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?
Made this for my family…my 18mo son is PICKY but loves pizza. the take out stuff always gives him a sour tummy. Not this! he jammed this into his mouth and grunted for more! A new staple in our home when we want pizza! thanks SO much!
Great pizza – I love it. Today I made this LCHF pizza just wit eggs and grated cheese, which we really enjoyed: http://ravfood.wordpress.com/2013/02/08/lchf-pizza-verdens-nemmeste/
Amazing! Pizza is back on our table! Everyone in this house thanks you.
do I need to use the goat mozzarella in the crust or can I use regular?
You can use any cheese you like.
i tried this recipe last saturday for a dinner with friends. i wasn’t sure about the result so i cooked just a small round pizza (eventually topped with some fresh-made peperoni sauce and some leftover goat cheese) as a starter. well… it was DELICIOUS! i obviously didn’t tell my friends what it was made of so they started guessing: some even said gluten free bread! they were astonished when i finally told them the truth! thank you so much for sharing this with us!
Excellent pizza! Thanks for sharing the recipe. 🙂
The crust was perfect !
Hi! I just finished the hard pizza crust and it worked perfectly! I also used the goat cheese but I think I will change that to a less fatty one in the future. The crust tastes great! I can’t wait to finish it with sauce, ham and mozzarella!
Thanks for the recipe!
To the people who are interested in the calorie amount: my version (with sauce, raw ham and mozzarella light) contains approximately 500kcal per serving, but I think I could reduce it to 400 or so in the future! I used some extra cheese because I was afraid the “dough” wouldn’t stick together after baking it in the oven…:D
take care everybody!
Can you use any other cheese rather than “goat” cheese?
Of course!
Just took my crusts out of the over and they look amazing. I am so excited. Have you tried freezing the curst? Would love to ship a bunch to my kids in college.
Yes, I freeze the crusts all the time! But, I’ve never tried to ship them…
This looks amazing! Can you recommend a non dairy option to add to the crust instead of goat cheese? Thanks
I can’t, as I haven’t tried a non-dairy option myself, but I’d recommend reading through all the comments posted here– I’m pretty sure some people have mentioned having luck with certain non-dairy options.
Hi and thanks for the cauliflower pizza recipe. Delicious and satisfying. And….I have to try to make it even better next time. This first time the slices were not pick-up-able. Maybe because since I had no chevre on hand I used reggiano. I’ll try again following the recipe correctly. Anyhow, your whole site seems great–intelligent and pleasant. I find myself coming back again and again. Many compliments and many thanks.
This idea is so intriguing! My husband and I are considering going grain-free, but we love our homemade pizza… I would definitely try this cauliflower crust in a heartbeat!! Thanks for the inspiration, and the sense that maybe going grain-free wouldn’t be so difficult after all ^_^b
Hey what kind of food processor do you use to do this?
I use this one, in the 12-cup size: http://amzn.to/XTULjE
Thank you! Do you think you could use that little one you have listed on your tools page for something like this? Just by doing a little at a time? I’m thinking about buying that today. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003JA7KWE/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER
This came out so good! You were right, durable and able to pick right up and eat 🙂 Thanks for sharing
Hello,
I was so excited about this pizza but the crust stuck to the parchment paper and I couldn’t get it off of the paper.. We had to throw it away :(.. anyone have any ideas?..
thank you!
I used a silicon mat and it worked great! Good luck!
i put a little olive oil on the paper after reading your post. It worked out beautifully.
I’m sorry about yours 🙁
Yummmm! We can eat pizza again. I didn’t have the goat cheese and used a soft cheese my husband made instead. I like the crust more crispy. Does cooking it longer solve that?
OUT OF THIS WORLD GOOD!!!!!
(and I didn’t put any tomato sauce, cheese or toppings on it yet)
I liked this warm, but LOVED it as a cold leftover! Thank you so much for sharing.
will a paper towel work instead of a dish towel?
I don’t think a paper towel would be durable enough. There will be a LOT of moisture, and I’d worry about the paper towel dissolving into your cauliflower mix.
I made this and cannot get it not to stick using wax paper. First try we actually had to eat it by scraping off paper. Second time I greased the wax paper pretty good and it still stuck. I am going to try a third time using the baking stone directly. Any input on what I am doing incorrectly? Any tips? It is still quite yummy. I would like to be able to serve it to guests and not have it be stuck. Thank you so much!
Yes, make sure you are NOT using wax paper! That will stick like crazy. You should be using parchment paper for best results. Good luck! 🙂
LOL Well I’ll Be!!!! I thought parchment paper was a fancy name for wax paper. You think at my age I’d know these things. I am learning every day. Thank you so much. Off to the store I go!
I did the same as you! I’m so bummed tried twice, and greased. I also though wax and parchment was the same. Having to order out tonight because of my screw up 🙁
I have made this many times. Love Love Love it. A few times I did not squeeze enough water out so I added some gluten free baking mix (Gluten Free Bisquick) Turned out awesome Thanks so much!
Thank you for saving the day and noticing my wax paper error. We had a whole kitchen full of women and never caught it. Made it last night and your recipe was fabulous! Very easy to make. Using parchment paper made this flawless! Thank you again for your great recipe and good eye!
I love the looks of this recipe. Any vegan suggestions?? Thanks.
How many net carbs ? do you know? How big of a serving? Thanks !!
Please see my FAQ regarding nutrition info: https://detoxinista.com/frequently-asked-questions/
Just cooked and absolutely yummo….my 9 year old gave it a 10/10… he knew it was made with cauliflower and nearly wasn’t going to have:) (was trying to cook without him seeing, but he is too quick)
Thank you!!
Hi there,
I am making this for my husband tonight! I made it once when he was out at sea and unfortunately, it stuck to the paper and I couldn’t eat it. I actually had parchment paper mailed to me (as I’m in Japan and can’t find it anywhere), so I’ll be sure to post the results! Fingers crossed. Thank you for the recipe!!
I have to make the crust the night before I am baking it due to time constraints. Should I just refrigerate it until the next day? Can I leave it out on the counter? Thanks for the help! 🙂
It should not be left on the counter overnight, but it should be fine in the fridge!
do you have to cook your vegs and meat ahead of time and then put them on the pizza?
I always assume that meat will be pre-cooked before being placed on a pizza, but veggies don’t have to be. (They will retain a slight crunch, though!)
This is the first time I’ve been able to eat pizza in a long long time and it hasn’t upset my stomach…..THANK YOU x 1000! This pizza was amazing, even my bf loved it! I recommend anyone who reads this to make this recipe! Only 2 things I have to say are: 1. It’s time consuming – but worth it! 2. When you squeeze the water out of the cauliflower w/out straining 1st (I didn’t have a strainer that fine) – it’s extremely hot!! Enjoy!! 🙂
I have NEVER liked cauliflower — but I thought I would give this a try (worst case scenario – hubby would eat all of it). OMG – It is now on the list of my favorite recipes!!!! Yes it is time consuming but well worth the time. Oh and I wear kitchen gloves to hold out some of the heat while squeezing the excess water out. I add some fresh basil to the crust mix too. Thank you so much for the step by step instructions!
Hi Megan,
Just want you to know I shared this on my facebook page. Milani Home LLC. I’m a food blogger as well and I like to know when someone uses my recipes. Love this soooo much. I’m not eating carbs so I not only made this for pizza, I made the crust into break size pieces and use them for sandwiches. Makes a wonderful egg and bacon sandwich!!
Oops meant to type “bread size” pieces
I know a few people asked the question about using a flax egg instead of a regular egg. My doctor put me on a very restricted diet and eggs are currently on my list of things to avoid. So, tonight I tried this recipe using a flax egg. Megan had mentioned that you need the egg to bind everything and that’s very true! Mine fell apart… The flavor was excellent but the texture definitely wasn’t a nice crispy crust like it was supposed to be. Just a note, I did strain the cauliflower very, very well and let my flax egg sit for about 35 minutes before adding it so there was no excess water. Maybe someone else might have better luck, but for mine the flax egg didn’t work. Hopefully, in a few months I can add eggs back and try this as it was intended. 🙂
HIIII
I am a HUGE pizza fan and I am so excited to try out this cauliflower pizza crust! I have recently been doing the paleo diet and was curious what I could use for cheese? Does anyone have any ideas?!
I am on the SCD with tremendous success after suffering with celiac disease for decades. I cannot tolerate any kind of dairy; I am one of those people who have the actual allergy to cow’s milk, yet even goat products cause me discomfort. I have a recipe for cashew cheese. Has anyone tried this pizza crust using cashew ‘cheese’? I am thinking cashew butter would work as well. For now, I rate this recipe with 5 stars for the ingenious concept.
I am not able to have eggs or cheese right now, so I made the crust with cauliflower and a yellow plantain. It held together well. I don’t think i made it thick enough to hold though, with the veggie toppings. Thanks for the great recipie!
This was so yummy! Great site and directions! I added fresh garlic, oregano, basil and parsley to the crust……will definately make again!
Hi, thank you so much for this recipe it was delicious . my crust stuck parchment paper any suggestions ?
Make sure you’re definitely using parchment paper, and not wax paper. The parchment paper should peel right off!
I’m so excited! This is the third cauliflower crust recipe I’ve tried, and the first one that actually worked! I was going to give up if I had another failure, but this was perfect!!
What a fabulous, healthy idea to share!!!!!!!
This recipe is seriously delicious and foolproof. My husband loved it. I loved it. This is going to be a weekend favorite for sure. Thank you!
This was amazing!!! Time consuming but so worth it. Great instructions too. Even my boyfriend (who would eat regular pizza any day) loved it and asked if I could make it once a week 🙂 Thank you!!
PS. It wouldn’t let me select 5 stars…
Just made this recipe. It’s AMAZING! The crust turned out perfect! I had tried a different version a couple years ago and it fell apart in my hands. Thank you so much for posting so I could give it another go. Definitely saving this one.
Try using Thrive Life Freeze Dried Cauliflower and save a few steps in the process.
Gonna be making this over the weekend and plan on feeding it to my unsuspecting kids, should be fun!
I’d like to make my own sauce too and have a daughter with a garlic allergy (yes garlic, poor thing).
Anyone point me to a good sauce recipe for people who really love good pizza sauce and not the plain boring old tasteless sauce that seems to permeate the interwebs?
I leave the Garlic out of the recipe of course!
Thanks for sharing this Megan, and for taking time to help everyone out with all the questions!!!
I’m really wanting to try this, but don’t have a budget for a food processor in the near future. I was given a vitamix, though… Do you have any idea if it would work to rice the cauliflower in there?
I just grated the cauliflower! Easier clean up, too 😉
I made this a while back, and it was amazing!!! I turned it into a margarita pie, using roma tomatos & fresh basil & mozzarella, sooooo good. This is such an awesome idea, especially when your on south beach diet & hardcore craving a pizza, thanks for the great recipe!!!!
Hi Megan!!
Thanks for sharing this AMAZING recipe with us!! I love pizza but feel a bit guilty after each slice! I made your pizza crust and can’t get enough of it. I didn’t put mozzarella in the crust, just garlic, egg, onions and basil with a mix of cauliflower and zucchini and it tasted divine!! Favourite topping are fresh tomatoes, fresh basil with gratted mozzarella cheese and pineapple chucks!
This sounds awesome. I don’t like goat cheese though. Do you think I could use Ricotta instead? Thank you for sharing this.
I can only comment on things I’ve tried myself, but I don’t see why it wouldn’t work. Any type of shredded cheese should work, too, according to some previous comments.