This Cauliflower Pizza Crust recipe is a healthy veggie-packed option that is naturally gluten-free and grain-free. It’s perfect for people who still want to eat their pizza, while following a low-carb or food combining diet.
How to Make Cauliflower Pizza
Making cauliflower pizza is straight-forward, but a little labor intensive. If you start with fresh cauliflower, you’ll need to steam it until tender. (You can skip this step by using frozen cauliflower– read further down in this post for more info.) Then, you’ll pulse it in a food processor until it’s rice-like in texture.
(You can save even more time by purchasing pre-riced cauliflower, either fresh or frozen.)
The Secret to a Non-Soggy Crust
Once your cauliflower is tender and “riced” you’ll need to squeeze out the moisture that cauliflower naturally contains. This is the secret to getting a dry crust that you can pick up with your hands. (I the same nut milk bag that I use to make almond milk to do this.)
Once the cauliflower “rice” is very dry, you mix it with an egg, soft goat cheese (which gives the crust a better texture than using shredded cheese), and some Italian seasonings.
If you don’t have goat cheese on hand, many readers have reported success in the comments below using other cheeses. You can try mozzarella, cheddar, or even cream cheese with similar results. The texture is the driest with the soft goat cheese, though.
The crust won’t be like anything else you’ve worked with before– you spread it with a spatula, and use your hands to press and shape the dough.
Bake until the crust is dry and golden, then flip it and bake longer until the other side isn’t soggy. I use the parchment paper to make the flipping process easier.
(You don’t need a second piece of parchment paper after you flip it– the baked crust won’t stick to the pan after it’s been flipped.)
Using Frozen Cauliflower for Pizza Crust
I’ve been making this cauliflower pizza crust for years, and there are a number of ways you can make it, but the easiest method is by starting with frozen cauliflower.
I buy 1-pound bags of frozen cauliflower, so that I don’t have to do any chopping, and then I thaw them in the fridge the night before I want to make my pizza.
Using frozen cauliflower allows you to skip the pre-cooking of the cauliflower, and ultimately saves you time, but I’ve also included directions for starting with fresh cauliflower in the recipe below if you’d prefer to do that.
You must thaw and squeeze out the liquid from the cauliflower to get a non-soggy crust.
Update: Many stores are also now carrying frozen pre-riced cauliflower, which will save you even more time, since you won’t have to break out the food processor, either. I’ve made this crust using two 12-ounce or two 16-ounce bags of frozen cauliflower, so know that this recipe is relatively flexible with the cauliflower amount.
Cauliflower Pizza Toppings
One last thing to keep in mind when making a cauliflower pizza crust is that you should try to keep the toppings minimal. Go light on the sauce, so that it doesn’t re-hydrate the crust and make it soggy, and the same goes for the cheese. (Remember, there’s already some cheese baked into the crust, too!)
How to Make It Without Cheese
If you don’t tolerate dairy well, I’ve made this crust by omitting the cheese and using an extra egg instead. The crust texture is a little “egg-ier” that way, but it still holds up.
I’ve also posted a Vegan Cauliflower Pizza Crust recipe, if you need an egg-free and dairy-free option.
How to Freeze Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Because making a cauliflower pizza crust can be a bit labor-intensive, I like to double the recipe and make two large crusts (or 4 smaller crusts for individual pizzas) and freeze the extras for an easy future meal.
I’ve found that this works best by baking the crusts, and then freezing them in an airtight container. That way, when you’re ready to make a pizza, you can simply place the frozen crust on a pizza sheet and bake it at 400ºF just until it’s heated through, about 10 minutes.
Then add your toppings and bake for 5-10 minutes more, until the cheese is bubbling.
The Secret To Perfect Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 1 pound cauliflower florets (or thawed from frozen; see notes)
- 1 large egg , beaten
- 1/3 cup soft goat cheese (or grated Parmesan)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. If the cauliflower isn't already riced, add the cauliflower florets into a food processor and pulse briefly, until it has a rice-like texture. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, then spread the cauliflower rice out in a single layer. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender.
- If you're using frozen cauliflower, be sure that it is completely thawed, and process it into a rice-like texture using a food processor. (Alternatively, you can start with frozen cauliflower rice that has been thawed, to skip the food processor step.) There is no need to cook the frozen & thawed caulifower, so it will save you time! Tip: You can use up to 1 1/2 pounds of cauliflower, if you want to use two 12-ounce bags. It still holds together well!
- Once the riced cauliflower has been cooked (or thawed), transfer it to a clean, thin dishtowel. Wrap up the steamed rice in the dishtowel, twist it up, then SQUEEZE all the excess moisture out! (Be careful if your cauliflower is still hot-- let it cool before handling.) A lot of extra liquid will be released, which will help you avoid a soggy pizza crust.
- In a large bowl, mix up the squeezed-out rice, egg, cheese, and spices. It won't be like any pizza dough you've ever worked with, but don't worry, it will work!
- Press the dough out onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (It's important that it's lined with parchment paper, not wax paper, or it will stick.) Keep the dough about 1/4"thick.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes at 400ºF, until dry and golden. Use the parchment paper to flip the crust over, and bake again until the other side is nice and dry, about 10 more minutes.
- Add your favorite pizza toppings to the crust, such as sauce and cheese, then return the pizza to the 400ºF oven. Bake an additional 5-10 minutes, just until the cheese is hot and bubbly. Slice and serve warm.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is for 1/4 of this recipe. This information is automatically calculated, and is just an estimate, not a guarantee.
If you try this Cauliflower Pizza recipe, please leave a comment below letting me know how you like it. And if you make any modifications, I’d love to hear about those, too. We can all learn from your experience!
More Cauliflower Recipes:
- Mashed Cauliflower “Potatoes” (or try my Slow Cooker version)
- Air Fryer Cauliflower
- Mouth-Watering Cauliflower Steaks
- Cauliflower Fried Rice
- Creamy Cauliflower Alfredo
- How to Make Cauliflower Rice
I can’t wait to hear what else you try!
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Reader Feedback: Have you tried a cauliflower pizza crust yet?
It ended up tasting like musty towel so I had to throw it out. The crust texture turned out very well though. It took two hours from start to finish thoug. Too long.. too bad because I was looking forward to it.
I made this recipe tonight, recently diagnosed with diabetes and trying to eat low carb. I had been craving pizza for so long , but this turned out perfectly ! Thank you !
Hi, I will most likely try this with Trader Joe’s pre-made cauliflower rice. How many ounces or cups of the rice do I need for a single recipe to equal 2 lbs. cauliflower?
If I don’t use a soft cheese like goat or cream and go with Parmesan or feta instead, will I still use 1/3c?
Thank you.
I’m wanting to do this too. Did you have any suggestions on how much pre-riced cauliflower?
Please tell me I can use another cheese besides goat cheese. I cannot stomach that cheese. Recipe sounds fantastic otherwise.
Yes, many people have reported success using many other cheeses, including parmesan, feta, cheddar, and mozzarella. The texture changes with the cheese that you use, but they all taste good!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe. Great twist on crust and so ok necessary when you can’t eat gluten plus are trying to cut carbs!
My daughter in law made this a she not only said it was awesome but her 6 & 10 year olds gobbled it up! She’s making it again to take to her office for co-worker friends. Thought you’d appreciate that.
LOVE hearing that! Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I tried this tonight. It was delicious, but do you have any suggestions to make the crust crispier?? Longer cooking time?? Maybe switch to Parmesan and add another egg??
Great Recipe. I followed the recipe to the Tee. The only added element have I added some brown rice crumbs for the firm texture. Perfect way to replace carbs and have a little pizza treat when trying to watch weight.
Also, can you suggest a good egg replacer for this recipe? My friend does not eat eggs and would like to try this recipe.
Looks delicious, but my food processor is on the blink. Do you have any other gluten free pizza options? I found this one with cornmeal – https://www.recipestroupe.com/recipe-gluten-free-corn-meal-pepperoni-pizza-51019.html – but I can’t find any cornmeal flour in my supermarket. Any suggestions?
If you have my second cookbook, No Excuses Detox, there’s a super fast and easy pizza crust recipe in there that uses quinoa, or you could make this Chickpea Flour Pizza: https://detoxinista.com/gluten-free-mediterranean-socca-flatbread-pizza/
Do you have to use goat cheese – i have cHeDder
For an egg replacement, try ground flax seeds.
Here’s my recipe for an egg-free Cauliflower pizza crust using flax/chia seeds. You definitely have to make some extra adjustments: https://detoxinista.com/vegan-cauliflower-pizza-crust/
You say add CHeese in with roce mixture and bake, then add cheese topping after you bake too. Is this a mistake or are you adding half the cheese to the dough and the other half later?
Could I use the frozen cauliflower that is already riced? Just cook it and then squeeze it in the towel?
Thanks for the recipe!
I don’t want to use goat cheese in my cauliflower crust what other can I use?
You can use sour cream instead of goat cheese
What are the net carbs for this? What toppings would you recommend for someone with a restriction of 50g net carbs a day. Thank you!!
This recipe sounds great. What could I substitute for the goat cheese in the crust….I don’t like goat cheese. Thanks!
I purchased 2lbs of riced cauliflower from Costco. Followed instructions and kept thinking there is no way this is going to form a crust with one egg and all this cauliflower. Sure enough, I was right. I even tried cooking much longer. It was a complete mess! I’ve made cauliflower pizza crust on the past, I loved it. No idea if purchasing already riced cauliflower matters. Couldn’t even start to make a pizza.
A couple things to note about the Costco cauliflower: 1) the weight of 2 pounds of cauliflower before it’s cut and riced becomes a little less than 2 pounds, so with the two pounds of Costco riced cauliflower add more goat cheese. 2) the Costco cauliflower is a bit course so throwing it into a food processor to break it up a tad more to make it finer will help!
Did exactly what was said and it was not crunchy at all… reason?
Cauliflower pizza crust doesn’t really get “crunchy.” Maybe the edges can a little, but in general the goal is a dry crust that you can pick up, rather than a soggy/eggy one that most recipes will give you.
Looks great!
Can I use different cheese
Added some fresh minced garlic and fresh basil. Mixed mine in the food processor. Came out AWESOME! Thanks!
Great recipe. Nice crispy crust and could eat it with your hands without it falling apart! Great flavour as well.
We made this tonight for the first time, it was delicious. It was tangy but a great crust.
I used cream cheese instead of goat cheese. It’s in the oven and has cracks on top. Any suggestions to get it nice and golden without cracks?
I’ve already made twice! Excellent recipe! Thank you!
I’ve already made twice! Excellent recipe! Thank you! Followed directions exact!
I can’t believe you’re criticising a traditional food from one of the healthiest cultures in the world. Perhaps the problem is what people have been doing to the food for a few decades, not with the actual concept itself (you can combine pesticide-laden GMOs with antibiotic and hormone-filled food as well and harmoniously as you want, you’re still left with junk).
Please let’s all take a moment to stand back and put things in perspective and not believe we’re so cool and know everything and that people have been so ignorant for the past few millenia. After all, pizza doesn’t seem to have had such a catastrophic effect on Italians after all.
Hi, looks amazing and I want to try it tonight for dinner! Has anyone translated this into grams? Only need enough for two of us!
Is one cauliflower enough?
how much of bagged pre-riced cauliflower should I use in this recipe
I used one pound of ready to go rices cauliflower with the amount of goat cheese listed and it worked perfect. But it was a small piece. Like a personal pizza. Also I did not boil it. I microwaved it for 6 min.
It was great! Worked perfectly. Cut into it and picked it up like a pizza slice.
I am not fond of goats cheese … do you have any suggestions for alternative?
Just made the frozen version to save time. Had done the fresh cauliflower twice and the crust was mushy. Delicious, but we NEEDED forks. Tonight it was almost perfectly pick-up-able! I think it was The Flip while baking the crust.
Why don’t we flip the fresh version!
My wife and I just made this and it was fantastic. I went to log this in my carb manager app and was surprised that 2 pounds of cauliflower has 27g of net carbs. Do know if boiling and squeezing out all of the water reduces this amount in any way? I’m hoping some of the natural sugar is somehow removed.
What carb Manager app do you use? I’m looking for recommendations.
Hi!
Thank you so much for sharing this delicious recipe! You are very much appreciated! I actually never cook the cauliflower “rice.” The first time I skipped this step by accident..I guess I was so excited to make the pizza 😛 However, it came out perfectly delicious! Since then, I’ve made it 2 or 3 times without cooking the cauliflower rice and its’ always great and it saves me the extra work of having to dry the rice in a towel…no burned hands either:-)
Can the cheese be replaced with nutritional yeast?
Is there a way to substitute the goat cheese in the crust for something that’s safe for a pregnant woman to eat?
I think once you heat it at 350ºF it would be safe (all bacteria would be killed at that temperature) but you’re welcome to use cheddar or any other cheese you like– it will just give you a slightly different texture.
The crust was amazing. In many ways it offered more flavor than my normal crusts. i will be making this anytime I get my pizza crave on.
This recipe is useless. It doesn’t serve 4 people – nowhere close. It’s enough for 2 normal medium-sized pizzas. All that time and effort for terrible portions.
So it’s in the oven now and looking great! I love cauliflower pizza but always struggle w the towel drain (hot substance, gets messy fast, hot on hands, etc). Tonight I used a large clean French press (yes the kind for coffee) and poured the cauliflower in there from my pot in batches, plunged, poured the water out and it worked really really well. No hot hands, quick clean and done. Just thought i’d Share. Thanks for the recipe!!
I really don’t like goat cheese…Can you taste the goat cheese on this or can you use a substitute?
I can’t taste it with all the pizza toppings and I prefer the texture the goat cheese gives this crust. However, you can use another cheese if you like.
First time leaving a comment on a recipe. I just had to as it was such a success.
I used 2 cauliflower heads and initially thought there would be too much dough but it was perfect. I used 2 eggs and a tub of goats cheese. As I was moulding the dough I thought to myself ‘this is a disaster..’, but 35mins in the oven and it crisped up lovely.
Topped with tuna, ham, olives, red pepper, onion and spinach as well as mozzarella.
It turned out fabulous. Kids said it was the best pizza they have ever tasted. Even my anti partner loved it. Im unable to eat yeast and flour so the fact there is a pizza base I can eat and it tastes so damn good, its superb.
Most importantly, the base held fine and we were able to pick up sices as normal. Squeezing the water out was the trick.
Thank You for a great recipe!
Just made this tonight and it was perfect..thank you so much for the recipe and all the great tips, including taking all that excess liquid out..PERFECT!!!
I have purchased a bag of cauliflower all ready riced. It’s a 12ounce bag. How can I alter the recipe. Is it equivalent to a pound or half a pound?
A pound is 16 ounces, so a 12 ounce bag is like 3/4 of a pound.
‘I’m just wondering if you could use frozen commercial cauliflower rice for this crust.linda
Yes, just thaw it first. No need to cook it, but you’ll still need to wring it out. I posted my recipe for using frozen cauilflower here: https://detoxinista.com/the-easiest-cauliflower-pizza-crust/
I followed this recipe to make a pizza last week. I LOVE this crust. It is so delicious, I like it more than regular pizza. With that said, it was time-consuming and kind of a pain to get the moisture out of the cauliflower so I might explore some other low carb pizza crust option next time. It really was delicious though!
I used the frozen Cauliflower rice from Trader Joe.
I put it in a large wide pot with no extra water and cooked it over high heat,stirring frequently.
There was enough moisture in it that it steamed and became tender, and then all the moisture cooked off and it was perfectly dry.
Came out great.
I throw a handful of Parmasean cheese into my crust. Helps it crisp up. I love the recipe and am so thankful to have my favourite food. I gave up all wheat in July and not sure I could have made it without this recipe. I am making the crust tonight and trying something different. I am cooking florets and then going to throw it through a potato ricer! Hope it works! I have arthritis and the squeezing is difficult.
Oh, I also use ricotta instead of goat cheese.
It doesn’t seem like it makes a very large pie. I weighed one head of cauliflower without the stand and it came to a little over a pound so I use two heads of cauliflower. How many heads of Collie flower did you use? I’m getting ready to put it in the oven now but like I said it seems to have made one personal size pizza
First time out of the gate I think it came out pretty good!! My husband, if he could would live on pizza. A man quite particular about his all American favorite dish, really liked it! I took advice from previous comments and baked it longer 40-45 minutes. Flipped it and baked another 5 or so.
It was a good crust, almost crunchy. Had a good texture. Need to really squeeze out the liquid and bake longer. Next time I’ll fry the cauliflower in a pan as opposed to boiling it, then squeeze if even necessary. When I fry it’s less liquidity.the drawback is it’s too small. Anyone have suggestions on a sauce that doesn’t become liquidity after dressing the pie? I didn’t use much.
I need all we loved it. I Will perfect it, as there’s lots of potential!!