Lighten up your pizza with this healthier version of pizza crust made with cauliflower, almond flour, and eggs. Top as desired! Gluten and dairy free.
This is part two of the cauliflower crust pizza post from the other day. I had wanted to try this again as a vegan version using flax in the crust instead of eggs (and figure out how to make it not fall apart). I haven’t gotten around to that yet (I’ll report back when I do), but this version is entirely dairy-free. I topped it with leftover kale pesto that I had stored away in my freezer along with some sautéed broccolini, roasted tomatoes, and pine nuts.
I could have posted these two pizzas as “his and hers” versions. To Jack’s benefit, I’m always pulling cheese off my pizza and piling it onto his.
We’re a match made in heaven like that.
adapted from The Happy Go Lucky Vegan
Cauliflower Crust Pizza, Part 2
- 2 cups ground raw cauliflower florets (about 1 small head)
- ¾ cup almond flour
- 3 eggs (or you could try flax eggs if vegan)
- Sea salt and fresh black pepper
- ½ teaspoon onion powder (optional)
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
- 2-3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (optional)
- Whatever pizza toppings you like! I used kale pesto, roasted tomatoes, sautéed broccolini, pine nuts, and a drizzle of balsamic.
- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
- Chop the cauliflower and pulse florets in a food processor. Be careful not to puree it or grind it until it’s mushy. You’re going for a “riced” fluffy consistency. It should not be sticking together at this point.
- Whisk the 3 eggs and mix with the cauliflower, almond flour, onion powder, garlic powder, nutritional yeast, if using, and pinches of salt and pepper. Form the dough into a ball. It should be pretty wet, but if it’s too sticky to handle add more flour. Gently knead it a few times, adding some flour on top if necessary to help it come together. (Note – this will NOT resemble regular pizza dough – it won’t be as easy or pliable to work with – that’s ok).
- Press “dough” ball down onto a pizza stone or baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Gently mold into a circle, dusting a bit more flour if it makes it easier for you to work with. I was able to lift mine up and flip it over a few times to get it to spread (if yours sticks and you can’t lift it off the pan, it’s still ok). Try to spread it to be a little less than ¼-inch thick.
- Crust needs to be baked for 25-30 minutes total. Since I was topping mine with pesto I baked the crust by itself entirely and added the toppings at the end. I sautéed the broccoli and roasted the tomatoes separately from the crust. If you’re making a pizza with cheese or tomato sauce, bake crust for about 15 minutes, then top with sauce and other toppings and bake for 10-15 minutes more. (Oven times may vary depending on your oven or consistency of your “dough”).
I have seen some mix a hard cheese (Romano Pamesan etc.) in with the cauliflower dough before baking, supposed to hold it together. It has to be hard cheese – not something like cheddar or mozz. Mozz does get sprinkled on top.
Vegetarians, could prob use some faux cheese.
What a wonderful idea to use cauliflower as a crust! I used some brown rice and celery seed for extra flavor. I wanted to make some food for a friend as they experience a great loss.
This is delicious. Love that it’s raw. Simple. Lost the recipe, searched and searched online, couldn’t find it again. Then found my handwritten card, so relieved. That’s how much I love this recipe. There is nothing else like it out there that I could find. (I am not going to be cooking, draining, squeezing cauliflower!) Well done & thank you.
I saw a few dry it in a skillet over low heat to get the moisture out.
I’m not vegan–I’m on weight watchers so could I use whole wheat because it’s almost half the points plus of almond flour??