good, particularly the pizza. My husband loved it! I made all the cauliflower rice a couple of days ago and kept it covered in the fridge so it was a lot simpler and quicker to make make both dishes. I even whipped up some more of the fried rice for lunch today! Thanks for some amazing recipes!
If I don’t have parchment paper, has anyone used nonstick spray or foil??
I’ve tried baking it on a Silpat, which usually has similar results to using non-stick spray, and the crust wasn’t as dry or firm as when using the parchment paper.
Please let us all know if you have any luck, though!
What’s so great about this recipe is it’s really forgiving: when I saw I wanted to try it right away, but, except for the egg and the seasonings, I had none of the ingredients. So, I used broccoli and zucchini “rice” and blended cheddar with plain yoghurt as the cheese. Since it didn’t have any strong character without the chevre, I threw in a teaspoon of miso, a clove of garlic, and some black pepper to compensate. I just used a simple topping of chopped red bell pepper. And it was delicious! Thank you so so much!
That sounds wonderful! I’m glad it turned out so well, even with the substitutions.
[...] followed all of them. I took a little of this one from Recipe Girl, a little of this one from Detoxinista, and I even tried the idea of almond meal that I read about on Food Loves Writing, where the [...]