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?
Hi, i havent tried this recipe yet but do you have to cook your toppings before hand? Iv read on other sites they pre cook the toppings
Do you have to do that on this recipe?
This cauliflower crust is so good!! My husband kept saying “This is amazing!” We can now eat pizza again! Thank you so much for this recipe!
I had completely given up on making a cauliflower crust that I liked until I tried this recipe. Love it!!
Whenever I see a recipe for this kind of crust, I wonder …. wouldn’t adding some nutritional yeast to it lend a bit more traditional flavor?
I imagine it wouldn’t be Paleo-acceptable, though .. right?
I found your recipe, which seems to conform to many Paleo ones, before realizing that your site has a different focus: food combining.
So, I believe my question is still a good one – what do you think about adding some nutritional yeast to this crust for its flavor?
Thanks!
DO NOT FORGET TO SPRAY THE ALUMINUM FOIL PREVIOUS TO PLACING THE CRUST TO BAKE. OR NPT IT WILL STICK 🙁
Thank you so much for this recipe! My 3 year old can’t have dairy, wheat, soy or cashews, and has not had pizza for months. He ate most of it!
I topped it with sauce and this cheese: http://www.healthfulpursuit.com/2013/02/how-to-make-vegan-shredded-cheese/ (baked the crust for 20 minutes, added the sauce and cheese and baked for another 20).
The crust by itself is pretty bland, so if I want to use it for something other then crust, I’ll try the suggestions in the comments to jazz it up.
This crust is DELICIOUS!! I even made it as a bread. I replaced a couple of ingredients. I added low fat mozzarella cheese and instead of adding salt I just added fresh oregano. Once crust was done I topped it with ricotta cheese, spinach, shredded low fat cheese, chicken, and mushroom.
This is our regular Saturday night meal now. I made it once as a big pizza but since have made it into 5 ‘mini’ pizzas – we are a family if five with varied tastes. I use two heads of cauliflower, the biggest the grocer has at the time. Here’s at tip; after straining the riced/ cooked cauliflower, rinse it in cold water. I know this seems counterproductive, but I got tired of burning my hands while wringing it out. I think I end up with more riced cauliflower than the recipe calls for but I still use 1 egg and a ‘handful’ of shredded cheese.
I also mix in ‘enough’ Italian spices from a McCormick spice grinder, prob bad but yum.
Then the pizzas get topped with The Cultured Way yogurt cheese, an all natural marinara, uncured bacon or pepperoni, tomatoes and basil from my garden. My middle child has aspergers and a sensory processing disorder. He ate about 6 things before we went gluten, soy, corn (and mostly grain) free. This is his favorite food. He asks for it. Watching him it cauliflower of all things made me cry. Thank you for the recipe!
Thanks for this wonderful recipe. It makes a huge difference when you get a new meal right on the first take!
Otherwise the kids get leary the second time around.
I made it with a mozzarella kale garlic chili pepper and anchovy paste topping. It was really yummy and the kids devoured it !
After reading most of the comments, I decided to give this a try. One of the readers asked if frozen cauliflower would work, and Megan, you answered that it would be best to rice it frozen, then after thawing out, squeeze all of the water out. Here’s my experience: Trying to rice the frozen cauliflower was not a good idea, I thought my machine was going to burn out, it was too hard to get it chopped. I waited about 10 to 15 minutes and pulsed again. That worked. After waiting for it to thaw, I then squeezed as much of the water out, but not a lot was coming out. So, I popped it in the microwave for a minute, then tried squeezing and a lot more water kept coming out. I followed the rest of the recipe except used mozzarella instead of goat cheese. At 40 minutes in the oven it looked nicely browned. After taking it out, I added sauce, mozzarella, and some grated peccorino romano. It was nicely melted at 10 minutes. I sliced up the pizza, but I could tell right away that it wasn’t crispy. As a matter of fact, the outer crust area that didn’t have sauce was mushy on the inside and tasted like cauliflower. I think the frozen might have way too much water to work with this recipe. I’m debating whether to try this again with fresh cauliflower, it is a lot of work with getting the water out. I almost wonder if it would work by roasting the riced cauliflower if that would get out a lot of the moisture.
Where do you buy your goat mozzarella? I can’t seem to find it anywhere!
I buy mine at Whole Foods.
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.
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!
I found the crust a little too cheesy tasting so will try reducing the goat cheese next time but otherwise found it great!
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)!
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?
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
Any idea of the calorie count per slice??
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
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!
This is DELICIOUS!!!! By the time I made ‘rice’ I only have about 1/2 a cup of base (just used the leftover cauliflower I had in the fridge) but it was soooo good I already want to make it again!!! yum yum, off to buy more cauliflower tomorrow 🙂
Hi,
I really want to make this pizza, it looks sooo delicious! My son has got a dairy intolerance :/ & I was wondering what could I use to replace the goat cheese in this recipe. Any suggestions? 🙂
make sure you rinse the rice with cold water before straining it through the dish towel otherwise you will burn yourself!! and it cooks the egg because its too hot!
Hi Megan, first congrats on your baby boy reveal!! Also, I made an adaption with this recipe. Not sure if it has already been tried in the previous comments, but here is what I did. I juiced the raw cauliflower in my Breville. I took all the pulp which was fairly dry, so I did not need to strain it at all. Then, I just added the cheese, egg, etc and cooked it in the oven. It was way quicker and easier. I have tried it in the food processor and water as well. This way was easier for me and the texture and taste was just a good. Just wanted to share 😉
Thanks for sharing! I’ve made jicama “rice” using my Breville juicer, but I hadn’t tried it with cauliflower yet. Glad to know it works so well!
I would very much appreciate some nutritional data on this pizza so that I can compare with some of the “healthy” whole wheat crust recipes available on the web. Calories? Fats? Carbohydrates? Fiber?
http://www.acaloriecounter.com/
Using this calorie calculator, I searched for each of the four main ingredients.
Assuming 8 portions: 81 cal/portion, 6.5 g. protein/portion, 5 g fat/portion, 1 g fiber/portion.
Keep in mind that this recipe is more for those of us who are staying away from gluten, dairy, processed foods, etc. Not necessarily to consume a certain number of calories or fat grams.
Hope this helps. I encourage everyone to visit the site (WW also has a good one if you know someone who is on WW plan) to calculate your own numbers.
I will be making this over the weekend. Pizza is one of my go-to foods, but since trying to eat more “whole foods”, pizza has quickly gone by the wayside.
Thanks for sharing!
Tried this last night, my husband came home and I told him I had a suprise dinner (which has a losing record in the past).
He tried it and said it was probaby the best thing I’ve ever made him!
I love to share this recipe as well.
Thanks!!!
Hi! I just made this crust and I plan to have the pizza for lunch tomorrow and I was just wondering if I use the freezing tip and then let it thaw in the morning will I be able to heat up my pizza in the microwave?? Unfortunately we don’t have an oven at work ;(
Yes, I don’t see why that wouldn’t work! If you just plan on eating it the next day, I don’t think there’s any need to freeze it, though. The fridge should be fine!
Loved the pizza. My husband can’t eat regular pizza (it causes anaphylactic shock). He was skeptical about how it would taste. Now he keeps asking me to do the recipe again and to try different combinations.
One question he had is for the crust does it need the cream cheese or would the egg as the binder be enough? I know that would help to reduce the calories in the recipe. What do you think or is their other alternatives to reduce the calorie count down.
Hi! im from Mexico! and i love your recipes! cant wait for make the pizza!
Greetings!
I have made this crust several times. I served it to my family without telling them what it was and they liked it. They can get quite picky. I am trying to lose weight and this makes great pizza. I really missed pizza. I have several relatives who a Celiac and have used this crust to top with numerous thing for appetizers. They all wanted the recipe as it is a yummy crust. I just bought some more cauliflower because my husband is having a pizza craving. I will use this crust. (WHat he doesn’t know could actually be healthy for him.)
Hello! I’m so happy to have stumbled across your blog! My husband and I are in phase 1 of the 17 Day Diet, and we LOVE pizza. This cauliflower crust pizza was a total success!
These are the (slight) variations I made:
-fat free cream cheese instead of goat cheese
-added 1/2 tsp basil
-added 1 tsp garlic powder
-added 2 TBSP psyllium husk (I used this because I’ve made carb free “bread” with it before, and it gives it a more “bready” texture)
I was really impressed! It was a tad on the dry side, but that was likely because I didn’t use much sauce. I topped it with FF mozzerella, mushrooms, onions, spinach, yellow tomatoes, bell peppers, and grilled chicken.
What a joy to know I can still have pizza even while going low-carb! Bravo!!
I usually use fresh grated parmesan instead of goat cheese in the crust, a little almond flour, fresh minced garlic and some red pepper flakes for kick – will definitely be trying it with the goat cheese in the crust (I LOVE that stuff) instead of just on top 🙂
Another tip for getting the cauliflower really dry is to wring it out and then strain it in the fridge – I use cheese cloth or paper towels in a strainer over a bowl (you can do that with greek yogurt too before using it as a substitute for mayo) – the fridge air helps a lot 🙂
Just made this! My friends who have tried other recipes always say the crust doesn’t hold up….I found this recipe to be perfect. Did use mozzarella rather then goat cheese.
I stumbled across this pizza recipe a week ago when I was looking for a mashed cauliflower recipe (I now love cauliflower for the first time @ age 43). I was directed to this website & am so glad I found it. Someone had just mentioned the day before hearing about a cauliflower pizza, & voila! I made 2 mini crusts – 1 for now & 1 to freeze. I only had Italian blend cheese, so I used that. I added a little clean tomato sauce with Italian herbs, sauteed garlic & mushrooms. Next time, I plan to also add red onion & green pepper & maybe a little low fat protein. Thank you for your honest & informative website. I plan to try the “rice” next & also make more of your recipes. This has been a great fit for my healthy eating program & keeps me from getting bored by the usual baked chicken & salad. Great motivation!
I experimented with this recipe last night. Since I am trying to cut out milk products, I replaced the cheese with cashews and it was WONDERFUL! It gave the crust a nutty sweet flavor.
Can you elaborate? Replaced the cheese with cashews? Did you grind up the cashews? Did you soak them?
This looks so delicious! I can’t do dairy but, is there a alternative to the goat cheese that I could you use in place of it?
Wow, I didn’t expect this pizza to taste so great – especially because I usually hate Cauliflower.
I made a completely vegan version of this: I replaced the egg with a mixture of ground flax and chia seeds and a little egg replacer. Instead of the cheese, I added homemade cashew cheese spread.
Turned out perfectly crunchy!
I will definitely make this pizza again!!!
Thanks for the recipe.
Dana
This is by far the best cauliflower pizza crust I have tried. I like that you can make it thick and that it holds the toppings. I also like that the recipe mainly consists of cauliflower, and that the cheese (Chèvre) is not a 1:1 ratio as in other recipes. This worked nicely. I cut the recipe in half and only had to bake for about 28 min.
This recipe looks awesome, will be trying it soon. There’s a WAY easier way to rice your cauliflower. I learned this on Big Red Kitchen and it works like a charm! Throw your florets into a blender (cut the bigger ones in half.) Not sure if this technique would work as well in a food processor, I have not tried that. Anyway, fill with water, completely covering florets. Blend for about 4 seconds and drain in strainer. Voila, rice! SO EASY AND FAST!
Do you think you could use Cottage cheese instead?
HOW CAN I MAKE CRUST IF I DONT HAVE A FOOD PROCESSOR. IS THERE ANOTHER WAY?
Wow, you must REALLY want to know what to do…all that SHOUTING! Grate the cauliflower using a box grater. Works fine.
can i substitute goat cheese with any other cheese …say cheddar cheese ? or what about tofu ( as long as i squeeze the excess water out ? )
What is the nutritional content of this? Seems like with all the extra cheese in the crust, regular pizza would be much healthier….
Please see my FAQ regarding nutrition information: https://detoxinista.com/frequently-asked-questions/
This sounds amazing! Just wish it was egg free. I find it hard being egg and dairy free finding tasty healthy fast food style meals. Any tips for making this egg-less?
I used your recipe to make my pizza base but I added 1/4 cup buckwheat flour and half of 1/4 cup tapioca, minus the cheese and added 1 extra egg because I had a huge amount of dough all up and wanted to make sure it stuck together. It came together nicely and the base is nice…. I’m so glad I found your recipe!
Thanks 🙂
I also made your “cheese”cake with my daughter. It is in the freezer, I am just waiting to eat t 🙂
Do you think Feta in place of goat cheese would work? Excited to try it 🙂
I don’t think the feta would “bind” the crust like the soft goat cheese would, but it should taste good!
How much raw cauliflower makes 4 cups cauliflower rice????? Thanks
One medium head of cauliflower made 4 cups for me, but it will vary depending on size.