Yes you heard me right. A pizza crust made entirely out of cauliflower. Its not crazy- I mean most of us have heard of substituting cauliflower for potatoes in mashed potatoes or topping a shepherds pie with creamed cauliflower but not until recently did I realize that you could actually use a technique similar to those dishes and create one outstanding pizza crust. It is gluten free, low carb and highly addictive. It is dense enough to withstand your favorite toppings but chewy and soft to melt in your mouth.
Do you like cornmeal? I DO! I am a kind of a cornmeal geek. I don’t know if it was all the grits my grandmother served me growing up in the South or the cornmeal crusted catfish we were always treated with but regardless I love me some cornmeal! I use it in a dish when and wherever I can. The steamed cauliflower is the perfect accomplice for a cupful of cornmeal along with a touch of butter, red pepper flakes and nutty Parmesan and Monterrey jack cheese. The cornmeal adds a nice crispy texture to the crust without weighing it down.
I am so tired of talking about my health so I am not going to bore everyone with the details but I will say that as of the present I am on a strict gluten free diet for the next 3 months. Hence the flood of GF recipes on Kitchen Belleicious here lately. With that said, we love PIZZA and it hurts me to think of leaving my beloved chewy pizza crust behind. I know there are some amazing GF pizza crust recipes floating around out there but I haven’t had a chance to research them and when I found myself wanting pizza the other night I needed something that I could trust, something I didn’t need a million different ingredients for, something that tastes DANG GOOD! Now don’t get your hopes up. I am by no means saying that a cauliflower pizza crust tastes like a typical pizza dough. What I am saying is that it makes a wonderful substitute, it is easy and one million times better for you! What are you waiting for!
YOUR WELCOME!
- 1 head cauliflower (2 cups worth of processed cauliflower)
- 1 cup cornmeal
- 1 egg, large
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup grated Monterrey Jack cheese
- 1½ tsp Italian Seasoning
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp sea salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
- Rinse cauliflower, separate into florets. Place cauliflower in a food processor and process until very fine. You should have 2 cups of finely grated cauliflower. Transfer to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Microwave for 6 minutes. Transfer the cauliflower once it has cooled to a cheesecloth or sheer tea towel and squeeze all of the the liquid out, You don't want any liquid left in your cauliflower because it will make the crust crispy (hence break apart) instead of chewy (we want chewy)
- Preheat the oven to 450. Once the liquid is removed from the cauliflower place the cauliflower in a large bowl and add in the remaining ingredients- leaving the egg for last. Give your arm a workout and start stirring, really working the batter with your hands until it forms a nice, slightly sticky dough. Spread the dough out onto a lightly greased pizza stone or parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes until it starts to turn a golden brown. Remove from the oven and top with your favorite toppings. Return to the oven and bake until the toppings are warm and the cheese is melted.
- NOTE: Because this pizza crust does not take a long time to bake in the oven the toppings you decide to use will need to already be cooked. So for example I used grilled chicken, peppers and onions on mine. I sweated the onions and peppers before hand and roasted the chicken before cutting it up. Once the crust was ready I topped it with my toppings and placed it in the oven just long enough to melt the cheese and heat the chicken and other toppings all the way through.
LOVE cauliflower crust. Its definitely not regular pizza crust, but its pretty darn good. Love the cornmeal addition. Hope your belly is feeling well
So sorry about the gluten issues – but thankfully there are tons of great recipes out there these days. This crust sounds so interesting and I may just have to give it a try! Thanks – have a great week.
What a creative and tasty looking pizza!
Great idea! I definitely have to try this recipe. It looks so delicious, I could eat a slice right now.
I bet the cornmeal makes all the difference. I’ve tried a cauliflower crust and always thought it was missing something. Looks great!
Clever and way cool, plus it’s gorgeous. Who could ask for more.
Sam
I made pizza crust with cauliflower before…delicious, but I miss the crustiness of traditional dough. The addition of cornmeal must have given this low-carb pizza some extra crunchiness. Excellent!
I’ve heard about the cauliflower crust but haven’t tried it, yours looks so good I think I am going to have to now! Thanks for a great looking recipe!
I’ve seen recipes for a cauliflower crust but not with cornmeal added. I must give it a nice crunch and flavor.
Smart idea to add some cornmeal to the dough for a more traditional pizza dough flavor and texture!
there are so many good creations using cauliflower now–and this is one I haven’t seen before. I love cornmeal too and this is an ingenious pairing for a pizza crust.—well done!
hi jessica, although i do not know how the crust taste like, but it looks wonderful to me..and cornmeal is a fabulous addition…i’m glad that you are still enjoying the most delicious food even tho it’s gluten free…all the best to your health!
I love the use of cornmeal here. Gives the crust some great texture 🙂
Now I’ve seen many GF cauliflower based pizza crusts but never with corn meal! And I also have to say that corn meal, although I like it, I don’t have quite the same affection for it as you do! Having said that, I’m quite intrigued by this recipe particularly since you’ve described it as chewy! I am definitely going to explore this version as soon as we get back to the city.
I do hope your issues are resolved soon. My family found that the Mayo Clinic in Rochester NY was excellent in quick diagnosis (expensive for us Canadians, but worth it!)
I’ve been dying to make this. I’ve had friends who had difficulty with their crusts, so your tips on how to get the cooked cauliflower really dry are invaluable! Thanks!!!!
PS…fingers crossed you feel better soon. I know you’ve had issues before, hope you will get the proper diagnosis! xo
I’ve seen a few of these crusts around the blogosphere, but nothing “perfect”. Until now! Must try your version!
This is totally interesting Jessica! I never would have thought about using cauliflower in pizza crust, but you’re right…why not! I’m definitely going to try this out. Imagine if the kids like this – I will get them veggies without them even knowing!!! Love it!
This is a brilliant idea, using cauliflower as a pizza crust! Healthy and delicious! Love it! Thanks for sharing!
Looks so delicious …I bet you this must have spread a wonderful aroma in your kitchen while baking. Corn and Cauliflower….Mmmmm!!
It looks wonderful – what a great idea – I’m always trying to incorporate more veggies into everyday dishes – this is so clever!
Mary
Wow! You really think outside the box. Who would have thought of using cauliflower. My husband is slowly getting off gluten, this is the perfect choice. He would be so happy if I made this for him.
Thanks for sharing. Love it!!
I love cauliflower but I eat it as it is (in terms of shape) and never used it in fine form. I’ve seen fried rice made of cauliflower too, as well as pizza crust. I’ve been very curious all this time. Your pizza looks AMAZING! It looks crispy and I love to taste this very much!
Una pizza estupenda.
Adoro la coliflor incluso en crudo.
Un saludito
What a great idea to use cauliflower! This has to be so much healthier for us instead of the (bread) dough for pizzas! The flavor has to be much more interesting too!
xo
Roz