Happy hump day! How pretty are those flowers?! Spring may finally be here to stay in Denver but considering we had a random snow storm last weekend, you just never know. Fingers crossed! Fingers double crossed that a random snow storm doesn’t hit during our wedding weekend in a month:)
So, this pizza crust. I’ve attempted cauliflower crust before but remember the process being terribly long and frustrating, only to get a soggy, weird pizza crust at the end. The challenging part (but, it worked!) with this cauliflower pizza crust was making it dairy free since so many recipes call for 1-2 cups of cheese to help hold it together and make it chewy. Although you can definitely tell that this isn’t the real deal, delicious wheat pizza crust, it definitely does the trick and helps to curb my every-day pizza cravings. I also definitely recommend a food processor if you have one to make the dough – it works so well and so quickly. I used a Vitamix the last time and I realized that was the frustrating part. If you don’t own a food processor or a Vitamix, you could finely chop the cauliflower florets by hand too.
Start with a medium head of cauliflower and remove the florets. Add them to a food processor (or Vitamix, or chop by hand) and pulse until “cauliflower rice” is formed.
Add about a cup and a half of water to the mixing bowl and microwave for four minutes. Once it has cooked and cooled down enough to handle, pour the cauliflower onto a thin, clean kitchen towel and wring out any and all moisture from the cauliflower. Make sure to wring all of the water out – this is what helps keep the crust together! Put the cauliflower back into the mixing bowl and add your egg, oil, almond meal, salt, spices and nutritional yeast (optional) and combine.
Pour about 1 tablespoon of coconut or olive oil onto parchment paper to ensure the dough doesn’t stick, then form the dough into a circle about 1/8 inch thick. You can also tell this isn’t the tidiest kitchen task:)
Place the parchment and dough onto a preheated cookie sheet or pizza stone and bake at 450F. for 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
Add sauce and toppings of your choice then place back into the oven for about 10-12 minutes. I chose to saute bell peppers and onions before placing them on the pizza to ensure my toppings were cooked enough but this is totally optional. You can also add cheese if you don’t need/want the pizza to be dairy-free. Enjoy this healthy way to enjoy pizza on the regular!
- 1 head cauliflower
- 1.5 c water
- 1 egg - whisked
- 2 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil - 1 tbsp for the dough, 1 tbsp for the parchment paper
- 2 tbsp almond flour or meal
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional, but gives it a cheesy flavor)
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- 1/2 tsp dried oregano
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt (or more to taste)
- Preheat your oven to 450F.
- Place a cookie sheet or a pizza stone into the oven to preheat
- Using 1 tbsp oil, grease a large sheet of parchment paper that has been laid out on your counter
- Chop your head of cauliflower by removing the florets - no need for too much stem
- Place the cauliflower into a food processor (or Vitamix, or chop by hand) and pulse until it looks like rice has formed (or, pulse in a high speed blender or chop finely by hand)
- Remove the cauliflower and place into a medium sized mixing bowl
- Add the 1 1/2 c water and microwave uncovered for four minutes
- Let the cauliflower cool, then pour the contents onto a thin, clean kitchen towel
- Fold the sides of the towel around the cauliflower and squeeze out ALL of the moisture/water
- Once the cauliflower is dry, place back into the mixing bowl and add all of the ingredients and combine
- Pour the mixture onto the greased parchment paper and using your hands, form it into a circle about 1/8 inch thick
- Get the pan or pizza stone from the oven and place the parchment paper with the dough onto the sheet or pizza stone
- Place the pan or pizza stone back into the oven and cook the crust for about 15-20 minutes or until the crust turns golden brown
- Use any sauce or toppings you wish and place back into the oven for another 10-15 minutes
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