There’s a new pizza crust in town and it’s healthier than ever. Yes, you heard me right. I’m talking about cauliflower pizza crust. It has arrived to save your diet.
As I was searching for ways to eat healthy while still indulging in the deliciousness of pizza, I stumbled upon this miracle meal. But, do we dare attempt to replace dough with a vegetable? The only way to find out is to try making our own cauliflower pizza crust recipes. Stay tuned as we dive into my experience and tips for creating the perfect cauliflower foods pizza crust!
What is Cauliflower Pizza Crust?
Cauliflower pizza crust does exactly what its name says: it uses cauliflower instead of regular flour dough as the base for our beloved slice of heaven. All you have to do is break down the florets of cauliflower until they turn into rice-like granules. Then add eggs and cheese to make sure that once baked, our creation will resemble an actual crust.
We all know that choosing between being healthy or eating something delicious isn’t fair at all, I can already feel my taste buds getting anxious. However, guess who just woke up from their nap? Yes, you guessed it correctly! Cauliflower foods are here to save the day.
On top of being low carb, which prevents us from gaining weight faster than we can say “clean eat,” they give us more vitamins C, K, B6 and minerals like potassium than our normal junky diet filled with flour does.
Nutritional Comparison
Nutrient | Traditional Pizza Crust (per 100g) | Cauliflower Pizza Crust (per 100g) |
|---|---|---|
Calories | 266 | 165 |
Carbohydrates (g) | 42 | 14 |
Fiber (g) | 2.3 | 5.2 |
Protein (g) | 8 | 11 |
Fat (g) | 10 | 7 |
Vitamin C | 0% | 47% of Daily Value |
Vitamin K | Not significant | 18% of Daily Value |
Vitamin B6 | Not significant | 20% of Daily Value |
Potassium (mg) | 115 | 300 |
Common Cauliflower Pizza Crust Ingredients and Their Functions
Ingredient | Function |
|---|---|
Cauliflower | Base for crust; provides nutrients and replaces flour |
Eggs | Bind ingredients together; add structure |
Cheese | Adds flavor; helps bind crust; adds protein |
Italian herbs | Flavor enhancement |
Garlic powder | Flavor enhancement |
Onion powder | Flavor enhancement |
First Forays into Cauliflower Pizza
Like most people, homemade pizza has always been my go-to comfort food; until now!
One magical day I was searching the internet for ways to make my favorite meal less guilty. Well, it looks like pizza wasn’t the only thing that was about to change.
After finding a recipe that promised to be just as good as regular dough but with half the carbs and calories, I gave it a whirl.
Let me tell you! Those first few tries were not easy at all. I’d even go as far as saying they were complete failures! Between overcooking the crust or simply just making a mess out of cauliflower rice in my food processor, I never thought I would find myself making pizza ever again. But then it happened!
Before we get into what made everything better, let’s just keep in mind how much healthier this is than actual flour:
- Less Calories And Carbs
- More Vitamins C, K And B6
- Fiber And Potassium
First Forays into Cauliflower Pizza
Like most people, homemade pizza has always been my go-to comfort food; until now!
One magical day I was searching the internet for ways to make my favorite meal less guilty. Well, it looks like pizza wasn’t the only thing that was about to change.
After finding a recipe that promised to be just as good as regular dough but with half the carbs and calories, I gave it a whirl.
Let me tell you! Those first few tries were not easy at all. I’d even go as far as saying they were complete failures! Between overcooking the crust or simply just making a mess out of cauliflower rice in my food processor, I never thought I would find myself making pizza ever again. But then it happened!
Before we get into what made everything better, let’s just keep in mind how much healthier this is than actual flour:
- Less Calories And Carbs
- More Vitamins C, K And B6
- Fiber And Potassium
Benefits of Cauliflower Foods Pizza Crust
Now that we have our little helper figured out when it comes to giving us the beautiful taste of pizza without letting us gain weight by the hour, I think it’s safe to say that more cauliflower foods should be incorporated into our diet.
We could go on forever about how many benefits come from eating cauliflower but here are some of our favorites:
- Cauliflower packs in lots of nutrients – such as vitamin C, vitamin K, folate, potassium, manganese, fiber and choline – at a low calorie cost. This mix makes cauliflower highly nutritious without the harmful calories.
- Fighting against cancer – According to studies, glucosinolates that appear in cauliflower may help trigger antioxidant activity to fight off a tumor and its growth. It can help keep away common cancers like breast, lung and colorectal cancers.
- Swatting Inflammation flies – Inflammation is at the root of many diseases — but we’ve got just the thing for you! Cauliflower provides anti-inflammatory defenses with its high amount of glucoraphanin which gets converted to sulforaphane that keeps inflammation down.
- Heart healthiness – The antioxidants in cauliflower also provide benefits for cardiovascular health by fighting heart disease-related issues such as blood pressure, kidney function and blood vessel function. Folate helps lower homocysteine levels linked with heart disease too.
- Weight loss assistant number #1 – With only 25 calories per cup serving you’ll be getting full pretty fast while not consuming many calories either! So it works great for weight loss efforts or healthy weight maintenance when you use it as a substitute for higher fat/carb foods!
- Maintaining Blood sugar – Consuming high-carb or glycemic foods can spike your blood sugar through the roof but replacing it with riced cauliflower completely changes that! It’s also important to maintain steady blood sugar to prevent insulin resistance and reduce diabetes risk so this is really helpful if those are issues you’re dealing with.
Tips For Making Cauliflower Pizza Crust
If you need some reinforcements on your efforts towards health and weight loss then here are some tips I have for making perfect cauliflower pizza crust:
- Please use fresh cauliflower instead of frozen ones. After breaking up the florets into bite size pieces be sure to process them until they’re riced.
- Get ready for some loud noises! Use a food processor and pulse instead of grating by hand since this will get you the perfect size without turning it into mush.
- Don’t manhandle the rice cauliflower when adding things in because you might compress it too much before baking, making it less crispy and not like a traditional pizza texture. So just be gentle with it!
- Dry out your cauliflower rice as much as possible – using a clean tea towel can do the job fine by squeezing additional moisture out.
- You’ll want to add some egg, cheese and seasonings like Italian herbs, onion powder or garlic powder to help with taste and binding properties – since cauliflower has quite a bitter taste this works wonders.
- Pre-bake the crust for 5 minutes before toppings are added so that ingredients don’t spill over on an unstable foundation.
- Avoid going crazy with sauce! If there’s too much sauce then the structure could easily be ruined and turn into mush – now I know you wouldn’t want that.
- Protein and veggies should replace heavier meats and other super moist ingredients since chicken, turkey pepperoni, peppers, onions and olives work perfectly well on top of this crust!
- If the edges or bottom brown too quickly when baking your pie, tent foil over them halfway through cook time to prevent burning. Keep an eye on it!
- Let the pizza cool several minutes before slicing for best results. The cauliflower crust keeps setting up as it cools. Enjoy your healthy pizza!
Troubleshooting Common Cauliflower Pizza Problems
Switching from regular pizza dough to cauliflower crust comes with a learning curve. There are also some common problems you might encounter on your first few tries. Check out these troubleshooting tips if your cauliflower pizza crust isn’t quite right:
- Too soggy and mushy – Be sure to really wring out all moisture from the riced cauliflower before baking. Pre-bake for at least 2 minutes before topping too. And don’t overdo it with wet sauces and meats.
- Too crumbly and doesn’t hold together – Make sure to pulse the cauliflower rice to very fine granules, don’t over process to mush. Allow to cool completely before handling if it feels fragile right out of the food processor. May also help to incorporate more egg and cheese for binding.
- Not crispy enough on bottom – Make sure you’re using a pizza stone, baking steel or inverted baking sheet to crisp the bottom crust in addition to a thin aluminum one helps over everything . Pre-baking longer before adding toppings can also help.
- Gets too brown – As noted before, it helps to tent foil over the edges and bottom half way through baking if they seem to brown too fast . Check your oven temp as well, may need to bake at slightly lower temp.
- Falls apart when slicing – Allow the pizza 5 full minutes rest after coming out of the oven before attempting to slice , use a knife vs wheel for clean cuts.
- Weird cauliflower flavor – add generous amount seasonings, cheese crust cover up dominate those taste components , italian herb blend is excellent , top bold sauces ingredients also helps mask it.
- Dries out leftovers – Simply wrap leftover slices in damp paper towels before storing in an airtight container to revive and prevent crust drying out.
Don’t get discouraged if you have less than stellar outcomes at first! It may take some trial and error with recipes and methods before you get it just right. Keep tweaking until you find your cauliflower pizza crust groove.
Experimenting with Different Cauliflower Crust Styles
Once I felt like I had gotten reasonably competent at making a basic cauliflower pizza following online recipes, I started experimenting even more with all kinds of variations. I played with different crust thickness, flavors and styles.
- Want an ultra thin, crispy crust similar to thin crust restaurant pizza? Simply press the crust dough very firmly and thin into your pizza pan, almost like a flatbread.
- Care for some tangy zing? Consider mixing in shredded parmesan, feta or goat cheese for an extra bite.
- How about a fluffier, thicker pan style pizza crust? Allow a more rustic bread-like cauliflower dough to form and don’t worry about pressing it too thin before baking.
- Italian herbs, onion powder and garlic are amazing seasoning blends to liven up the crust. Ever tried nutritional yeast? It gives a fantastic savory flavor.
- Feel free to mix in some extra cheese or other toppings into the crust layer itself for fun too. Get creative and come up with your own signature cauliflower pizza crust recipes.
- Round pies are of course an option, but don’t be afraid to try rectangular or square pans as well for a Detroit style crisp edged cauliflower crust. The possibilities are endless!
Oven and stove top methods for cauliflower pizza
Baking pizza in the oven is likely the most universal preparation method. But I found out firsthand that you can also cook cauliflower crust pizza quite effectively on the stovetop in a skillet. It may even achieve a crispier crust texture. The skillet approach also allows you to cook the crust in batches if needed versus all at once like an oven-baked pizza.
If opting for the classic oven route, use high heat upwards of 425 F preferably. Place your pizza stone or steel on the middle rack right under the broiler and allow the oven to fully preheat.
For stovetop, get a good quality non-stick skillet piping hot over medium high heat before adding molded rounds of raw cauliflower dough. Without wet toppings the crust crisps up wonderfully in just 2-5 mins per batch. Then transfer your crispy crust to a baking sheet, dress with sauce and toppings and broil just 1-2 minutes til hot and bubbly.
The oven cooks the interior and browns the top of the pizza all at once. Stovetop first cooks the outside crust very fast then the broiler adds finishing touches quickly. Both yield awesome cauliflower pizza!
What about cauliflower pizza delivery & take & bake?
Now that cauliflower crust has hit mainstream, I’ve seen it popping up on standard pizza joint menus available for take-out and delivery. There are even specialty cauliflower pizza places opening up as demand for gluten-free and low carb options accelerates.
And you better believe that pre-made cauliflower pizza crusts are now sold right alongside traditional dough in grocery store refrigerator and freezer aisles! No time or desire to DIY it from scratch yourself? No worries – there are quality convenient alternatives.
I’m thrilled by how rapidly the cauliflower crust pizza trend has exploded on the food scene, catering to nearly all preferences and lifestyles nowadays. Those with medical conditions like celiac that never got to enjoy pizza before can now savor it happily with grain-free cauliflower adaptations!
How amazing that a humble vegetable can transform an Italian classic into a dish easily tailored to restrictive diets. This rise of cauliflower crust pizza availability also makes maintaining healthier eating on-the-go much simpler for people like me striving for wellness and weight balance. I never feel deprived noshing on a cauliflower pie!
Creative Cauliflower Crust Pizza Inspiration
Once you grasp the basics, possibilities for custom cauliflower pizza become nearly endless. So I wanted to share some out-of-the-box crust ideas and flavor combinations I’ve tested that turned out wonderful:
- Thai Chicken Cauliflower Crust – diced grilled chicken, almond ginger sauce, red pepper, basil, crushed peanuts, green onion.
- Mediterranean Cauliflower Pizza – artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomato, kalamata olives, red onion, feta cheese, oregano, basil.
- Bacon Cheeseburger Cauliflower Pizza – ground turkey crumbles bacon bits tomato onion pickles cheddar cheese.
- Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza – tangy BBQ sauce base, mozzarella, red onion, pineapple, cilantro, smoked chicken.
- Margherita Cauliflower Pizza – olive oil & garlic crust, fresh mozzarella slices, grape tomatoes, basil leaves, balsamic glaze.
- Breakfast Cauliflower Pizza – scramble up eggs with onion, spinach, mushroom and cheese right into the crust!
There’s more to pizza than pepperoni! You can load your dough with veggies or even recreate breakfast by mixing scrambled eggs with onions and mushrooms. You could make a new flavor every week and never run out of ideas.
In Conclusion
I hope my cauliflower pizza adventures have inspired you to be more adventurous with this incredibly versatile substitute crust too. Cauliflower opens the door for home chefs and foodies seeking healthier options to makeover comfort foods into nourishing, yet still tasty adaptations.
Don’t be afraid to get creative and try out scrumptious new cauliflower crust combinations or even conjure up your own secret signature pizza pie. Thanks to endlessly modifiable seasonings and toppers, the possibilities for putting unique twists on cauliflower pizzas are practically infinite.
At the end of the day, understand first and foremost that having fun in the kitchen and relishing each bite matters more than seeking perfection. Not every cauliflower crust attempt will be restaurant worthy. Taste and enjoyment are what it’s all about!
