This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure and privacy policy.
Even though it’s becoming easier to buy a cauliflower pizza crust these days, nothing beats the flavor or texture of this homemade version. I originally posted this recipe back in 2011, when I learned the secret to making a cauliflower crust that isn’t soggy. (Hint: you need to squeeze out the moisture!)
But now that we’ve been making this pizza crust for over a decade, I’ve learned some important time-saving tricks you need to know about. For example, you can start with frozen cauliflower to skip a cooking step. And you can start with pre-riced cauliflower, which lets you skip using the food processor.
Be sure to read all the tips below if you’d like to make a frozen pizza crust for future use or need to make any substitutions.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐Featured Review
“I have tried a few different cauliflower crust recipes and this is by far the best one! I have made it exactly as the recipe indicates many times and it always turns out perfect.” – TP
Cauliflower Pizza Crust Ingredients
- Fresh (or Frozen) Cauliflower. While you can certainly make this recipe with fresh cauliflower florets, it’s 100% easier to start with thawed frozen florets. (You can either let the bag thaw in the fridge overnight or warm it up to thaw it faster.) Your life will be even easier if you can find frozen, riced cauliflower at the store. I’ll walk you through all the variations I’ve tested below.
- Egg. This adds protein and holds the crust together. I don’t recommend using an egg substitute for this recipe, but I have tested a vegan Cauliflower pizza crust if you need an egg-free recipe.
- Cheese. Even if you’re not the biggest fan of goat cheese, soft goat cheese (also known as chevre) creates the best texture for cauliflower pizza crust. I highly recommend trying the recipe as written, but other varieties of cheese will work as well. Read the comments below for feedback on mozzarella or Parmesan.
- Spices. I think pizza crust tastes best with a little extra flavor. Adding oregano and salt boosts the overall flavor so you don’t feel like you’re eating a crust made mostly of cauliflower.
How to Make Cauliflower Pizza Crust
Step 1:
Preheat the oven to 400ºF and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. If you’re using fresh cauliflower, place one pound of cauliflower florets in a food processor fitted with an S-blade. (Mine is a 12-cup size.)
Briefly pulse the florets until they have a rice-like texture.
**YOU CAN SKIP THIS if you start with pre-riced cauliflower from the store. If you end up using a little more or a little less cauliflower, that’s okay, too. This recipe is quite forgiving.
Step 2:
Transfer the cauliflower rice to the prepared baking sheet and spread it out into an even layer. Place it in the oven to soften and cook for 15 minutes.
Alternatively, you can place the cauliflower in a covered microwave-safe bowl and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on high to steam it. Or, you can cook it in a large skillet with a 1/4 cup of water for 8 to 10 minutes, until it has softened and the water has evaporated.
Once the cauliflower has cooked, let it cool for 10 minutes, or until it is safe to handle without burning yourself.
**YOU CAN SKIP THIS if you start with a 16-ounce bag of fully thawed frozen cauliflower. Previously frozen cauliflower has the same tender texture as if it were cooked! All you have to do is rice it in a food processor, then skip to the next step.
Megan’s Time-Saving Tip
If you can find frozen riced cauliflower (like the Trader Joe’s variety below), you can SKIP the first two steps. Just let it thaw fully, then proceed to the next step, where you’ll squeeze out the excess moisture. I’d use two 12-ounce frozen bags of cauliflower rice to make a single pizza crust in this case.
Step 3:
Transfer the riced cauliflower to the center of a clean dish towel or cheesecloth. Arrange the towel (filled with cauliflower rice) over a small bowl, then squeeze as much liquid as possible from the cooked cauliflower.
It might not feel like there’s excess moisture at first, but you may be surprised by how much liquid is released! (There should be at least 3 to 4 tablespoons of liquid in the bowl.)
It’s okay if the cauliflower looks like a small ball of mush when you’re done.
Want to save this for later?
I'll email this post to you, so you can come back to it later!
Step 4:
Transfer the cauliflower rice you just squeezed into a large bowl, then add 1 large egg, 1/3 cup soft goat cheese (chevre), 1 teaspoon dried oregano, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and a pinch of black pepper, if desired.
Use a spatula to stir well until the cauliflower mixture looks relatively uniform. It won’t feel like regular pizza dough, so don’t worry about that.
Step 5:
Arrange a fresh piece of parchment paper on the large baking sheet, if needed, then transfer the cauliflower mixture to the center of the pan.
Use your hands to gently press the cauliflower pizza dough into a round pizza crust, about 10 to 12 inches wide. Be patient, as it will feel weird and slightly sticky to work with!
Make the crust as thin and flat as possible without leaving any holes. The pan in my photos below is 16 inches by 14 inches for reference. So the crust can fill the pan quite a bit!
Note: Get your hands wet if the crust is sticking to your fingers; wet hands help prevent sticking!
Step 6:
Transfer the pan with the cauliflower crust to the oven and bake for 30 minutes at 400°F, or until golden brown. There’s no need to flip it. Once the top looks dry and golden, it’s ready for toppings!
Add a thin layer of pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and any toppings you love, like pepperoni, mushrooms, onions, fresh basil, or olives.
Return the pizza to the oven to bake until the cheese has melted, about 10 more minutes. You can turn on the broiler and watch closely if you want the cheese to turn golden even faster.
Let the pizza cool for 5 minutes, then cut it into slices. Because you took the time to remove excess moisture, the crust should be easy to pick up by hand!
Storage + Reheating Tips
Leftover pizza slices can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Or you can freeze them for up to 3 months.
You can reheat individual pizza slices in the air fryer at 350ºF for 3 minutes. Or, if you want to freeze a whole crust to cook later, check out the tips below.
The Secret to Perfect Caulifower Pizza Crust
Ingredients
- 1 pound cauliflower florets (or thawed from frozen; see notes)
- 1 large egg , beaten
- ⅓ cup soft goat cheese (or grated Parmesan)
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ 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 thawed frozen cauliflower so it will save you time! Tip: You can use up to 1 ½ pounds of cauliflower if you want to use two 12-ounce bags. This crust will still hold 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, oregano, and salt. 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-inch thick. Wet your hands to prevent sticking, if needed.
- Bake for 30 minutes at 400ºF or until the top looks dry and golden.
- 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
More Low-Carb Recipes to Try
- Cauliflower Fried Rice
- Zucchini Lasagna
- Chicken Vegetable Soup
- Zucchini Hummus (no beans)
- Cottage Cheese Dip
- Mexican Chicken Soup
- Healthy Chicken Burgers
If you try this Cauliflower Pizza Crust recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below, letting me know how you like it.
First, I absolutely love your blog. I have tried numerous recipes and have had success with them all.
However, this was a catastrophe. The process is easy but the clean up is pretty daunting.
My pizza crust smoked the whole house up for 45 minutes. The crust was not firm (but I sort of expected that), the crust stuck to the parchment paper and would not budge.
After spending 2.5 hours in the kitchen battling out with the oven and cauliflower, I was disappointed that this was not a success. But, it definitely gave the whole family a nice hearty laugh. So thank you!
Again, I am a huge fan of your blog and recipes!
It sounds like you used wax paper instead of parchment paper. Wax paper will smoke in the oven and stick like crazy!! You definitely need to make sure you’re using parchment paper, which doesn’t smoke or stick. Hope you have better luck in the future!
If you are vegan and wondered if this recipe would work with a flax egg, it held together ok, but it may be that 2 flax eggs are required instead of 1 flax egg. If anyone tries it, please post your results somewhere.
Thanks.
ka
Any idea of the calorie count per slice??
What great idea, thanks! This worked so well! I salted the water, put the oregano and some crushed garlic right in the water when the cooked it. If you’re a pesto fan it really lends itself well to pesto sauce and some oven roasted cherry tomatoes!
Have you ever used the the “riced” cauliflower to make couscous? IT’s excellent and the texture is such a dead ringer it’s uncanny. You just strain the cauliflower and no need to ring it out. season it how you’d like your couscous and it’s delicious (sometimes i cook it in chicken stock instead of water).Eric Ripert made it on his show once
Well worth the effort and very tasty. My only question is how to get the bottom of the crust crispier. We’ve tried different temperatures and using convection. Have you tried this on a pizza stone with or without the parchment paper?
I am so excited to try this out this weekend! Thank you so much sharing (and I LOVE that I can easily print it for quick reference)!
I found the crust a little too cheesy tasting so will try reducing the goat cheese next time but otherwise found it great!
Hi Megan,
I just discovered your website and I LOVE it !!! I’m going to try a lot of your recipes, thank you so much for them. (as I’m typing this, I’m hungry so maybe that’s why I’m so excited haha)
I just have one question. Can I substitute the goat cheese for cottage cheese, because I don’t like the taste of goat cheese. ? I’ve tried it once with a cauliflower crust pizza, but I’m not sure if it will work with this recipe since cottage cheese has a lot of water.
Or do you think I should leave out the cheese like you said in a reply above.
I’ve never tried it with cottage cheese, but you can use shredded cheese, too. I think the texture is better with the cheese added!
how many servings does this make?
My husband and I usually split this pizza between the two of us, but we like pretty big portions! It could serve up to four, depending on what else you’re serving at the meal.
Where do you buy your goat mozzarella? I can’t seem to find it anywhere!
I buy mine at Whole Foods.