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?
I made it tonight. Followed the recipe. I didn’t use any tomatoes as the hubby is not eating nightshades. I sautéed onion, mushrooms, a little bit of pineapple while the crust was baking. Added that to the crust along with thinly sliced ham and shredded goat mozzarella cheese. It was good. I am amazed what 2 pounds of cauliflower ends up looking when it is done. And I did a lot of squeezing to get the water out of the cooked cauliflower.
Will this recipe work if one were to buy pre-riced cauliflower? I know traders joe’s sell it; would the recipe be just as good/healthy with that instead?
Cooking whole pieces of cauliflower first, then place in bowl and mix with hand mixer, lastly strain and squeeze out water. This seems to eliminate the a step and seems easier to me. The crust is amazing.
This is hands down the best non-flour based recipe I’ve ever used to make pizza. Actually, it’s the only pizza recipe I’ve ever used, but it still tastes like the pizza I order over the phone with the main difference being this is much healthier!
Thank you! I tried this recipe last night, delicious! I made it very cheese and came up so yummy!
How many carbs in a slice of low carb cauliflower an goat cheese pissa. It doesn’t say on any recipe.
I don’t have got cheese. What other type of cheese can I use ?
Any cheese will work, but the texture will be different. I think cheddar makes it greasier, and the goat cheese gives it more of a bread like texture.
Anyone ever try roasting the cauliflower instead immersing it in water and then squeezing out all that water? LMK. Thanks.
I am NO cook- need to stay away from grains right now – so gave this a shot. It was easy and came out perfect. I was literally jumping up and down. Cause it worked!!
I used already “riced” cauliflower in a bag. I read somewhere that instead of boiling it- just microwav it for 6 minutes. I did. Spread it out on cutting board so it could cool off asap- and began to wring bunches in the cloth. YEs it was like mashed potatoes once the water was squished out. So I only used 1 pound of cauliflower and 3/4 goat cheese and the egg. Knead then spread on parchment paper. Baked exactly 40 min in toaster oven. Flipped over and raised the rack up a notch and broiled the underside for about 5 min. Then turned it over to original side and broiled it for 3 min to ensure it was a sturdy slab.
Took it out and it was perfect. Added sauce, olives, onions, cheese back into oven- In 2 min. I was enjoying hot pizza!!! I am so so excited. I only prepped half. Wrapped the other half for today. I toasted it then added avocado spread and hot sauce. Mmmmmm. I’m making this from now. This is my bread substitute. Next I will enjoy as a French toast and top with bananas and honey.
I will make two this week. One with the seasoning into the crust and one without so I can use it with sweet toppings. Thank you so much for this!!!!!
I’ve been looking to try a cauliflower pizza crust instead of my “usual” (fat-head) and I think this one is going to be my first attempt. I’m curious to know if anyone has tried cooking this directly on a pizza stone, and if so, what were the results? Sorry if this was already asked and answered – I didn’t see anything in the comments, but admittedly I started skimming pretty quick after the third page. Thx in advance!
This was perfect! Getting the moisture out made all the difference. Toppings were organic marina sauce pepperoni mushrooms onions spinach and arugula with just a little ricotta. We loved it!
Love this recipe, I make it at least twice a wk!😀i skip the boil & ring out part, just heat it up in saucepan for a few mins & that works as well to get the moisture out. Thanks for the recipe it’s great!
Very tastey
I meant to put 5 stars ugh
Quite simply the best cauliflower pizza crust recipe I’ve ever found (and I’ve tried many store bought and homemade crusts). The goat cheese is a killer idea. Gives the crust a nice chewy texture while the outer edges remain crispy. Wonderful flavor and easy to pick up and eat by hand. I added 1/4 tsp garlic powder but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.
I’ve bookmarked many recipes from your site, but this is the first I’ve made, and I am beyond excited to try more of your stuff after this. Thanks!
Can you use the frozen bags of cauliflower rice?
2 lbs of cauliflower 1/3″ Thick makes a 6″ personal size pizza. I suggest trippling the recepi for an ok sized pizza
I made this last night for the first time! Yum! I loved it! The herbs made it delicious. I’m trying a grain-free diet for few weeks, and I was worried about my family’s homemade pizza night being a drag… With this crust, it was actually really fun!
So I have made this twice now and it so much better than gluten pizza mixes that contain many, lets say, questionable ingredients and health benefits! I wanted to share my experience with this recipe:
I accidentally used 1 pound of cauliflower (instead of 2) and it was OUTSTANDING, crispy and the dough had structure! The flavour was a perfect. The second time I made it with 2 pounds as per recipe and it was soggy. Flavour of cauliflower was much stronger but not unpleasant. The “drying”process is really the key. Squeeze til you can”t squeeze anymore than change the towel and squeeze again and/or ask someone else to! It’s the only time consuming part of this recipe and I would recommend even doing it ahead of time!
Definitely make this recipe; plan on taking the time to drain that water by squeezing and don’t worry about the amount of cauliflower too much; 1 large head to 2 small heads will do you!
Does anyone know about how many cups of “riced”, uncooked cauliflower 2 lbs is?
Wow, this recipe is awesome. Delicious flavor and for the most part got crisp enough to hold up, although I’m wondering if it will get even crispier if I bake it for longer or if it will just become inedible. Will make again. Thanks!
This is the best recipe I have found.I use a juicer with raw cauliflower instead of cooking it and wringing it out. No more burning hands.
I made this, but dry-sauteed the cauliflower rice on low heat til softened, rather than boiling/steaming. Seemed counterintuitive to me to add wetness to cook when you want the cauli as dry as possible for a decent, crispy crust. I added both goat + a good, tangy parm, a few grinds of nice pepper, and the egg.
Also, pre-baked it on parchment, but transferred the actual pizza to a non-stick pan with holes (no parchment) for final bake.
Excellent! The slices were firm, crispy and cohesive, just like a thin crust wheat pie. Fabulous – thanks for the recipe!
Thank you very much for this amazing recipe! Could you tell me please what can I swipe to the goal cheese? I can’t stand it… Thanks in advance for your answer! 🙏🏼
The texture will change slighty when you change the cheese, but you can use any cheese you like. I don’t think the flavor is very pronounced either way, especially when you add the toppings.
I see the calories, but is the full nutritional information also available?
do you happen to have the nutritional values for this pizza crust? it is the best I have made yet!
In addition.
If you don’t have a rimless pan IE sheet pan just flip it upside down. I use a pizza pan to hold the black mat. I also use this method for roasted vegetables especially tomatoes and zucchinis
This is a great recipe and my partner and I don’t mind ricing and squeezing. A nice de-stressing activity! He does a great job getting the excess moisture out.We both are finding it very digestible and prefer it to wheat crust, even though we don’t have allergies. Have been even using half Boursin with the goat cheese for total over the top deliciousness. Thanks for coming up with this!
How many people with this feed? it looks amazing
My husband and I can eat it by ourselves, but if you serve it with some other side dishes I think it could serve 4.
Yummy- so good- I used a mixed pasta spice blend that was fabulous in the crust. I used the same blend in a tomatoe paste based sauce (with added tomatoes ). It as able to be picked up and eaten with hands just like regular crust. Only downside is it is pretty labor Intensive and messy to make.
Trying this for the first time tonight, it’s currently baking in the oven. I was curious if it would be possible to use frozen pre-riced cauliflower so I can avoid taking out my tiny, not so efficient food processor? In my experience, the consistency is not quite as fine as the food processor makes it though. Thanks!
Yes, but I would use this method which calls for frozen cauliflower: https://detoxinista.com/the-easiest-cauliflower-pizza-crust/
Have you tried an egg-free version with goat cheese? If so, how’d that go?
This was much better for Keto, than the dreaded “fat head pizza dough”. I made two batches, and the single key to this recipe is taking a lot of time to get every bit of moisture out. My second attempt was almost perfect. I was able to hold it and eat it like pizza. Slight cauliflower taste. Thank you!
Hey there! This pizza looks good. I want to make it but my mother can’t have goat cheese. What other cheese can I use, if any? Thank you! !
Hi, I can’t wait to try this. Is there another cheese I can substitute for goat cheese?
Any cheese will work, goat cheese just gives it the best texture.
using the towel to squeeze out the moisture made such a huge difference, thank you!! I decided to also add a little bit of buckwheat flour as well which made the crust nice and crunchy.
my crust came out perfect but when i put the sauce and toppings on and popped back into the oven to cook it became super soggy and started falling apart. Any advice? ps – i used very little sauced my toppings weren’t wet either
Just a little help for everyone: use mash potato press to squeeze all the water out. You can do it as soon as the cauliflower is being cooked! Tried it and worked perfect.I can’t rate it yet, just in the process to make it first in my life.😊
Hello, would it be possible to substitute the goat cheese in the dough with cream cheese or some other soft cheese? I do not have any goat cheese handy and just wanted to make sure before attempting, thanks!
This was my first try at cauli crust and it came out delicious. The only thing I did different was sub shredded Swiss for the goat cheese because I had that on hand and it was still delicious. Thanks for an awesome recipe!
I’m confused….so it is ‘boiled’ in 1 inch of boiling water, then the ‘steamed’ rice is wrung dry. Why not use a steamer basket above the 1″ of water? Then it will not have been sitting in boiling water, getting even ‘wetter’, before squeezing the water out?? ??
You’re welcome to use a steamer basket if you prefer. I no longer cook the cauliflower at all, and use this method instead– but you must have frozen, then thawed, cauliflower to make it work: https://detoxinista.com/the-easiest-cauliflower-pizza-crust/
sounds Really good going to make it tonight
I looked into the comments and didn’t see my idea of steaming the cauliflower. I’m sure it’ll still need to be squeezed but I’d think not as much as cooking it directly in water.
I excitedly tried this recipe and was quite disappointed at how it came out. The flavor was just ok and the crust fell apart. I even baked it longer than directed in hopes of it becoming crispy, but it never did. I made this for a number of guests and felt quite embarrassed about it. I followed the directions!
Delicious! I read several of the posts for the frozen riced cauliflower as well as the raw steamed version. I came across a post from someone who used their Omega juicer with raw cauliflower and said the crust came out perfect. I’ve used my Omega juicer countless times for juicing and have wondered what I could do with the leftover pulp. Needless to say, I couldn’t wait to see if the juicer method would work. The crust came out perfect. I used a 3lb head of cauliflower and after putting the pulp through the juicer twice, I had about 1.5 cups of pulp and 4 cups of juice. I plan to juice carrots to add to the cauliflower juice and will freeze to drink later. I made a homemade sauce out of canned tomatoes and seasonings. I put a lot goodies on the pizza, so it was tricky holding it by hand. But it really held up to the task quite well. I feel so good after eating it. I usually pay dearly after eating pizza with a conventional crust. Thank you, and bless you for sharing this recipe with all of us. I plan to make several and freeze to share with my family and friends!
I was excited to try this but I have a child with dairy allergy- we subbed a vegan shredded cheese (which still “melts”) & it was pretty soggy. I wrung the cauliflower out as much as I possibly could but the one egg seemed like it wasn’t quite enough for some reason. Baked between 35-40 mins & ended up telling her it was a pizza casserole because I wasn’t sure if she would eat it with the idea that it was supposed to hold up like pizza 🙂 it tasted ok but not sure that I will try it again the same way as the crust didn’t hold up at all.
Sorry to hear it didn’t work well with vegan cheese. You might want to try this Vegan Cauliflower Pizza Crust next time: https://detoxinista.com/vegan-cauliflower-pizza-crust/ I think it’s sturdier than the original!
This. Is. Delicious. And I have only tasted it out of the oven. I don’t even know if I want to make it a pizza now!!! So yummy, thank you!!
Can you use feta cheese instead of goat cheese for the crust?
I think that would depend on how dry the feta is. It might not bind as well as the goat cheese, which is really soft, but you could always add an extra egg if needed! Let us know how it goes.
My topping is pesto (home made), sliced, cooked mushrooms, sliced red capsicum, shaved asparagus and cheese. Going to try this base today for my diabetic husband. Have read all the comments and will try some of the suggestions for keeping the base dry.
This recipe is really good. My husband who was skeptical loved it. I added some almond meal and flax to it to give a nutty flavor. It is a keeper…will add this to our list of regular dishes…thank you!
I really like this recipe, but I feel like the steps have been modified since I first made it, which is really annoying. The original instructions worked for me, and now I can’t find them…
The recipe is still the same, but I did change the order of the cauliflower food processor step. Based on hundreds of comments, people seemed to prefer cooking the whole cauliflower florets first, then processing them into rice afterwards, so that it could cool off after cooking. You’re welcome to rice the cauliflower first, then cook it, but then you use to use a fine mesh strainer basket like I called for in the original recipe. The other ingredients and baking method haven’t changed, though! (I also added the faster option of using frozen cauliflower, which might make it look confusing– but it’s just an option. With all the convenience options available now, like frozen cauliflower rice, I thought I should mention a time-saving step!)