You can use this cauliflower recipe to make a pizza crust, and it’s actually pretty good. Also, don’t just think it will taste like a huge piece of cauliflower, that’s not how it turns out thanks to everything else you add to both the crust and the toppings.
If you have a problem with Gluten, then you have a couple of options to choose from when it comes to eating a pizza. One is to, obviously, go for a gluten-free base. However, this is not always the best way to go.
You see, gluten-free bases can often taste, and look horrible. There’s something missing in them, aside from the obvious Gluten. So, there is another option, and that option is a cauliflower pizza.
But there is a bit of an issue with that as well. If you fail to make it correctly, then your pizza crust is just not going to stay together. Actually, it tends to fall apart, and nobody wants that with their pizza.
So, we plan on tackling that issue. Our aim is to provide you with the best cauliflower pizza crust recipe around that we promise you will not just fall apart. Let’s face it, there’s nothing worse than your pizza falling apart when you try to lift it.
With that in mind, let’s get on with the recipe. We promise this is a whole lot easier than you expect.
The Aim is Cauliflower Rice
One of your key aims here is to produce cauliflower rice as that is what you will then bind together to make the base. Now, cauliflower rice is easy to make, and it’s also low carb, so if you thought you had to miss out on pizza due to the carbs, then think again.
Cauliflower rice has long been seen as a good alternative when you need to avoid carbs or wheat for that matter, and it is capable of being used to make a great base for pizza. However, that only applies when you do things the right way.
So, that is where we come in. With just a few simple steps, and we really mean simple, you can have a cauliflower crust ready for toppings, and it all takes less than an hour to complete.
Ingredients
First, let’s look at the ingredients.
Now, you clearly need a large cauliflower head along with eggs, cheese, and some seasoning. That’s pretty much it, but there’s a key to all of this.
Also, the seasoning is quite open to interpretation. However, we recommend sticking to basics such as oregano and parsley. You want to add something to the base to just change the flavor, but not too much that it overpowers things.
And then there’s the cheese. Keep it relatively mild, or even mature, but don’t go for something too over the top like Parmesan at this point. You will rely more on the cheese added as a topping rather than anything else when it comes to your cauliflower pizza crust.
Getting Started
You can make fast work of making the cauliflower rice by getting a food processor out. Cut the cauliflower head into chunks, and then blend it so it turns into crumbs. You want to do this so it looks kind of like rice grains.
Of course, you could stand there with a grater to break down your cauliflower, but that will take an eternity and we don’t recommend it. You want to get an even consistency with your cauliflower grains, and a food processor is the best way to achieve this.
After you have completed this step, the next thing to do is to add the cauliflower to a saucepan. Fill the saucepan about halfway up with water, and then boil the cauliflower for around 10 minutes. However, make sure that this is on medium heat.
Also, don’t add any seasoning at this point. You just want plain water and cauliflower.
After Boiling
After your cauliflower has been boiling for those 10 minutes, you want to switch everything off and drain it through a sieve. But then you have two options. However, we recommend doing both if you want to get the best possible results.
You must seek to remove as much water as possible from the cauliflower. It’s this act of removing all this water that will make a significant difference to your crust. If you want to ensure it doesn’t fall apart, then this step is crucial. Water is your enemy here, so do everything you can to defeat it.
So, either leave it to drain through the sieve for at least five minutes or place the cooked cauliflower crumbs in cheesecloth and give it a squeeze. The second method works best as it allows you to remove significantly more water than any other method.
Just draining on its own means you cannot apply that pressure to the crumbs to remove that water. A lot of water is trapped within the crumbs themselves, and you will only get to it by pressing the water out manually.
The Mixing
After removing as much water as possible, add the cauliflower to a mixing bowl. Then, make a well in the middle. To this well, you add the egg and seasoning. Most recipes will call for seasonings such as oregano, parsley, garlic powder, and salt, but feel free to add whatever you like.
At this point, if you want your base to have more of a cheese taste, then it’s time to add some finely grated cheese to the mix. After that, blend everything together until it’s clear that it’s all mixed in thoroughly.
Don’t worry about beating it too much though. You aren’t making the same sort of dough as you do with a normal pizza crust. It’s more about combining the ingredients rather than anything else with this recipe.
The Baking
Once you have finished with the mixing, it’s time to bake, so get a baking sheet and line it with some parchment paper. You need to spread a thin layer of this mix over the parchment paper as it needs to go in the oven to start baking and roasting.
Make sure you use your hands to form the shape of your base. It’s entirely your decision if it is circular or anything else, but this is the point where you really start to put everything together.
For thickness, then aim for something in the region of ¼ inch. It will give you a decent crust without being too thin that it falls apart. Also, it should give the cauliflower a pretty good crunch when baking.
For the oven, it’s best if you have it set to 210C or 410F, and it should bake for somewhere in the region of 35 minutes at that temperature. You need to use the roasting in the oven as another way to remove as much water as possible from the cauliflower.
The Toppings
By now, your cauliflower crust should resemble a normal pizza crust, at least in appearance, and it should feel pretty strong and crispy. Remove it from the oven, and then get to work with adding your favorite toppings.
Now, don’t stress about the base and the marinara sauce you put on it. If you managed to remove most of the water from the cauliflower, and that should have happened if you followed the steps, then the crust should not fall apart.
Feel free to put as much sauce on the base as you want, but then do you really want to add too much anyway? Once finished, make sure you then throw on all the other toppings you want.
Finishing it Off
Finally, you need to finish off your pizza, and that means putting it back into the oven in order to cook the toppings. You see, even though 35 minutes sounds like a long time, it does mean you did not completely cook the cauliflower crust.
There’s still some scope for it to finish cooking, but we leave that for the toppings part or it would burn. Keep the oven at the same temperature as before, and give the toppings around 10 to 12 minutes to cook through. After that, all you need to do is to cut into slices, and it’s time to eat.
Overall Thoughts
Making a cauliflower crust that doesn’t fall apart is all down to the water content. Patience plays a key role here, so don’t rush the water removal part or your crust won’t work.
The water content means the grains of rice just won’t stick together when you add in the egg. The water allows the grains to slip and slide all over the place, and that’s when it then crumbles apart.
Drain, squeeze, and roast is the order in which you need to go. If you follow those steps, then everything else will fall into place with ease.
After that, it’s all down to the toppings you choose. Add anything you like, and make your favorite pizza time and time again while knowing those carb numbers are not piling up.
